Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: Ben Charvet
Before today I have never actually seen a completed Pietenpol. I emailed WaltEvans to see if I could take a look at his plane since I was driving out to NewYork City and he's in New Jersey. Being the nice guy that he is he extendedan offer to meet me at his hangar. It was drizzly and WINDY and he came outand showed me around his plane. Can't say enough about what a nice job he's done.I also can't say what seeing the finished product means to somebody whojust has a bundle of wood, T-88, a rib jig and a couple of ribs and an easle withplans resting on it. Wow!After talking for quite some time I thought we were wrapping up and he asked ifI was interested in a ride. The wind had died down and conditions had improved.I didn't want to impose but at the same time I didn't want to pass up anopportunity like this. So I took him up on the offer. Getting into the passengerplace helped me brush up on long lost jungle gym skills and then, there Iwas, looking at his passenger panel. I couldn't believe it was happening. Hefired up the Continental, taxi'd out, and before I could say Holy $#*% we werein the air and climbing! Right then and there, it hit me. This is what it's all about. Definitely an experiencethat I'll never forget and a catalyst for my project. I knew it wouldbe fun, I just didn't know how much. Like I told him, I can't remember howmany times I said "Wow!" during the drive home.Thanks Walt!!!!!Nose to the grindstone, shoulder to the wheel. This is one project that MUST getdone.--------Glenn ThomasN?????http://www.flyingwood.comRead this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ______Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 08:08:01 -0400

Original Posted By: "Jack T. Textor"

Original Posted By: Jim Ash

Original Posted By: "walt evans"

Original Posted By: Ben Charvet

Original Posted By:> > Rick Holland
I agree!The Internet has only been around for 14 years now. Postal letters have beenaround for hundreds of years. Although many folks tout the so-calledadvantages of email and websites, they simply don't have the track recordthat serious communicators demand. In fact, I knew a guy who got theInternet and joined an email list and within a month, he started to getmessages he didn't like. He sold his computer, and has been happily usingthe US Postal Service ever since. You're free to do what you will, but Idon't want to be a guinea pig in some techno-geek's big worldwide socialexperiment.Seriously, this discussion has been annoying me a bit to watch, though it'snothing new. I do appreciate Jim publicly clarifying that he wasn't tryingto malign William, which is more than usually happens. But some perspectiveis in order here.Obviously, nobody's forcing anyone to use an engine they aren't comfortablewith. I'm personally sold on the Corvair, as I've come to know William andthe Hangar gang well enough that I have faith that they are honest andstraightforward in their dealings and that they are right when they say thatI am capable, with their help, of building a satisfactory Corvair-basedaircraft engine for my personal requirements. I have heard them tell peopleboth what this motor both can, and cannot, do, and if anything I've seenthem consistently UNDER-sell the capabilities of the Corvair rather thanOVER-state it to try to sell products. In my experience, they've never, everencouraged folks to do anything blindly just "because they said so"... theyhave always been willing and able to back up their recommendations withsound reasoning. Most importantly, this is most often based on significantamounts of actual flight experience, not theoretical calculations or singletests as some other folks will use to "prove" their products. If they onlyhave one or two data points, or none, they will make sure you know thatfact. They also have consistently encouraged people to learn and understandfor themselves WHY they recommend to do something, or not.In my opinion, anyone who says to do something "because William says so" ismissing the point somewhat, but they generally do so because they have foundthat he has actually earned the right to be considered an authority on thesubject. This is because he really has tried most of the ideas that peoplehave asked about, and refined the good ones so that anyone could use them.While I've heard folks criticize Corvairs before and even pull out someexamples to "prove" their unworthiness, they never seem to mention thethousands of failures of Lycomings, Continentals, Pratt & Whitneys, etc.installed by "qualified" folks for comparison. 98% of the "examples" arethings heard from friends of friends, etc. From the folks I've personallytalked to, emailed, and read about who have actually BUILT their ownCorvairs and can thus speak with some authority on the matter, it would seemthat nearly everyone who has followed William's advice has ended up quitesatisfied, if not extremely happy, with their Corvair installation. Most ofthe occasional problems I've heard of have been caused by things thatWilliam has specifically and publicly warned against doing, or happenedbefore he even started his research on the subject. In short, folks whofollow WW's advice tend to have a high chance of success with their Corvairengines.I don't "deify" William or anyone else, nor do I have any personal stake inthis discussion other than I consider the Hangar Gang to be friends, whohappen to be "the" experts on the engine I will build in the (hopefullynear) future. However, I can honestly say that the Corvair Hangar Gang, to aperson, set an excellent example of honesty, enthusiasm, helpfulness, andfun that I wish was present in everyone in aviation. This seems to haverubbed off on quite a few others (or perhaps it just attracts like-mindedsouls) throughout the homebuilt community, who then share their enthusiasm.I don't know why, but this seemingly attracts the occasional ire of a fewfolks who'd rather complain about a subject they rarely seem to have anyfirst-hand knowledge of. I'm no engine expert myself, but if you ask me,even if you don't choose to fly a Corvair yourself, you should have ahealthy dose of respect and appreciation for the many positive contributionsthat the Corvair folks have made towards furthering recreational aviation.We need a lot more folks like them in the aviation world.BTW, most homebuilt companies now require a signed legal release beforeselling plans or products. This is simply a factor of today's out of controllegal system, NOT a lack of faith in their own products. It isn't the planspurchaser they are worried about, but their survivors's lawyers. It doesn'tmatter whether the accident really had anything to do with the manufactureror not.-MikeMike Whaley merlin@ov-10bronco.netWebmaster, OV-10 Bronco Associationhttp://www.ov-10bronco.net/> > Unfortunately, that's a rather fallacious argument. By history, I mean> > real hours spent working in the air, not calendar years since someone> > first tried it.> >> > Jim Ash> >> > -----Original Message-----

Original Posted By: "Bill Church"
Subject: Pietenpol-List: More to I D Pieters,More Brodhead 2004 folks to I D from my Piet file clearance.________________________________________________________________________________Subject: Pietenpol-List: Re: For Builders with Slow/Stalled Projects...Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 13:41:49 -0400