FAMOUS

OF THE PASTBUILTS

Here's the "Sky Scout" taxiing out for a flight.

The Pietenpol "Sky Scouti'(By George Hardie, Jr.

E veryone attending the 1957EAA Fly-In had an opportunity

// to look over three fine examples ofthe famous Pietenpol "Air Camp-er" design, and to observe the fly-ing characteristics of this ruggedpioneer among homebuilts. Oneof the ships, owned and flown by

Doug Rolfe's drawing gives an ideaof the "Sky Scout's" proportions. Thephoto at left indicates that the radi-ator interfered with forward visibilityto some extent.

FEBRUARY 1958

Allen Rudolf of Juneau, Wis., wasbuilt in 1934 and is powered by theoriginal Model A Ford engine. Ithas given Allen many hours oftrouble-free, economic perform-ance. The other two ships \v ;repowered with more modern en-gines, one with a Lycoming andthe other with a Franklin. De-tails on the "Air Camper" designwere presented in the second ofthis "Famous Homebuilt" serieswhich appeared in the May, 1956issue of the EXPERIMENTER.

Not generally known is the factthat the designer of the "Air Camp-er", B. H. Pietenpol of Spring Val-ley, Minn., also designed a single-seater expressly to be poweredwith a modified Model T Ford en-gine. This was the "Sky Scout",details of which appeared in the1933 Flying Manual from whichwe reproduce some of the draw-

PIETENPOL AIR CAMPERTORO MODEL "A" MOTOR

ings with the generous permissionof Mechanix Illustrated magazine.Those not familiar with the famousFlying Manuals will understandtheir popularity, even today, bynoting the clarity, simplicity, andcompleteness of these drawings.Certainly they set a standard whichwe should attempt to follow today.

Our purpose in presenting thisseries on these old aircraft is toacquaint our readers with the con-struction details and the simple,practical approach made by thepioneer designers. The basic prob-lem of yesterday's homebuilder(and today's as well) was to get

Port 1 of 3 Parts

into the air as cheaply as possibleand safely. Construction materialsand techniques used in these air-craft have been greatly advanced,but there is much to be learnedfrom a study of their design andconstruction. At least we mustgive these pioneers much credit foraccomplishing what they did withwhat they had. We can and shouldbe able to do better with today'smaterials and techniques.

The "Sky Scout", l ike WilburSmith's "Termite" featured in theJanuary issue of SPORT AVIA-TION, was of all-wood construc-tion, and was very similar in designto the earlier "Air Camper" as in-dicated in the silhouette compari-son. It was designed around theplentiful Model T Ford engine(converted for aircraft use) butwith a few minor changes in thedesign, the Model A engine could

—. — — - T H E WING SPAN OVERALL IS 27 FT 3ilN (327")- — — — - — - —— — - •

•t: TO CUT DOWN FRONTAL AREA,r FULL SIZE RADIATOR IN HALF5 LAP ONE HALF IN BEHIND THEHER———————————————— —————————,

PULLEY AND HORNET NOTE: THE CENTER STRUTS UEAMBACK FIVE - ONE HALF INCHES

BRACE CABLES ON SIDESAND SIDES ONLY

STREAMLINEDFLYING STRUTSSEE DETAILS

AILERON HORN

AIR SPEEDINDICATORCONTROL

CABLE TO AILERON

THE FRONT VIEWOF THE PLANE

FOR LONGERONSTEMPERATUREGAGE

NOTE:COVER THE

' FUSELAGE WITHGRADE "A- AERO COTTONMAY BE TACKED TO FUSE.]GIVE 5-COATS OF DOPE

W

26' X 3' WHEELSAND T I R E SDETAIL OF AXLE COLLAR

PUSH PULLTHROTTL

BANKINGINDICATOR

GROUND LINE

, GAS FILLER CAPZZm—»——•«—————80- CHORD

THE COMPLETE. ARRANGEMENT IOF INSTRUMENTS ON DASH BOARD

AILERON HORN ANDCONTROL CABLES i"x 16 GAGE

ATTACH FITTINGSBRACE CABLE OR

/•HEAVY PADDING/ AROUND COCKPIT' ED3ES

SPRUCETURTLE BACK RIBS

FRONTSTABILIZERBEAM —

1 A" CONTROL1 3Z CABLE

FLYING STRUT BRACE

26- X 3' WHEELSNO TIRES

DIA WOOD J5PELLER

PITCH

ID MODELOR "A"

TOR

(EAIULINE[ COWLING .'H ZZ CA. 'U M i ti J M

j

ir

1>

'—

Iff

Y

4> l)

71

I DETAILSLANCING —

*R ASS-6LY

rE: SEE FUSELAGEkWINGS FOR THEHPLETE DIMENSIONS

SPRUCE FAIRING ]/ 1

A CONTROL /32 CABLES Y

THE SIDE VIEOF THE COMPLETE

f "^SEE THE fOF THE TA

WPLANE

SSEMBLYIL SKID

-—-,.!•-.

