Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: "Wayne Sippola"
group,Something that I haven't heard discussed before. That plane that wentdown in Pa, if there were 50 some odd people on board, and let's assumethey were all heros. If they all rushed foward at the same time, wouldn't that alone, make the plane unflyable???walt________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: Larry Neal

Original Posted By:
Actually, the autopilot on all airplanes will remain engaged until thedisengage button is pressed. This includes al the boeings (discounting aside feature called "control wheel steering" used on some boeings) and theDC-9/ MD-80/DC-10. The altitude does not matter. The autopilot really doesnot know or care how high or low you are. In the MD-80 at 145,000 lbs., ifyou are hand flying and someone walks from front to back or back to front,you will notice it right away. Holding an exact altitude plus or minus afew feet at 500 mph makes every wieght shift felt.On the other hand, if everyone stays seated and you find the right trimsetting, in smooth air you can let go of all the controls for more than aminute without any altitude deviation. But in that interim you burn offsome fuel (about 120 lbs per minute) so you have to retrim due to the CGshift forward (in a swept wing) as fuel is burned off.Chris BobkaNWA DC-9 driver----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: "Owen Davies"
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: LongeronsIn a message dated 9/29/01 8:33:45 AM Pacific Daylight Time, llneal2(at)earthlink.net writes:> All,> > I don't want to stir up a fuss or bore anyone either, but I find the> longeron discussion interesting. I've had my plans for years and been> on the list a long time, but not heard this discussion before.> > To simplify my question, imagine the fuselage sitting on the gear. Look> at the firewall, with the tailpost in the distance. Which way should> the end grain in the longerons be oriented, horizontally or vertically?> > The plans on pages 4 and 6 show an end view of a longeron with end grain> of about 45 degrees, but I suspect that this is artistic licensee.> There is no textual discussion of grain orientation in the plans that> I've found.> > From my totally ignorant perspective on this point I theorize that if it> is horizontal, this fits the same scheme used in the spars, which of> course attach directly to the fuselage longerons and bolt up in the same> fashion both places. I think that there might be a better glue joint> with the plywood gussets as well.> > On the other hand, I gather from discussion that bending is easier in> the plane of the grain and that would be of benefit when forming the> lower longerons.> > I've looked in the approved procedures book and can't find anything> there. I just went over all the stuff I've collected, plans, tips,> discussions, nothing there.> > I wonder how many piets have been built each way, anyone willing to let> us know?> > If it's not specified on the plans or the FAA repair manual is it> important enough to worry about? (If it is, I will have to rip up two> fuselague sides and will be suggesting some immediate changes to those> selling plans.)> > Or is it possible that I've just been sniffing too much T-88?> > Larry> > > Larry,The grain direction does not matter for any wood except for the spars and that is because the wood expands the least across the grain. Doug Bryant Wichita Ks________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Oscar Zuniga"
Doug Bryant observed:> The grain direction does not matter for any wood except for the spars and> that is because the wood expands the least across the grain. Doug BryantI'd add one exception, which no doubt everyone knows already,but it seems worth mentioning now, because some of the samereasoning may apply to the longerons.Grain direction also matters for the long pieces of capstrip thatform the upper curve of the wing ribs. The wood layers thatmake up the grain go vertically, in part because doing it theother way would increase the risk of separating the "laminations"that make up the grain and splitting the stick as it bends overthe tightest part of the curve.I'd think that same reasoning applied to the lower longerons.Their curve is not as tight, but the splitting forces must be higherin the thicker cross-section.Also, isn't the strength significantly different with or across thegrain? Either is probably strong enough, but for the strongestpossible airframe...Owen Davies________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Christian Bobka"
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: terrorism and weight and balanceIn a message dated 9/28/2001 10:02:07 PM Central Daylight Time, GeneT(at)iwon.com writes:> Airline> policy dictates that in order to save fuel the pilots only hand fly when> they absolutly have to . which on a 767 is almost never. Having just retired after almost 36 years as an airline pilot I find that interesting. Nobody ever told me that and I was a check airman (instructor pilot) for 18 of those years.Autopilots can be engaged on any Boeing or McDonnell Douglas/Boeing jet at any altitude. Company policy dictates the minium altitude for engagement. Tom Travis________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By:
Tom,I think the non airline pilots are making this stuff up.Chris bobka----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: "Owen Davies"
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: terrorism and weight and balanceChris,I think you're right. The same type people who come up with stuff like, "Airliners fly themselves, all pilots have to do is push a couple of buttons". I even heard some idiot call in to one of the TV shows a couple of weeks ago and suggest that airliners autopilots could be pre-programmed to fly to an Air Force base and land in case of a hijacking. Tom ________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By:> John McNarry
Hi John, No, I have not been to Brandon since they started repaving. Iwas outall night searching for a sailboat near Cambridge Bay. After nearly a 5hour transit we searched for about 4 hours in the dark with the spottersusing NVG's but it is very difficult to find anything unless they have alight on. We found them shortly after sunrise. Called out at 7pm and backhome noon the next day with 13.7 hours of flying. We did stop for gasonce. Slept real well last night. Thanks for the reply on the bentwood rocker. A friend of mine built aHarmon Rocket and does airshows with it. He's based at Rocky Mtn and isthe airport manager their. Wayne Sippola, Winnipeg ----------

Original Posted By: Michael D Cuy

Original Posted By:
Tom,Not to be one of those people, but two friends who fly/flew 747's (oneretired) said they CAN fly themselves. They trottle up (hands off) rotate,climb to altitude , at their destination,power back and land.There was a show on TV awhile back where they showed it on tape. The twopilots had their hands behind their head, and you saw the throttles easeback to decend, line up with the runway, touch down,and even watched thethrottles go to reverse thrusters. It was amazing.any 747 pilots out there that can confirm this?walt----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: Steve Eldredge
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: no smoking, I thinkWhat do you think are the odds of flying my Piet with a driver's lic?Corky in La living in the most beautiful weather in my memory________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Wayne Sippola"
Tom Travis observed:> I think you're right. The same type people who come up with stuff like,> "Airliners fly themselves, all pilots have to do is push a couple of> buttons". I even heard some idiot call in to one of the TV shows acouple> of weeks ago and suggest that airliners autopilots could be pre-programmedto> fly to an Air Force base and land in case of a hijacking.Fifteen years or so ago, a pilot friend--17,000 hours in everything fromKorean-War fighters to airliners to DC-3s dumping napalm on littlevillages in Africa--told me, "In a few years, the crew of an airliner willconsist of the pilot and a dog. The pilot will be there to feed and nurturethe dog. The dog will be there to bite him if he goes near the controls!"FWIW.Owen Davies________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
I haven't done many smoke runs lately. My smoke is still connected, but Ihave gone through so many bottles it is frustrating. The insect sprayerrubber o-rings and such don't last very long against the oil, and I havn'tcome up with a good replacement. Result is I have to keep pumping up thetank during flight and half the time I end up disconnecting the tube and getoil everywhere. Sorry that your under Class B. What a crock. They shouldat least let you move your plane. I'd have probably pulled the wings andtrucked mine by now, If I weren't a few miles south of SLC. Best of luckgetting airborn soon!BTW, Who knows what the locals would think about a smoke run. You do recallthe one time it attracted the Price, Utah media, county sherrif and anelementary school kids.....Steve E.-----Original Message-----

Original Posted By: Larry Neal