Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: Mark Blackwell
Subject: Pietenpol-List: elevator & rudder hinge bracketsI have just started rebuilding a Grega Piet that needs new hinge brackets for the elevators and rudder. Are these available to purchase somewhere or do they have to be built from scratch.ThanksJerry Engelrvjengel(at)aol.com________________________________________________________________________________Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 20:39:05 -0500

Original Posted By: "Mike Whaley"
JackDo you happen to remember your turtledeck dimensions?You mentioned that you raised it a couple of inches - was that across theboard for all the turtledecks or did you use some other method of smoothingit out?I ask because I'm about your height - and because I'm crazy about the looksof your airplane. Ken in Austin, who's putting off mountains of work on the hold house tosqueeze in a little Piet time. ________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: DJ Vegh
To follwo up on Dave's suggestion to look for every little unknown airportpossible, here's a great site with a bunch of places you may have neverheard of, updated frequently:Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields Websitehttp://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/Keep the faith... the waiting list here in Melbourne FL (MLB) is about 150+people long from what I've heard and the idiots running the local airportare working hard to REMOVE half the (now full) T-Hangars and our crosswindrunway. That has me considering whether the Piet or Zodiac is the morepractical plane... at least a metal plane won't be quite as bad outsidehere. Of course, with our daily thunderstorms, frequent tornadoes andmicrobursts, small hail, intense lightning, and the occasional hurricanesdon't kill the wooden planes left sitting outside, then the wood rotprobably will. Just my opinion, I know some have done this with few problemsbut it seems like a big gamble for something you've poured years of yourlife into. There's a Fly Baby bipe down at Valkaria that has been sittingoutside, it looks ROUGH. Dunno what it looked like before, but it sure lookslike a plane that's been stored outside for a long time.Arizona is probably at least better for outside storage. I know of awooden-winged biplane that came apart in mid air recently, nearly killingthe pilot, due to being stored outdoors for only two years in the Miamiarea... the whole spar was rotted through from moisture that had condensedor collected inside the wing... it wasn't found when the new owner boughtthe plane (which had been built by an Oshkosh-winning craftsman, theoriginal construction was excellent and the design was not an issue... itwas all from improper storage.) and after 11 months and 250 hours of acro,it finally let go. High price to pay for not having a hangar available.The other side of the coin is that apparently, the companies that build andoperate T-Hangars have to make their money back in about 7 years for it tobe economically viable for them to do (something to do with the duration oftheir construction loans or taxes I suppose.) Since the construction boomhas doubled the price of steel lately, they would have to charge somethinglike $900 a month to make any money, so therefore, they don't have anyincentive to build since nobody would sign up. At least that's what our EAAchapter was told by a guy who had spent considerable time researching oursituation here.Mike Whaley merlin@ov-10bronco.netWebmaster, OV-10 Bronco Associationhttp://www.ov-10bronco.net/----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: "Oscar Zuniga"
Clear DayHi guys,I sat in a Pietenpol for the first time in Brodhead and found it at first quiteinteresting. I am 6' 4.5" and weighed 240 lbs. Getting into the Piet for thefirst time was a challenge. However, I made it. Bill Rewey was kind enoughto give me my first ride in a Piet and later explained that he made some modificationsto the original (longer & wider). He has documented all of his workand, I believe, he has some of his documentation and recommendations for sale- not at a very high price. My friend, Greg Bacon, recently purchased MountainPiet. I found getting into it quite easy. I also fit quite well. The onlyproblem that I have encountered with the Piet and my largeness, is the windscreen.While flying, my face is above the windscreen which can cause communicationproblems and the such (a few bugs in the teeth). DJ, When I read your posting I was very surprised. Seeing your website and readingyour posts on this site has really encouraged me. Just because there isno space available now doesn't mean that something, somewhere is not going toopen up soon. Just keep up the work and encouraging us newbie's with your postsand your website updates.Todd Baslee ________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Phillips, Jack"
Dick wrote->This is a piddly point, but the min fuel spec if you are using an A-65 is >about 5 gal.I used the weight & balance numbers that Corky used in his paperwork when he got the plane inspected, and he showed 2 gal. The engine really does burn about 4 gal./hr., so a 30 min. reserve is 2 gal. and that creates a worse case than 5 unless you're using a fuel tank in the wing center section (which this plane doesn't have).We're splitting hairs here, since we know that on occasion some pilots will even burn the last drop of fuel in the tank and still not make it safely back to an airport (accident statistics show that). The condition we're examining for would be one of those "boy, I sure should have stopped at that last airport for fuel" deals, the little wire isn't sticking out of the fuel cap very much at all, it's the end of the day, you're tired, and in unfamiliar territory. To then have to land the airplane with an aft CG condition is to create a scenario for a problem.Thanks for all the help, guys! PS- it looks like the welding work should be all done by next week, when we'll move to the wood and fabric repairs. It depends on how quickly we can get streamline tubing for the wing cabanes...Oscar ZunigaSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________Subject: RE: Pietenpol-List: Sat in my first Peit todayDate: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 06:18:53 -0800

Original Posted By: "Hodgson, Mark O"
Jack,What a beautiful airplane. Do you have a web site?Jack TextorDes Moines________________________________________________________________________________Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: update on N74DVDate: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 10:27:22 -0500

Original Posted By: "Phillips, Jack"

Original Posted By: "Phillips, Jack"

Original Posted By: Rick Holland