•OVERALL LENGTH OF PLANE IS Ifl FT

LONGERONS^

DETAILS OF ATTACHINGHORIZONTAL STABILIZER ATFRONT BEAM TO LONGERON

THE SCALE____ ]

> I N I N C H C S •*«

also be used. Pietenpol claimedthe "Sky Scout" to be the easiestship to build and fly as was possi-ble to make it. The accompanyingoutline drawings would seem tobear him out.

Construction was started withthe fuselage. Quoting from Pieten-pol's article in the 1933 FlyingManual:

"The construction of the fuselageis very plainly drawn up and Idon't think you will have anytrouble with it. It is made from% in. x 7/s in. spruce, for longeronsand struts, while the sides and frontare covered with 3/32 in. mahog-any plywood. The floor is madeof % in. five-ply Haskelite. Allgusset plates of Vs in. material.Remember, all plywood must be

regular aircraft grade and water-proof.

"Use a good glue. We use Rod-gers semi-waterproof and give ittwo good coats of varnish. Youmay use regular casein glue, butbe sure you know how to handleit. It won't keep long (12 hours).

"You will need a large bench onwhich to draw out and build yourfuselage jig. We use the same jigfor both sides.

"Each strut is held in place byblocks which are left nailed downuntil both sides are finished. Al-so leave the longerons a little long,and wrap some wire from the topto the bottom longerons, twistingit tight with a nail until you havethe plywood nailed and glued on

1S3?" (l2-9f")ovERALL LENGTH

THE INSIDE VIEW OF FUSELAGE

.TAIL SKIDHTTING

BETWEEN GUSSET PLATEAND FITTINGS WITH jf X £

^ENGINE MOUNTAND LANDING GEARFITTINGS

TAPERED AT ENDS

THE OUTSIDE VIEW OF FUSELAGE

STRIPS ON CORNERS

ISjJ"(l2I-»J")ovERALL LENGTH

COWLING SUPPORTS-l»"x 2' ENGINE SUPPORT

FITTING AROUND FRONT S

-2.|-

THE TOP VIEW OF FUSELAGE

SPRUCE

NOTE ALL STRUTS. BRACES.AND LONGERONS AREr«r

6" WHITE ASHWEDGE TO SUPPORTTHE TAIL SKID

THE SCALE12 24

IN INCHES

THE BOTTOM VIEW OF FUSELAGE

—-THE MEASUREMENTS AND -«-•-THE ASSEMBLY OF THE FUSELAGE-

BOLT WELDED IN POST

X 20 GAGE ,. — -TUBE J X 16 GA TUBE

WELDED IN BARAND BORED TOJ" FOR BEARING

T SIDE VIEW

ASSEMBLY OF RUDDER BAR AND POST

each side. When the glue is dry,you may saw off the longerons infront.

"First lay out one side in the jig,putting in all struts and braces.When you make one strut, makeanother just like it to be used onthe other side so the two will beexactly alike. Be sure to use a mi-ter box for this work.

"Next glue and nail on all theVs in. gusset plates, wire the frontlongerons together so they will notspring apart and break the gussetplates.

"Now remove the side from thejig, pat the longerons, struts andbraces for the other side into thejig, and put in the gusset plates,starting from the tail and workingup to where the 3/32 in. sides start.

"Now take the side you havejust finished from the jig, lay iton a piece of 3/32 in. plywood,and mark out all longerons, strutsand braces by running a pencilaround them, then cut the plywoodthe size of the fuselage. Make twoof these - one for the right and onefor the left side.

"The side of the plywood bear-ing the pencil marks goes on theoutside, and gives you good marksto keep your nails between.

"Now put a good layer of glueon the longerons, struts and braces

DRILL j|" HOLESAND BEND AS SHOWN

______ABOVE

IB GA. BRACKET TOR PULLEYSDETAILS OF THE DOUBLE

PULLEY ON THE: COKITROI STICK

20 FEBRUARY 195t

T

«*o_L

VOC

DETAIL OF GUIDEBRACKET

4-RWD i« CAPULLEY FOR AILERON CABLE

|'x 20 GAGE* TUBE-

BEARING.^

STREAMLINETUBE FORCRANK NOIM7

REAR VIEW OF BELL CRANK

/X

CONT _ ^_ ^

"~ '" CRANKBEARING BEARING TUBE

•"——————, 2-RE3UIRED

ASSEMBLY OF BELL CRANKMOUNT ON FUSELAGE STRUTS______Jf

as far back as the plywod goes;lay on your plywood and get busynailing it down with -^ in. x 18gauge cement coated nails. All

