Brodhead Pietenpol Association

taildrags

Careful... I see you've got that plane inverted. Note that the Air Camper is Normal category and only good for negative 1.52 G ;o)

-Oscar Z.

taildrags

Looks mighty purty ;o)

-Oscar

taildrags

I misspoke... it's Edensaw Woods.

-OZ

taildrags

Stroid: you are ideally located for this. Try Edensaw Lumber in Tacoma. Every report I've heard or seen on this list regarding their products and service have been A-1.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power

taildrags

Varmint: email me at taildrags@hotmail.com and I'll share those articles with you.

-Oscar

taildrags

Now, see-? THIS is the value of these groups! Meet other builders and pilots, ask questions, share ideas, "harvest" tips and tricks from others, and network/connect. Although I had been flying for 30 years when this happened, I never gave the Air Camper a thought until the day I met Ernie ...

taildrags

The writeup by Mike Shuck is exactly what I was referring to. Mike moderated the Airfoil group on Yahoo Groups and that's where I first read his excellent writings. I know exactly where he is, a family medical practitioner in Wichita Kansas, but I also know that he's a busy guy and that he copyright...

taildrags

Varmint; I've got a bit of information on the analysis of the airfoil, published some years ago on the 'Airfoil' list on Yahoo Groups (now gone). I'll see what I can dig up. For determining the load distribution between the front and rear spars I used Evans's Lightplane Designer's Handbook (2nd Ed.)...

taildrags

JimV, plenty of Piet builders and pilots around your area of the state. You should try to connect with someone who is building or flying one and get a better idea of what the Piet is like. PS, I took my Private checkride at David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (KDWH), in the Houston area. Old time exa...

taildrags

Well, I'm just a few months away from turning 70 and my insurance (on my Air Camper, with Falcon) renews in October so I guess I'll find out if age after 70 makes a difference when I get my quote for next year's coverage. For the last 10 years I've paid just about a dollar a day for liability covera...

taildrags

You're correct that there are a number of places on the Air Camper which if you build as per dimensions on the plans, may 'trap' either the bolt head or the nut (or both) when you install the part or install another fastener that faces that one. I have a couple of places on my airplane where I wish ...

taildrags

OK. It's the alcohol blended autofuels that can cause problems. Sounds like you're all over it!

-Oscar

taildrags

Which epoxy resin did you use on the fuel tank? Do you plan to run auto gas?

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power, avgas

taildrags

PJ, I'm not sure what the question is. If you're referring to the very simple bent metal tabs that the brace wires attach to, there's not much to them. As with all of these details, you can get a lot of verification of your questions or doubts by looking at what others have done, most notably by vis...

taildrags

PoconoJohn; it's OK. 60 is the new "midlife" anyway ;o)

-Oscar

taildrags

What happens when you turn 65? Do your wings melt and fall off? ;o) That milestone has been in my rear-view mirror for almost 5 years now and I'm still flying my Piet. Some people enjoy the build process almost as much as the flying and feel a bit empty once they finish building. It sure seems like ...

taildrags

Ken; smell and sensitivity are BIG factors to consider as we build our airplanes and engines, and some people are extremely put off due to one or both of those. My wife is very sensitive to odors and although that was not my primary consideration when I elected to use Aeropoxy to construct my little...

taildrags

The woodworkers in this group can provide you with the most sage advice on which varnish would be best in this application, and there are some real pros around here. What I have used on my airplane (which I did not build; only have had to varnish additions, repairs, and miscellaneous woodwork on it)...

taildrags

Ken; great info, since I am using EZ Turn on my threaded fuel fittings too. I'll keep an eye on those until the next time I feel like twisting myself into a pretzel again, when I might just get back down there under the fuel tank and pull my assembly of fuel fittings apart to clean them up and re-do...

taildrags

Tom Kreiner saved me the trouble of making a run out to the airport to check the stick travel on 41CC. He pulled up an email from back in 2017 where I had already done that... sat in the plane and pushed the stick left and right as far as I could, and I surprised myself to find out that with my knee...

taildrags

I'll have to go sit in the airplane and throw the stick fully across from side to side to refresh my recollection on this. I installed some small aluminum discs on the floor where the ends of the aileron bellcrank touch, so those would show some dimples if they've been tapped often enough. I have pu...

taildrags

Dana: sometimes the solution is right in front of our eyes but we can't see it! Great idea.

-Oscar

taildrags

JimBob; this has come up before and is not a new issue. My airplane has a half-round notch taken out of the side you're referring to, and I think others have done that as well. See pic.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power

taildrags

Chris; what, specifically, are you looking for? A flying Air Camper, or a project? Are you looking for something without an engine? A bit more detail would help.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power

taildrags

Just checked the jury struts on my airplane (which I didn't build). The verticals are 1/2" OD steel tubing, while the horizontal connector between the verticals is 3/8" OD.

-Oscar

taildrags

I'll be at the hangar sometime today and will put the calipers on the jury struts on 41CC to at least get you the OD of mine.

