Pietenpol-List: getting started
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2001 7:54 am
Original Posted By: Kent Hallsten
Kent writes:>There's a lot to look at with the supplements, different>engine mounts, extended fuselage and the like. How do you guys>keep it straight?I know what you mean; that's what I thought when I first got my set a few months back. But after 10 or 15 evenings of slowly looking at details, going back and forth between plans and details, it starts to come together. Then there are also plenty of good photos on various websites, and those tell even more.>I thought about making a cocpit mockup to check the fit.It can't hurt. If you don't go to too much trouble, that is. Best of all would to be to find somebody near you with a Piet or at least a fuselage you can climb into, but if not- a quick plywood and 2x4 mock-up can be built in no time. There are some non-negotiable relationships between things in the Piet, so it's good to know how they go together. The only thing you can tweak is the seat; catch Mike Cuy's comments on his video, about how he raised his seat a tad. Note location of pilot's shoulders relative to the cockpit coaming in Mike's plane and others; the only thing about raising the seat is it makes it more difficult to get the recommended angle for the shoulder straps. You don't want them tending to compress your spine under impact. The stick, rudder pedals, and panel location are pretty well locked in by the dimensions and configuration of structure, so it's good to get a firm idea of how they are all going to fit for you. To me, everything falls nicely to hand.>I'm a tad over 6' 1", 185 lbs.Well, I won't comment on Mike's size since I've never met him, but one Pietenpol pilot that I do know personally, is at least that size (see photo on the page at http://www.flysquirrel.net/piets/piets.html) and has no problem.>One never knows when an engine may show up thats just rightYep. If you're patient, you will find one. There is a guy on the CorvAIRCRAFT list who has 4 Corvair engines, pickled and crated for storage in his garage, ready to convert for aircraft use, trying to get someone to clear them out for the cost of crating; $100 to take them all off his hands. Try to find a little Continental for that price, even run out and in pieces!>My wife said she wants one bay for her carFunny how they always want the roomy side, too!Oscar ZunigaMedford, Oregonmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________
Kent writes:>There's a lot to look at with the supplements, different>engine mounts, extended fuselage and the like. How do you guys>keep it straight?I know what you mean; that's what I thought when I first got my set a few months back. But after 10 or 15 evenings of slowly looking at details, going back and forth between plans and details, it starts to come together. Then there are also plenty of good photos on various websites, and those tell even more.>I thought about making a cocpit mockup to check the fit.It can't hurt. If you don't go to too much trouble, that is. Best of all would to be to find somebody near you with a Piet or at least a fuselage you can climb into, but if not- a quick plywood and 2x4 mock-up can be built in no time. There are some non-negotiable relationships between things in the Piet, so it's good to know how they go together. The only thing you can tweak is the seat; catch Mike Cuy's comments on his video, about how he raised his seat a tad. Note location of pilot's shoulders relative to the cockpit coaming in Mike's plane and others; the only thing about raising the seat is it makes it more difficult to get the recommended angle for the shoulder straps. You don't want them tending to compress your spine under impact. The stick, rudder pedals, and panel location are pretty well locked in by the dimensions and configuration of structure, so it's good to get a firm idea of how they are all going to fit for you. To me, everything falls nicely to hand.>I'm a tad over 6' 1", 185 lbs.Well, I won't comment on Mike's size since I've never met him, but one Pietenpol pilot that I do know personally, is at least that size (see photo on the page at http://www.flysquirrel.net/piets/piets.html) and has no problem.>One never knows when an engine may show up thats just rightYep. If you're patient, you will find one. There is a guy on the CorvAIRCRAFT list who has 4 Corvair engines, pickled and crated for storage in his garage, ready to convert for aircraft use, trying to get someone to clear them out for the cost of crating; $100 to take them all off his hands. Try to find a little Continental for that price, even run out and in pieces!>My wife said she wants one bay for her carFunny how they always want the roomy side, too!Oscar ZunigaMedford, Oregonmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________