Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: Marcus Zechini
Now that I know the Corvair fuel burn, approximately 5 GPH, I want an 18 gallonnose tank.Does anyone have a nose tank approximately that size? What does it look like, dimensions?What kind of structure do you have to support it and secure it to thefuselage?Thanks.--------Harv, 485PBRead this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ______Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2015 19:57:34 -0400Subject: Pietenpol-List: Potential Piet Fly-In

Original Posted By: John Fastnaught
Steve; I just ran some what-ifs with the W&B spreadsheet for my airplane to seewhat it would take to front-seat solo it. With minimum fuel (3 gal) and anyfront-seat pilot weight I tried up to 435 lbs (where my plane hit max gross weight),the CG was still a half-inch forward of the design range. That plus thefact that you simply can't fit anyone very large into the front cockpit to flyit solo from there, means it's a rear seat solo only because it will not bewithin the CG range that is stated in my operating limitations (15" to 20" aftof wing leading edge, or 25% to 33% of wing chord). Those flying with the Riblettairfoil, GN-1s, and anything other than the conventional Air Camper withPietenpol airfoil will be different, of course.My checkout in 41CC, the only Air Camper I've ever flown or ridden in, was fromthe front seat. My instructor wanted me to fly it with stick, throttle, andrudder only until I was ready to solo it, so that's what we did. Flew it offof an unimproved dirt strip (if you want to call it that), about 20 miles fromthe outskirts of the unimproved area of nowhere in the middle of the south Texasbrush country. It was remote. There was no other traffic in the pattern;o) We were actually just two or three Texas-sized ranches away from Zapata CountyAirport and when we got back to KAPY to let me try some takeoffs and landingson a paved 5000' x 60' runway, I found it to be unbelievably easy comparedto the rough quarter-mile 'sendero' that I had just shot about 50 wobbly andbouncy landings on. Operating off of the unimproved strip, once or twice Charliehad to put his boots on the rudder bar under my seat and fix things beforewe got tangled up in the cactus and mesquite brush, but after about a half-dozenwild ones I got to where I was doing OK. The back of my shirt was drenchedwith sweat for some reason though.The point is, the airplane can be flown from the front seat and I sort of likethe experience of having the prop right in front of you and sitting directly underthe wing and on the CG, but at least in my airplane there are three controlsin the rear cockpit, inaccessible to the front-seater, that I consider tobe essential to the safety of flight: the ignition switch, the fuel shutoff knob,and the carb heat control. For that reason alone, my airplane would haveto be placarded "Rear Seat Solo Only", but the W&B makes it inadvisable to attemptto operate it solo from the front seat as well.--------Oscar ZunigaMedford, ORAir Camper NX41CC "Scout"A75 powerRead this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ___Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Potential Piet Fly-In

Original Posted By: Marcus Zechini
Zechini,I'm still in phase one of flight testing, otherwise I would seriously consider flying up there. We used to live in Winchester an went to White Post occasionally. Keep up the good work.JackN144JFModel AWire wheelsSent from my iPhone> On Oct 11, 2015, at 7:57 PM, Marcus Zechini wrote:> > Any Piets that fly in to 3VA7 (White Post, Va) this weekend 10/17-18 will be fed and housed. I live 4 miles from the 2000' grass strip and am shuttle. Just let me know if yer gonna show. One can pop in for overnighter or pass through sat or sun. Let me know so I might stock up.> -Zeke> GN-1 w/C-85-12> > > 3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D> ________________________________________________________________________________Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2015 12:22:30 -0400Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Potential Piet Fly-In

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
Zeke,Have you heard when Rucker=99s funeral will be? He died yesterday morning, but that=99s all I know. Haven=99t heard when or where the funeral will be, but I=99ll be there for it.Jack PhillipsNX899JPSmith Mountain Lake, Virginia

Original Posted By: Marcus Zechini
I purchased a used pietenpol and the plane wants to make a slight right turn whenyou let go of the stick. Is there any adjustments that can be made to correctthis?Any help would be appreciated.Kyle Geegeekyle(at)yahoo.comRead this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ______Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2015 14:49:46 -0400Subject: RE: Pietenpol-List: Potential Piet Fly-In

Original Posted By: "taildrags"
Kyle; take a few minutes and check something. Easy to do. Fix the control stickin the centered position by securing it with the seatbelt so the stick is immobileand centered. Now either sitting in the cockpit or standing there andlooking right and left at the tips of the ailerons, are they both in the sameposition or is one deflected more than the other? If so, which one is it andwhich way is it deflected?If it's not the ailerons, you'll need to move on to the wing twist, which is alittle more work but can all be done on the ground and no special tools are required.First try the ailerons to see what they look like, just out of curiosity.I suspect the wing washout is different between the two wings and one islifting more than the other, but eliminate the ailerons first. Adjusting thewing washout will require screwing the attachment forks in or out at the liftstrut attach points.--------Oscar ZunigaMedford, ORAir Camper NX41CC "Scout"A75 powerRead this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ___Subject: Pietenpol-List: Re: Wing Heavy

