Pietenpol-List: let's get started; odds & ends
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2003 3:46 pm
Original Posted By: "Cy Galley"
1. Dick writes->I would also like to hear more about icing problems that list members>have experienced.How about a plain-Jane Skylane, VFR on a summer afternoon at about 8500 MSL, trimmed for cruise and enjoying the sights on a cross-country, when the engine started sputtering and losing power? Do you have any idea how quickly you can get behind the airplane when it sneaks up on you like that? ;o) I checked and rechecked everything, prop, mixture, throttle, cowl flaps, windows and doors, fuel selector valve, every gauge and dial on the panel... then remembered that little square knob and pulled it but not before losing significant altitude and all of my composure. Whew! Power again! So even the most common and popular, best-engineered, certified-engined spam cans can develop carb ice on the nicest of summer days at cruise power. Don't sit there and try to work your way around providing carb heat on a non-injected airplane engine... aero carb or not (my opinion!)2. Ken asks->Question what do you do for carb ice if the heat is already on.What was it they said... "drop a brick and watch where it lands, because that's where you will be in about 30 seconds" ;o)3. DJ writes->I am using the skytek struts. I'm using the smaller size for the cabanes>and the larger for ift struts.For those who have built their struts out of round tubing (or you're planning to use round tubing to save money), you can still streamline them using the plastic slip-on material the ultralight guys use. Available at http://streamline.8k.com/ and just think of the speed you'll gain by reducing all that drag!4. Jim asks->I've seen a few different suppliers of plans and I'd like to know the >difference between them.This was one of my first questions when I started looking at the Pietenpol, and I think you've pretty much gotten the answer you need: get the true-blue plans from Don Pietenpol, and get the manual too. I also got the Flying & Glider Manuals through EAA, which are reprints of the original articles that Mr. Pietenpol wrote and add an interesting narrative to the project. The one to avoid is St. Croix Aircraft, which (I understand) simply copies and sells the Pietenpol/F&G plans. As a point of interest (Mike Cuy, are you listening?), I just looked at http://www.ultralightnews.com/plansbuye ... camper.htm and the St. Croix information is shown... with a picture of Mike Cuy's authentic Pietenpol! I think this should be taken care of immediately, since it's false and misleading and I know Mike doesn't intentionally support the knock-offs.5. Jack writes->take a camera with a lot of film and take pictures of every little>detail you can think of, such as how the jury struts attach to the wing and>the lift struts - jury struts aren't even shown on the plans so you can >find>lots of variation here.And the jury struts are one thing you WILL find mentioned in the Pietenpol construction manual, but without any detail. For a really nice rendition of the jury struts (and more information about John Dilatush's Piet in general), see my webpage at http://www.flysquirrel.net/piets/John_piet.html6. Gene writes->everyone calls them Pietenpols, it took me a>while to figure out why some of the planes were so different.As far as the GN-1, as I understand it Mr. Grega distinguished it from the original Pietenpol by calling it "Air Camper" instead of "AirCamper" (two words instead of one), or something like that. A fine line, and now all but insignificant. Suffice it to say that there are many details and structural differences between the Pietenpol and the Grega, but the external appearance is very much the same to the untrained eye.7. Hank asks->Does anyone have a copy of a stress analysis that has been done>on the wood or steel tube Pietenpol?There was an analysis done on the steel tube, standard Piet fuselage, commissioned by Mr. Pietenpol. But as far as having a copy of the analysis, unless it's in Don Pietenpol's personal family effects from Mr. Pietenpol, I wouldn't think it would be around anymore. If you find it, by all means donate it to the EAA Museum! Regarding the analysis done by the British Piet guys, that may very well be available today but would likely take a bit of scrounging and may require conversion from pounds sterling to American greenbacks... or Whitworth to SAE ;o)Happy 4th of July, especially to our British friends! PS- you're welcome to a nice cup of tea with us anytime, and we won't even make it with water from Boston harbor!Oscar ZunigaSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________
