Brodhead Pietenpol Association

KenBickers

Larry, I'll second everything Jeffrey says about the Stewart System. I've used both Polyfiber and Stewarts. I much prefer Stewarts as it is more forgiving when fixing mistakes and has no noxious fumes. I'd recommend buying an infrared thermometer (approx $30 at big box homestores) to routinely check...

KenBickers

John, I haven't found a picture of my elevator bell-crank assembly. Here's one taken of the rudder horn that might give a sense of the flexibility provided by using combinations of motorcycle connecting links. (Disregard the angle-finder. This was taken as a set of photos when I was dialing in the H...

KenBickers

John, I somehow managed to build my Piet without using a single AN115 cable shackle. I used pairs of #50 motorcycle connecting links throughout. They fit AN3 bolts perfectly and can be widened or narrowed by using however many washers you need. They are also much, much cheaper than certified thimble...

KenBickers

Oscar, Yes, the front cover does seem to keep my feet and legs a bit warmer in flight. Also it appears that I pick up a mph or two in cruise speed when the front cover is in place based on a constant throttle setting of 2400 rpm. Note that I have positive locking stem-and-ball fasteners across the f...

KenBickers

Here's a photo with the covers in place.

KenBickers

I'm in luck. It turns out photos of the fasteners had been transfered to my computer. Meanwhile I'll look for some with the covers in place.

KenBickers

Oscar, Richard, I made my covers using Sunbrella marine grade awning cloth. My seams aren't the prettiest, but they do just fine. On the forward pit, every other fastener is the a stem and ball type that requires positively pulling on the clip to put the fastener on or take it off, with snaps for th...

KenBickers

I used the light fabric throughout with Stewart covering system. Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

John, I added the ply sheets to the sides of my fuselage frames before joining the two sides together, and later regretted having done so. The ply sheets made it very difficult to access the floor of the fuselage to install the controls and front seat frame. Especially hard to reach was the area whe...

KenBickers

Terry, those are beautiful. They'll look great on somebody's wall (or perhaps on a Piet). Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Jeffrey,

If you decide to go with a "store bought" prop, you might consider Culver Props. The props are affordable and the service is terrific. I'm fairly confident that Alayna builds props that work on Corvairs.

Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

My tailwheel is the Lightweight Tail Wheel from Flyboy Accessories. It's a full pound lighter than the original tailwheel I had on my Piet. That might not sound like much but even a little weight saved on a long arm makes a measurable difference to the location of the CG. I'm using the Doug Bell Tai...

KenBickers

Here's what I bought from McMaster-Carr in July 2018. Picture attached. It's been working fine. I like the amount of give as I touch down. Spring-Tempered Steel Compression Spring (pn# 96485K141), 6" Overall Length, 1.938" OD, 1.438" ID, $11.45 Die-Spring Cage (pn# 1878K57), 2" L...

KenBickers

Richard, Clever idea on the nicopressed hardwire. It may be just the perspective of the picture but it appears that the aileron control cable may be touching some of the fabric as it passes up into the wing. If the fabric is ceconite and the cable is touching it, over time the ceconite will eat away...

KenBickers

Kinda thought I recognized those turned wood 'streamline' blocks at the bungees ;o) Yes, that's a picture of the "Dream Catcher" gear that was originally built for Arlene Walsh and in your care for many years. I think about the history of that gear frequently. I'm happy to share anything ...

KenBickers

John, The picture is my landing gear assembly. I'll be happy to measure and post the dimensions of the insert. It may be a day or two before I can make it to the hangar. Feel free to send me a PM. We can set up a facetime phone call from the hangar to let you see any aspects of the gear that you wan...

KenBickers

Erik, I don't know the answer to the question of whether spar varnish can be put on top of the two-party epoxy varnish. But it isn't necessary to do that. There's no problem with applying the Stewart system atop the two-part varnish. That will work just fine. The problem is only if you are using the...

KenBickers

I have a pair of Bob Baslee hubs that I'd be willing to part with. They use a 1 1/4" axle. I suspect you'd be happier with a pair that are designed for 1 1/2" axle. But if you want these, pm me to let me know. I'm sure we can work something out. Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

I raised the bell crank 2 inches to avoid the Piet rub. That allows the elevator cables to clear the horizontal stabilizer. The tradeoff is that this requires that the cables running from the cockpit controls have to make a sharper bend to join the bell crank. I added a pulley for the cable that goe...

KenBickers

John, I spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out this exact same thing. My split gear was gifted to me (thank you Oscar) after my Jenny-style gear was destroyed in an off-field landing. The split gear did not have the straps at the time. I ended up butt-welding the 2" straps to the ends...

KenBickers

Bob,

That's great. Newer isn't always better.

Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

John, I located the remaining portion of the 5/8" shock cord. It appears that I used slightly more than 14' to test a few prototypes and make the shock rings that are currently on my Piet. Now that I have examples of shock rings that work just fine, I'd be able to get by ordering about 8' of th...

KenBickers

John, Look very closely at the plans (i.e., before welding). You'll see that the attachment at the forward fuselage bracket for the telescoping legs is offset a bit on the left side to the right side (not the brackets themselves, but the doo dads to which the telescoping legs attach). That's what gi...

KenBickers

John, The spring in a can has become popular in recent years. I'm not sure why. It's heavy. It's nearly impossible to tune to get the right amount of tension (technically compression). And it seems like a great place for corrosion to develop without a good way to know. The original design by Mr. Pie...

KenBickers

Here's what I found when I checked the invoice for the shock cord that I bought when I installed the split axle gear on my Piet. The invoice from Aircraft Spruce shows "06-12600 TYPE I 5/8" SHOCK CORD." I bought 24 feet. I'm sure that was too much, but I tend to prefer to have a bit t...

KenBickers

Alan, The wings are pretty straightforward to build. You'll need a bunch of ribs, a few components that comprise the internal structure of the wing panels, and a pair of spars for each wing. The hardest part these days is probably sourcing the wood for the spars. The most time consuming part is buil...

KenBickers

PoconoJohn, I've attached a photo of how I did mine. The vertical bolts are centered through the longerons. I made each bracket different lengths to sandwich the rudder with the desired offset. Actually I originally had a Corvair on my Piet, later swapping that out for a Continental O-200. When I di...

KenBickers

Okay, Oscar, I can't resist. Why would you be getting a 3rd Covid jab?

Ken

KenBickers

Congratulations!! It's a great feeling to be at the covering stage. Suddenly the light at the end of the tunnel seems much brighter.

Cheers, Ken

KenBickers

Tom, thanks for posting this article. I'm looking forward to reading it with a piping cup of coffee. I love this sort of paper. Cheers, Ken

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

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