JNE we-o

FRONT BULKHEADSEAT BACK

t CUTOUTFOR REARCONTROLF-ULLEYS

J~SEAT SUPPORT1' PLYWOOD BD.

iSEAT BOTTOM

EXTRA ARCHSUPPORT WEB

COWLING SUPPORT TURTLEBACKNAIL SEAT BACK SUPPORTTO FUSELAGE STRUTS

BULKHEADAT SECOND

STATION AFTOF SEAT B»CK

CONTROL ~~" "TUBE. BEARING ... . xDETAIL OF • /g PLYWOOD iFRAMING THE SEAT -1—3 ———————NOTE; SEE THEFUSELAGE PLANS

——————————

INSTRUMENT BD.

DETAILED DIMENSIONS -J————— ———r

OF BULKHEADS AND i MIDSUPPORT FORlSUPPORTS TURTLEBACK

TOP VICW OF TMC VJO'COMPLtTE CONTROLS

THE DETAIL Or THECONTROL STICK ANO riTTINCS

»' »<-» ^ TOMut

j:

.,--..... r I.QO B , - n* i \jr ^ vn^ku

^^^^ O B ^*f ' \f '"njrt*^ ——-^T FRONT TORQUE TUBE BEARING

THE COMPLETE ASSEMBLY OF THE CONTROLS

o'her gusset piates are aiso put onu Uh this size nail.

"Wh:n you have this done, wirehe front of the longerons together

and remove from the jig. Now re-; ov j all ihe blocks from the benchso t at it is smooth. Turn the sideof the fuselage over and put thegusset plates on that side; then dothe same with the first side youstarted.

"Now take the two sides andclamp them together. Saw off theends of the longerons exactly thesame length. Take a tri-squareand mark off all strut stations, theplace for the instrument board, anda few marks that will come inhandy to measure from.

"Now make the seat back andIhe front bulkhead. (These mustbe perfect, as the whole job de-perds on them). Nail and gluethem in place. You may now putin the J/4 in. x five-plywood floor,nailing it in with 1 in. 17 gaugenails. Next comes the top of thefuselage.

"Now pull the tail end of thelongerons together, make this jointfit good, glue and nail it good, andput in all the rest of the struts andbraces, using the center linemethod to get it straight. That is,make a line in the center of eachstrut and make a tight string orwire pass over this line whendrawn from the center of front tocenter of the tail post.

"The struts are next set on thegusset plates of the sides. Then puton the turtle back, instrumentboard, cowling, and support andthe woodwork is finished except

for the seat, which you should haveno trouble with."

Drawings of the control systemare self-explanatory. While prim-itive by today's standards, theyserved the purpose. Many con-struction techniques used wouldnot be acceptable today. How-ever, the "Sky Scout" remains apractical design, basically simpleand straight forward. Next month'sPart 2 in the series will give de-tails on the wings and tail sur-faces. , A

LACING MOLCSMETHOD OF MAKING UP COCKPIT PADDING

TO BE ALLOWEDFOR JOINT

. -145—HNOSE CONE PLATE

ATTACH CONE AFTERCOWLING IS COMPLETE

SCALLOPED TO*B£ND OVER DISK

5—«———2i-——•1 f J" LAP FORLti^VwiNT-*

LOWER^^^^^^^^LJ. SIDEENGINE COWLING ENGINE

A P P R O X I M A T E MEASUREMENTS

12-

NOSE DISCOF HALF INCH PINE

FREE FROM KNOTS

| '———«,•—--:n

2Z CA. AL U.

————— 34"

COCKPIT COWLINGOF 22 GA. ALUMINUM

CA ALUMINUM

MISCELLANEOUS P F. TAILS OF FUSELAGE

Part 2 of 3 Parts

The Pietenpol

"Sky Scout"

By George Hardie, Jr.

P art 1 of this series on the ModelT-powered P i e t e n p o l "Sky

Scout" dealt with the constructionof the fuselage and presented de-tailed drawings on it and the con-trols system and cockpit. Thismonth we will continue with de-tails on the construction of thewing and empennage.

The wing used on the "SkyScout" was practically the same asthat of the "Air Camper" exceptthat it was 11 in. shorter in span.Rib construction and airfoil wereexactly the same on both ships. An

interesting account on how Pieten-pol evolved his airfoil section aftermuch experimentation was includ-ed in the article on the "Air Camp-er" that appeared in the May, 1956issue of the EXPERIMENTER.Similarity of other design featuresis evident upon a close compari-son of the two ships.