1. Dick writes->I would also like to hear more about icing problems that list members>have experienced.How about a plain-Jane Skylane, VFR on a summer afternoon at about 8500 MSL, trimmed for cruise and enjoying the sights on a cross-country, when the engine started sputtering and losing power? Do you have any idea how quickly you can get behind the airplane when it sneaks up on you like that? ;o) I checked and rechecked everything, prop, mixture, throttle, cowl flaps, windows and doors, fuel selector valve, every gauge and dial on the panel... then remembered that little square knob and pulled it but not before losing significant altitude and all of my composure. Whew! Power again! So even the most common and popular, best-engineered, certified-engined spam cans can develop carb ice on the nicest of summer days at cruise power. Don't sit there and try to work your way around providing carb heat on a non-injected airplane engine... aero carb or not (my opinion!)2. Ken asks->Question what do you do for carb ice if the heat is already on.What was it they said... "drop a brick and watch where it lands, because that's where you will be in about 30 seconds" ;o)3. DJ writes->I am using the skytek struts. I'm using the smaller size for the cabanes>and the larger for ift struts.For those who have built their struts out of round tubing (or you're planning to use round tubing to save money), you can still streamline them using the plastic slip-on material the ultralight guys use. Available at http://streamline.8k.com/ and just think of the speed you'll gain by reducing all that drag!4. Jim asks->I've seen a few different suppliers of plans and I'd like to know the >difference between them.This was one of my first questions when I started looking at the Pietenpol, and I think you've pretty much gotten the answer you need: get the true-blue plans from Don Pietenpol, and get the manual too. I also got the Flying & Glider Manuals through EAA, which are reprints of the original articles that Mr. Pietenpol wrote and add an interesting narrative to the project. The one to avoid is St. Croix Aircraft, which (I understand) simply copies and sells the Pietenpol/F&G plans. As a point of interest (Mike Cuy, are you listening?), I just looked at http://www.ultralightnews.com/plansbuye ... camper.htm and the St. Croix information is shown... with a picture of Mike Cuy's authentic Pietenpol! I think this should be taken care of immediately, since it's false and misleading and I know Mike doesn't intentionally support the knock-offs.5. Jack writes->take a camera with a lot of film and take pictures of every little>detail you can think of, such as how the jury struts attach to the wing and>the lift struts - jury struts aren't even shown on the plans so you can >find>lots of variation here.And the jury struts are one thing you WILL find mentioned in the Pietenpol construction manual, but without any detail. For a really nice rendition of the jury struts (and more information about John Dilatush's Piet in general), see my webpage at http://www.flysquirrel.net/piets/John_piet.html6. Gene writes->everyone calls them Pietenpols, it took me a>while to figure out why some of the planes were so different.As far as the GN-1, as I understand it Mr. Grega distinguished it from the original Pietenpol by calling it "Air Camper" instead of "AirCamper" (two words instead of one), or something like that. A fine line, and now all but insignificant. Suffice it to say that there are many details and structural differences between the Pietenpol and the Grega, but the external appearance is very much the same to the untrained eye.7. Hank asks->Does anyone have a copy of a stress analysis that has been done>on the wood or steel tube Pietenpol?There was an analysis done on the steel tube, standard Piet fuselage, commissioned by Mr. Pietenpol. But as far as having a copy of the analysis, unless it's in Don Pietenpol's personal family effects from Mr. Pietenpol, I wouldn't think it would be around anymore. If you find it, by all means donate it to the EAA Museum! Regarding the analysis done by the British Piet guys, that may very well be available today but would likely take a bit of scrounging and may require conversion from pounds sterling to American greenbacks... or Whitworth to SAE ;o)Happy 4th of July, especially to our British friends! PS- you're welcome to a nice cup of tea with us anytime, and we won't even make it with water from Boston harbor!Oscar ZunigaSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________