Original Posted By: john scott
Announcing the 1st annual Pietenpol Fly-In, at Benton Airport on Sept 11, 1999. Benton KS is about 10 miles northeast of Wichita KS. The 2600' hard surface 36/18 runway is in fair condition, with a grass strip on the west side that is about 2000'. There is no forum, just lots of interesting discussions are planned. We will probably have some stuff like ribs, jigs, misc. parts, and info on how to order the plans from Don Pietenpol. An informal gathering of anyone interested in a seeing replicas of the design that is the grandfather of all homebuilt planes. There should be at least five Pietenpol airplanes there, four Model A, and one Corvair powered model. Three of these are airworthy. The Ford Model A car club also plans to attend, with 20 to 30 Model A cars planning to attend. No camping is allowed on the airport, for the simple reason that there is no restroom facilities, except for the bathroom in the office, however we are looking into renting a porta-john. Camping is available at Sante Fe Lake, about 5 miles southeast of Benton. Their rates are $4.00 / night, and for a motorhome it will set ya back $10.00. There is a new motel near Jabara Airport, which is about 8 miles to the west of Benton. If ya can't e-mail me with your questions call me, Chuck Gantzer,at 316-262-3392 in the evenings. Or call Doug Bryant at 316-733-2324Pietenpols Forever________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: 1st Annual Pietenpol Fly-In
Pietenpol-List: 1st Annual Pietenpol Fly-In
Original Posted By:-----Original Message-----
Subject: Pietenpol-List: 1st Annual Pietenpol Fly-In> Announcing the 1st annual Pietenpol Fly-In, at Benton Airport onSept 11,>1999. Benton KS is about 10 miles northeast of Wichita KS. The2600' hard>surface 36/18 runway is in fair condition, with a grass strip on thewest>side that is about 2000'. There is no forum, just lots ofinteresting>discussions are planned. We will probably have some stuff like ribs,jigs,>misc. parts, and info on how to order the plans from Don Pietenpol. An>informal gathering of anyone interested in a seeing replicas of thedesign>that is the grandfather of all homebuilt planes. There should be atleast>five Pietenpol airplanes there, four Model A, and one Corvair poweredmodel. > Three of these are airworthy. The Ford Model A car club also plansto>attend, with 20 to 30 Model A cars planning to attend. > No camping is allowed on the airport, for the simple reason thatthere is>no restroom facilities, except for the bathroom in the office, howeverwe are>looking into renting a porta-john. Camping is available at Sante FeLake,>about 5 miles southeast of Benton. Their rates are $4.00 / night, andfor a>motorhome it will set ya back $10.00. There is a new motel nearJabara>Airport, which is about 8 miles to the west of Benton. > If ya can't e-mail me with your questions call me, Chuck Gantzer,at>316-262-3392 in the evenings. Or call Doug Bryant at 316-733-2324>>Pietenpols Forever>Well, there goes another perfectly good fly-in I'm gonnamiss.Actually it's probably one of the best fly-ins I'll miss this yearbecause it'sall about Pietenpols!My younger brother has the nerve to get married on the same day asthefly-in.And to a girl that doesn't even like small planes! Can youbelieveit.I was gonna hall my parts and engine down so everyone could pointandlaugh. And eat hotdogs and other hanger food. And now I'vegot towear a suit and eat orderves made of stuff worse than hotdogs.I hope you guys take pictures and post them! Have fun on the11th!!!(How in the hell do you spell orderves? I could have builtanotherrib in the time I tried to figure out how to spell that word.Isn't therean 'h' in there somewhere? Where is my third grade teacherat?)Everything is now measured in rib building time in my life.My wifewants me to put a new light kit on the ceiling fan in thekitchen.... 1.5 ribs.... New railing onstairs onporch.... 1 rib.... Hell, I probably could have builta wholewing for the time it took to ceramic tile the kitchen!Greg YotzfaceArialsize3>P.S. Robert Hensarling, Italked toDon Tevis today and he wanted me to ask you how it was going?
