Pietenpol Sky Scout

7/27/2019 Pietenpol Sky Scout

1/11

F MOUS

OF THE P STBUILTS

Here'sthe SkyScout taxiing out for a f l ight .

The Pietenpol SkyScoutBy George Hardie Jr.

E veryone attending the 1957E Fly-In had an oppo r t u n i t y// tolook over threef ine examples ofthe famous Pietenpol A irCamp-er design, and to observe the fly-in g characteristics of th i s ruggedpioneer among homebuilts. Oneof th e ships, owned an d f lown by

Doug Rolfe s d r a w in g gives an ideaof the Sky Scout's proportions. Thephoto a t l e f t indicates that the radi-ator interfered with forward visibil ityto some extent.

FEBRU RY 1958


2/11

Allen Rudolf of Juneau, Wis. wasbuiltin1934and ispoweredby theoriginal Model A Ford engine. Ithas given Al len many hours oftrouble-free economic perform-ance. The other two ships \v;repowered with more modern en-gines one with L ycoming ndthe 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 factthatthedesignerof the Air Camp-er , B. H.PietenpolofSpring 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 M anual from whichwe reproduce some of the draw-

PIETENPOL AIR CAMPERTORO MODEL A MOTOR

ings with the generouspermissionof Mechanix Illustrated magazine.Thosenotfamil iarwiththe famousFlying M anuals will understandtheir popularity, even today, bynoting the clarity, simplicity andcompleteness of these drawings.Certainlytheyset astandardwhichwe shouldattempt to follow today.Our purpose in presenting this

series on these old aircraft is toacquaintourreaderswith thecon-struction details and the simple,practical approach made by thepioneer designers. Thebasicprob-lem of yesterday's homebuilder nd today's s well) w s to get

Port 1of 3 Parts

into the air ascheaply as possibleand safely. Constructionmaterialsand techniques used in theseair-craft have been greatly advancedbut there is much to be learnedfrom a study of their design andconstruction. At least we mustgivethesepioneers much credit foraccomplishing what they did withwhat theyhad. We can and shouldbe able to do better with today'smaterials and techniques.The SkyScout , l ike WilburSmith's Termite featured in theJ anuary issue of SPORT AVIA-TION was of all-wood construc-tion and wasvery similar indesign

to 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 few minor changes in thedesign, the Model A engine could

. - T H E WING S P A N O V E R A L L IS 27F T 3ilN (327" )- - - -

CUT DOWN FRONTAL A R E A , SIZE RADIATOR IN HALF HALF IN BEHIND THE

AND HORNET NOTE: THE CENTER STRUTS U E AMBACK FIVE - ONE HALF INCHESB RACE CAB LES O N SIDES

AND S IDES ONLY

STREAMLINEDFLYING STRUTSSEE DETAILS

AILERON HORN

AIR SPEEDINDICATORONTROL

CABLE TO AILERON

THE FRONT VIEWOF THE PLANE FOR LONGERONSTEMPERATUREGAGE

NOTE:COVER THE

' F U S E L A G E WITHGRADE A- AERO COTTONMAY BE TACK ED TO FUS E.]GIVE 5-COATS OF DOPE

26' X 3 WHEELSAND T I R E S A X LE COLLARPUSH PULLTHROTTL BANKINGINDICATOR

GROUND LINE GAS FILLER CAP

ZZm80- C HO R DTHE COMPLETE. ARRANGEMENT I

OF INSTRUMENTS ON DASH BOARDAILERON HORN ANDCONTROL CABLES i"x 16 GAGEATTACH FITTINGSBRACE CABLE OR

/HEA VY P ADDING AROUND COCKPIT ED3ES

S P RU C ETURTLE BACK RIBSFRONTSTABILIZERBEAM

A CONTROL 3Z CA B L E

FLYING STRUT BRACE

26- X3 WHEELSNO TIRES

J

.A .