-Oscar

taildrags

Buddy; here you have one of the flagship Air Campers in the fleet... Mike Cuy's beautiful airplane. See if you can tell what size tubing his jury struts are, but they sure don't look anything like 3/4"!

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power

taildrags

Spark6, I agree 100% with your assessment of the situations where this could be a problem, and I suspect that anyone who operates a simple experimental like ours out of a field that is located like yours is, knows that they are limited by their location and what they need to legally fly in and out. ...

taildrags

rightforlineup- would you please explain that statement? As I read FAR 91.225, ADS-B Out capability is only required when operating in Class A, B, or C airspace, within Class E airspace when at or above 10,000 MSL (except when at or below 2,500 AGL, within 30 NM of a Class B airport... the Mode C ve...

taildrags

In my opinion, the plywood floor in the centersection is a good and useful thing, but not for structural reasons. Going back to the 1932 Flying & Glider Manual, the wing was one-piece and that plywood is called out as 1/16" thick "for supporting tank and bracing center section". S...

taildrags

Looking good! Progress photos are good for those who might be considering the same setup.

-Oscar

taildrags

Sorry, Varmint... I'm not a steel guy and I don't weld, but I do know that the steel tube fuselage has been successfully employed by builders for many years and is said to be lighter that the wood fuselage. Others will have to chime in here, like Terry Hand, who is building his Piet with a steel tub...

taildrags

I don't have personal experience, but an A&P friend of mine has the following comments about it -Oscar I've heard of both methods and can't say that I have a preference of one over the other. While I have "supervised" and done the paperwork for two recovers with Stewart system, I have ...

taildrags

Pat; the first of January is 8 days from now. Does that give you enough time to put together the upcoming edition if we submit something in the next few days?

-Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR

taildrags

Ken: that's even easier, yes!

-OZ

taildrags

Melting tiny holes in the fabric where each stitch enters and exits makes it much easier to hit the right spot with the needle, and it's easier to push through. Your tapes cover the stitching and the holes anyway. Worth experimenting with, if you haven't tried it.

-Oscar

taildrags

Did you do the little soldering iron trick where you touch the tip of a soldering pen to the fabric where each hole will go? I can't tell from the photos. The largest thing I've covered has been my vertical stabilizer when I made repairs on it, and that little trick made it much easier to hit the ho...

taildrags

Well, I'm not on the Western Front but I am on the West Coast. And I speak some French and really like French fries. I also own a white scarf and goggles. I quit smoking in 1973 but maybe somebody will let me fly in their escadrille...

-OZ

taildrags

Oh, what a stirring sight, to be sure! Will there be smoke?

-OZ

taildrags

Ken, I'm having trouble visualizing "a two-ship mass arrival" of Air Campers

-Oscar

taildrags

Varmint; You're confusing my responses with those of Richard Roller. Notice the registration numbers of his airplane, N34KP. See those last two letters? Richard now owns and flies the Piet that belonged to Ken Perkins! That is a very interesting "circling around to where it started"! About...

taildrags

Varmint; I guess your initial question still hasn't been answered... are the cabane struts the same size material as the wing lift struts? My answer, based on the forces that they see, is "no". But just going back to the 1932 Air Camper plans and looking at the relative sizes of those in t...

taildrags

Hey Barrett, check this out. "Dan" in Texas emailed me with this nifty idea, premanufactured parts, not expensive, might give you some ideas. From Dan: American Champion Aircraft part number 1-9971 grommet. As measured = 120mm X 47mm a.k.a 4 11/16" X 1 14/16". $9.71 each. 91 in s...

taildrags

Well, you're right... I snooped around on the net looking for fairings, fairleads, and all sorts of other keywords and didn't find anything like what you describe either. But hey, if you've got all winter to mess with it, and probably not that many parts to make, why not try making your own? You can...

taildrags

Richard; the picture is only upside-down in the preview. If you click on the image to open it, it comes out right-side up.

-Oscar

taildrags

The usual way to differentiate a Grega from a Pietenpol is to look at the main landing gear attach points to the fuselage. On the Grega, the forward mounting point is the same as the Piet but the aft is moved forward and does not coincide with the mounting point for the aft lift strut. However, they...

taildrags

It appears to have other mods as well. The Air Camper elevators do not have 'horns' at the ends for aerodynamic balance, nor do they have rounded ends.

-Oscar

taildrags

You would most likely have to either eliminate the front seat or develop a different front seat design, because if you move the rudder bar forward very much, it'll be touching the front seat support at full deflection.

-Oscar

taildrags

I don't know anything specific about the wing, but just looking at a Luscombe 8 for example, it uses the NACA 4412 airfoil, has a wingspan of 35 ft and a wing area of 140 sq.ft. which puts the chord at an average of 48". The gross weight and top speed are both higher than that of the Air Camper...

taildrags

I'm only 5'-9" so I don't have a valid opinion on this, but I would venture to say that there could be several inches' difference between two pilots who are both 6'-4". One could be long in the torso, the other could have long legs. The pilot with the longer torso would probably be looking...

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