Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: Kip and Beth Gardner
Air Camper NX41CC has the 3-piece wing setup with the Pietenpol plans 24" widecenter section (not the 36" wide center section). I have had occasion to removeand reinstall the wings on 41CC and I can tell you two things about this:1. It is quite easy to remove and reinstall one or both wing panels in a coupleof hours if there are two, and preferably three, people on hand to help withit. Have tools, safety wire, cotter pins, a string and a level (or angle finder)and it's quite straightforward. The individual wing panels are clumsy butmanageable. And the feeling is indescribable when the wings go onto the fuselageand it becomes an airplane! Absolutely the most delicious sensation, andtensioning all the brace wires and control wires are like an orchestra tuningup for a wonderful concert. One of the most memorable moments of the whole experience.2. I cannot imagine handling a single-piece wing with fewer than four people orsome very clever adjustable supports and jigs. It must be a very interestingoperation for one person to handle, but we sent men to the moon using only slide-rules,pencil, paper, and protractors and the pulley is a marvellous inventionthat can be used by a clever builder to manage quite a bit on his or herown. If I were building a Piet from scratch I would not build the one-piece wingunless I were building in a hangar that I had all to myself, was retired frommy job, and was not in a hurry.The other thing I can mention is that William Wynne's Corvair-powered Piet hada 17 gallon centersection fuel tank in its final configuration. He glassed inthe entire center section and accommodated that amount of fuel, presumably withthe conventional Pietenpol airfoil section... somehow. He incorporated a "fuelrail" down one side of the tank, with the fuel takeoff line at the aft endof the rail. With the reported fuel consumption of the Corvair being about6 GPH, such a fuel capacity would give 2 hours range with a very decent reserve,and that's about as long as one wants to sit in a Piet on a cross-country.I have never sat in my Piet while flying off a complete tank of fuel down tothe reserve, but came quite close once and do not care to repeat it without agood reason. Oscar ZunigaAir Camper NX41CCSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Gene & Tammy"
Oscar,William told me a number of years ago that he had glassed his center section & gotten the result you mention, but he was never forthcoming about HOW he did it, except in the most general terms (which I've forgotten in the intervening 7 or 8 years). 17 gal. seems about right to get 2 hrs. plus reserve.Kip GardnerOn Sep 1, 2008, at 9:44 PM, Oscar Zuniga wrote:> >>> Air Camper NX41CC has the 3-piece wing setup with the Pietenpol > plans 24" wide center section (not the 36" wide center section). I > have had occasion to remove and reinstall the wings on 41CC and I > can tell you two things about this:>> 1. It is quite easy to remove and reinstall one or both wing panels > in a couple of hours if there are two, and preferably three, people > on hand to help with it. Have tools, safety wire, cotter pins, a > string and a level (or angle finder) and it's quite > straightforward. The individual wing panels are clumsy but > manageable. And the feeling is indescribable when the wings go > onto the fuselage and it becomes an airplane! Absolutely the most > delicious sensation, and tensioning all the brace wires and control > wires are like an orchestra tuning up for a wonderful concert. One > of the most memorable moments of the whole experience.>> 2. I cannot imagine handling a single-piece wing with fewer than > four people or some very clever adjustable supports and jigs. It > must be a very interesting operation for one person to handle, but > we sent men to the moon using only slide-rules, pencil, paper, and > protractors and the pulley is a marvellous invention that can be > used by a clever builder to manage quite a bit on his or her own. > If I were building a Piet from scratch I would not build the one- > piece wing unless I were building in a hangar that I had all to > myself, was retired from my job, and was not in a hurry.>> The other thing I can mention is that William Wynne's Corvair- > powered Piet had a 17 gallon centersection fuel tank in its final > configuration. He glassed in the entire center section and > accommodated that amount of fuel, presumably with the conventional > Pietenpol airfoil section... somehow. He incorporated a "fuel > rail" down one side of the tank, with the fuel takeoff line at the > aft end of the rail. With the reported fuel consumption of the > Corvair being about 6 GPH, such a fuel capacity would give 2 hours > range with a very decent reserve, and that's about as long as one > wants to sit in a Piet on a cross-country. I have never sat in my > Piet while flying off a complete tank of fuel down to the reserve, > but came quite close once and do not care to repeat it without a > good reason.>> Oscar Zuniga> Air Camper NX41CC> San Antonio, TX> mailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.com> website at http://www.flysquirrel.net>>________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: Thomas Bernie
Gene;What I found when installing the wings on my airplane was that it took at leasttwo people... one to wiggle and maneuver the wing to line up the attach fittingbolt holes, and the other to insert the bolts and secure them. I guess youcould do it by yourself using pins or rods to line up the holes but the wigglingis much easier if the wiggler is out at the wingtip where there is good leverage.Corky advised me to attach and detach the wings sort of in unison or it could tipover onto one wing, so after attaching both wings at the root attach fittingsin a "drooped" configuration, I then put a folding table under each wing justpast the strut attach points and then stacked boxes and pillows on the tablesto bring the wings more or less level but still allow them to move somewhat(thus the pillows). From there it was a matter of installing the struts, thenthe jury struts, then the control cables and pitot tubing, then tensioning thex-bracing, and finally reinstalling the wing gap fittings after confirmingcontrol travel free and correct and all fasteners in place and secured.Removal and reinstallation is a heck of a lot easier after everything is riggedand test-flown because then it's a matter of just replacing everything into itsoriginal position and then a quick check of rig. It is still not a quick operationthough.Oscar ZunigaAir Camper NX41CCSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________