Subject: Pietenpol-List: 1st Annual Pietenpol Fly-In> Announcing the 1st annual Pietenpol Fly-In, at Benton Airport onSept 11,>1999. Benton KS is about 10 miles northeast of Wichita KS. The2600' hard>surface 36/18 runway is in fair condition, with a grass strip on thewest>side that is about 2000'. There is no forum, just lots ofinteresting>discussions are planned. We will probably have some stuff like ribs,jigs,>misc. parts, and info on how to order the plans from Don Pietenpol. An>informal gathering of anyone interested in a seeing replicas of thedesign>that is the grandfather of all homebuilt planes. There should be atleast>five Pietenpol airplanes there, four Model A, and one Corvair poweredmodel. > Three of these are airworthy. The Ford Model A car club also plansto>attend, with 20 to 30 Model A cars planning to attend. > No camping is allowed on the airport, for the simple reason thatthere is>no restroom facilities, except for the bathroom in the office, howeverwe are>looking into renting a porta-john. Camping is available at Sante FeLake,>about 5 miles southeast of Benton. Their rates are $4.00 / night, andfor a>motorhome it will set ya back $10.00. There is a new motel nearJabara>Airport, which is about 8 miles to the west of Benton. > If ya can't e-mail me with your questions call me, Chuck Gantzer,at>316-262-3392 in the evenings. Or call Doug Bryant at 316-733-2324>>Pietenpols Forever>Well, there goes another perfectly good fly-in I'm gonnamiss.Actually it's probably one of the best fly-ins I'll miss this yearbecause it'sall about Pietenpols!My younger brother has the nerve to get married on the same day asthefly-in.And to a girl that doesn't even like small planes! Can youbelieveit.I was gonna hall my parts and engine down so everyone could pointandlaugh. And eat hotdogs and other hanger food. And now I'vegot towear a suit and eat orderves made of stuff worse than hotdogs.I hope you guys take pictures and post them! Have fun on the11th!!!(How in the hell do you spell orderves? I could have builtanotherrib in the time I tried to figure out how to spell that word.Isn't therean 'h' in there somewhere? Where is my third grade teacherat?)Everything is now measured in rib building time in my life.My wifewants me to put a new light kit on the ceiling fan in thekitchen.... 1.5 ribs.... New railing onstairs onporch.... 1 rib.... Hell, I probably could have builta wholewing for the time it took to ceramic tile the kitchen!Greg YotzfaceArialsize3>P.S. Robert Hensarling, Italked toDon Tevis today and he wanted me to ask you how it was going?
Pietenpol-List: Re: 1st Annual Pietenpol Fly-In
Original Posted By: GREA738(at)aol.com
In a message dated 8/14/99 1:18:14 AM Central Daylight Time, Rcaprd(at)aol.com writes:>Hi Group, I've been a passive discussion group participant up to now. Enjoying all of the Pietenpol stories and sharing of information. I was surprized to find out that you guys have planned a Pietenpol event right here in Wichita. I plan to be there for sure. I have been wanting to build an Air Camper for a long time. I have been in the Wichita area since early 1997. I don't know many old airplane people in the area as I have not been in Wichita that long...and just haven't made the rounds. But I have been around old airplanes all of my life. (I'm 35) About 10 years ago, I built a rib jig and even made a few ribs using some really nice douglas fir before I was looking at the trailing edge brace one day and began to question why the Flying/Glider manual had the brace laid out (in what seemed to me) to be the wrong direction. That year I saw Orrin Hoopman at Blakesburg and asked him about it. He told the story of how Bernie had learned of that design flaw upon recovery from a tight turn maneuver on one of his first planes. I guess there was a loud "Snap" as 7 or 8 ribs gave in to wing twist. Apparently they repaired the damage and got the plane going again the following day. The 1933 plans I bought from Orrin have the corrected brace plus several other BP improvements. I fixed my jig and developed myself a good device for steaming rib caps....but never got a beyond that before we started our family (7 yrs ago). Since then, tho...I have recently divorced. Now I have my hands full as a single dad raising my 3 kids on my own. But with my ex out of the picture now.... I can see an airplane is in my future. I have a 50 hp Franklin stored at my dads place in TX....but I hope to come across a better engine option by the time I get started. In 1995 or so I got a chance to fly a Corvair Piet then owned by Alex Whitmore. I loved it. (Wish I knew where it is now.) Alex even allowed me to take my 4 yr old boy along as a front pit passenger. It was his first open cockpit flight. I wanted to buy it so bad, but just couldn't swing the cash at the time. Alex had repaired the fuselage after someone had cracked it up....and was reselling it. I don't remember the reg. no...but have it in my logbook. Alex told me the name of the original builder...but I can't remember his name. I was under the impression that he had been a well known Piet builder. (I sound like an old man who's already lost his memory....but I do remember learning a lot on that flight.)1) Fore and aft stick movements should be opposite and proportional to throttle