Quoting again from Pietenpol'sarticle in the 1933 Flying Manual,on the wing construction of the"Sky Scout" (reprinted throughthe kind permission of MechanixIllustrated magazine):

"The wing on the 'Sky Scout' ismuch too strong and could belightened a little. It weighs about90 Ibs. complete. It was only builtthis heavy because all the regularparts to build the 'Air Camper'wing were used.

01SPRUCE LEADING CDCE f-CUT OUT fOD RAO

327- (27'-3-) (S OVERALL LENGTH OF WING

ROUTED SECTION

TYPICAL VIEW OF WING BEAM G STRUTFITTINGS

30- x ie£ PIECE OF PLYWOODNAILED TO BOTTOM OFBEAMS AND STRUTSTO BRACE THE CENTER

METHOD OF A T T A C H I N G THEGASOLINE TANK TO WING FLOP IS TO BE

RAISED WHILE THEPILOT ENTERS SHIPTHE SCALE IN INCHES

6 " II ' 24 3«DETAIL OF

LATCH ON FLOPDETAILS OF WING ASSEMBLY

1* MARCH 1958

le big wheels and the ra-itor blocking the visibil-

mukes the "Sky Scout")k ancient, but at leaste flew!

"I wish to call youi attention tothe brace right back of the rearbeam. This was changed from theplans of the 'Air Camper', and Iadvise all of you who have notbuilt up your wings to build themthis way.

"After your ribs are finished,make your beams and splice themin the center. Now mark off allplaces where the ribs will come,having the two beams clamped to-gether. A good way to do this isto mark off the places on half ofthe spars, then reverse one beamand mark the other half from thefirst marks. You will then knowthat it is right.

"Next glue in the piece of 3/32in. or Vg in plywood that is setbeneath the gas tank, and be sure

BUILTS

you have this in the center andperfectly square, as the wholewing is lined up from this center.Now put on all the ribs and glueand nail them with two 1 in. by17 gauge nails at each joint. Onthe top it will be found necessaryto put in small spruce blocks tof i l l up the gap. These must beglued on both sides-

"The fittings are so clear on theplans that it would be a waste oftime to say anything about them.They are all made of regular 1025aircraft steel and are more thanstrong enough.

"Next put on all wing fittingsand brace wires (we use 3/32 in.cable as it is easier to handle, al-though No. 12 hard wire is OK),and line the wing up with thewires. Do not make them too tightuntil you get in your compressionstruts and wing tips.

"Now put on the leading edge,trailing edge, aileron beams, flopbeams, and wing tips in the ordernamed. Line up the wing so thatit is perfectly straight and put inall the braces. Put in the \k in. x>/4 in- braces on the ailerons andput all filler strips on the aileronhinges (which are only small straphinges with a new pin put in which

has a cotter pin hole in its end)."Now place the control horns,

and you are ready to cut the ail-erons and center flop from thewing. By leaving all the ribs ful llength and cutting the ailerons andflop free, when finished you aresure to get a better and straighterwing. After you have all the partsfinished and sanded, you may givethe whole thing a coat of varnish

"Put in the gas tank (5M> gallon^and the wing is ready to cover.You may use any light grade ofaircraft cloth for this or you mayuse sheeting. Tack a piece 60 inwide the full length of the wingall around the edge, bottom sidefirst. Give the edge a coat ofdope, turn the wing over and do thesame on top.

"Now sew the cloth to the ribsin the regular manner, put on acoat of dope, then all the tape andpatches around the fittings andgive the wing four extra coatsof dope (five in all). The last twocoats may be colored. I advise alight coat of paint on the wing ifyou wish the cloth to last a longtime, although this makes the shipharder to patch.

