Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: Michael D Cuy
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Grand TourWe call it the 'Grand Tour'...a lap around Wichita. I flew it Sunday morning, with several fly bys (two T.P. drops) at a few selected targets. I tookoff about 7 am, with quite a bit of wind. The sock was about half full, and maybe 5 or 10 degrees right cross wind. The whole trip was Rock & Roll. WhenI returned, the sock was almost straight out, with about 40 degrees right crosswind, and gusty. Scariest landing I've made yet, in the Piet. A gust hitme just as I crossed the numbers. I could even feel it on the side of my face, butthen after she settled into ground effect height, it all seemed to settle down into a decent three point landing...the ol' Piet handled it alot better thanI did. It was a 2 1/2 hr flight, with at least another hour's worth of fuel onboard. She's got some long legs !! On back taxi, the tail wind and the prop blast met just ahead of the fin, and with full right rudder, she just keptgoing left. Had to shut down, and push 'er across the runway.We also made it to the EAA chap. 88 Fly-In at El Dorado on Saturday morning. Ya just can't believe how good it feels to be flying this plane !! YEE HAAWW !!Chuck GantzerNX770CGWichita KSinstalling brakes this week, getting ready for the 'Big Adventure' !!________________________________________________________________________________Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 08:01:43 -0400

Original Posted By: Rcaprd(at)aol.com
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Re: Grand TourIn a message dated 7/7/03 9:29:31 AM Central Daylight Time, BARNSTMR(at)aol.com writes:>Terry, et all,I think we all know that Red airplanes always fly better than any other color, however, the biggest change I've made is obviously the engine change. Ihave the 'Short' fuselage, and originally had the ol' Model A engine. I had alot of various problems with the Model A during the 22 hours logged with it lastsummer. I spent much time, effort, and money trying to get it right, but never did feel good about the reliability of the engine. I've spent the past sixmonths reconfiguring my plane to the Continental A65 engine. I now have a lot of confidence in the reliability of the engine, and have almost twice the power to boot. I had the cylinders 'Channel Chromed' at Aircraft Cylinders ofAmerica in Tulsa, installed new std pistons / rings, std bearings, valves, seats, guides, springs, Slick Mag kit, for a zero time engine. I built a new10.7 gal cowling tank, and now can carry 20 gal fuel onbd. I made a .025 stainless steel firewall with a flange all the way around to accept the enginecowl. I made a fiberglass splash from a J3 Cub nose bowl, then laid up the nose bowl in the plug, and made the cowling in two piece - flat wrap top half, flatwrap bottom half, attached them to the two J3 fiberglass nose bowl halves withrivets and T88, and used cam locks to attach the entire cowling to the firewall, without any of the cowling touching the engine. I estimated the W&B,and came up with an engine mount that is 8" longer than the A. C. Hanft mount - dated 3-15-67. I used the same O. D. for the tubing, but used thicker wall tubing. I made a paper trace of the J 3 eyebrows and used .040 3003 materialfor them. For the prop I built, I used the same thickness at the hub, and built a72 X42 Birch prop. I laid up Kevlar at the leading edge of the blades, and then used light fiberglass wrap on the entire blades to the root area. I madethe carb heat box from .040 steel, then epoxy primer inside and out, and red fuel proof paint on the exterior. I built the exhaust pipes two into one on each side, and pointed them down and out a little. Someday I'll make a new exhaust system to extend the pipes all the way under the belly behind the bunji's,so I can install a smoke system. I used Vi Kapler empenage hinges, and also made them 'gapless' hinges, with triangle pieces and fabric across the gap. The plans built barn door aileron hinges are also 'gapless', using a piece of fabric. I made the front cockpit cover from sheet metal, hinged at the center, in a 'butterfly' type install. I'm still working on putting brakes onthe plane. The heel brakes, lines, and reservoir are done and installed, and now Ihave to cut and extend the axles to accept the wheels with the rotors. Gotta have brakes to operate at all the airports that I expect to visit on the way to Brodhead / Oshkosh in a couple of weeks. I even bought a handheld ICOM radio for the trip. Doug is going to let me use his ELT, so that still has tobe installed, too. Almost ready for the 'Big Adventure' !!! YEE HAAAWW !!!Chuck GantzerNX770CGSee y'all at Brodhead / Oshkosh !!________________________________________________________________________________