Search found 21 matches

by ArthurD
Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:43 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Steaming leading edge plywood?
Replies: 1
Views: 2027

Steaming leading edge plywood?

When I clamp the 1/16" plywood on top of the ribs near the leading edge I cannot get the span between the ribs to be flat. It's not a particularly tight radius, probably about 18" but I'm wondering if this normally requires steaming the plywood. If so what does the jig for that look like? ...
by ArthurD
Thu May 21, 2020 7:43 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Varnish Fix
Replies: 1
Views: 2690

Varnish Fix

I varnished my tail pieces and I'm not thrilled with how it turned out. It's fairly uneven, there are smooth areas and rough areas and a few runs. I'm using polyfiber ev-400 epoxy. I assume the fix is to wait for it to fully cure, sand it down a bit and spray instead of brush it on? Would it be acce...
by ArthurD
Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:58 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Actual Empty Weight of Pietenpol
Replies: 27
Views: 13369

Re: Actual Empty Weight of Pietenpol

This is a riblett airfoil so the leading edge is larger than the normal pietenpol airfoil.
by ArthurD
Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:50 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Where to start...
Replies: 3
Views: 3809

Re: Where to start...

Personally I found the ribs to be super monotonous and I might not have been as motivated to finish the project if those were the first thing I did. Having a big pile of ribs done is satisfying but if you start with the fuselage you can sit in it and make airplane noises.
by ArthurD
Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:40 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: 4130 vs 1020
Replies: 10
Views: 9292

Re: 4130 vs 1020

I don't know enough about the history of steel tube airframes to say for certain why manufacturers favored 4130, but I can think of two good reasons why they might. One would be that they probably did a normalizing heat treatment which gives 4130 even more of a strength advantage. The other reason w...
by ArthurD
Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:44 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Actual Empty Weight of Pietenpol
Replies: 27
Views: 13369

Re: Actual Empty Weight of Pietenpol

Most of your weight savings will come from engine/prop choice and using oratex. A couple weight saving ideas not discussed yet: It's pretty common not to use nails on any of the gussets since they are just there to hold things in place while the glue sets up. I routed out material from the wing lead...
by ArthurD
Sun Sep 29, 2019 2:44 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: 4130 vs 1020
Replies: 10
Views: 9292

Re: 4130 vs 1020

There isn't that big a difference between 1020 and 4130. 4130 has 80 KSI ultimate and 52 KSI yield in the annealed state. 1020 has 57 KSI ultimate and 43 KSI yield annealed. So it's a little weaker but it's also more ductile and it absorbs twice as much energy on the Izod Impact test. I'd argue that...
by ArthurD
Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:59 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Building the fuselage
Replies: 8
Views: 6650

Re: Building the fuselage

Did a steel tube fuselage but I got one of these to remove glue squeeze out under the gussets on the tail.

https://www.amazon.com/WEN-6307-Variabl ... B072Q2FTLY
by ArthurD
Sun Jul 21, 2019 12:35 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Materials to build my elevator
Replies: 6
Views: 5104

Re: Materials to build my elevator

I'm not sure about the nail quantity, I didn't use any. However I do know that you want to use brass, copper or stainless nails or at least galvanized. Birch plywood should be fine, the main thing you need in the plywood is for it to be void free and I think most birch plywood is. I don't think glue...
by ArthurD
Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:28 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Rib cuts
Replies: 7
Views: 5570

Re: Rib cuts

I did mine a little differently. I made use of a CNC router to cut out the gussets, the forms for steaming and the glue-up jig. I rough cut all the cap strip pieces to length and then basically started an assembly line. I steamed the long cap strips and clamped them in the form for 24 hours, then I ...
by ArthurD
Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:33 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Tail Jig, am I doing the right?
Replies: 4
Views: 4157

Re: Tail Jig, am I doing the right?

I actually did my tail skeletons a couple weeks ago and I had a pretty similar setup and they all turned out great. I layed out all the lines on an mdf workbench. Some things I did differently were: I ran some 2x4s through the jointer to get a perfectly straight edge and screwed the mdf to them to k...
by ArthurD
Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:39 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Wooden Prop??
Replies: 3
Views: 3853

Re: Wooden Prop??

I haven't ordered a prop yet but I'm tentatively planning on ordering mine from this company:

http://www.culverprops.com/CulverProps.html
by ArthurD
Mon Apr 01, 2019 9:06 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Steel Fuselage Progress
Replies: 6
Views: 5020

Re: Steel Fuselage Progress

ArthurD; very interesting to see that you're using a rudder bar in front and pedals in back. Do you intend to link them together using cables, or using rods/tubes? Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power I was planning on using cable but I think rods would also work. I suppose rods wo...
by ArthurD
Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:54 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Steel Fuselage Progress
Replies: 6
Views: 5020

Re: Steel Fuselage Progress

Very cool! What made you go with the steel? I was on the fence for a while but decided in my case wood would be cheaper and faster. The main reason I went with the steel fuselage is that I'm a welding engineer so metal fabrication is a bit more in my wheelhouse. The general consensus seems to be th...
by ArthurD
Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:31 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Steel Fuselage Progress
Replies: 6
Views: 5020

Steel Fuselage Progress

Just a few pictures of my fuselage so far...

image4.jpeg
image3.jpeg
image2.jpeg
image1.jpeg
by ArthurD
Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:15 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Waterjetting
Replies: 13
Views: 9451

Re: Waterjetting

Tom, On thin plate with the correct settings the dross should be almost nonexistent. I've never seen it adhere well enough to require extreme abrasives to remove, I've removed it from 2" thick plates with a paint scrapper. Plasma cutting by hand can get ugly especially when the operator just gu...
by ArthurD
Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:34 am
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Waterjetting
Replies: 13
Views: 9451

Re: Waterjetting

Water jet cutting is rather expensive compared to plasma or even laser. Most fabrication shops and steel suppliers have access to cnc plasma tables. Some have laser and/or water jet, places that do granite counter tops often have water jets. If the quote you get for the waterjet is more than you'd l...
by ArthurD
Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:06 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: About those control horns...
Replies: 7
Views: 5568

Re: About those control horns...

On the horns the trailing edge is an edge joint and as you move around toward the center of the leading edge it becomes more of a butt joint. http://www.theweldingmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/types-of-welding-joints-finale.png You can get away with not using filler on edge joints in materia...
by ArthurD
Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:40 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: About those control horns...
Replies: 7
Views: 5568

Re: About those control horns...

Looking at the way the control cables are routed, there is a sideways component to the force on the horn. A solid flat plate will either warp slightly or be thick enough that there is a bit of a weight penalty. Extra weight out on the tail where three of the horns are is definitely undesirable for t...
by ArthurD
Mon Sep 10, 2018 6:58 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Tail Feathers Confusion
Replies: 16
Views: 12576

Re: Tail Feathers Confusion

I'm going to be starting the tail feathers whenever the spruce arrives. I think they probably just planted the trees when I placed the order. I'm planning to do mine flush and just have the gusset go to the edge of the beams instead of inside the lips. To get around the different thicknesses called ...
by ArthurD
Tue Jun 26, 2018 2:10 pm
Forum: Pietenpol Builders Forum
Topic: Long Steel Fuselage
Replies: 5
Views: 5946

Long Steel Fuselage

Hi All, I'm planning out my pietenpol build and was wondering if anyone has tried to build a long version of the steel fuselage. I drew up the space frame in cad and increased the length of each bay by the same amount that you would going from short version wood layout to long version layout. Is the...