"Just a little warning, be sureand put the flop in the center. A

NOTE- AIRFOIL DIMENSIONS ARE FROMEXTREME TOP Or RIB TO BOTTOM OFTHE LOWER RI6e=

PLYWOOD GUSSETPLATES CLUEDAND NAILED

X 4, SPRUCI\CM> STRIPS8-3Z MACH. SCREW

WITH JET IN HEAD

DETAIL MEASUREMENTS OF THE AIRFOILMETHOD OF ATTACHING

THE LEADING EDGE5 SPRUCE CAPAND LOWER STRIPS

SPKUCE LEADINGEDGE SEE DETAIL

PLYWOOD GUSSET PLATESCLUED AND NAILED

PLYWOOD PLATES GLUEDAND NAILED ON TOP AND

TYPE OF RIB AND TRAILING EDGEFURNISHED IN READY MADE

ATERIAL

METHOD OF ATTACHINGTHE TRAILNG EDGEDETAIL. CONSTRUCT ION OF T>-£ RIB

4ELD ON BOTH

ENDSWING 9CAMSA R E OF SELECTSP'JCE ^

STREAMLINE BENDTO ALL HORNS8-32 MACHINE SCO

FOB ALL HINGESAND HORNS

USE WASHERS

4" X 13 CA BRACEWELD AND BOLT TO BEAM NOTE

MARE-4-PATTERNSAS SHOWNBEND ON THE yDOTTED LINESFULL SECT ROUTED SECT

WING BEAM DETAIL

SPRUCE TRAILINGEDGESPRUCE AILERONS

SPARS -AILERON ISTO BE COMPLETELY BUILTIN WING AND THEN

AWED FREE

, CONTROL CABLE325 S E TURNBUCKLE RIB

AILERON HORN

COMPLETE DETAIL OF ————THE AILERON RIB AND $°H

THE CONSTRUCTION -*i2*-|COMPLETE DETAILS OF THE WING FRONT VIEW

AND THE ASSEMBLY OF AILERON AND HORNSIDE VIEW OF PATTERN

ASSEMBLY OF AILERON HORN-HJH

REAR VIEW

SPORT AVIATION 19

PLYWOODGUSSET PLATESNAILED AND GLUED XTT ? X ll"RI8S NAIl-E[> ANO

SEE TAIL SKID*" H« CLUED ON BOTH SIDESASSEMBLY S|DE vlf:w OF VERTICAL FIN

AND RUDDERTOP VIEW OF ELEVATORS AND STABILIZER

_ALL BEAMS AND STRUTS ARE SPRUCE

i" X IS CA. FITTINGS

I" BRACE CABLE OR10 14 CA. HARD WIRE

LEADING CENTER MAINEDGE BEAM BEAM

VARIOUS BEAMS SECTIONSDRILL !i HOLES ^BEND

REAR V IEW OFFIN AND STABILIZERUSE 325 S.F ,S

TURNBUCKLES

SIDE END SIDEFEMALE MALE l-»-1'ALL SCREW HOLES COUNTERSUNK 27-REQ'D 9-REQ'D. 9-REQ'D.

THE COMPLETE HINGE DETAILS FOR THE TAIL9-RESUIRED OF 16 CAGE STEEL

••-THE COMPLETE DETAILS AND ASSEMBLY OF THE EMPENNAGE FUSELAGE>

(TRAD

PATTERN FOR ELEVATOR HORN4-THUS REQ'D OF 22 GA STL

PATTERN FOR RUDDER HORN2-THUS REQ'D OF 22 CA STL

NOTE: SEC DETAIL OF AILERON HORNFOR TYPICAL CONSTRUCTION

lot of those building the 'AirCamper' did not do this but puta large opening instead and spoiledthe climb of the ship. Rememberthat you cannot have all the fea-tures of a high powered plane ina small Ford-powered ship and ex-pect it to fly well, and the flop isone of the things that makes theseships a success. The first thing toremember in building a low-pow-ered ship is to keep the weightdown and the efficiency up."

The sage advice expressed inthat last sentence holds as true to-day as the day it was written.While some of the techniques rec-ommended in the above quotation20

would be questioned by today'sstandards, still one must admire thepractical approach made to theproblem of dssigning a simply con-structed, economical a i r c r a f t .Again I wish to emphasize thatthese drawings and details on theseold aircraft are presented for studyand evaluation, rather than as arecommended project for thehomebuilder. Materials used wouldbe in some cases unacceptable to-day, but the fact that even withthese handicaps these old aircraftproved successful speaks well forthe courage of these pioneer home-builders. Today we can draw upontheir experiences as a valuable

guide and with the vastly superioradvantage of being able to chooseour materials from a wide selec-tion of proven types and grades,we should be able to produce su-perior designs.

The tail surfaces of the "SkyScout" follow the same generallines as those of the "Air Camper".Wood construction was used, withcovering of fabric. The drawingsclearly show all details and areself-explanatory.

Next month's concluding articlewill present details on the land-ing gear tail skid, motor mount,and struts and fittings. A

Here's the "flop"mentioned by Piet-enpol which in-creased the lift ofthe wing.

MARCH 1958

The "Sky Scout" gets off theground quickly, and has a land-ing run of only 250 ft. Close-up below shows the Ford ModelT engine installation on thePietenpol "Sky Scout".

The Pietenpol Sky ScoutL//

By George Hardie, Jr.

H omebuilders of 25 years ago wereas anxious to get into the air as

any today. B. H. Pietenpol of SpringValley, Minn., provided one practicalanswer to this demand with his two-seater "Air Camper", designed to bepowered with a converted Ford ModelA engine. When he was floodedwith requests for a design to take theplentiful (at that time) Ford ModelT engine, he came up with the "SkyScout", a single-seater whose con-

Port 3 of3 Ports

struction was practically the sameas the "Air Camper".