movements. If you pull power back on a Pietenpol....your speed really dies out quick.....so you might as well shove the stick forward and be ready.2) Corvair (direct drive) Piets climb a lot better with about half to two thirds throttle. The tach was not working the day I flew it but after making 3 takeoffs with full throttle and wondering...Why isn't this beast climbing any better?....I decided to try a different technique on the 4th take off. After I got the tail up...I eased the throttle back and then suddenly the thing leaped into the air about 200 feet sooner than all of the previous times. Climb out was about like a 65 hp Champ then.3) If you have the CG right and the right gear and tires...you can 3 point every landing and not bounce too bad. At least that was the case with the split axle gear with J-3 type wheels/tires. Wing placement seemed to be about perfect.4) Who needs brakes?5) Finally...I learned that I really missed out on a fun machine by not grabbing that airplane. (And Alex sure priced it right too.) Sigh.. I have two friends from work who are planning to attend the fly-in with their A-Fords. (I work at Learjet as a powerplant and fuel system's engineer .) Also...Rod Hoctor (one of our test pilots who keeps his airplanes at Benton) is planning to have his Stearman set up for hopping passengers for that day. Let's cross our fingers for good weather. I am looking forward to Sept. 11th in Benton. Terry B.________________________________________________________________________________
In a message dated 8/14/99 1:18:14 AM Central Daylight Time, Rcaprd(at)aol.com writes:>Hi Group, I've been a passive discussion group participant up to now. Enjoying all of the Pietenpol stories and sharing of information. I was surprized to find out that you guys have planned a Pietenpol event right here in Wichita. I plan to be there for sure. I have been wanting to build an Air Camper for a long time. I have been in the Wichita area since early 1997. I don't know many old airplane people in the area as I have not been in Wichita that long...and just haven't made the rounds. But I have been around old airplanes all of my life. (I'm 35) About 10 years ago, I built a rib jig and even made a few ribs using some really nice douglas fir before I was looking at the trailing edge brace one day and began to question why the Flying/Glider manual had the brace laid out (in what seemed to me) to be the wrong direction. That year I saw Orrin Hoopman at Blakesburg and asked him about it. He told the story of how Bernie had learned of that design flaw upon recovery from a tight turn maneuver on one of his first planes. I guess there was a loud "Snap" as 7 or 8 ribs gave in to wing twist. Apparently they repaired the damage and got the plane going again the following day. The 1933 plans I bought from Orrin have the corrected brace plus several other BP improvements. I fixed my jig and developed myself a good device for steaming rib caps....but never got a beyond that before we started our family (7 yrs ago). Since then, tho...I have recently divorced. Now I have my hands full as a single dad raising my 3 kids on my own. But with my ex out of the picture now.... I can see an airplane is in my future. I have a 50 hp Franklin stored at my dads place in TX....but I hope to come across a better engine option by the time I get started. In 1995 or so I got a chance to fly a Corvair Piet then owned by Alex Whitmore. I loved it. (Wish I knew where it is now.) Alex even allowed me to take my 4 yr old boy along as a front pit passenger. It was his first open cockpit flight. I wanted to buy it so bad, but just couldn't swing the cash at the time. Alex had repaired the fuselage after someone had cracked it up....and was reselling it. I don't remember the reg. no...but have it in my logbook. Alex told me the name of the original builder...but I can't remember his name. I was under the impression that he had been a well known Piet builder. (I sound like an old man who's already lost his memory....but I do remember learning a lot on that flight.)1) Fore and aft stick movements should be opposite and proportional to throttle movements. If you pull power back on a Pietenpol....your speed really dies out quick.....so you might as well shove the stick forward and be ready.2) Corvair (direct drive) Piets climb a lot better with about half to two thirds throttle. The tach was not working the day I flew it but after making 3 takeoffs with full throttle and wondering...Why isn't this beast climbing any better?....I decided to try a different technique on the 4th take off. After I got the tail up...I eased the throttle back and then suddenly the thing leaped into the air about 200 feet sooner than all of the previous times. Climb out was about like a 65 hp Champ then.3) If you have the CG right and the right gear and tires...you can 3 point every landing and not bounce too bad. At least that was the case with the split axle gear with J-3 type wheels/tires. Wing placement seemed to be about perfect.4) Who needs brakes?5) Finally...I learned that I really missed out on a fun machine by not grabbing that airplane. (And Alex sure priced it right too.) Sigh.. I have two friends from work who are planning to attend the fly-in with their A-Fords. (I work at Learjet as a powerplant and fuel system's engineer .) Also...Rod Hoctor (one of our test pilots who keeps his airplanes at Benton) is planning to have his Stearman set up for hopping passengers for that day. Let's cross our fingers for good weather. I am looking forward to Sept. 11th in Benton. Terry B.________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Re: 1st Annual Pietenpol Fly-In
