Part 11 – Midway

I had a thought or two about what I was going to write for this episode – and then they went away. I have found this to be a frequent occurrence concerning the airplane building project as well, i.e. I will wake up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea about how to get some task accomplished and then, the next time I’m in the shop – it’s gone. Ah, the pleasures of the “golden years.” I believe the “gold” in these years is the color of my ear wax or, possibly, my teeth. But, enough about me.

The Piet project is moving right along although it’s in another of those stages where all the new additions are not very visual. There are a lot of new cables stretching from back to front and all around the back. Some of these are for bracing and some of them connect the controls to the tail parts. (Once again it’s called the “empennage” for all you French speakers out there.) I will admit that it was a serious HIGH when I sat on the pilot’s throne the very first time and was able to pull the handle and see something moving in response. Of course, it’s all got to come back off the airplane for covering and painting purposes but still – IT LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE AN AIRPLANE! The grandson and granddaughter really enjoy it too but only when Gramps is there since any serious movement of the stick really whacks the elevator against my bench vise. I don’t want my grandkids to have any vices (yuk, yuk.) I have also been designing and constructing a couple of throttle/mixture quadrants out of the same mahogany that is being used in the propeller. These will mount on the left side of the pilot’s and passenger’s cockpits and allow pilotage to occur from either location. I sure hope they work right as they are turning out a bit nicer than my expectations.

An area that has been keeping me awake nights is the design of an elevator trim arrangement. I want to be able to use a bungee type cord that will apply force to the elevator bellcrank in appropriate amounts to be useful on those long flights. I’ll let you know if I can come up with a workable plan. In the same category are the attachment points for pilot and passenger seatbelts. It seems amazing to me but Mr. Pietenpol apparently did not feel that seatbelts were all that necessary, at least his plans do not show them. In my case, I want to be able to persuade my wife to get into the front “pit” and will probably have to belt her in tight so she won’t bolt before we take off. It also amazes me that the topics of help that I need always seem to be front and center on the Matronics list at about the time that I need them. I don’t know how I would get all this done without this timely and useful advice.

So, now that the fuselage is nearly complete I have to decide what to throw money at next. Obviously the thing will get more mobile if I can just get it up on gear so that will probably be next. I do have a tail wheel assembly ready to mount as well as all the fittings and most of the steel for the main gear. Looks like it’s about time to go visit Ed in his shop again, humm. After that it is a question of instruments (so I can finish up the top parts of the fuselage), or the wing (I already have all of those parts), or start on the engine; mucho dinero. (Bet you didn’t know I spoke Spanish did you?) I think it will probably be a combination of instrument panel and wings, we’ll see. (And a little German too – Jawol SeniÕr. Of course I barely passed both classes about 40 years ago.)

So – full speed ahead – right? Come on, you married guys know better than that! There is always something that gets in the way. In this case it’s my own *&%^$ fault. I found a place that makes pedal airplane kits and plans and, wouldn’t you know it, one of them is a Pietenpol. So there was no real question that there would be a (short?) interruption while a Pedal Piet gets born. Luckily my Son-in-Law also thinks it’s a good idea and he has wanted to work together with me for a while. Two sets of hands should speed things up considerably. Of course the kids are going to have to share one plane and that will be very hard for a certain young man. Unlike the full-size bird, the propeller for the Pedal Piet is already complete and it will turn with the pedals. (Lord help any neighborhood kids who might get in the way!) The manufacturer says that all acrobatics are restricted for this airplane except ground loops.

I started out planning to have this project done in 5 years. At the moment, it appears it will take a bit longer than that although I can see significant progress has occurred. Nevertheless, I can also see that a considerable amount of work remains, including a goodly number of technical issues to solve. I am really looking forward to that oft mentioned point when you have 90% done with only 90% remaining to do. Right now I think I am about 50% done which would leave (let’s see – carry the one--) only 130% left to do. This modern math is not my cup of tea!

I did find out that e-Bay is not always the best place to buy aircraft stuff. I have already purchased several items from that source that I will have to turn around and either sell or toss. The only one of these that really irks me is a 3.5” sensitive altimeter which supposedly came out of a Cessna 172 in good working condition. “It’s not good enough for IFR use but should work fine for VFR flying.” The instrument shop I took it to for a check out told me to give it a well-deserved burial as it has obviously seen too many years of dedicated service. So, I still need a tachometer, slip indicator, clock, and altimeter before I can design my instrument panel. I suspect I might need an outside air temperature indicator too although with an open cockpit airplane that seems kind of redundant. I haven’t decided if I will provide the front cockpit with any instruments yet. I’ll probably just wait and add them later when the available funds allow.

One last thing before I close shop for the day. I can get way too hung up on spending time alone in the shop so that I forget that my time also belongs to those I love. I have always been able to bury myself in my work to the point where time gets forgotten. While that is good for getting a task accomplished, it can be pretty hard on a relationship. Therefore, much as I want to get this airplane in the air, it has to take it’s proper place in the scheme of things. That place is not number one!

So, it’s time that I shut and locked the door and headed over to the chapter meeting for some much needed camaraderie. To quote the famous Red Green, “ I’m a Man, but I can change, if I have to.” See ‘ya all back in the shop next time.

Tom Stinemetze

The Airplane Nut

  ____ | ____
        \8/
          / \

Home Back Forward