In two previous installments wehave presented detailed drawings and

BEND ASSHOWN FOB

STRUT

X 12 CA. ROUNDTUBE FOR FRONTLANDING GEAR STRUT

METHOD OF ATTACHING»THEFRONT LANDING GEAR STRUT

AND FLYING STRUT TO FUSELAGE,

OUTSIDE FITTINGFOR ENGINE MOUNT

tp 2-THUS REQ'O I4GA

-^£fi4iWINSIDE FITTING

FOR ENGINE MOUNT2-THUS REQ'D 14 GA

-•-MISCELLANEOUS FITTINGS-*-

WHIN THISF'T-C 0 USEDON 5101- DRILLTHESE MOLES

BOTTOM PLATE FORALL FITTINGS

8-THUS REO'P 14 CA

HOMEdata on the "Sky Scout", giving de-tails and construction notes on thefuselage, wing and tail surfaces.In this final installment we presentdetails on the landing gear, tail skid,motor mount, wing struts and fit-tings. This material is taken fromthe 1933 Flying Manual and is re-printed with the generous permis-sion of Mechanix Illustrated maga-zine.

The landing gear on the "SkyScout" followed the popular style ofthe day, using a Vee hinged to thelower longeron of the fuselage anda shock strut running up to a fit-

1} X 12 CA ROUNDFORWARD LANDINGGEAR STRUT_____

SEE SHEETOF LANDINGCtAR A'S'BLY

REAR LANDING GEAR[STRUT ———

WHEEL WASHCR ISMCA - WELD TOA<LE AND WEBS

f H O

X 13 CA BOTTOMWELDED

OVER JOINT OFA»LE TO STRUTS

DETAIL OF AXLEEND AND METHOD

OF ATTACHING TO STRUTS

APRIL 1958

ting on the upper longeron. Pie-tenpol had this to say about it inthe Flying Manual article:

"This has proven to be a verystrong outfit which will stand plentyof abuse. While it would be diffi-cult to explain how this is built, theplans are very clear and you shouldhave no trouble.

"You will have to use a turninglathe and be a good welder to makethe gear shown here. You may al-so build the type of landing gearthat is used on the 'Air Camper'.You will find that this is much easierto make and is quite strong enough.

"While we are on the subject ofthe 'Air Camper' gear, we had betterput on some safety device to keepthe ship from dropping to the groundif the shock cord breaks, since itseems that everybody has troublewrapping shock cord.

"Here is the method we use: Firstcut a piece of leather to fit aroundthe bottom of the landing gear vee

A" PLYWOOD" SIDES

14 CA SAND BOf ITTINO ——K.HV <» SHOWN

STRUT

14 GA FITTINGWELD TO STRAPAND BOLTED TO

BOTTOM, iVlPLATI,11 ————

STREAMLINETUBE MO.ICtSFOR RCAR LANDINGGCAR STRUT.

METHOD OFATTACHINGSTRAPS TO

^BOTTOM PLATESJ FLYING

CASTRAP BETWEENFITTINGS

RCAR LAND.GEAR STRUT-,

WELD

METHOD OFATTACHING REARLAND GEAR STRUTAND FLYING STRUTTO THE FUSELAGE

BUILTS and lace it on with lace leather. Nowtake 6 ft. of lk in. shock cord andhave someone hold it about half way

up on the outside of the front landinggear strut. Take the other end andpass it under the landing gear vee,over the axle, under the vee on theinside of the first wrap, over theaxle on the outside of the first wrapand under the vee on the insideof the last wrap until you have threewraps pulled quite tight.

"The cord should be just longenough to make a good square knotand to permit taping of the ends.This method makes each wrap aboutthe same length and you will nothave any trouble with your shockcord cutting. The landing gearshould give not over one inch witha full load in the ship, but neithershould it be any tighter.

"The tail skid comes next. Thisis of extremely simple construc-tion, but it has proved so efficientthat we are now using it on all ofthe planes we build. Be sure toput a small keel on the shoe or youwill find your ship hard to steer ona windy day. This keel will alsohelp to prevent the beginner fromground looping."

There aren't many airports leftwhere tail skids are welcomed, soI suppose we may regard this item

s ETURNBUCKLESk^

ENGINE B E A R E R S

l|"x 16 CASMOCK STRUT/

SIDEVIEW

•JjL. OF ]'• LUG '

l« GA. PLATEWELDED TOTUBE SUPPORTS

UPPER PLATE AND LUGSFOR ATTACHING SHOCK STRUT

1- PLATES AND 4 LUGS RE3'D.

