Search found 637 matches

by taildrags
Sun Mar 24, 2024 10:39 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

Seeing no other attaboy posted here yet, I'll raise my voice with one. Nice work, Richard! And with the simplest of tools, too. Carry on...

-Oscar
by taildrags
Tue Mar 19, 2024 11:21 am
Forum: Classified Ads
Topic: Incomplete Air Camper for sale
Replies: 1
Views: 79

Re: Incomplete Air Camper for sale

Just a comment: it appears to have a different airfoil than the Pietenpol, but since the wings aren't built yet, that's really not a factor.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
by taildrags
Fri Mar 08, 2024 11:32 am
Forum: Photo Section
Topic: N825GR
Replies: 2
Views: 78

Re: N825GR

Excellent! A new Air Camper joins the fleet! Congratulations!

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
by taildrags
Tue Mar 05, 2024 10:48 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

"The repair area". I like that ;o)

-Oscar
by taildrags
Sun Mar 03, 2024 11:36 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

What a patient and loving endeavor, Richard. The Pietenpol community will owe you a lot for preserving this piece of Air Camper history alive and flying. What an excellent fellow you are for doing this for Ken, for the Pietenpol family, for the aviation community as a whole. You could have just chuc...
by taildrags
Sun Mar 03, 2024 11:32 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: West coast Piet
Replies: 6
Views: 123

Re: West coast Piet

Please! Oh, please let us keep this site going! I go to that sandbox to play every week; sometimes every day!

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
by taildrags
Mon Feb 26, 2024 11:18 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

I see you've got the patient under sedation on the operating table now, Richard. The cuts will be painful to make, but the broken bones and dead skin have to be cut away before new stuff can be grafted in. My Piet's damage wasn't as extensive as yours, but it was every bit as painful for me to cut, ...
by taildrags
Tue Feb 20, 2024 4:22 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Are there two Corvair engine mount versions?
Replies: 4
Views: 727

Re: Are there two Corvair engine mount versions?

Earl; that's the reason I asked to see better pics but I didn't want to misjudge something without evidence.

-Oscar
by taildrags
Sun Feb 18, 2024 6:43 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Are there two Corvair engine mount versions?
Replies: 4
Views: 727

Re: Are there two Corvair engine mount versions?

The mount in the picture is the William Wynne version that incorporates a 'tray' that carries the engine, while the one in the plans uses tubes, as you mentioned. The Wynne (Flycorvair) mount is excellent and is flight-proven. If you get a photo of it, we can positively identify it because there may...
by taildrags
Sun Feb 18, 2024 6:36 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Rudder Hinge Bolts instead of screws?
Replies: 6
Views: 179

Re: Rudder Hinge Bolts instead of screws?

Nutplates attach to wood with either one or two small screws, depending on the style of nutplate. Might as well use the ones that take two screws and you'll never have to do it again.

-Oscar
by taildrags
Fri Feb 16, 2024 3:58 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

I know, right Larry? Built-up spar with plywood webs and lightening holes... nice job, and interesting. The airfoil isn't a stock Piet and the spars look deeper than a Piet's, but the concept is good just the same.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
by taildrags
Tue Feb 13, 2024 10:47 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Ford A Cylinder Head ID
Replies: 1
Views: 67

Re: Ford A Cylinder Head ID

Plenty of Ford people in this group. I'm sure someone will chime in.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
by taildrags
Mon Feb 12, 2024 3:35 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Rudder Hinge Bolts instead of screws?
Replies: 6
Views: 179

Re: Rudder Hinge Bolts instead of screws?

I generally see nutplates attached to the backside of the wood that the hinges are attached to, with machine screws going into the nutplates. There isn't anything saying you can't use bolts with nylocks to attach the hinges, but they will weigh more than the nutplate/machine screw combinations and y...
by taildrags
Wed Feb 07, 2024 10:27 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Intro
Replies: 36
Views: 1611

Re: Intro

About not being able to resist gluing some things together, I was going to reply with "OK, but just don't let it become a habit!"

