I have been working on this project since March 2009, so I will try to make several brief entries in order to get this Blog up to speed and then I’ll try to update it when major milestones are reached. I am already keeping a build log (required by the FAA), which offers detailed descriptions of the techniques and materials used, so I won’t repeat all of that information here. If anyone is interested in more specific details, you can review my build log at www.mykitlog.com/k5yac.
As the title states, my project is a Pietenpol Air Camper… a 1920s wood and fabric design that can be built and flown by anyone with average woodworking and piloting skills. I chose this design because of it’s classic style, it’s simplicity and the fact that it has two seats, so my wife and son can ride along. I love to fly, but I’ve grown tired of renting old beater training airplanes, and the nicer variety of rentals cost more than I care to fork over. Besides, most of my flights are local sightseeing trips… something to do on a nice afternoon… a means to go find a hamburger or a stack of pancakes or to go camping for the weekend with friends. I don’t need a fast, cross-country machine… I just want to enjoy flying with my family without having it break the bank.
-- Mark - Working on a 1930s wood and fabric airplane.
8 comments so far
ratchet
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1190 posts in 1956 days
#1 posted 986 days ago
OMG…I’m green. This has got to be one of the ultimate WW projects.
I hope it flys straight.
VinnieP
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139 posts in 1491 days
#2 posted 986 days ago
Awesome! Nothing beats an open two seater for cruising. What are you using for an engine?
Div
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1653 posts in 1110 days
#3 posted 986 days ago
man, she is a beauty! I like this. I’ve built many boats, so maybe a plane now…
-- Div @ the bottom end of Africa. "A woodworker's sharpest tool should be his mind."
K5YAC
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22 posts in 1048 days
#4 posted 986 days ago
I am planning to use a 1966 Corvair motor (100HP). I suppose I could post some information about that in the blog, but it would be getting off the subject of woodworking, so I’ve chosen to leave that part out. You can see more at www.mykitlog.com/k5yac if you are interested.
-- Mark - Working on a 1930s wood and fabric airplane.
VinnieP
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139 posts in 1491 days
#5 posted 986 days ago
I will do that. Sorry to say but wood working will always be #2 behind aviation.
K5YAC
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22 posts in 1048 days
#6 posted 986 days ago
The useful load is probably around 500 pounds… max gross is ~1200 pounds. I haven’t pinned those numbers down yet… most of the published performance numbers are for the Ford Model A. I hope to keep my empty weight below or around 700 pounds. It will definitely be in the LSA class.
-- Mark - Working on a 1930s wood and fabric airplane.
Dan Lyke
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1367 posts in 2294 days
#7 posted 985 days ago
Awesome! Got into a conversation with the owner of a Pietenpol at the local airport one afternoon, and he said “Yeah, it’s slow, but when you make that turn onto final and look down at the runway through those struts and wires it’s an 11 year old boy’s dream”. (He was driving an automobile of similar era).
I’ll be following…
-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke
Mark Shymanski
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3966 posts in 1882 days
#8 posted 985 days ago
Very cool project!
-- "Checking for square? what madness is this! The cabinet is square because I will it to be so!" Jeremy Greiner LJ Topic#20953 2011 Feb 2
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