j

ir1

fY

l71

FUSE L AGE FOR THE DIMENSIONS

SPRUCE FAIRING ]A CONTROL/3 C A B L E S Y

THE SIDE VIEOF THE COMPLETE

f ^SEE THE fOF THE TA

WP L A N E

SSEMBLYIL SKID

- -,. -.OVERA LL L E N G T H OF P L A N E IS IflF T

LONGERONS^DETAILS OF ATTACHING

HORIZONTAL STABILIZER ATFRONT BEAM TO LONGERON

THE SCALE____> I N I N C HCS *


3/11

also be used. Pietenpol claimedthe SkyScout to be the easiestship to build and fly as waspossi-ble tomakeit. Theaccompanyingoutline drawings would seem tobearhimout.Construction was started withthefuselage. QuotingfromPieten-pol's article in the 1933 FlyingManual:Theconstruction 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,forlongeronsandstruts,whilethesidesandfrontare covered with 3/32in. mahog-any plywood. The floor is madeof % in. five-ply Haskelite. A llgusset plates of s in. material.Remember, all plywood must be

regular aircraft grade and water-proof.Use a good glue. e useRod-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 willneed alargebench onwhich todraw out andbuild yourfuselage jig. We use the same jigforboth sides.Each strut is held in place byblockswhich are left nailed downuntil both sides are finished. Al-soleavethe longeronsalittle long,and wrapsomewire from the topto the bottom longerons, twistingit tightwitha nail until youhavethe plywood nailed and glued on

1S3? (l2-9f )ovERALL LENGTH

THE INSIDE VIEW OF FUSELAGE

.TAIL SKIDHTTINGBETWEEN G U S S E T PLATEAND FITTINGS WITH j X

ENGINE MO UNTAND LANDING GEARF ITT INGS

T APER ED AT ENDSTHE OUTSIDE VIEW OFFUSELAGE

STRIPS ON CORNERS

ISjJ (l2I-J )ovERALL LENGTH

COWLING SUPPORTS-l x 2' ENGINE SUPPORT

FITTING AROUND FRONT S

2 |

THE TOP VIEW OF FUSELAGESPRUCE

NOTE ALL S T R U T S .BR AC ES .AND LONGERONS ARE

6 WHITE ASHWEDGE T SUPPORTTHE TAIL SKID

THE SCALE12 4IN INCHES

THE BOTTOM VIEW OF FUSELAGE

-THE MEASUREMENTS AND---TH E ASSEMBLY OF THE FUSELAGE-

BOLT WELDED IN POST

2 GAGE . TUBE J X 16 GA TUBEWELDED IN BARAND BORED TOJ FORBEARING

T SIDE VIEWASSEMBLY OF RUDDER BAR AND POST

each side. When the glue is dry,you may saw off the longerons infront.Firstlayout onesidein thejig,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 beexactlyalike. Besureto use a mi-

ter box for thiswork.Next glue and nail on all the

s in. gusset plates,wire the frontlongerons togethersotheywill 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 workinguptowherethe3/32in.sidesstart.Now take the side you have

just finished from the jig ay iton a piece of 3/32in. plywood,and mark out all longerons,strutsand braces by running a pencilaround them,thencut the plywoodthesizeof thefuselage. Make twoofthese- one for therightand onefor the left side.The sideof the plywood bear-ing the pencil marks goes on theoutside,andgivesyou goodmarkstokeep your nailsbetween.Now put a good layer of glue

onthe longerons,strutsandbraces

DRILL j| HOLESAN D BEND AS SHOWN

_ _ _ _ _ _ A B O V EIB GA. BRACKET T O R P U L L Y SDETAILS OF THE DOUBLEPULLEY ON THE COKITROI STICK

2 FEBRUARY 195t


4/11

T*o_LVOC

DETAIL OF GUIDEBRACKET4-RWD iCA

PULLEY FOR AILERON CABLE

| 20G GE TUBE-

BEARING.^

STREAMLINETUBE FORCRANKNOIM7

REAR V I EW OF BEL L CRANK

/X

CO NT _~ ' CRANK

BEARING BEARINGTUBE , 2 -RE3UIRED

ASSEMBLY OF BELL C RAN KMOUNT ON FUSELAGE STRUTS______ f

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

J NEwe-oFRONT BULKHEAD SEAT BACKt CUTOUTFOR REARCONTROLF-ULLEYS

J ~SEAT SUPPORT1' P L Y W O O D BD.

iSEAT BOTTOM

EXTRA ARCHSUPPORT WEB

COWLING SUPPORT TURTLE CKNAIL SEAT BACK S U P P O R TTO FUSELAGE STRUTS

BULKHEADAT SECONDSTATION AFTOF SEAT BCKCONTROL ~~TUBE BEAR I NG ... xDETAIL OF /gPLYWOOD

FRA MING THE SEAT -1 3NOTE; SEE TH EF U S E L AG E P L AN S

INSTRUMENT BD.

