Pietenpol Air Camper

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietenpol_Air_Camper

The Pietenpol Air Camper is a simple parasol wing homebuilt aircraft designed by
Bernard H. Pietenpol. The first prototype that became the Air Camper was built
and flown by Pietenpol in 1928.

The Air Camper was designed to be built of spruce and plywood. One of
Pietenpol's goals was to create a plane that was affordable and easy to
construct for home builders. Building an Air Camper requires basic woodworking
skills and tools. Builders also need to fabricate some metal fittings to attach
the wooden parts together. Some welding is required. The plans for the Pietenpol
Aircamper were originally published in a four-part serial in the "Flying and
Glider" Manual of 1932-33.

The original model was flown using an Ace four cylinder water-cooled engine. The
Model A Ford engine later became the standard powerplant used; the design was
first flown with one in May 1929.

In the 1960s Bernard Pietenpol began to favor converted engines from Chevrolet
Corvair automobiles. The Corvair engine was smoother, stronger and significantly
lighter in weight compared to the Model A, as the Corvair automobiles used
air-cooled, flat-six configuration engines, similar in design to those already
available (in generally larger displacements) for general aviation use. The
length of a Pietenpol varies with the engine choices, as engines that are
lighter than the Fords need to be mounted further out from the firewall for
weight and balance reasons. Over the years over 30 different engines have flown
in the Pietenpol Air Camper. Many modern Pietenpol builders prefer Continental
A65, C85 or C90 air-cooled flat four powerplants. Several examples of the
Aircamper have been built in Europe and are currently (2012) flying.

In the 1920s and 1930s kits were available for the design, but there were none
available again until 2015 when the Pietenpol Aircraft Company introduced a kit
version of the Air Camper, with components supplied by Aircraft Spruce &
Specialty. The kit includes all parts except the engine, aircraft dope and the
aircraft fabric covering, and hardware.


Role
Amateur-built airplane

Manufacturer
Pietenpol

Designer
Bernie Pietenpol

First flight
1928
with Model A engine, May 1929

Status
Plans available (2015)

Unit cost

US$100 (plans only, 2015)


Variants
Grega GN-1 Aircamper
Pietenpol Sky Scout
St Croix Pietenpol Aerial
St Croix Pietenpol Aircamper

Variants

Pietenpol Sky Scout
BH Pietenpol also designed and published plans for a single-seat version of the
aircraft named the Pietenpol Sky Scout, which was slightly smaller and was
powered by the Ford Model T engine. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, this
was less expensive than the Model A used in the Air Camper.

UK LAA-approved Pietenpol Air Camper
In some countries, civil aviation authority approval is required for each
experimental aircraft design, in addition to the approval of each aircraft an
individual makes, as in the US. A variant of the Pietenpol Air Camper was
designed by Mr. J. K. Wills, and UK Light Aircraft Association approval was
obtained for this variant.

Grega GN-1 Aircamper
Grega GN-1 AircamperA plans-only homebuilt design similar to the Air Camper
using a Piper Cub wing.

St Croix Pietenpol Aerial
A biplane adaptation, designed by Chad and Charles Willie and produced by St
Croix Aircraft of Corning, Iowa, first flown in 1977.

St Croix Pietenpol Aircamper
An adaptation of the original design with more wingspan, longer fuselage and
higher gross weight.

Specifications (Typical Air Camper)

General characteristics
Crew: One pilot
Capacity: One passenger
Length: 17 ft 8 in (5.39 m)
Wingspan: 29 ft 0 in (8.84 m)
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Wing area: 135 ft² (12.5 m²)
Empty weight: 610 lb (277 kg)
Loaded weight: 995 lb (452 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 1080 lb (490 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Ford Model A automotive conversion engine, 40 hp (30 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 86 knots (100 mph, 160 km/h)
Stall speed: 30 knots (35 mph, 56 km/h)
Rate of climb: 500 ft/min (152 m/min)
Wing loading: 7 lb/ft² (36 kg/m²)





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