I did. This little fella is a 1929 Pietenpol Aircamper homebuilt which is said to be full of original pieces of the very first of its kind. The Ford connection is the 40hp Model A engine that powers it surprisingly well. Mods to the engine are minimal; just a magneto, a little different pan, some more attention paid to getting oil around, and of course a prop drive. There's also an aluminum head but I don't know which one or if it's there to bump up performance or just save weight.
I don't own it but I was lucky enough to get to fly it yesterday from its home base in Guelph, ON to a Pietenpol fly-in in Brussels, ON. Fifty or so miles only took about an hour each way!
With the original radiator placement there's not a whole lot to see straight ahead,
...but that didn't seem to bother me much:
Of course, all of these pictures were taken on my phone and its memory filled up before I was able to get a pic of the very pretty '35 E-2 Cub I followed in formation all the way there. Oh well, just means I'll have to do it again.
All in all it was a blast. Flying a practically prehistoric airplane across miles of open countryside to a friendly little grass strip full of grassroots airplane people is just about my ideal holiday.
Very very cool!
Ken
Well seeing this now i kind of want to build my own.. never gonna happen though.
Pietenpol owners' motto: Fly Slow & Low!
Otherwise, I understand they are a very stable plane.
Be nice to see some pictures of that A engine and the prop drive.
Tim,
It looks like you are having a lot of fun!
The original plans for the Pietenpol Air Camper did not use a "prop drive." The engine is mounted with the flywheel flange of the crankshaft facing forward. The propeller was bolted directly to the crankshaft flange.
Some Pietenpol owners are lucky enough or persistent enough to locate a Funk modified Model B Ford engine. The Funk engine did have a propeller drive mounted on it. That reduces the thrust the propeller puts on the thrust surface of the rear main bearing. Note the “A” engine can be modified to move the thrust surface to a different bearing (center bearing comes to mind but it was years ago that I read that article. )
And of course the single seat Pietenpol Sky Scout that was powered by a Model T engine was also available shortly after the Air Camper came out. Fred Houston restored Chris’ Sky Scout and it is now displayed in the Model T Ford Club of America Museum.
Your desires to possibly some day build or acquire a Model T powered Sky Scout are definitely “do-able” (ref: you posting http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/506218/575014.html ). The Experimental Aircraft Association usually has a chapter building an Air Camper every few years. It is a great project to teach youth and others about aviation. And it is one of the less expensive home built projects to put together. And yes, you could build a reliable (ok it won’t meet the PT-6 turbine reliability) Model T Engine for a Sky Scout.
Note the aluminum heads on the Model A & B engines are often dual spark plugs to allow redundant ignition for safety. They also are higher than the stock Model A compression ratio. And of course they save on weight. So it is a “win-win” all around.
For those that want to know more about the “Low and Slow” please see: http://community.pressenter.net/~apietenp/BHPietenpolAndSonsAirCamperAircraftBui ldingAPietenpolAirCamper.html
Again thanks for posting the great photos!
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l95l cut off
Very cool. Gotta love the speedometer out on the wing!
There is one powered by a T engine at the MTFCA Museum at Richman.
Very nice !!!
The "T" powered Pietenpol is single place "Scout".
Bill, I meant to get a bunch of pictures of the conversion of the A (the magneto drive is kind of interesting in itself) but my camera phone's memory was full.
Next time I'm down I'll try and remember, especially if we're pulling the cowlings.