DETAILED DIMENSIONS -J rOF BULKHEADS ANDMIDSUPPORT FORlS UP P O R T S TURTLEBACK

TOP VICW OF TM CV J O COM PL t TE CONTROLS

THE DETAIL Or THECONTRO L S T ICK NO riTTINCS < TOMutj:

.,--..... r.QOB , - n ij r vn^ku

OB ^ f \f ' njrt - T FRONT TORQUE TUBE BEARING

TH E COMPLETE ASSEMBLY OF THE C ON T R OL S

o'hergusset piatesareaiso put onuU h this size nail.Wh:n you have this done, wirehe front of the longerons togetherand remove from thejig. Now re-; ovj all iheblocks from thebenchso 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-squareandmark off allstrut stations,theplace for theinstrument board,anda few marks that will come inhandy tomeasure from.Now make the seat back andIhe front bulkhead. (These mustbe perfect as the whole job de-perds on them). Nail and gluethem inplace. You may now putin the J4 in. x five-plywood floor,nailing it in with 1 in. 17 gaugenails. Next comes the top of the

fuselage.Now pull the tail end of thelongeronstogether,makethisjointfi t good, glue and nail it good, andput in all the restof thestrutsandbraces, 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 thetailpost.The struts are next set on the

gussetplatesof thesides. Thenputon the turtle back, instrumentboard, cowling and support andthe woodwork is finished except

for theseat,whichyoushouldhaveno trouble with.

Drawings of the control systemareself-explanatory. Whileprim-itive by today's standards, theyserved the purpose. Many con-struction techniques used wouldnot be acceptable today. How-ever, the SkyScout remains apractical design, basically simpleandstraightforward.Nextmonth'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

145HNOSE CONE PLATE

ATTACH CONE AFTERCOWLING IS C O M P L ET E

SCALLOPED TO*BND OVER DISK52i-

1f J LA P FO RLti VwiNT-*LOWER^ ^ ^ ^ LJ . SIDEENGINE COWLING ENGINE

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

12-NOSE DISC

OF HALF INCH PINEFREE FROM KNOTS ,--:

CA. LU.

34COCKPIT COWLINGOF 22 GA.ALUMINUM CA ALUMINUM

MISCELLANEOUS P F TAILS OF FUSELAGE


5/11

Part2 of 3 Parts

The Pietenpol Sky ScoutBy George Hardie, J r

Part 1 of thisserieson the ModelT-powered P i et en po l SkyScout dealt with the constructionof the fuselage and presented de-tailed drawings on it and thecon-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 AirCamper exceptthat it was 11 in.shorter inspan.Rib construction and airfoil wereexactlythesameonboth ships. An

interestingaccounton howPieten-polevolved his airfoilsection aftermuchexperimentation was includ-ed in thearticleon the AirCamp-er thatappearedin theM ay,1956issue of the EXPERIMENTER.Similarity o otherdesign featuresis evident upon a close compari-son of the twoships.

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

The wingon the'SkyScout' ismuch too strong and could belightened a little. It weighs about90Ibs.complete. It wasonlybuiltthis heavy because all the regularparts to build the 'Air Camper'wing were used.

SPRUCE LEADING CDCE fCUT OUT fOD RAO327-(27'-3-) (S OVERALL LENGTH OF WING

ROUTED SECTION

TYPIC L VIEW OFWING BE M G STRUTFITTINGS

30- xiePIECE OF PLYWOODNAILED TO BOTTOM OFBEAMS AND STRUTSTO BRACE THE CE NTER METHOD OF AT TA CHING THEGASOLINE TANK TO WING FLOP IS TO BERAISED WHILE THEPILOT ENTERS SHIPHE SCALE IN INCHES

6 ' 24 3DETAIL OF

LATCH ON FLOPDETAILS OF WING ASSEMBLY

MARCH 1958


6/11

wheels and the ra- visibiles the " Sky Scout" but at least

I wish to call youi attention tothe brace right back of the rearbeam. Thiswas changed from theplans of the 'Air Camper', and Iadvise all of you who have notbuilt upyour wings to build themthisway.After your ribs are finished,make your beams and splice themin the center. Now mark off allplaces where the ribs wil l come,havingthe twobeamsclamped to-gether. A good way to do this isto mark off the places on half ofthe spars, then reverse one beamandmark theother half from thefirst marks. You wi l l then knowthat it isright.Nextglue in the piece of3/32in. or V g 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 fittingsare soclearon theplans that it would be awaste oftime to say anything about them.They are allmadeofregular 1025aircraft steel and are more thanstrong enough.Next put on all wing fittingsand brace wires (we use3/32in.cable as it iseasier tohandle, al-though No. 12 hard wire is OK),and line the wing up with thewires. Do notmakethemtootightuntilyou get in your compressionstrutsand wingtips. Now put on the leading edge,trailing edge, aileron beams, flopbeams, and wingtips in theordernamed. 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 f i l ler strips on the aileronhinges(whichare only smallstraphingeswitha new pin put in which