Original Posted By: "geeman"
Oh, and not to sound snide, but pop the inspection covers on the heavy wing andpeek around inside. If you have a squirrel or rat nest out in the end of thewing, that could also be creating a heavy wing. Unlikely, I know, but inspectinginside your wing is quick and easy and will also let you look at cable tensionand general condition inside there.--------Oscar ZunigaMedford, ORAir Camper NX41CC "Scout"A75 powerRead this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ___Subject: Pietenpol-List: Re: Wing Heavy

Original Posted By: "taildrags"
OscarThanks for the help. I will take a look at the ailerons this weekend and reportback. So I was thinking I could effectively raise the front of the wing on the heavyside be extending the front strut? Are there any specific instructions for doingthis in the plans? I was concerned with stressing the wing. Thanks.Read this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ___Subject: Pietenpol-List: Re: Wing Heavy

Original Posted By: Peter Johnson
Like Grandpa used to say, "do it right the first time and you won't have to doit again". So don't go turning the fork ends or adjusting anything without havinga plan, or you may end up making things worse ;o)You can spend about an hour in the hangar taking some simple measurements thatwill tell you a lot about how the wing is rigged, and you won't have to changeany of the current rigging to find out what you've got. What you need is a penciland piece of paper, a level, and a straightedge that's about 5 feet long(the wing chord is 60" and you need something stiff and straight that will spanthe wing chord). A straight stick or board will do, so will a mop handle,a piece of tubing or pipe, or anything similar if it's the right length. If you'regoing to measure the wing washout, you might as well take the time to levelthe airplane so you won't have to be adding and subtracting angles and decimaldegrees to find out what you want to know, which is the wing washout (differencein angle of incidence from wing root to wing tip). If you start withthe fuselage level at "zero", all the readings you take can be recorded directlyand you'll know your wing incidence.Secure the aircraft systems (fuel off, mags off) and chock the wheels. Raise thetail onto something steady and block it up till the aircraft is in the levelattitude. Using your level, measure the top longeron to make sure it is level.You can use a bubble level, but a digital level is better. I just downloadeda combination bubble and digital level app for iPhone for free and it looksvery accurate. You could use something like that and get very accurate readingsin seconds, and of course a bubble level won't give you a readout in degrees;o) Harbor Freight also has a very handy angle finder for $4.99 (their partno. 34214) that is reasonably accurate and also has a magnetic side to itso you can stick it to metal tubing or surfaces to measure their angles. Accurateto about 1/2 degree.With the aircraft level and steady, take your straightedge and place it acrossthe bottom of one wing at the root. Put your level on the straightedge and readthe angle, then record it. Move outboard about 6-1/2 feet and measure andrecord your reading there. Outboard from there you have aileron to deal withbut it's pretty important to get a good reading out near the wingtip to see whatthe angle of incidence is out there. You should secure the control stick withthe seatbelt to hold the ailerons level and measure the incidence out at thetip and record that value.Repeat this for the other wing and then sit down to figure out what you've got.There is no hurry, and you want to think about what you're looking at beforeyou go tweaking the wing brace cables or adjusting the fork ends. Piets beingwhat they are, your airplane won't hurry you or go anywhere while you do yourfiguring, so take your time.The first thing to look at is if either of your wings has any washout rigged intoit at all. Some builders rig them flat and square with little or no washoutand little or no dihedral... just the 2" of incidence that results from thefront cabanes being longer than the rear ones. When you look at the wing incidencefrom root to tip, you should be seeing decreasing angles because you wantthe root to stall before the tip does and that means the root should be at agreater angle of incidence and the tip should be less, or the angle should be"washed out" as you go outboard from the root. You probably will not find "washin".The next thing to look at is the difference in wing incidence between port andstarboard wings. If you see numbers that are more than a degree or two off betweenthe same stations on opposite wings, you may have found the source of thewing heaviness. Don't go changing anything yet though. Once you take thesefew simple measurements, there are plenty of people on this list who know whatthe numbers should look like and can tell you the simplest way to adjust thingsto get your airplane back in rig. If you need to start tweaking the liftstruts and forks, there are some helpful tips you should know but now is not thetime... you need to check a few things first and then see what you've got.Work through this the right way and your airplane should fly level in cruise,in smooth air, without a heavy wing. Let us know what you find when you checkthe ailerons left and right with the stick centered and secured in place.--------Oscar ZunigaMedford, ORAir Camper NX41CC "Scout"A75 powerRead this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... ______Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2015 19:13:24 +1100Subject: Re: Pietenpol-List: Re: Wing Heavy

Original Posted By: "Jack Philips"
Just a thought of leveling. When I built my plane I was never satisfied with the accuracy of the digital levelsthat didn't cost $$$$ when it came to leveling the longerons. After digging a bit I found out about using a single vessel water level. It allowed me to walk all through the garage leveling the fuselage easily fromfrom to rear. That is some where around a 15ft. stretch. If you use a metric scale for matching heights front to rear, the value of 1mmover 15ft or even 6ft is extremely accurate. I'm sure you can do the math. Just a thought!No I'm not nuts. Rich Zenith 601XLFlying soon!Read this topic online here:http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.p ... __________

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
Also check to see if the wings are square with the fuselage. Measure thedistance from the tailpost to the wingtip on each side. They should be thesame, within 1/16".Jack PhillipsNX899JPSmith Mountain Lake, Virginia-----Original Message-----