SEE D E T A I L SOF PLATE F ITTINGE L S E W H E R E •———•

WING STRUTATTACH FITTING

H E A R STRUTSSTREAMLINE

SIDE VIEW OFENGINE MOUNTLANDING GEAR

TUBE FORTHE A X L E _. . . i WELD HINGE

r-»6->-J JHAFT TO18 GA STRWELD TO BOLTEDLUG

DETAIL OF "A"NUT ANDC O T T E R PIN

FRONT VIEW OF THELANDING GEAR

BOTTOM OFA T T A C H PLATE

ENGINE MOUNTF I T T I N G SJ'x 20 GAGE

TUBE SUPPORTS

X IB" GAGETUBE WELOEO

IN END TOREINFORCETUBE ENDENGINE BEARER

SUPPORTS W.TMLUGS LOWER ASSEMBLYW E L D E D TO TUBE

TREAD FOR 2"

SMALL SPRINGS^"PLYWOOD SIDES

LONGERONS

" X 2' WHITE ASHENGINE BEARERS UPPER SHOCK

STRUT FITTINGS SPRING MUST SUPPORT IB CA SOLID PLATE

n?LONG4°° POUNOS UPPER ASSEMBLYI" IN DIAM. 2 - T H u S R E Q U I R E D

TOP VIEW OF THEENGINE MOUNT TOP VIEW

OF CHECK LUGS

ASSEMBLY OF SHOCK STRUT AND LANDING GEAR

ATTEND EAA's SIXTH NATIONAL FLY-IN AUGUST 8, 9, 10 MILWAUKEE, WIS.SPORT AVIATION 19

as a mark of the past. But let's con-tinue with the construction notes:

"After you have your ship com-plete, that is, the motor in, tail groupon, all controls in, and are ready forthe wing, make up your center strutslike the drawings, all brace wiresmade, then get about four extrahelpers, put the wing on the centerstruts and line up.

"Next have someone hold up theends of the wing so that it will havea little dihedral, and measure thelength of the front flying struts.These should both be exactly thesame length. When these are inplace, do the same with the rearflying struts. Now make the flyingor brace wires. Hook up the ailer-ons, safety all turnbuckles and yourship should be ready to go."

Simple enough for the ambitiousmechanic. The completed airplanecertainly would take no beauty prize,but the designer's practical approachto the problem of providing an eco-nomical machine of simple construc-tion was evident in every line. Pie-tenpol had this to say about his "SkyScout":

"I believe this to be the safestlight plane there is, and if this designis a start in that direction, it has

TAIL BRACE WIREFITTING(/-•-THE

-••ANDCOMPLETE DETAILS -J»-ASSEMBLY OF THE •*-

-TAIL SKIDSCREW POCKET PLATTO THE FUSELAGE

COTTER PIN ANDWASHER Ik" DIA. X 7 -LONG HARD SPRING

TO COMPRESS AT ISO LBS

THE SIDE VIEW OFCOMPLETE TAIL SKID

ASSEMBLY

X 20 GA.S IDE TUBES WELD THE

SHOE PLATITO THEUNDERSIDEOF TUBES

VIEW OF TAIL SKIDLOOKING DOWN

SERVE ASHINGE PIN

SPRING ANDPOCKET TUBE.WELD TO PLATES

FLARE SIDES OFHPOCKET TUBE OUTAS SHOWN

NOTE: FUSELAGE IS SHOWNCUT AWAY TO ADMIT FULLVIEW OF TAIL SKID

Z

SPRING POCKET TUBE20 GA. 2-THUS REQ'D.

POCKET TUBE PLATEOF tZ GA. ATTACH TO

UNDCRSIOE OF FUSELAGE

BEND AS-'SHOWN ABOVE

ATTACH FITTING FORTAIL SKID ASS'BLY.

OF M CA______7-THUS R'O- TAIL BRACE WIRE FITTINGOF 16 CA.___________ONE REQ'O

TAIL SKID SHOE PLATEOF » CA._____ONE REQ'O.

all been well worth the time we haveput into it. But those of you whowish only to build so that they willhave something to fly had better

build it exactly as the plans, and youwill be sure of having a ship that isvery easy to handle. It is cheap torun and will land and take off at a