has acotterpin hole in its end). Now place the control horns,and you are ready to cut theail-erons and center flop from thewing. By leavingall the ribs ful llength and cutting the ailerons andf lop free, when finished you aresure to get a better and straighterwing. Afteryouhaveallthepartsfinished andsanded, you may givethe whole thing a coat ofvarnish Put in the gas tank 5 M > gallon^and the wing is ready to cover.Y ou 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 thewingoverand do thesame on top.Now sew the cloth to the ribsin the regular manner, put oncoatof dope, then all the tapeand

patches around the fittings andgive the wing four extra coatsof dope (five in all). T he last twocoats may be colored. I advise alight coat of paint on the wing ifyou wish the cloth to last a longtime,although thismakes the shipharder topatch.Just a little warning, be sureand put the flop in the center. A

NOTE- AIRFOIL DIMENSIONS ARE FROME X T R E M E TOP Or RIB TO BOTTOM OFTHE LOWER RI6e=

PLYWOOD G U S S E TPL ATES CLUEDAND NAILED

X 4,SPRUCI\ M STRIPS3ZMACH.SCREWWITH J ET IN HEAD

DETAIL MEASUREMENTS OF THE AIRFOILMETHOD OF ATTACHING

THE LEADING EDGE S P R U C E CA P N D L O W E R S T R I P SS P K UCE L E A D I N GEDGE SE E DETAIL PLY WOOD G U S S E T P L A T E SCLUED AND NAILEDP L Y W O O D P L T E S GLUEDAND NAILED ON TOP AND

TYPE OF RIB AND TRAILING EDGEFURNISHED IN R E A D Y MADEATERIAL

METHOD OF ATTACHINGTHE TRAILNG EDGEDETAIL CONSTRUCT ION OF T> RIB

4 ELD ON BOTHENDSING 9CAMS R E O F S E L E CTSP JCE ^STR EAMLINE BENDTO A L L H O R N S32MACHINE SCOFOB ALL HINGESAND HORNSUSE W A SHE R S

4 X13 CA B R A C EW E L D AND BO L T TO BEAM NOTEMARE-4-PATTERNSAS SHOWNBEND ON THEDOTTED LINESULLSECT ROUTED SECT

WING BEAM DETAIL

SPRUCE TRAILINGEDGEPR UCE A I L E R O N SS P A R S -AILERON ISTO BE COMPLETELY BUILTIN WING AND THENA W E D FREE

CONTROL CABLE3 5 S E T U R N U C K L E RIB

AILERON HORNCOMPLETE DETAIL OF

THE AILERON RIB AND HTHE CONSTRUCTION -*2*-|

COMPLETE DETAILS OF THE WING F R O N T V IE WAND THE ASSEMBLY OF AILERON AND HORN

SIDE VIEW OF P ATTERN S S E M B L Y O F A I L E RON ORNHHREAR VIEW

SPORTAVIATION 19


7/11

PLYWOODGUSSET PLATESNAILED AND GLUEDXT ? XllR8SNAIl-E[>ANOSEE TAILSKID* H CLUED ON BOTH SIDESASSEMBL Y S|DEvlf:w OF VERTICAL FIN

AND RUDDER TOP VIEW OF ELEVATORS ANDSTABILIZER_ALL BEAMS AND STRUTS ARE SPRUCEi X IS CA. FITTINGS

I BRACE CABLE OR10 4CA. HARD WIRELEADING CENTER MAINEDGE BEAM BEAM

VARIOUS BEAMS SECTIONSDRILL i HOLES BEND

REAR VI EW OFFIN AND STABILIZERSE 325 S.F STURNBUCKLES

SIDE END SIDEFEMALE MALE l--1'ALL SCREW HOLES COUNTERSUNK27-REQ D 9-REQ D. 9-REQ D.THE COMPLETE HINGE DETAILS FOR THE TAIL9-RESUIRED OF 6 CAGE STEEL

