Brodhead Pietenpol Association

KenBickers

In my experience, building the basic structure consumes well under half the total time. Fabric covering, painting, welding up an engine mount, preparing an engine, installing all the firewall forward bits, fabricating cowlings and nosebowl, running wiring, making cables (and cables and cables), fabb...

KenBickers

Sean, all of the fabric products are exactly the same whether using Stits Polyfiber or Stewarts. The difference is entirely in the various "wet" products. The sticker prices are roughly comparable between the two. Stewart has an edge in overall cost as none of the items is considered hazar...

KenBickers

Sean, I used the Helmsman Spar Varnish, as well. The issue with varnish is not really which type will work. I suspect that any decent varnish will do the job of protecting the wood. The issue is what you will eventually use for your covering system. If you later opt to use the Stits Polyfiber sytem,...

KenBickers

Yep, what Earl said. Varnish wood before placing metal fittings against it. Ken

KenBickers

Oscar,

I hear you about the pretzelling required to work under the front instrument panel. Still, I think I'll take my chances with a bit of country western. Egress by rap might lead to even worse damage than what I'm trying to fix.

Wish me luck, Ken

KenBickers

Tom, Thanks for this information. It appears that over several years, the 100LL slowly dissolved enough of the EZ Turn to allow it to weep its way along the threads. Were it not for the blue dye in 100LL, I doubt I would ever know it was leaking. My source tells me that Loctite 565 should work just ...

KenBickers

Folks, This is a pirep on fuel sealants. About 4 years ago, I had my fuel tank out and reinstalled it with EZ Turn Lubricant at each of the threaded joints. With winter temps, the Piet has been mostly sitting the past several months. As I began the condition inspection, I discovered slow weeping of ...

KenBickers

My connecting rod is on the left, per plans. I've never noticed that I had less aileron turning left versus right. I will say that, at least in my Piet, aileron, not rudder, is the limiting factor in cross-wind landings. So maybe there is some slight difference that a better pilot than me might be a...

KenBickers

I'm using streamlined aluminum for my jury struts. The aluminum was purchased, along with larger streamlined aluminum for the diagonal struts, from Carlson's. The jury struts are approx. 1 1/8" by 3/8". The horizontal spreader strut is round aluminum 0.5" dia x 0.060 wall thickness. C...

KenBickers

It has been several years since I covered my Piet, so my recollection of the steps is a bit fuzzy. What isn't fuzzy is how much I preferred the Stewart System compared to the Stits Polyfiber system. My recollection is that after fabric is glued to wood and tapes are glued over all places where addit...

KenBickers

The trick I learned was to punch the holes with a pencil. That leaves a darkened ring around the holes that is easy to see. When the tapes are applied, the pencil lead that surrounded each hole is no longer visible. Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Looks great! I did exactly the same with a few intercostals in my wing panels to give the cross-brace cables clearance. Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Oscar, smoke would alert the Hun to our position. Surprise is essential -- rule number one of Dicta Boelcke. As our French brothers on the Western Front might say, bonne chance, Ken

KenBickers

Oscar, it's all in the visualization. With Rick's Corvair and my O-200, we'll be cranking along at nearly .1 mach. We'll sweep down out of the eastern sky with the sun behind us, followed by a daring low level pass, maybe two or even three. It will be a sight to remember. For generations to come peo...

KenBickers

Interesting article, Rick. Thanks for posting.

I'm definitely going to head down your way in my Piet this spring, maybe in conjunction with one of the monthly pancake breakfasts at Kiowa. We should plan to meet up for a two ship mass arrival.

Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

I used streamlined 4130 steel for my cabane struts and Carlson's extruded aluminum struts for my diagonal struts. Were I to do it again, I'd use the extruded aluminum for both. The streamlined 4130 steel is quite expensive, but as it happened I already had some on hand. The aluminum is quite a bit l...

KenBickers

Richard, restrictors might be prudent. You might wait, though, until you've had a chance to do some ground testing. Depending on the mechanical advantage (or lack thereof) of the pedal assembly, you may find that things are okay without adding additional bits to the braking system. Good luck with th...

KenBickers

Oscar, I wondered where I got the idea to use the U-bolt. I owe you appropriate citation! As it happens, I've never used it. I have removable shoulder and lap harnesses, which I keep in the forward glove box. I rarely fly when the density altitude is below 6000'. Typically it is much higher than tha...

KenBickers

Oscar, Agreed. I tried a bunch of places on the panel and never found a spot without significant impacts on the compass. Under the wing, it hasn't been a problem. I did move it forward an inch or three so that it would not be over the aileron cables. It is actually easier to read when set a little b...

KenBickers

Oscar, here's another view of the compass and its box (pre-paint).

Note: I removed the center section tank as part of weight savings plan. I've never missed it, as the nose tank has greater duration than my backside does.

Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Oscar, I used a compass that is sold for marine applications. It handles turbulence well. Here's a pic of it. Lots of changes between that picture and the finished airplane, but the compass and its box have worked well as originally installed. Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

You may find that the epoxy is hard to mix if the temps in the tent are too low. The hardener, in particular, seems to get very thick when temps are low. So a heater may be essential for you to work with the epoxy. If convenient, you might keep the epoxy and hardener in your home, as they can take q...

KenBickers

Pbcyfly,

Where are you located? That may make a difference to how the question is answered.

Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Oscar, I'm pretty sure that came from the aviation aisle at Home Depot. I've found lots of certified-ish items there.

Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Oscar, I used the braided nylon hose as conduit for the wires from FWF to run up to the aft instrument pod. Not visible from the top-down photo is a small hole drilled in the hose at the low point when the airplane is sitting on the ground to act as a drain for any rainwater that might find its way ...