Original Posted By: ToySat(at)aol.com
Hello Pietenpals,I thought I might give ya'all an update on the progress of my wing, which I'm building for an Air Camper (Model A). My living / dining room sure will look alot different once the wing is moved out to Benton, where the fuselage is eagerly waiting for it. I'm now in the varnish stage, and the fuel cell is ready for closure. Next is covering, stitches, and paint. I've been spending lots of time on it, trying to get it done in time for the Pietenpol Fly-In at Benton. We are hoping to stir up some local interest in this wonderful airplane, and maybe find some others who would like to build one. Terry B.. (or anyone in the Wichita area) e-mail me directly, and I'll give ya my phone and address, if ya would like to stop by, and check out the framework before covering. Chuck GantzerWichita KSps I'm REALLY looking forward to flying this plane !!________________________________________________________________________________
Hello Pietenpals,I thought I might give ya'all an update on the progress of my wing, which I'm building for an Air Camper (Model A). My living / dining room sure will look alot different once the wing is moved out to Benton, where the fuselage is eagerly waiting for it. I'm now in the varnish stage, and the fuel cell is ready for closure. Next is covering, stitches, and paint. I've been spending lots of time on it, trying to get it done in time for the Pietenpol Fly-In at Benton. We are hoping to stir up some local interest in this wonderful airplane, and maybe find some others who would like to build one. Terry B.. (or anyone in the Wichita area) e-mail me directly, and I'll give ya my phone and address, if ya would like to stop by, and check out the framework before covering. Chuck GantzerWichita KSps I'm REALLY looking forward to flying this plane !!________________________________________________________________________________
14, 1999 12:55 AM 1st Annual Pietenpol
Original Posted By: Greg Yotz
Saturday, August14, 1999 12:55 AMSubject: 1st Annual PietenpolFly-In Announcing the 1stannualPietenpol Fly-In, at Benton Airport on Sept 11,1999. BentonKS is about 10 miles northeast of Wichita KS. The 2600' hardsurface 36/18 runway is in fair condition, with a grass strip onthewest side that is about 2000'. There is noforum, justlots of interesting discussions are planned.We willprobably have some stuff like ribs, jigs, misc. parts, and infoon howto order the plans from Don Pietenpol. Aninformalgathering of anyone interested in a seeing replicas of the designthatis the grandfather of all homebuilt planes. There should beat leastfive Pietenpol airplanes there, four Model A, and one Corvairpoweredmodel. Three of these are airworthy. The FordModel Acar club also plans to attend, with 20 to 30 Model A carsplanning toattend. No camping is allowed ontheairport, for the simple reason that there is no restroomfacilities,except for the bathroom in the office, however we are lookingintorenting a porta-john. Camping is available at Sante Fe Lake,about 5 miles southeast of Benton. Their rates are$4.00 /night, and for a motorhome it will set ya back$10.00.There is a new motel near Jabara Airport, which is about 8 milesto thewest of Benton. If ya can'te-mail mewith your questions call me, Chuck Gantzer,at 316-262-3392 intheevenings. Or call Doug Bryant at316-733-2324Pietenpols Forever________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday, August14, 1999 12:55 AMSubject: 1st Annual PietenpolFly-In Announcing the 1stannualPietenpol Fly-In, at Benton Airport on Sept 11,1999. BentonKS is about 10 miles northeast of Wichita KS. The 2600' hardsurface 36/18 runway is in fair condition, with a grass strip onthewest side that is about 2000'. There is noforum, justlots of interesting discussions are planned.We willprobably have some stuff like ribs, jigs, misc. parts, and infoon howto order the plans from Don Pietenpol. Aninformalgathering of anyone interested in a seeing replicas of the designthatis the grandfather of all homebuilt planes. There should beat leastfive Pietenpol airplanes there, four Model A, and one Corvairpoweredmodel. Three of these are airworthy. The FordModel Acar club also plans to attend, with 20 to 30 Model A carsplanning toattend. No camping is allowed ontheairport, for the simple reason that there is no restroomfacilities,except for the bathroom in the office, however we are lookingintorenting a porta-john. Camping is available at Sante Fe Lake,about 5 miles southeast of Benton. Their rates are$4.00 /night, and for a motorhome it will set ya back$10.00.There is a new motel near Jabara Airport, which is about 8 milesto thewest of Benton. If ya can'te-mail mewith your questions call me, Chuck Gantzer,at 316-262-3392 intheevenings. Or call Doug Bryant at316-733-2324Pietenpols Forever________________________________________________________________________________