(Piet Vertical) The Pietenpol Air Camper was designed in 1929
by Bernard H Pietenpol. It was one of the first successful homebuilt airplanes and was originally designed to fly on the power of a Ford Model A automobile engine. Since 1929 several hundred have been built, using every imaginable engine. Mine has a 1945 Continental A65. The design produces a great deal of drag, so Pietenpols are basically "Low and Slow" airplanes. Mine cruises at about 65 mph.

(Airframe Complete) The airframe is all wood; Sitka Spruce with either Birch or Mahogany plywood. The Pietenpol is not available as a kit, so every single piece must be made by hand.

(Airframe Complete Rearview) The Piet is flown solo from the rear cockpit, to provide for less change in balance when carrying a passenger. The rear seat has better visibility than the front as well.

(Engine assembly) I rebuilt the engine, starting with a worn out core. I had the crankcase and crankshaft connecting rods and rocker arms overhauled at professional shops. I added a new camshaft, new cam followers, new valve lifters, new cylinders, new pistons, new intake manifolds, and new magnetos. I overhauled the carburetor. During assembly, I matched the weights of the reciprocating components so that each cylinder's components were within a gram of each other. The engine starts easily and runs great.

(Fabric Left Wing) I covered the plane with Stits Polyfiber, and painted it with Aerothane polyurethane paint

(Nearly ready for the Airport) The plane was completely assembled in my basement, then disassembled to move it to the airport.

(Rear Cockpit) This is a view of the rear cockpit, showing the small number of instruments (by aircraft standards)

(First Flight Rollout) This picture shows me rolling after landing on my first flight in the airplane, October 5th 2004. The flight went perfectly.