FRONT CENTERFLYING STRUTFAVORS OUTSIDEOF FITTING

SEE DETAILSOF ENDS OF

STRUTS

* J2S S ETURNBUCKL REAR CENTER

FLYING STRUTS E *32STURNBUCKLE

FLYING STRUTSARE 1697 STREAMLINETUBES,

j"x 20 CAENGINE MOUNT TUBE CENTER STRUTS

LEAN BACK FIVEAND ONE HALF INCHESCUT TUBE

BEND ANDWCLO

A PLYWOODJ' FUSELAGC

SIDES DETAIL AT UPPERREAR CENTER STRUT

A PLYWOOD•" ON SIDES

FUSELAGEUPPER] ENGINEMOUNT AND STRUTASSEMBLY

NOTE: SEE DETAILS OFLOWER FITTINGS ONANOTHER SHEET

CUT OUTAND WELDEDTOGETHERFOR BEND

INSIDE FITTINGUPPER ENGINE MOUNT

DETAIL OF BENDINGAND REINFORCINGMOUNTING TUBES

OUTSIDE FITTINGUPPER ENGINE MOUNT

t-"tomato or 14CABACK PLATE FOR THE

SHOCK STRUT FITTING4- REQL'D OF 14 CA

NSIOE FITTING

FITTINGS FOR THE UPPERREAR CENTER STRUT

2-REOUiREO OF 14 GAGE STEEL

UPPER ENGINE MOUNTAND REAR CENTER STRUT DETAILS

APRIL 1958

7 **xAAOIATO*

OUTLIT MOM

Here's the waymounted on the

the Model T"Sky Scout".

was

field where the average OX-5 job, orsimilar powered ship, would be com-pletely out of luck."

The hey-day of the "Sky Scout"has long since passed, but once againsmall all-wood aircraft are beingbuilt and flown. Wilbur Smith's"Termite", described in the Januaryissue of SPORT AVIATION, is a fineexample of what can be accomplishedtoday. The Druine Turbulent and

Turbi, the Jodel "Bebe" and "Club"and many others indicate what canbe done with wood construction.Several others, notably a single-placefolding wing craft that we will pre-sent soon, show that designers arestill seeking the simple, practical air-craft for just plain flying.

There is no way of knowing howmany "Sky Scouts" were built, butthere is no denying the fact that thedesign work of F. H. Pietenpol, asexemplified by his "Air Camper"and "Sky Scout" homebuilts, hasleft his mark on today's design think-ing. Certainly the simplicity of con-struction and the practical approachto the design problems are goalsthat all homebuilts will always beseeking.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THEPIETENPOL "SKY SCOUT"

Top Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 mphCruising Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 mphLanding Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 mphTake-off Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 ft.Landing Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 ft.Initial Climb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 fpmSpan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ft. 3 in.Chord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ft.Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 ft. 3 in.

BOLTS

I? BOLT J1DE y|EW

WING SPAR

END VIEW SIDE VIEWEND Ww SIDE VIEWASSEMBLY OF THE OUTER ASSEMBLY OF THE CENTERFLYING STRUT FITTING FLYING STRUT FITTINGS

NOTE: USE THE SAME ASSEMBLY FOR THE BOTH SPARS DETAIL OFFLATTEN FRONT OP _... . ,y<- ..... npArKFTSTRUTS AND REAR OF PULLEYS AND BRACKET

Z- BRACKETS REft'O.6-PULLEYS

OUTER STRUT FITTING ON WING SPAR »~\THUS REfr'O Of II CA

CENTER STRUT FITTINGON WING SPAR

FTG. ON CENTERSTRUT FITTING

4-REq-D EACHO GA. STEEL

FRONT FLYING STRUTS M'LONJREAR FLYING STRUTS »0" LONG

¥ TUBE BRAZEDBORE TO f.ONEACH END

DETAIL OF ENDS OFFLYING STRUTBRACKET FOR PULLEY

Z-THUS REQ'O OF 13 CA.

ie«7 STREAMLINE TUBINGFRONT CENTER STRUT tlf LC^REAR CENTER STRUT

TURNBUCKLE ANDWIRE FITTINGS

OF 13 CAGEDETAIL OF ENDS OF CENTER STRUTS

AFOLDINGLOW-WING

John S. Zagorodny, 682 MatianuckAve., Windsor, Conn., sends us photosof his low-wing monoplane. Thewing is designed to fold inboard 6ft. as on a shipboard fighter. Widthwith wings folded will be 8 ft., justright to fit in the door of John'sgarage. Wings are a redesign ofLuscombe panels to take .020 - 75STaluminum covering.

A Continental 75 is planned forpower. Cessna type gear in the wingstubs will have wide tread. Weightempty is to be 480 Ibs., with a 760Ibs. gross. Wing span is 20 ft. 6 in.,area 80 sq. ft. Length is 17 ft. 6 in.John expects a cruising speed of120 mph and a landing speed of46.5 mph.

John writes, "I have but one re-gret - that I don't live in your areato be able to work with you fellowsand get to your meetings, etc. It'svery diff icul t pulling all alone tostart a project and completely finishit. but I'll not give up. No matterhow hard I try to get interest uparound here, it lasts for only a fewweeks. Perhaps when I get theship flying and they see what I meanby a ship that's a mechanic's dream,maybe the bug will bite."

ATTEND EAA's SIXTH NATIONAL FLY-IN AUGUST 8, 9, 10 MILWAUKEE, WIS.SPORT AVIATION 21