AirVenture | Day 6

July 23 | Today was a memorable day for me in Brodhead. I had my first Pietenpol ride here in over 15 years. And my second. And my third.

I finally decided to not be shy anymore and to walk boldly up to one of those imposing Pietenpol pilots and ask for a ride. They didn’t wear a leather jacket, $200 aviator sunglasses, or have those long silk scarves around their necks. They usually had on a Pietenpol t-shirt from a previous fly-in and usually had on shorts and sneakers.

They didn’t icily glare at you with the demeanor of a minor god. They didn’t ignore you when you tentatively approached them to ask about their airplane. Instead, they usually broke into a big smile from you showing interest in their baby, their passion, their airplane.

And they usually were delighted when you asked if it might be possible to get a ride.

I walked up to Jim Markel first, catching him after he arrived at the end of the day Thursday just before the spaghetti dinner. He said “Sure, first thing in the morning!” I was concerned when he climbed in his airplane the next morning after hand-propping it to start it and taxied off to go for his first flight of the day.

I went up to his airplane when he had taxied back in after landing and remarked that he had taken off with an empty front cockpit. He remedied that by throwing me into the front cockpit (actually, he very carefully showed how to bend and contort myself to get in), and we took off for a lovely ten-minute flight over the farms and fields surrounding Brodhead.

Jim has a traditional Piet using a Continental A-65 engine instead of the Ford Model A that Bernie had originally designed the airplane around. It is a smooth-running, sweet little engine that lifted Jim’s Piet into the air with little effort. We swung around and made a pass over the airfield a time or two, then headed out over the countryside for a lovely little tour. His straight exhaust stacks pointing down made the sound that pilots love to hear; a staccato bark that let them know there was a sweet little airplane above.

After we had landed and I extracted myself from his airplane, we exchanged several bear hugs, I shook him hand unmercifully and left him to his next passenger.

Dan Helsper was next. I walked over to him and asked if he would take me for a ride in his Ford Model A powered Piet. Since he hadn’t given anyone a ride in his airplane for about the last five minutes, he immediately agreed. He had some maintenance to do the on the airplane, so I had a date for after dinner.

Kevin Purtee was next on my list. His beautiful all-red Rosie was parked next to Dan’s “Loenslo Air Services, G Owen Loenslo, Owner” Piet. Kevin said “Sure, right after dinner when things cool off”.

There I was; one down and two to go.

That evening, when the sun was heading down toward the western horizon, I climbed into the front cockpit of Dan’s Piet, buckled in and off we went. It was a dramatically different experience than Jim’s flight.

The radiator for the water-cooled Model A engine is on top of the cowling just in front of the passenger. It is a perfect airplane for flying on a chilly winter day because the warm air from the radiator bathed the passenger like a hot shower. The short exhaust stacks coming off the left side of the engine just in front of me added to the warmth while singing a song worthy of a Wagnerian opera.

I plugged my left ear with one finger while taking video with my right and reveling in the experience of flying in a Pietenpol that was as authentic to Bernie’s original design as any airplane could be. We landed, and again I thanked Dan for sharing the experience of flying in this incredible 1929-designed airplane.

Kevin had a ride to give before mine, so I sat there soaking up the sight and sounds of Piets and other antique airplanes going up and returning from beautiful evening flights.

When Kevin returned, he explained how to get into his airplane, how to buckle the harness and how to wear the intercom headset so it didn’t blow off in the slipstream of this open-cockpit, two-place airplane. We headed up and out for a couple passes over the airport, with the hangars lined up neatly in rows and the people with their upturned faces watching us pass overhead.

We landed and I again thanked Kevin for his generosity. If there is any reason to come to Brodhead, it is to share the joy and passion these people have for the airplanes they built themselves. All three pilots were exhausted from the day’s flying, but they all had very satisfied smiles on their faces.

If you come to Brodhead, don’t hesitate to ask for a ride. They would love to give you one.