Your own home-built airplane library for Pietenpol people

We get requests from newcomers about how to quickly get up to speed on building or buying and flying a Pietenpol airplane.  There is no quick way.  The Piet is a unique experience, and absorbing that experience cannot be done in a hurry and you should not be, either.  Before you rush out and make a commitment (and later perhaps regret it), look into whether the Piet is for you. If you invest a few dollars now in books which can become lifelong personal treasures, you can start to acquire a better broad based knowledge of the homebuilt airplane and especially the Pietenpol.  Of course, along with the reading, you will be visiting people who are building and flying the Piet.  A very affordable family summer vacation to Wisconsin next year can  include a few days at the little town of Brodhead for the laidback annual Pietenpol Reunion. Yes, you can camp on the airport.  Perhaps a visit to Oshkosh (other than during EAA’s AirVenture Week), will allow you to visit EAA’s AirVenture Museum. The adjacent Pioneer Airport will interest you, even if the extravaganza of the annual EAA AirVenture “greatest aviation show in the world” is not for you (and it eventually will be). 

You should clearly be a member of EAA.  This brings you the monthly Sport Aviation magazine in the mail.  Call them at 1-800-564-6322.  When you visit the monthly meeting of  your local EAA Chapter, you will meet builders of all types of airplanes (perhaps even Pietenpols).  When the Chapter members hear that you are thinking of building a Pietenpol, you will generate a bunch of interest and even some good help.

You should certainly be a member of the Brodhead Pietenpol Association. This brings you the quarterly BPANews in the mail.  A review of the previous three or four years of the BPA News will give you a well rounded sense about what is happening with past and present day builders and fliers. This includes photos and drawings. Membership details are available on the internet at pietenpols.org.  If you are serious about building, your annual BPA membership dues are an insignificant part of the cost of building and Pietenpol ownership.

Your Personal Pietenpol Library

These publications can be purchased from EAA:

EAA Catalog Sales – P.O.Box 3065, Oshkosh WI 54903-3065

Phone 1-800-843-3612     Major credit cards accepted.

1929 Flying and Glider Manual -    #F-14167                          6.95      

1930 Flying and Glider Manual -    #F-14168                          6.95      

1931 Flying and Glider Manual -    #F-14169                          6.95

1932 Flying and Glider Manual –   #F-14170                          6.95     

1933 Flying and Glider Manual -    #F-14171                          6.95 

Flying and Glider Manual combo - #F-14172                        25.95   

Note: The two Flying and Glider Manuals which focus on the Pietenpol Air Camper and the Pietenpol Sky Scout are the 1932 and the 1933 editions.          

Sportplane Builder (Bingelis) -                                   #F-30140   24.95

Sportplane Construction Techniques  (Bingelis) -     #F-01395   24.95

Firewall Forward (Bingelis) -                                     #F-13950   24.95

Tony Bingelis on Engines (Bingelis) -                        #F-15691   24.95

Bingelis Four Volume Set -                                        #F-15692   79.95

EAA Wood Building Techniques -                             #F-18100   11.95

Custom Built Sport Aircraft Handbook -                  #F-13510   14.95

Note: The last two books (Wood Building and Aircraft Handbook) can be bundled with a video at slight additional cost. 

If you really want a comprehensive education on building and flying your own airplane (not just the Pietenpol), the back issues of Sport Aviation magazine are available on line from EAA.  This is some fifty years of monthly articles and photos – a vast library of information for free!