Pietenpol Sky Scout

The Pietenpol Sky Scout is a parasol wing homebuilt aircraft designed by Bernard Pietenpol.^[1]

Air Scout
Role	amateur-built airplane
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Pietenpol
Designer	Bernard Pietenpol
First flight	1933
Developed from	Pietenpol Air Camper

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

• List of civil aircraft