Pietenpol-List: Loose brass fitting
Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 1:24 pm
Original Posted By: helspersew(at)aol.com
Subject: Pietenpol-List: EAA Chapter 1279 Pietenpol UpdateOf possible interest-I'm forwarding this from the group who brought their bare-bones Pietenpol all the way from California a few yearsago to display at Brodhead and Oshkosh. They are making good progress!Mike C.Dear Members,For all of you who have been following our progress on the Pietenpol Air Camper that has been under construction by our Saturday morning workshop crew for the past 7 years, you will be very happy to learn that we consider ourselves to be in the "home stretch," nearing the finish line.Nearly all of 2011 was spent covering and rib lacing the wing, tail surfaces, and fuselage. As you may remember from my last update, the final two weeks of last year were spent painting the whole project. So we began this year by reassembling the airplane for the final time. Our local DAR, John Shablow, advised us that we should get the paperwork started with FAA, as it could take up to 90 days to get it registered. For the first step, we wanted to secure an N number for the airplane that would reflect the connection to our EAA chapter. Unfortunately, N1279 was already taken. In order to incorporate the "1279" chapter number, we would have to add a suffix. So we chose "Z," just 'cause "79 Zulu" kind of rolls off the tongue when spoken over the radio.This morning (Saturday, May 26, 2012) we preformed a preliminary "weight and balance" of the airplane (see photos below). Empty weight of the airplane (with minimal work left to do on the engine and airframe) was measured at 727 lbs. (no fuel and no pilot). It takes considerable focus on weight reduction to get the empty weight of a Pietenpol under 650 lbs. And there are Piets with no electrical and no brakes that top 700 lbs empty weight. With a full electrical system including starter motor, radio, and intercom, hydrolic brakes, and a stearable tailwheel, we were expecting to be around 800 lbs. So we were delighted with an empty weight under 730 lbs.With a 170 lb. pilot our calculations put the CG at 18.5 inches aft of the leading edge of the wing. This falls within the CG design limits of 15" to 20" aft of the leading edge. Nonetheless, simply moving the wing aft 1" would put the CG right in the middle of the CG range. It is something worth considering. I should stress, however, that these were only preliminary calculations using simple bathroom scales. There are a few things left to do on the airplane. So we will give it careful consideration before making any modifications to our current configuration. Of course, the final weight and balance will be performed using aircraft scales when the airplane is "flight ready."As you can see in the photos below we have added our chapter logo to the side of the fuselage as well as the N number on the tail. We are not too far from taxi testing and first flight, so stay tuned.Steve Williamson, Pres.EAA Chapter 1279French Valley[cid:X.MA1.1338094878(at)aol.com]Dave McPhee and Dave Winsett measure the pilot location[cid:X.MA2.1338094878(at)aol.com]Dave McPhee performs CG calculations with Art supervising[cid:X.MA3.1338094878(at)aol.com]Final Configuation[cid:X.MA4.1338094878(at)aol.com]"NX1279Z" ready for taxi[cid:X.MA5.1338094878(at)aol.com]"Air Camper" valve covers were a gift from William Wynne________________________________________________________________________________Subject: Pietenpol-List: Loose brass fitting
Subject: Pietenpol-List: EAA Chapter 1279 Pietenpol UpdateOf possible interest-I'm forwarding this from the group who brought their bare-bones Pietenpol all the way from California a few yearsago to display at Brodhead and Oshkosh. They are making good progress!Mike C.Dear Members,For all of you who have been following our progress on the Pietenpol Air Camper that has been under construction by our Saturday morning workshop crew for the past 7 years, you will be very happy to learn that we consider ourselves to be in the "home stretch," nearing the finish line.Nearly all of 2011 was spent covering and rib lacing the wing, tail surfaces, and fuselage. As you may remember from my last update, the final two weeks of last year were spent painting the whole project. So we began this year by reassembling the airplane for the final time. Our local DAR, John Shablow, advised us that we should get the paperwork started with FAA, as it could take up to 90 days to get it registered. For the first step, we wanted to secure an N number for the airplane that would reflect the connection to our EAA chapter. Unfortunately, N1279 was already taken. In order to incorporate the "1279" chapter number, we would have to add a suffix. So we chose "Z," just 'cause "79 Zulu" kind of rolls off the tongue when spoken over the radio.This morning (Saturday, May 26, 2012) we preformed a preliminary "weight and balance" of the airplane (see photos below). Empty weight of the airplane (with minimal work left to do on the engine and airframe) was measured at 727 lbs. (no fuel and no pilot). It takes considerable focus on weight reduction to get the empty weight of a Pietenpol under 650 lbs. And there are Piets with no electrical and no brakes that top 700 lbs empty weight. With a full electrical system including starter motor, radio, and intercom, hydrolic brakes, and a stearable tailwheel, we were expecting to be around 800 lbs. So we were delighted with an empty weight under 730 lbs.With a 170 lb. pilot our calculations put the CG at 18.5 inches aft of the leading edge of the wing. This falls within the CG design limits of 15" to 20" aft of the leading edge. Nonetheless, simply moving the wing aft 1" would put the CG right in the middle of the CG range. It is something worth considering. I should stress, however, that these were only preliminary calculations using simple bathroom scales. There are a few things left to do on the airplane. So we will give it careful consideration before making any modifications to our current configuration. Of course, the final weight and balance will be performed using aircraft scales when the airplane is "flight ready."As you can see in the photos below we have added our chapter logo to the side of the fuselage as well as the N number on the tail. We are not too far from taxi testing and first flight, so stay tuned.Steve Williamson, Pres.EAA Chapter 1279French Valley[cid:X.MA1.1338094878(at)aol.com]Dave McPhee and Dave Winsett measure the pilot location[cid:X.MA2.1338094878(at)aol.com]Dave McPhee performs CG calculations with Art supervising[cid:X.MA3.1338094878(at)aol.com]Final Configuation[cid:X.MA4.1338094878(at)aol.com]"NX1279Z" ready for taxi[cid:X.MA5.1338094878(at)aol.com]"Air Camper" valve covers were a gift from William Wynne________________________________________________________________________________Subject: Pietenpol-List: Loose brass fitting