Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: "Jack Phillips"
For all you guys flying with Continentals, a question.I=92m in the midst of the new cowling and would appreciated any inputregarding engine access doors etc. What has worked, what was unnecessaryand what do you wish you had done?Re the wood strut thing. There are many Piets which have flown for manyyears with wood lift and cabane struts. The two highest time ones I know offrom the eighties and ninties were Alan Weise=92s famous plane which ended upwith over 1,000 hrs on it, and Will Graf=92s Ford powered Piet which flew foryears. My wood struts came through the ground- loop- flip- over- incident very welland are unharmed.Mine are built like Axels in that a strip of =BC=94 ply is sandwiched betweentwo pieces of doug fir. Technically however, if the chosen wood is sparmaterial, laminations shouldn=92t be needed as wood is already a laminate,except for peace of mind about hidden flaws.Douwe________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
Give yourself plenty of room to remove the oil cap/dipstick. I wish mycowling wasn=92t quite as tight around thatJack PhillipsNX899JP =93Icarus Plummet=94Raleigh, NC _____

Original Posted By: Douwe Blumberg
The cowling takes a lot of abuse in the propwash and is prone to "oil canning" which leads to cracks, loose rivets, chafing, etc...Beading near the edges will help stiffen the cowling and it will look great.Jacks comment about oil dipstick access is right on.Greg C. ----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: "bradandlinda tds.net"
Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: wood struts and a question