Pietenpol-List: End of an era...
Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 7:15 pm
Original Posted By: "Michael Orth"
Hello Group,This is to inform Pietenpol people everywhere that I have decided to retire my Pietenpol CF-AUN after nearly 43 years of fun flying. It is being donated to the Reynolds Alberta Museum at Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. It will be preserved and perhaps some day will be on display.It has only 862 hours total time which is not very much when spread over such a long period. Basically, at this latitude we have perhaps 5 months per year that are reasonably comfortable for open cockpit airplanes; the other 7 months range from uncomfortable to downright miserable. This, plus the fact that I have always had other closed-cabin airplanes to fly, has resulted in the limited air time of my Pietenpol. Nevertheless, it has been in the family for a long time and I have many fond memories of my kids riding in it when they were quite small. My dad was always keen to climb into the front pit and go for a =9Cfly=9D=94even when he was over 80 years old! My son (now 51 years old) remembers going to a breakfast fly-in when he was about 12 and figuring that we had really arrived in high society when we landed on a paved runway! We have lots of good memories and lots of photos to activate them.I have always said that I would never sell my Pietenpol because it is an old friend and it is one of the most satisfying things I have done during a long life (I=99m in my 85th year). I still have a =9CWag-A-Bond=9D to fly and, while it doesn=99t have much of a cabin heater, it is still more comfortable than the Pietenpol when the weather turns cool. I flew it for the last time on Friday September 6, 2013 for 35 minutes. It was a beautiful autumn evening, the air was smooth and we (the Pietenpol and I) had a lovely flight. Another great memory...Hopefully all you Pietenpol owners and builders out there will enjoy your airplanes as much and for as long as I have enjoyed mine. Graham Hansen Camrose, Alberta, Canada________________________________________________________________________________
Hello Group,This is to inform Pietenpol people everywhere that I have decided to retire my Pietenpol CF-AUN after nearly 43 years of fun flying. It is being donated to the Reynolds Alberta Museum at Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. It will be preserved and perhaps some day will be on display.It has only 862 hours total time which is not very much when spread over such a long period. Basically, at this latitude we have perhaps 5 months per year that are reasonably comfortable for open cockpit airplanes; the other 7 months range from uncomfortable to downright miserable. This, plus the fact that I have always had other closed-cabin airplanes to fly, has resulted in the limited air time of my Pietenpol. Nevertheless, it has been in the family for a long time and I have many fond memories of my kids riding in it when they were quite small. My dad was always keen to climb into the front pit and go for a =9Cfly=9D=94even when he was over 80 years old! My son (now 51 years old) remembers going to a breakfast fly-in when he was about 12 and figuring that we had really arrived in high society when we landed on a paved runway! We have lots of good memories and lots of photos to activate them.I have always said that I would never sell my Pietenpol because it is an old friend and it is one of the most satisfying things I have done during a long life (I=99m in my 85th year). I still have a =9CWag-A-Bond=9D to fly and, while it doesn=99t have much of a cabin heater, it is still more comfortable than the Pietenpol when the weather turns cool. I flew it for the last time on Friday September 6, 2013 for 35 minutes. It was a beautiful autumn evening, the air was smooth and we (the Pietenpol and I) had a lovely flight. Another great memory...Hopefully all you Pietenpol owners and builders out there will enjoy your airplanes as much and for as long as I have enjoyed mine. Graham Hansen Camrose, Alberta, Canada________________________________________________________________________________