Pietenpols and Other Puddle Jumpers

nitroairplane wrote:

"Kim wrote:Yeah, as I posted when I first arrived here, I am one lucky fellow. Got a good boss and crew to work with.

The Piet is extremely basic, and is incredibly fun to fly. I get accused of licensing and flying around in a big model airplane!"



"I always had a soft spot for them they remind me of the blunderbus .010 that you made and also they are very homemade an that's why they appeal to me
Did you build it?


If I was gonna get a plane id go with a piet."

I bought Piet from a good friend in 1985...watched him like a circling vulture for 8 years 'till he put it up for sale!



I was a major Richard Bach fan back then, and immediately started traveling the Midwest, camping under the wing, and meeting hundreds of wonderful people. In those days before 9-11, the skys were a much friendlier place, and I often wandered, with only a general idea of where I was going, "'till Mother Nature's call" or the need for fuel made me figure out where I was, and find an airport.

The Pietenpol Reunion at Brodhead, Wisconsin was a mandatory summer trip through the 1990's.



I also made about 6 flights into to the EAA Convention in Oshkosh.


Oshkosh is fun, but very stressful (at least for me), both for the packed sky you fly through to get there, and because they've loosened their restrictions on who can get to your airplane. Piet's control were messed with several times while I was out looking at other planes. I once returned to find it's mag switch turned on...a VERY dangerous prank, and became afraid to leave it without enlisting a fellow flyer to "stand guard" as we viewed the displays in shifts. This induced paranoia took a lot of enjoyment out of the experience, and I eventually stopped going there. It was a shame, and I somewhat miss it, but I won't have my aircraft fooled-with.

My longest flight was a 2500 mile loop in 1990 from Missouri to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck, New York. I camped on the field and got to meet and visit with Founder Cole Palen. It was a treasured experience to meet one of my heroes AND see aircraft that actually made Piet look pretty high-tech !




Though I call it a "Piet" the plane is actually a Grega GN-1. In the early 60's, a man named John Grega took the Pietenpol Aircamper design, and changed it dimensions so the builders could use off-the-shelf fittings and structures like the landing gear legs and engine mounts from Cubs. The true Pietenpols require you to either make or contract out the fittings...a source of pride for the builders which I understand. When I bought Piet, I had no idea of this, and was quickly set straight upon my first visit at their reunion! Many of the folks there were friends of Bernard Pietenpol, and had a problem with this plagiarism of his design. They tolerated me though, and I was often enlisted as a camera plane to carry a photographer or cameraman to get footage of the "Real" Piets!




Sorry for this encyclopedia/post, but I DO like this stuff !



As I said...I AM a very lucky guy!