Mar 28, 2020     Airplane Assembly       Category: Assembly

  Mar 28, 2020     Cockpit Combing       Category: Fuselage

Cockpit Combing - The leather combing around the cockpits is deer leather, given to me by a friend who took a local deer here in Wisconsin.
He had the hide tanned to leather, and gave it to me use on my Pietenpol.
I cut pieces to size, then used spray adhesive to fold a hemn.
I used garden hose, and foam pipe insulation to build up the combing padding to a suitable diameter.
Using a hand punch, I punched holes in the aluminum cowl and using a leather hand punch, I cut holes in the leather to lace it onto the cowl.
I stained the leather to a tan color using leather stain.
Imitation sinew is used to lace the combing onto the cowls.

  Mar 28, 2020     Cockpit Cowling       Category: Fuselage

Cockpit Cowling - The cockpit cowling was made from 6061-T6 aluminum. I first made paper templates prior to cutting the aluminum. Careful consideration, measuring and planning is required before drilling holes, especially those for the brace wires ans control cables.

  Mar 28, 2020     Fuel Lines       Category: Firewall

Fuel Lines and Fuel Shut Off Valve

  Mar 28, 2020     Wind Shield       Category: Fuselage

Wind Shields - I wanted a traditional looking wind shield regarding shape, so I looked at many vintage planes to get ideas. I elected to go with a narrower wind shield for the front cockpit and a wider wind shield for the rear pilot seat. I made card board templates, bought lexan type material or polycarbon. I cut the material using a very fine jig saw blade then heated the material and bent it around the edge of my work bench using a board to keep the bend radius tight.

  Mar 28, 2020     Steps       Category: Fuselage

Steps - I felt steps are needed, so fabricated steps using round tubing. Prior to making these, I drilled a hole in the leg of my work bench, placed a piece of tubing in the hole, and stood on it. No bending indicated that the tube should work well as a step.

  Mar 28, 2020     Galvanized FireWall       Category: Firewall

Galvanized Firewall - The photos explain my firewall construction process well.
Layout the shape, cut with electric shears, fabricate a form with fluting locations, clamp and bend.

  Mar 28, 2020     Motor Mount Fabrication       Category: Firewall

Motor Mount - The motor mount was fabricated using a fixture I made to replicate the fuselage fire wall dimensions and the engine dimensions.
Using steel angle, duplicated the fire wall side, and I fabricated an offset or stand to replicate the engine.
Simply cutting and fitting tubes, and fabricating gussets and bushings for the bolts was pretty easy. I tack welded everything, then hires a TIG welded to finish weld the assembly.

  Mar 28, 2020     Center Section       Category: Wings

The Center Section of the wing was basically built by aligning the center section spars with the wings to ensure a straight wing in the end.
I elected to go with the round shape cut out at the back of the section for easier entry and exit into the cockpit.
Traditionally, the fuel tank is located in the center section, and I placed the fuel tank in the nose similar to a J3 Cub to move the center of gravity forward, as Pietenpols typically have rearward c.g.

  Mar 27, 2020     Pre-Cover Assembly       Category: Interior Finish

Pre-Cover Assembly Photos