Pietenpol pilot size

[amiller]

Hello,
I am new to the world of aviation and I am looking for my first plane. I would prefer to build my plane to help learn about them. One plane I have had my eye on it the Pietenpol Aircamper.

My first question is if I could even fit in one ( I am 6'4" and about 230lbs) and whether or not I could carry an equally sized passenger.

My Second question is if it would be possible to slightly modify the Pietenpol to allow a little extra room in the cockpit and passenger area.

I am also on a bit of a budget, so if anyone has any suggestions for a different plane it would be nice if it were near the same price range as the Pietenpol.

Thank you

[Rick Rademacher]

A friend of mine, about your size and weight, flew a Corvair power Piet that he closed off the front hole to not even be tempted to take anyone with him for a flight. I sold my 65 H.P. Cont. Piet to a man who was large. After letting an instructor become familiar with the aircraft, he and the instructor tried to fly the Piet. They crashed at the end of the runway after the aborted takeoff attempt. I would take others with me as I only weight 160. So, I would suggest that if you fly a Pietenpol, you do it alone

[rwanttaja]

Hello,
I am new to the world of aviation and I am looking for my first plane. I would prefer to build my plane to help learn about them. One plane I have had my eye on it the Pietenpol Aircamper.

My first question is if I could even fit in one ( I am 6'4" and about 230lbs) and whether or not I could carry an equally sized passenger.

My Second question is if it would be possible to slightly modify the Pietenpol to allow a little extra room in the cockpit and passenger area.

I am also on a bit of a budget, so if anyone has any suggestions for a different plane it would be nice if it were near the same price range as the Pietenpol.

Thank you

The Piet is pretty flexible. Buddy of mine is building one, and he's building the long-fuselage version and widening the cockpit by two inches.

I'd try one of the Piet user's groups, such as the Matronics list:

http://forums.matronics.com/viewforum.php?f=7

Ron Wanttaja

[amiller]

OK
Thanks

[FlyingRon]

Of course it would behoove him to check over the design and experiences of others. I've seen a lot of the piets that were quite underpowered even at moderate pilot weights. Of course most people aren't using the original engines on these anymore.

[martymayes]

Sizing the cockpits for a 6'4" person won't be an issue. A person that size getting in/out of the front cockpit would be somewhat interesting. Even raising the wing a couple inches won't help unless the front seater is a contortionist.

I would do what others have said, go to some of the builder forums and see what they have done. There's a lot of similar designs out there, don't limit yourself.