I
added a spar to the center section where the aileron spar is, Made the
angled side pieces out of scrap 3/4 inch lumber routed out on the side that
doesn't show to decrease weight. The flop itself is made out of aluminum
and was pretty easy to fabricate with a small brake I borrowed from a
friend. A simple piano hinge on the front edge, and a simple slide to hold
it in place. My wing is 4 inches back from vertical and I can get into the
pilots seat without opening the flop, but when getting out I open it and use the
cabanes to pull myself upright before stepping out.
Ben Charvet
The combing across the front has a piece of 1/2 or so plastic tubing split
and pushed over the edge of the aluminum. Over that I put a piece of foam
pipe insulation. I measured where the forward edge of foam insulation
ended up and marked the aluminum cowl for 3/16 holes for the leather
lacing. I used a high quality vinyl for the covers, which were cut
so that there was extra material to fold over into the split in the foam pipe
insulation. All this was glued together with contact cement. The
leather lacing and the vinyl all came from JoAnn's fabric store. The
cockpit sides were made by forming a piece of thin aluminum in a "U"
shape that would fit upside down on the cockpit rail, allowing for a thickness
of vinyl on either side. A piece of the foam pipe insulation was split in
half and glued down to the top side. Vinyl was then glued to it, wrapping
around the bottom edges, so that there wouldn't be any sharp edges to damage the
fabric. I had added a 1/2 X1/4 inch piece of capstrip along the all edges
of my fuselage so the fabric would stand away from the plywood, so the width was
just about right for the foam pipe insulation. These side pieces are just
pressed into place and held by a wood screw on either end. The back edge
of the pilot's seat is a strip of aluminum with 1/2 inch plastic tubing pressed
over the forward edge. This was wrapped with vinyl, and laced with
leather. Its just held on with 5 small wood screws. Hope this helps.
Ben
After
watching the wind sock stand straight out for a week, today finally was the day.
I did one high speed taxi down the runway, just to make sure the airspeed
indicator worked (it didn't come alive till the tailwheel came up).
Lined up on the runway and went for it.
This was the first time the new engine had seen full throttle, but it
came right up and I was off. I'm in
I
was determined to stay up for an hour, and by then I was really getting chilled.
I was really surprised that the Piet is a lot less draggy than my Baby
Ace. I overshot the first landing,
the folks on the ground thinking I was doing a fly-by.
The second approach was still a little fast, but I managed to do what I
considered an amazing landing, considering how many people were watching.
I'll attach a post-flight picture with the "Pietenpol Grin".
The airport bums and my wife went out for a celebratory lunch, and I went
back to the airport for a post-flight inspection.
While I was doing that a stranger drove up and congratulated me on my
first flight. He introduced himself
as an FAA inspector! He was a real
nice guy, though and asked if I would be going to Sun-N-Fun (70 miles past my
Phase 1 radius). I told him I would
if I could fly my 25 hrs off. He
said if I could get 15 hours on it he would write me a waiver!
Look for me parked in the homebuilders corner.
In
all I flew 1.9 hours today, and if it warms up a little and the weather
cooperates, I should be able to take my wife up for her long-awaited first ride
soon. This list has been a great
help and inspiration. Hope we can
get a good showing at Sun-N-Fun. Get
building guys, its worth it!
Ben
Charvet
NX866BC
23.1
hrs to go