-Oscar
by taildrags
Tue Jan 30, 2024 11:01 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Front Fuel tank
Replies: 5
Views: 1560

Re: Front Fuel tank

nose_tank.jpg
by taildrags
Tue Jan 30, 2024 11:01 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Front Fuel tank
Replies: 5
Views: 1560

Re: Front Fuel tank

I don't know about a Cub tank but here's what the conventional front-mounted tank looks like. Mine holds about 16 gallons so you can see that with just the curved top part, you could get your 5 gallon capacity. The Grega GN-1 was designed to use quite a few Piper parts, so looking through the GN-1 p...
by taildrags
Sun Jan 28, 2024 11:06 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

Richard, this part is really where the loving care comes in. Mending the bones, one broken piece at a time. Rebuilding the frame; truing it up, squaring things off, scarfing, gussetting, patient reassembly. It's like rehab after a terrible car accident, but one where you know you'll walk again. Four...
by taildrags
Sat Jan 27, 2024 12:38 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Twist in Horizontal Stab
Replies: 5
Views: 577

Re: Twist in Horizontal Stab

I don't know if it's poor practice or not, but I've done it before. I've also soaked a bent or twisted piece in water, removed it, and then jigged it up on the table using weights and other means to apply corrective measures while it's wet. I then let it dry and reapply correction as needed till it'...
by taildrags
Fri Jan 26, 2024 5:31 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Jury strut fittings
Replies: 4
Views: 571

Re: Jury strut fittings

I think there is agreement in saying that the jury struts should not intersect the lift struts in the middle, mainly because that just looks too much like something that could set up a harmonic vibration. Other than that, just look at photos of other Piets to see where others have placed them, espec...
by taildrags
Sun Jan 21, 2024 11:06 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Gascolator Installation
Replies: 6
Views: 729

Re: Gascolator Installation

I had the same concern so I used the braid-shielded fuel line material with AN hose fittings on both ends to make it as robust as possible. However, on my plane the penetration through the firewall is around mid-firewall where the passenger's feet would be on either side of it. This is with a tank u...
by taildrags
Sun Jan 14, 2024 11:51 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: tail wheel steering vs castering
Replies: 30
Views: 1745

Re: tail wheel steering vs castering

Bob; I'm currently building a single-place high-wing experimental with a VW engine. For visibility, you might like the paint scheme that I'm planning to use on it.

-Oscar
colorsch.JPG
by taildrags
Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:41 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: tail wheel steering vs castering
Replies: 30
Views: 1745

Re: tail wheel steering vs castering

But... but... I LOVE green and silver paint schemes! Steve Eldredge's is a classic example.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
SteveEpietenpol.jpg
by taildrags
Mon Jan 08, 2024 3:06 pm
Forum: Classified Ads
Topic: Parts for sale
Replies: 7
Views: 688

Re: Parts for sale

OK, thanks.

-Oscar
by taildrags
Sun Jan 07, 2024 11:31 pm
Forum: Classified Ads
Topic: Parts for sale
Replies: 7
Views: 688

Re: Parts for sale

I am more interested in the pedals in the cockpit than in the brakes themselves.

-Oscar
by taildrags
Sun Jan 07, 2024 5:32 pm
Forum: Classified Ads
Topic: Parts for sale
Replies: 7
Views: 688

Re: Parts for sale

Just what I'm looking for. Any photos?

-Oscar
by taildrags
Sun Jan 07, 2024 12:59 pm
Forum: Classified Ads
Topic: Parts for sale
Replies: 7
Views: 688

Re: Parts for sale

Does it happen to have heel brakes? If so, what do the actuators look like?

