|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
Brodhead 2008
Each year builders and fans of the Pietenpol homebuilt planes get together in Brodhead Wisconsin for the weekend before Oshkosh. Builders and fans of the Hatz designs also gather in the same place on the same weekend. Since the Brodhead airport is conveniently on the way to OSH, lots of classic airplanes stop through on the way to the big show. Since we have been researching the Pietenpol Air Camper, we knew that we would need to go to Brodhead at least once to gather some information.Since the Pietenpol is not a kit and each one is scratch built, the finished products vary widely from one plane to another.
Our first sight upon driving up was a Pietenpol in the traffic pattern. It was a fitting welcome! We were also amazed to see this vintage Cushman scooter. This trend of seeing interesting two-wheeled machines is one that would continue through our trip to OSH. For the first several pictures, we were just walking around the site and taking it all in.
I'm not sure why it was that I got a picture of Chet Peek's books without Chet Peek in the picture, but that is what happened in the first frame below. I've read his Pietenpol Story and found it to be a great book. My most lasting impression about the book was the understanding that I gained of the context in which Bernard designed and built the first Pietenpols. Back in the depression, he was simply trying to design a plane that would be within the reach of the masses. That is why he designed it to accommodate the Model A Ford car engine instead of the much more expensive aviation engines. The materials were to be those that would have been readily available in local lumber yards. By understanding the materials, tools, and techniques available in the 1930s, it occurred to me that building a Piet now with modern power tools and glues would be a breeze compared to the challenges of a depression-era builder. If you haven't read Mr. Peek's book, please do. It will probably also give you a much better appreciation for the success of the design. He also has several books about other light aircraft. You can get the books directly from the author.
We spent at least an hour just walking around and getting pictures of the airplanes in attendance.
Of course airplanes weren't the only interesting visitors.
The Brodhead airport itself is definitely worth a visit, even if the Pietenpol and Hatz groups aren't in town. It's a charming place with grass runways and friendly folks, at least when it isn't cold enough for snow.
The picture to the left probably doesn't seem significant if you don't know who is in it. On the left in the black hat is William Wynne of Corvair conversion fame. In the unmistakable straw hat is one of my heroes, Bob Barrows, designer of the Bearhawk aircraft and rebuilder of aircraft engines. They were discussing the merits of the nitride process on Corvair cranks. The casual nature of such a conversation is a great example of the spirit of the Brodhead gathering. People just linger around and talk about airplanes and airplane accessories. There were a few organized seminars, but even those were small enough to have a personal feel.
I had first met Bob Barrows last spring during a Bearhawk gathering. We're thinking seriously about building one, and the open house before Sun-N-Fun was my first real information gathering session. His design philosophy with the Bearhawk was to keep the airplane simple, light, and utilitarian. I enjoy talking with him for several reasons- partly because he is a walking encyclopedia of general aviation, and partly because I share his design philosophy. On this trip to Brodhead I was lucky to be able to talk with him again. Since he is an expert on aviation engines, and obviously an expert aircraft builder as well, I wanted to see what he had to say about the Pietenpol. I casually asked him if he had ever built a Pietenpol, since I figured whether he had built one or not, he would probably have something to say about it. He said that he sure had built one, and put a Model A engine in it. Wow... I was surprised to hear that. The good things that he had to say about the airplane are the same as what most people have to say about it. For what it is, it does well. As long as you take it in the context of the design intentions, you can build one and have a good airplane.
Enough chatting, let's get to the airplanes.
Here are a few shots from the Hatz side of the airport.
Here are a few of the hangars at Brodhead and what seem to be somewhat regular tenants.
You might not be able to tell from the picture below, but the blue Piet with the Ford engine is fuel injected. What would Henry Ford have thought about that?
After the usual compliments about craftsmanship and aesthetics, it seemed like the easiest conversation starter was a question like "How is yours different from the original plans?" This opened the door to discussion about fuselage width, depth and length; wing position; engine choice; building materials; and landing gear, just to name a few.
Back in the mid 1930s when everything was still black and white, people used to be smaller. That must be one reason why the Piet is such a tight fit for cockpit occupants. Well, the more likely reason is that Bernard knew that an airplane had to be light weight in order to be successful. He kept the weight down by keeping the fuselage small. This isn't a Stearman! Several builders choose to modify the cockpit dimensions. Other than engine choices, this seemed to be the most common modification. Another common mod was some way to make it easier to get into the cockpit. Most builders provided a shortened chord in or around the wing center section.
As we were starting to get ready for a pork chop dinner, we met a few really neat people. One was the pilot of the orange Model A powered Piet pictured quite regularly. It was perhaps the most true to the original plans of all of the examples there. It had a Model A engine, all-wood construction, and original dimensions Of course it did have the "navi-bird" and other custom additions that gave it some character.
The pork chop dinner was on the grill, and Tabitha was impressed with how they flipped entire grills full by sandwiching the chops between metal grates
We all ate and had a good time. Earlier we met Richard Roller, the pilot of the orange Piet that belonged to Ken Perkins. We enjoyed talking with him at length about airplane building and airlines and the EAA. After the meal he offered us each a ride, and we took him up on the offer. It would be sort of silly to build an airplane without having at least ridden in one. The Pietenpol is a tandem seating airplane in which a solo pilot would fly from the rear seat. This puts the passenger up front.
After the rides we spent the rest of the evening watching the sky darken with all sorts of little planes. At times there were 10 in the pattern at once.
Come to think of it, maybe the sky also darkened because it was late in the day. As the still air of evening settled in, everyone seemed to get the idea to go fly in it.
We found a nice place on the airport to camp and didn't wake up until the next morning. Just before the sun was up we heard the first few departures, and by 10:00 it seemed like just about everyone was gone.
I cleaned the tent while Tabitha took the pictures. We had to get started on our trip to the open house at the machine shop, and then eventually to OSH.
| Home | Contact Me | Copyright © 2009 Jared Yates - All Rights Reserved |
|
||
| This page last modified 03/27/09 | |||||