Builders,
I had a long talk with Mike on the phone tonight. He now has 3 flights on his Pietenpol, and it is working and flying great. The plane has a 2700cc Corvair installed, and it utilizes a Culver 66×32 prop. I saw the plane uncovered in California in 2016, it has outstanding craftsmanship, and the photo below shows how well it finished.
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Guys new to Corvairs may imagine that Mike and I spent the hour talking about power plants, but it wasn’t so. We spent only a few minutes speaking of his engine, as there was nothing much to talk about, all the learning and understanding had taken place years before, the flying now is just an affirmation of Mike’s craftsmanship. His is a contrast with people who install engines they know little about, and try to understand them in a rush during the test phase.
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Almost all of our conversation was about Mike’s 20 year path building his plane, where the idea came from, things that he knew from his dad, builders who had inspired him, memorable hours in the process, and how he feels connected to the timeless elements of flying in the plane. I had some tings I was working on in the hangar, but none of it seemed important given the chance to spend an hour listening to a friend share some really moving things about twenty years of his life.
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Below, a short note from 2016 when Mike brought his plane to Corvair College #38 for a test run:
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William
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