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
by taildrags
Fri Jan 05, 2024 11:11 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Piet with geodetic wing
Replies: 4
Views: 301

Re: Piet with geodetic wing

Ken, speaking from personal experience, it's not unusual for someone who favors a certain technique or tool to try adapting it to other uses. For some examples, I've fiddled with the notion of aluminum ribs instead of stick-built ones for the Piet and others have fiddled with aluminum wing spars for...
by taildrags
Fri Dec 29, 2023 10:28 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Heel Brakes
Replies: 23
Views: 4630

Re: Heel Brakes

Ken; I'm with you. My first supervised solo was in a Cub with heel brakes operating the old expander tube actuators, which provided sufficient braking power on the grass strip that I was operating off of in the low-powered Cub. I didn't even have to think when it came time to apply braking... just d...
by taildrags
Sun Dec 17, 2023 11:29 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Flop
Replies: 9
Views: 527

Re: Flop

Richard's point about the flop lying flat on top of the wing is not only useful, it's important. The hinge on my flop wasn't properly placed when it was installed and I'm too lazy to mess with it, but in short, it doesn't provide enough swing for the flop to go all the way forward to lie flat on top...
by taildrags
Sun Dec 17, 2023 3:54 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Flop
Replies: 9
Views: 527

Re: Flop

Chuck; a couple of photos of the setup on my plane are attached. It's just as you describe, with a false spar aft of the centersection aft spar, and mine has numerous openings in it for access to the aileron connecting cable that crosses through the space between the aft spar and the false spar. I f...
by taildrags
Fri Dec 15, 2023 3:25 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Intro
Replies: 36
Views: 1611

Re: Intro

The wing root ribs are set in from the butt ends of the outer wing panels by 1/2".

-OZ
by taildrags
Fri Dec 15, 2023 3:24 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Intro
Replies: 36
Views: 1611

Re: Intro

From the 3-piece wing plans, the centersection spars are 29" from butt to butt and the inboard ribs are 25-1/4" between their outer faces, so each rib is set inboard 1-7/8" from the spar ends.

-Oscar
by taildrags
Thu Dec 07, 2023 11:01 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: cockpit covers
Replies: 21
Views: 2332

Re: cockpit covers

Nice job of color selection, very nice installation of the fasteners, and the cover looks nice and taut. Let's have a PIREP once you fly it!

-Oscar
by taildrags
Mon Nov 27, 2023 10:41 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Larger centre section
Replies: 4
Views: 332

Re: Larger centre section

Here's Douwe's:
Douwe.jpg
by taildrags
Mon Nov 27, 2023 10:38 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Gussets
Replies: 2
Views: 463

Re: Gussets

In my opinion, if no dimensions are given for gussets in a specific location (or in general), then "close enough is good enough" and an eyeball estimate will work when it comes to constructing this airplane. And recognize that there are variations on the same theme. For example, some build...
by taildrags
Sun Nov 26, 2023 1:17 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: cockpit covers
Replies: 21
Views: 2332

Re: cockpit covers

PIREP: my first experience flying in cold temps with the new cockpit cover (thank you, Ken Bickers for the construction tips!). My report: talk about a world of difference! For me and my plane anyway, having the front cockpit covered during taxi and in flight made a tremendous difference in my comfo...
by taildrags
Sun Nov 26, 2023 1:05 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Larger centre section
Replies: 4
Views: 332

Re: Larger centre section

Zoomboy: if you'll scroll down through the topics on this forum, you'll find posts under "Tiger Moth style tank" or something like that. Several builders (Douwe Blumberg; Kevin Purtee) have bumped up the top of their centersection tanks to get increased fuel capacity. Douwe reported that h...
by taildrags
Wed Nov 15, 2023 11:13 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

Sorry to hear about your wife, Richard. Hate when that happens... hope she gets better and can go home. This is our first November 15th without my mother-in-law. It was her birthday today and she would have been 94. She, too, lived independently in the same house she had lived in since about 1950. S...
by taildrags
Sun Nov 12, 2023 5:06 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Aileron hinge pin
Replies: 12
Views: 543

Re: Aileron hinge pin

Chuck; thanks for the photo of the cottered hinge pin. Yeah, that's gotta be a 1/16" hole and those usually cost me a few drill bits when I make the attempt to drill them, especially if I can't use the drill press. Wrong feed and/or wrong speed, and -snap!- bye bye drill bit. Also, those hinge ...
by taildrags
Wed Nov 08, 2023 5:29 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Aileron hinge pin
Replies: 12
Views: 543

Re: Aileron hinge pin

PS, I think when my plane is sitting idle in the dead of winter this winter, I'll get a drill block, pull off the ailerons to get to that half of the hinge, and go look at how Cessnas are drilled and drill mine for small cotter pins or safety wire.