TH COMPLETE DET ILS ND SSEMBLY OF THE EMPENN GE FUSELAGE

(TRAD

PATTERN FOR ELEVATOR HORN4-THUS REQ D OF 22 GASTL

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 putalargeopeninginsteadandspoiledthe climb of the ship. Rememberthat you cannot have all thefea-tures of a high powered plane inasmallFord-poweredship and ex-pect it to fly well, and the flop isone of thethingsthatmakestheseshipsa success. The first thing toremember inbuildinga low-pow-ered ship is to keep the weightdown and the efficiency up.The sage advice expressed inthatlastsentenceholdsas true to-day as the day it was written.Whilesome of the techniquesrec-

ommended in the abovequotation2

would be questioned by today'sstandards,stillonemustadmire thepractical approach made to theproblem of dssigning asimply con-structed, economical a i r c ra f t .Again I wish to emphasize thatthesedrawings and details ontheseold aircraft are presentedforstudyand evaluation, rather than as arecommended project for thehomebuilder. Materialsusedwouldbe in somecases unacceptable to-day but the fact that even withthese handicaps these old aircraftproved successful speaks well forthe courage ofthesepioneerhome-builders. Today we candrawupontheir experiences as a valuable

guide and withthe vastlysuperioradvantage of being able to chooseour materials from a wide selec-tion of proven types and grades,we should be able to produce su-periordesigns.The tail surfaces of the SkyScout follow the same generallinesasthoseof the AirCamper .Wood construction was used,withcovering of fabric. The drawingsclearly show all details and areself-explanatory.Nextmonth's concluding articlewill present details on the land-ing gear tail skid, motor mount,and struts and fittings. A

Here s the flopmentioned byPiet-enpol which in-creased the l i ft ofthe wing.

MARCH 1958


8/11

The Sky Scout gets off theground quickly, and has a land-ing run of only 250 ft. Close-up below showsthe FordModelT engine installation on thePietenpol Sky Scout .

The Pietenpol Sky ScoutBy George Hardie J r.

H omebuilders of 25yearsagoweres anxious to get intothe ir sany today. B. H.Pietenpol of SpringValley, Minn., provided one practicalanswer to this demand with histwo-seater AirCamper , designed to bepowered withaconvertedFord ModelA engine. When he was floodedwithrequestsfor a design to taketheplentiful at that time) Ford M odelT engine,he came up with the SkyScout , a single-seater whose con-

Port3 of3 Ports

struction was practically the sameas the AirCamper .In two previous installments wehavepresenteddetailed drawingsand

BEND ASSHOWN FOBSTRUT

X 12 CA. ROUNDTUBE FOR FRONTLANDING GEAR STRUT

METHOD OF ATTACHINGTHEFRONT LANDING GEAR STRUTAND FLYING STRUT TO FUSELAGE,

OUTSIDE FITTINGFOR ENGINE MOUNT 2-THUS REQ O I4GA

- fi4iWINSIDE F ITTINGFOR ENGINE MOUNT2-THUS REQ'D 14GA

--MISCELLANE OUS F ITTINGS- -

W N THISF'T-C 0 USEDON 5101-DRILLTHESE MOLES

BOTTOM PLATE FORAL L F ITT INGS8-THU S REO P 14CA

HOMEdata on the SkyScout , giving de-tails and construction notes on thefuselage, wing and tail surfaces.In this final installment we presentdetails on the landinggear, 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 B L Y

REAR LANDING GEAR[STRUT WHEEL WASHCR ISMC A - WELD TOA


9/11

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.Y ou will have to use a turninglathe and be a good welder to makethe gear shown here. Y ou may al-so build the type of landing gearthat is used on the 'Air Camper'.Y ou will find that this is mucheasierto make and is quite strong enough. While we are on the subject ofthe 'A ir Camper'gear,we hadbetterput on some safety device to keepthe ship from dropping to the groundif the shock cord breaks, since itseems that everybody has trouble

wrapping shock cord.Hereis themethodweuse: Firstcut a piece of leather to fit aroundth bottom of th landing gear v

A PL YWO O DSIDES14 CA SAND BOfI T T I N O K V


10/11

as a mark of the past. Butlet'scon-tinue with the construction notes: After you have your ship com-plete,that is, the motor in,tailgroupon, all controls in, and are ready forthe wing, makeup your centerstrutslike 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 sothat 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 togo.Simple enough for the ambitiousmechanic. The completed airplane

certainly would takenobeauty prize,but the designer'spractical approachto the problem of providing an eco-nomical machine of simple construc-tion was evident in every line. Pietenpol had this to sayabout his SkyScout : I believe this to be the safestlightplanethereis, and ifthisdesignis a start in that direction, it has

