The Pietenpol Sky Scout is a parasol wing homebuilt aircraft designed by Bernard Pietenpol.[1]
Development
The Sky Scout was a lower-cost follow-on to the Pietenpol's first homebuilt design, the Pietenpol Air Camper, using a lower-cost Ford Model T engine, rather than the more current Ford Model A engine. The aircraft was redesigned for the heavier engine by reducing it to a single-person aircraft. The new pilot location required a section called a "flop" to be installed, essentially a section of the wing that was hinged up to allow the pilot to stand up when getting into and out of the aircraft.[2] The aircraft was designed to be built of spruce and plywood. The drawings were published in the 1933 Mechanix Illustrated magazine.
Survivors
- A Sky Scout is on display at the Pioneer Flight Museum in Kingsbury, Texas.[3] This Scout is powered by a Model A engine. It is intended to be a flyable aircraft but for the present is only occasionally run up.
- The number one Pietenpol with a 1921 Model T engine is on display at the Model T Museum in Richmond, Indiana.
- Sky Scout N1933A is on display at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.
- One is on display at the Minnesota Historical Center, Fountain, Minnesota, just 15 miles from Pietenpol's home town of Cherry Grove. Bernard Pietenpol is also buried in Fountain.
- Sky Scout CF-BAA was tracked down and found in a trailer in Saskatchewan, Canada, where it had been stored for a quarter of a century. Some parts are missing, including the engine, propeller, two elevators and a rudder.[4]
Variants
Claude Sessions developed a finned head modification on his Sky Scout for lighter-weight air-cooling. The engine was featured in Modern Mechanics magazine in 1931 and formed the basis for the American Flea Corporation Universal 50-60 engine.[5]
Specifications
Data from Sport Aviation & Plans
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: 170lb - 210lb
- Length: 16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
- Wingspan: 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
- Height: 8 ft 5 in (2.57 m)
- Wing area: 136.25 sq ft (12.658 m2) 5 ft chord
- Aspect ratio: 5.45:1
- Airfoil: Pietenpol FC-10 "French Curve"
- Empty weight: 405 lb (184 kg) weight buildup from plans
- Gross weight: 640 lb (290 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 680 lb (308 kg) Estimated
- Fuel capacity: 5.5 Gal
- Powerplant: 1 × Ford Model T engine Inline four cylinder piston, 20 hp (15 kW) Modified to produce 28-32hp: Enlarged cylinder bores, aluminum "Ritefit" pistons, machined to fit with 0.007" skirt clearance, 0.025" ringland and head clearances. Higher permitted operating speed above 1,850rpm. (Ford Model-T; 20hp@1,600rpm).
- Propellers: 2-bladed 72 x 42
Performance
- Maximum speed: 54 kn (62 mph, 100 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 48 kn (55 mph, 89 km/h) @1,600rpm
- Stall speed: 30 kn (35 mph, 56 km/h)
- Range: 87 nmi (100 mi, 160 km)
- Endurance: About 1.5 hours, plus 30 minutes reserve.
- Rate of climb: 200 ft/min (1.0 m/s)
- Wing loading: 4.7 lb/sq ft (23 kg/m2)
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Fisher FP-505 Skeeter
- Heath Parasol
- Loehle Sport Parasol
- Pop's Props Cloudster
- Pop's Props Zing
- RagWing RW1 Ultra-Piet
- Smith Termite
Related lists
References
- ^ Mechanix Illustrated Magazine. 1933.
{{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Sport Aviation. March 1958.
{{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Pietenpol Air Scout". Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ Mitchell, Kevin (November 18, 2023). "This airplane is a missing link. It's a lost holy grail. Everybody thought it was gone — long gone. And it turns out, it's there". National Post.
- ^ Sport Aviation. February 1960.
{{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
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