-Oscar
by taildrags
Wed Nov 08, 2023 5:25 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Aileron hinge pin
Replies: 12
Views: 543

Re: Aileron hinge pin

Bobbyt; I ran out to the hangar to look at the aileron hinges on my plane. Let's see how I can put this. There used to be a TV commercial for women's brassieres, the main feature of which was "there's no visible means of support". Such is the case with my full-span aileron hinges :) The in...
by taildrags
Wed Nov 08, 2023 12:13 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Digital Instruments
Replies: 6
Views: 391

Re: Digital Instruments

JimBob, I have not thought about that for my Piet and am not planning to do that on the plane that I'm building- but those are nifty instruments and why not use them on a Piet? I've thought about (and written about, in the BPA Newsletter) some concepts for using newer construction techniques for thi...
by taildrags
Tue Nov 07, 2023 10:49 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Aileron hinge pin
Replies: 12
Views: 543

Re: Aileron hinge pin

Boy, now you've got me wondering how my aileron hinges are set up. I've got piano hinges all right, but my assumption is that there is only one way in or out for the hinge pin... from the wingtip end. I'll have to look to see how mine are done.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
by taildrags
Sat Nov 04, 2023 12:48 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Intro
Replies: 36
Views: 1611

Re: Intro

Shoot. I had an excellent opportunity of providing you with a data point when I recently changed out the vibration isolators on my A75's engine mount. I had the engine hanging from my hoist, free of the mounts but with virtually everything including the wood prop still connected to it and in place e...
by taildrags
Thu Oct 26, 2023 11:20 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

Richard; perfect! Getting the fuselage up onto a bench or table at waist height will provide just about the best working condition until you need to start fitting the landing gear and the plane needs to be just a bit higher (top longerons at about chest height). My Piet was on a table and sawhorse f...
by taildrags
Mon Oct 23, 2023 3:47 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: tail wheel steering vs castering
Replies: 30
Views: 1745

Re: tail wheel steering vs castering

Richard, I'm not sure what those are or where the builder got them from, but they're used in several places throughout the airplane. They are stainless steel. I've never had an inspector mention anything about them and I assume that the builder's FAA designee didn't either, but I have replaced them ...
by taildrags
Sun Oct 22, 2023 6:39 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: N34KP's rebuild
Replies: 43
Views: 1614

Re: N34KP's rebuild

Okay! Great progress since taking the wing out of the picture gets about half the workspace freed up but as you said, still leaves the wing where you can measure and examine.

-Oscar
by taildrags
Sun Oct 22, 2023 5:47 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: tail wheel steering vs castering
Replies: 30
Views: 1745

Re: tail wheel steering vs castering

One more shot; this one looking into the spring bracket from behind. It is made up of several pieces and you can see that the two 'ears' that are bent up were going to be through-bolted but I guess Corky felt that the vertical bolt from underneath was plenty since there have never been fasteners in ...
by taildrags
Sun Oct 22, 2023 5:34 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: tail wheel steering vs castering
Replies: 30
Views: 1745

Re: tail wheel steering vs castering

Mark; see photos. First one is a side view of pretty much the whole setup and you can see that the front end of the tailspring shares a mounting point with the bracket where the lower tail brace wires attach on both sides of the underside of the tail. If I understand Ken correctly, that's the weak p...
by taildrags
Sun Oct 22, 2023 12:12 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: tail wheel steering vs castering
Replies: 30
Views: 1745

Re: tail wheel steering vs castering

Mark; I've got the leaf spring and Matco setup and will take some photos to post here, maybe add a sketch. You mention Super Cubs, I really enjoyed the time that I was able to spend in a Super Cub up here in Oregon. Flew it every chance I could. It was owned by one of the co-owners of a local FBO an...