KenBickers

Richard, Like the heel brakes described by Barrett, mine are located under the front pax seat. I used Airheart small master cylinders. I designed mine to as flag pole levers. The attached photo shows them from above with the front seat removed. They are never in the way in flight. I have to pull my ...

KenBickers

Mike, I have the split axle as drawn on the plans. Measured center line to center line, the spacing between the tires is 58.5". Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Shoulder harnesses too, I hope.

KenBickers

I too had a rabbeted recess. Hopefully you'll be able to see in the picture that, while the gussets lie flush, the capstrip doesn't quite fit flush in the rabbet. I used a hand plane and sanding block to feather the capstrips in so that there would not be an abrupt step for the fabric to negotiate. ...

KenBickers

Very nice! These will make all of the next steps easier.

Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Oscar, I suspect the V speeds may vary a bit across Piets. Recall mine has an extra 18" of wingspan (9" per side). I found glide and climb tests to be lots of fun. They also helped sharpen my flying skills. For each test, I set up the glide a couple hundred feet above 7000' and would glide...

KenBickers

I used Lowry's Bootstrap Approach to Aircraft Performance when doing my Phase One testing of NX313KB. I highly recommend this resource. I found the best glide (Vbg) to be 57 mph. The glide ratio at that speed is 7.8 to 1. You can find documentation of these flight tests under the "Files" t...

KenBickers

You'll want inspection holes for places that need to be lubed or inspected annually. You may also want to glue in, during your original covering job, inspection rings and doilies in several places that might need to be opened for a future repair. For example, my pitot tube goes through the leading e...

KenBickers

John, Your 3/16" is correct. Blame it on a senior moment or just a wrinkle in the math multiplication universe. Are those the same thing, anyway? Yes, if you route out 3/16" from each side of the T-beam you will have removed a total of 3/8". That will give you a T that is 5/8" on...

KenBickers

John, Those are the dimensions that I used. It all begins to make sense when you start assembly the pieces. You end up with a bit of contour to the horizontal stabilizer. The handwritten 3/16" on the main beam is not quite right. Each of the sides of the main beam should be routed down 3/32&quo...

KenBickers

Here's how I handled the outboard wing rotator. I drilled a hole through the wing bow where the weight was approximately balanced and then installed a T-Nut on the inner face of the wing bow. I inserted a threaded rod from the wing to the rotator stand. A picture will make this clearer. Later, when ...

KenBickers

Dave, I'm impressed with your wing stands. I'm puzzled, though, how you are going to do the fabric covering on the outboard ends. Maybe you've got that figured out. I'm curious: how are you planning to do that? Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Welcome Matt. You may have already heard this, but you should try to make it to Brodhead, Wisconsin, this summer for the annual Pietenpol fly-in. It occurs every year on the Thursday-Sunday morning, just prior to EAA AirVenture. Bring a camera, maybe a notepad, and lots of questions. Also, pickup th...

KenBickers

Mike, I suspect that using the same measurements above the ply floor as in the wood fuselage plans will work. Just a guess, mind you. My piet is wood, not steel. Good luck, Ken

KenBickers

Dave, here (I hope) are a couple of pics of the rotisserie that I used when covering and painting my wings. I can dig up more pics, if desired. Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

I fly with prescription bifocal goggles. I ordered mine from ClassicGoggles.com. The goggles come with a variety of lens colors (I prefer the clear lenses). The prescription part is a small oval piece that sits just aft of the lenses in a slot built into the goggles. Your optometrist or ophthalmolog...

KenBickers

Tom, how about a progress report or some pictures? Nothing like some atta-boys to get things moving again. Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Joshua, I completed my Piet in 2017 and am based in Longmont (KLMO). Mine is O-200 powered. Also, Rick Holland built and flies a Corvair powered Piet. His is based at Meadowlake (KFLY). I am generally around the airport on weekends and the occasional evening. Send me a note if you'd like to come see...

KenBickers

Dan, I like how you have your panel laid out. I found doing mine that some of the instruments interfered with the aileron cables. I had to do some swapping about for the cables to have clear access. I put my compass on the underside of the center section, like you have yours. That wasn't my first pl...

KenBickers

Those parts look beautiful. But how much fun you'd be giving up by buying them. I cut all of my metal fittings with a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder, cleaned up with a bench grinder and sander. I didn't have (or need) a band saw. I enjoyed the process of making those parts. I also knew if I screwed one up...

KenBickers

Brian, I welded all my control horns using oxy-acetylene. I'm a rank amateur at welding. I think they turned out looking just fine, especially when viewed from at least 5 feet away. The key for me was using the smallest tip I had, which if my memory is correct was a size 0, and keeping the flame adj...

KenBickers

Arnold, the first step is to acquire the plans from the Pietenpol family. There is a link on the homepage of this website. Second step is to start making sawdust. (In between first and second step is to buy some sitka spruce. Most folks start with ribs. Those give you with minimal investment a sense...

KenBickers

On mine, I applied a piece of 4" Ceconite tape along the length of the gap, which was then masked and painted (using a small paint roller) to match the wings and center section. I did have to remove the wings a few years ago. To do that, I applied a sharp knife to the tape along the gaps. When ...

KenBickers

TonyP, I now have a split gear with the wire wheels on my Piet. Previously I had the solid axle, wood gear on it. I used 1/2" shock cord, with three wraps over the axle in-board and outboard of the wooden gear leg horizontal member. If memory serves, that took something like 5 feet of shock cor...

KenBickers

Oscar, I too saw this "helpful hint". One of the old-timers, when I was early in my Pietenpol build, showed me a much, MUCH, easier way of holding all the pieces together when making cables. Lowes, Home Depot, and other supply houses sell "copper split bolts" under a variety of b...

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