Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: Matt Dralle

Original Posted By: "Oscar Zuniga"
Kent said: I'm going to spend the next few days or weeks reading the plans over,(and over...) and building a worktable. The plans say to start with thefuse, is that what most builders have done? I thought about startingwith the ribs, or tail section, something small at first. But if it'seasier in the long run to just get going on the fuse I'll do that.Kent, I started with the ribs first, for a couple of reasons. One, it issort of mindless work, after you get the jig built and have assembled acouple of ribs, and it gives you time to think about the rest of the projectas you are working. Two, it sort of tunes up your woodworking skills, andif you screw up a rib, you can just pitch it without wasting a lot of timeand wood. The third reason has to do with my own personality - I get allenthusiastic and work hard for a while, then get burned out and don't wantto do boring or tedious tasks. I knew I would be all fired up when Istarted working on the Pietenpol, so I wanted to get the boring tedious jobdone first, before I burned out.One thing to consider if you build the fuselage first - it is big anddifficult to store while you build the other components. Wings and tailsurfaces are relatively flat and can hang on the wall or be suspended fromthe ceiling to get them out of the way. Once you build the fuselage youwill be stuck with it sitting in the middle of your workspace for manymonths.Time spent looking over the plans and thinking is time very well spent. Theplans have some inconsistencies, and many things can be done better thanoriginally designed, due to modern materials. If you haven't already boughtit, I suggest you buy Mike Cuy's video on building NX48MC. He makes thesuggestion that all the fittings need to be longer and I second thatopinion. Look through the plans very carefully and try to visualize howeverything fits together before committing it to wood and steel. Andremember - you will make mistakes, many of them. Just make sure none ofthem are still in it when you fly it.Good Luck!Jack Phillips________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: Larry Neal
Kent,Congratulations on your new project! I remember what it felt like a coupleof years ago when I started on my Piet. Two and a half years later, I havethe woodwork pretty much done, and I'm starting to think about controls andlanding gear.I too started out by making a bunch of ribs, largely because they didn'tcost too much and didn't take too much space. Like Greg, I cut out all thelittle gussets and uprights and put them into numbered bags before Istarted. I did find some surprises though.I've been using T-88 on the project from the beginning. Easy to use and itfills gaps. I eventually got into a pattern where each day, I'd assembleone rib in the jig but just with butt joints between the spruce members, nogussets. When I took the rib out of the jig, the butt joints would holdlong enough to sand a clean surface on the sides of the rib, clean off thesawdust with a tack cloth, then glue and staple on the gussets. The littlenails are just too finicky, and I pulled all of the staples after the gluewas completely hard. A month later I had all of my ribs.You asked about the number of uprights that lay against the spars. Thisseems to have varied over the years. The Flying and Glider Manual plansdon't show any at all. I think they're really for alignment only--theydon't take any stress once the wing is constructed. I went with a singleupright against each spar so I could hold the ribs to the spars with springclamps during assembly. Just my opinion, but if you make a slot for thespar to go in, it will probably either bind or be too loose. Once you getthe wing assembled, you'll have to cut away some of the uprights against thespar anyway to make room for the cabane and lift strut mounting.I found that no matter how much I tried for precision on the leading andtrailing edges of the ribs, they just didn't come out very well.Especially, on the leading edge, there's a really short upright that isnearly impossible to get on straight. I wound up making a router fixtureand trimming all of the leading and trailing edges after construction. Iused the notched T.E. and cut those after construction too. That waythey're all exactly alike.You'll have a lot of fun. Keep us posted.Gene HubbardSan Diego________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 12:40:16 -0600

Original Posted By: maynord
Kent and all, I'll say ditto! I also got my plans from Don on November 26 and had prettymuch the same thoughts on looking at the plans. I'm 6'2" and willdefinitely make a mock-up of the long fuselage as far back as the secondcockpit. That way, I can tinker with the seat and the location of thepedals without damaging the final structures. I've go a bunch of old lumberI can use to build the mock-up and hopefully gain some woodworking skills inthe process. And, it will give me something to do while figuring out whereto get the good lumber. I did get copies of Bengelis's books and one did have some recommendationson the angles for seats. I'll go back and look when I get to that point. Any Piets flying or being built in eastern Pennsyvania?? Dave________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 15:16:19 -0600

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
Hi all,I would second the vote for a mockup for purposes of changing seat angle.Bingelis recommended 15 degree, and I think my car seats measured about thesame. I compromised at 12 degrees. The plans call for 6 deg. When I builtmy mockup, I made the seat angle adjustable with a bolt and wing nut goingthrough a slot. That way I could try several combinations, and get theright measurements. 12 deg worked best for me. I also moved the seat backbackwards about 2 inches, to make room for the Temper Foam cushions that Iwill be using. That puts me back in the same place with no cushion.I wish I had made my turtledeck a bit higher, to get the shoulder straps ata higher angle. Maybe next time!Al-----Original Message-----

Original Posted By: John Myers

Original Posted By: "Dave Trainer"
Hi Dave. There's a Piet' flying out of Danville (8N8). I don't think theguy keeps it there, but he is a local. I saw it there this year during afly-in. Nice plane with a C-65. I'm about to order wood and get started on a Piet'.Where are you located? I'm just 10mi. north-west of Harrisburg.George AllenGeorgeA(at)PAonline.com(soon to be Peit'. builder)----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: John Myers

Original Posted By: Dmott9(at)aol.com
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: The plans arrived today!In a message dated 11/26/01 10:59:39 PM Eastern Standard Time, hallstenokc(at)home.com writes:>Great to hear your getting started ! I've been lurking on this list for a while, and need to do the same, order the plans and get started !This is a great medium, keep posting and let us all know how your doing on your project ok ? There's LOTS and LOTS of experienced folks just waiting to answer your questions. I've learned alot since joining this list. I think your right in starting to build the table first. This is an AWESOME place to get help and encouragement, your in the RIGHT place here !________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "K. and J. Hallsten"
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: The plans arrived today!In a message dated 11/26/01 10:59:39 PM Eastern Standard Time, hallstenokc(at)home.com writes:>Do subsribed to the CorvAIRCRAFT list:===============================CorvAIRCRAFT=============================== To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe corvaircraft" to"majordomo(at)usm.edu" For help send "info corvaircraft" or "help" to "majordomo(at)usm.edu"________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 21:19:32 -0600

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
George, I'm in East Stroudsburg and hang around with a group in chapter 839 ofEAA.Several folks in the local EAA chapter have built planes that are currentlyflying. However, most of those planes are all metal and of the RV famliy.I know of two other folks that have recently got Pietenpol plans and areabout in the same stage as I am, that is just beginning. I've flown in to Danville in the past. Nice airport with all grassrunways. A few weeks ago, I drove down to Grimes (halfway between Harrisburg andAllentown). It has a nice little aviation museum with, among others, apretty Peitenpol with a model A engine. Keep in touch and lets see how things progress. Dave-----Original Message-----

Original Posted By: "Dave Trainer"
Dave,It's a small world. I'm in NJ, just 15 minutes from I80 (Allemuchy exit) ,in Byram Twsp. I go through your area once in a while on field work. Youcan't be more than 45 min. from me. I've got a long fuse Piet on the gearwith a 65. Only one wing left to cover.You, or anyone are welcome to come and try out the back seat for size.This way you'll save time on the mockup and take measurments for modifyingyours for you.I'm flying to Fla. tomorrow, and won't be back till Tues. So if you areinterested, and I don't answer you right away, I'll get back to you Tues.walt----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: "Warren D. Shoun"