TAIL BRACE WIREFITTING/--TH E-AND COMPLETE DETAILS -J-ASSEMBLY OF THE*-

T IL SKID S C R E W POCKET PLATTO THE FUSELAGEC O T T E R PIN AND

W A S H E R Ik DIA. X7 - LO NG HARD SPRINGTO COMPRESS AT ISO LBSTHE SIDE V IEW OFCOMPLETE T IL SKID SSEMBLY

X20 GA.S I D E TUBES WELD THESHOE PLATI

TO THEUNDERSIDEOF TUBESVIEW OF TAIL S K I DLOOKING DOWNSERVE ASHINGE PI N

SPRING ANDP O C K E T TUBE.WELD TO PLATESF L AR E SIDES O F HPOCKET TUBE OU TAS SHOWN

NOTE: FUSELAGE IS SHOWNCU T AWAY TO ADMIT FULLVIEW OF TAIL S K I D

SPRING POCKET TUBE20GA. 2-THUS REQ'D.

POCKET TUBE PLATEOF t GA. ATTACH TO

UNDCRSIOE OF FUSE LA GE

BEND A S - 'SHOWN ABOVEATTACH FITTING FO R

TAIL SKID ASS'BLY.OF MCA______7-THUS R'O- TAIL BRACE WIR E FITTINGOF 6 CA.___________ONE REQ'O TAIL SKID SHOE PLATEOF CA._____ONE REQ'O.

allbeen wellworth the timewehaveput into it. But those of you whowish only to build so that they willhave something to fly had betterbuild itexactly asthe plans,andyouwill 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 STRUTF AVOR S OUTSIDEOF F ITT ING

SEE DETAILSOF ENDS OFSTRUTS* J 2S S ETURNBUCKL REAR C EN T ERFLYING STRUT E STURNBUCKLE

FLYING STRUTSAR E 1697 STREAMLINETUBES,j x 20 C AENGINE MOUNT TUBE CENTER STRUTSLEAN BACK FIVEAND ONE HALF INCHESUT TUBEBEND ANDWCL O

A PLYWOOD FUSELAGCSIDES DETAIL AT UPPER

REAR CENTER STRUTA PLYWOOD ONSIDESFUSELAGEUPPER]ENGINEMOUNT AND STRUTASSEMBLY NOTE: SEE DETAILS OFLOWER FITTINGS ONANOTHER SHEET

CUT OUTNDWELDEDTOGETHERFOR BEND

INSIDE FITTINGUPPER ENGINE MOUNT

DETAIL OF BENDINGAND REINFORCINGMOUNTING TUBES

OUTSIDE FITTINGUPPER ENGINE MOUNT

t- tomato or 4C ABACK PLATE FOR THE

SHOCK STRUT FITTING4- REQL'D OF 14 CA

NSIOE FITTINGFITTINGS FOR THE UPPERREAR CENTER STRUT

2-REOUiREO OF 4 GAGE STEEL

UPPER ENGINE MOUNTAND REAR CENTER STRUT DETAILS

APRIL 1958


11/11

7 xAAOIATO*OUTLIT MOM

Here's the waymounted on the the Model TSky 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 Scouthas long since passed, but onceagainsmall all-wood aircraft are beingbuilt and flown. Wilbur Smith'sTermite , described in the J anuaryissue of SPORT AVIATION, is a fineexampleofwhat can be accomplishedtoday. The Druine Turbulent and

Turbi, the Jodel Bebe and Cluband many others indicate what canbe done with wood construction.Severalothers, notablyasingle-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 the

design work of F. H. Pietenpol, asexemplified by his Air Camperand Sky Scout homebuilts, hasleft his mark on today'sdesign think-ing. Certainly the simplicity of con-struction and the practical approachto the design problems are goalsthat all homebuilts will always beseeking.SPECIFICATIONSOF THEPIETENPOL SK Y 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16ft. 3 in.

BOLTS

I? BOLT J 1DEy|EWWING S P AR

END VIEW SIDE VIEWND Ww SIDE VIEWASSEMBLY OF THE OUTER ASSEMBLY OF THE CENTERFLYING STRUT F ITTING FLYING STRUT FITTINGSNOTE: USE THE SAME ASSEMBLY FOR THE BOTH S P A R S DETAIL OFFLATTEN FRONT OP _.... y

Pietenpol Sky Scout

Documents

Transcript of Pietenpol Sky Scout