1969 article by Bowers and our own Switches on the Pietenpol

Switches has even greater fame than you know: he painted a mural for the Smithsonian!

 

That Switches...talented guy. Good article Bob.

 

Where in the world did that come from?? What a surprise to see that pop up. I think that I did that for Air Trails or something like that. Around that time I also did a drawing of the Gere Sport, Les Long's " Longster" and some others that I have forgotten. What nice memories that article brings back! Flying with Pete and the gang at Thun Field and all the grass strips nearby. The " Air Camper" was more fun than anything else that I have flown, completely basic down to the board seat and rudder bar. No brakes on its wire wheels, a tail skid, and terrible flight characteristics compared to modern stuff But a lot of fun. When Pete had finished gassing it up one day He walked over to me and said, " Why don't you fly the Pietonpol?" Pre-flight check was, " Just don't let go of the stick." So away we went. Taxiing to the end of the strip in a tailwind was a challenge sometimes and to slow the airplane down you had to do a series of ground loops on the way. Turning to line up for take off, it was forward stick, a blast of power from the massive Ford Mod. A up front, and hard left rudder, line up , and let'er rip. It was pure basic flying and if you skidded in a turn , you got an ear full of cold air so the thing to do was to keep the warm air from the radiator square in your face. High tech instrumentation, right? Speaking of instrumentation, The altimeter was a 1928 6 inch dia. original that said," HEIGHT" on it. the only other instrument was the ignition switch.
Wonderful stuff.
Switches

 

I had never even heard of Pietenpol until I attended a small EAA fly-in in 1974 at a small grass strip (long since gone) in Chulota, Florida (northeast of Orlando) called Flying Seminole Ranch. The one I saw there was delightful: machine-turned cowl panels, polished wood panels on the forward fuselage, wire wheels and a big bulb horn on the side of the cockpit. I'm not sure of the engine but the plane was quiet enough that you could clearly hear the pilot blowing the bulb horn as he cruised by. Great airplane!

 

I was thinking of that first flight. After cruising around for a while I headed back to the airport and heard some engine noise and turned to see my partner puling up on the right in the clown plane ( minus one aileron), and Pete pulling up on the left in his biplane Fly Baby and we then made a " dramatic" unforgettable formation flight over the airport at a stately 65MPH.
Pete and I thought that the Air Camper suffered from the same wing downwash problem that the Fok. DR1 and D7 had and the horizontal stab. was not flying in neutral air but with a load on the upper surface that required a bit of forward stick always.
Be nice to go back to those days ! !

 

I think that you may have me mixed up with Keith Ferris who did that great mural of the B-17. All I did was a 3 ft. X 4 ft. painting of the Graff Zeppelin approaching Rio after a transatlantic flight. Not much compared to what Keith did.
Thank you anyway.
Switches

 

To those of us who are art-challenged (me!), even a small painting of a Graf Zeppelin that is publicly displayed in a National Museum (one whose standards I know are high) is a major triumph.

And I've got to believe that the others here share my appreciation for that accomplishment!


Also, to those who haven't visited it recently and/or noticed it before 'small' is a relative term. For example, compared to an elephant (the B-17 painting), Shaquille O'Neal (Bob's work) is small.

 

Russ, the Pietenpol was small. I was 5'-11" , 160 lbs. and it was a tight fit for me. The front cockpit is worse and I couldn't keep my knees from hitting the cross member under the " instrument panel". An amazing thing about that airplane was that in spite of its rudimentary backyard design , it was remarkably good in flight. When I flew down to Merced with Pete Bowers and Chuck Driskell, who flew the Pietenpol, it out climbed us in the mountains and was quite a competent little load carrier IF YOU COULD FIT INTO IT. After 15 minutes of struggle and two guys helping, we got a 220 pounder in the front pit who was part of the TV film crew( the producer) and it flew okay with him. Approach speed was a " BIT " high though and getting Tim out of it was a worse struggle than getting him into it.
Chuck won the spot landing contest with it and the ground crew listed it as the "PETE and PAUL."
Switches

 

I have to jump in here because I was lucky enough to be hanging around the these crazy guys back in the late 60's. I was only 11 or 12 at the time but remember an early morning at the Abbotsford International Airshow when Charlie Driskell asked if I wanted to go for a ride in the Pietenpol. Of course I said, "Sure".

We took off south and turned west over the farm land where Charlie lined up on a cow pasture and set her down, explaining to me that this is what the airplane was designed for.
He took a piss and away we went. Fortunately we were in the field that didn't have the cows in it.

I remember not being able to see anything forward because of the radiator in my face so it was sideways vision only.

I was told adamantly that the original engine used in the model I was flying in was a Ford Model 'B', NOT 'A'.

BTW, I fit just fine in the forward cockpit.

God those were the days............................

 

Dana, you were my skinny little kid then in 1968 . Now at 6'-3" and 230, you would fit only if one or both legs were hanging over the side. You had some good adventures then flying with us and you're right, Those were the GOOD DAYS and now look at you, reduced to driving around in a 20 year old Italian car. Yes, the Ford engine in the Pete and Paul was a Model B out of a disFunktional Funk. And that radiator was nice heater on cool days but having to look around it had some liabilities like getting whacked in the face with ice after pulling on carb heat . At a fuel stop on one of the trips to Merced a lady asked if the radiator was a bug screen. Chuck answered, " Yes, and some times it cools the engine."
I can't believe how much life has changed since then. Last week I found a gas receipt for $6.50 after filling up the L-3 and we could fly almost wherever we had to or wanted to without bumping into " class this or class that air space" and we had great fun without the hassles of the FAA or the good ol' lawsuits.
Switches

 

After looking at the pictures in the article I just now realized how small that thing was. I am thankful I had the opportunity.
I don't think I could squeeze under the wing now.

 

Looks like a lot of fun, Russ It makes me wish that I was flying again.