Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: Richard Winkel
To John McNarry and the historically-minded among us:It's been done before. My boss, who owned Associated Airways andAssociated Helicopters in Edmonton from 1945 until, I believe, thelate 1960's, hailed from Vancouver where he and a partner built a Pietduring the 1930's. It was powered by a Cirrus engine and flew verywell. His name is Tom Fox and he is a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall Of Fame. He died about 2 1/2 years ago, of old age (somewhatremarkable, considering the hazardous nature of some of his activitiesover the years).When I started building mine around 1959, I was in his employ as a helicopter pilot/engineer. He was quite interested in the fact thatI had chosen a Pietenpol and told me some stories of their adven-tures (and misadventures) with their a/c. I remember him saying that it seemed to be a bit on the "hot" side, having a higher than expected landing speed. Someone suggestedthat this was likely due to the absence of false ribs at the wing leadingedge, allowing the fabric to sag between the ribs resulting in a thinnerairfoil section overall (I don't know what sort of leading edge skin theyhad). Anyway, he said they reworked the wing leading edge to correctthis condition, and found no noticeable improvement. All that work fornothing!He also said a pilot (not him) ran it through a ditch, shearing off the landing gear without damaging much else. A testimonial to the tough-ness of the Pietenpol wooden fuselage, to be sure. After a couple of years, they sold the airplane and Tommy (we always called him that)had started on a long and successful aviation career. To learn moreabout him, one can peruse the CAHF account of his career. And theCanadian Aviation Historical Society's publication THE CANADIANCIVIL AIRCRAFT REGISTER, 1929 - 1945 provides some informationabout their Pietenpol. If my memory serves me correctly (not alwaysthe case these days), it's registration marks were CF-ATU.So, John and the rest of you Pietenpol enthusiasts out there, there is a precedent of a Cirrus- powered Pietenpol.Cheers,Graham Hansen________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: oil can
________________________________________________________________________________Send reply to: Pietenpol Discussion Graham: Thank you very much for the information! I appreciate it very much. I don't knowwhy the engine should make the aircraft land hot. Any of you experienced Piet drivers out there have ideas as to why? The testimony to the strength of the fuselage is one of the reasons I choose the design in the first place.Thanks again Graham John McNarry> To John McNarry and the historically-minded among us:> > It's been done before. My boss, who owned Associated Airways and> Associated Helicopters in Edmonton from 1945 until, I believe, the> late 1960's, hailed from Vancouver where he and a partner built a Piet> during the 1930's. It was powered by a Cirrus engine and flew very> well.> > His name is Tom Fox and he is a member of the Canadian Aviation > Hall Of Fame. He died about 2 1/2 years ago, of old age (somewhat> remarkable, considering the hazardous nature of some of his activities> over the years).> > When I started building mine around 1959, I was in his employ as > a helicopter pilot/engineer. He was quite interested in the fact that> I had chosen a Pietenpol and told me some stories of their adven-> tures (and misadventures) with their a/c. > > I remember him saying that it seemed to be a bit on the "hot" side, > having a higher than expected landing speed. Someone suggested> that this was likely due to the absence of false ribs at the wing leading> edge, allowing the fabric to sag between the ribs resulting in a thinner> airfoil section overall (I don't know what sort of leading edge skin they> had). Anyway, he said they reworked the wing leading edge to correct> this condition, and found no noticeable improvement. All that work for> nothing!> > He also said a pilot (not him) ran it through a ditch, shearing off the > landing gear without damaging much else. A testimonial to the tough-> ness of the Pietenpol wooden fuselage, to be sure. After a couple of > years, they sold the airplane and Tommy (we always called him that)> had started on a long and successful aviation career. To learn more> about him, one can peruse the CAHF account of his career. And the> Canadian Aviation Historical Society's publication THE CANADIAN> CIVIL AIRCRAFT REGISTER, 1929 - 1945 provides some information> about their Pietenpol. If my memory serves me correctly (not always> the case these days), it's registration marks were CF-ATU.> > So, John and the rest of you Pietenpol enthusiasts out there, there is > a precedent of a Cirrus- powered Pietenpol.> > Cheers,> > Graham Hansen> ________________________________________________________________________________