Unusual Attitudes: Lovin' Them All

Unusual Attitudes: Lovin’ Them All

Martha Lunken

Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 01:49 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The author fondly recounts her adventurous experience restoring and flying a 1939 Pietenpol Air Camper in the late 1960s, detailing its quirky challenges and a memorable trip to an antique airplane convention.
She contrasts this with a recent, largely negative experience conducting a practical test in a modern Cessna 162 Skycatcher, criticizing its design, poor handling characteristics, and discomfort.
Despite her strong dislike for the Skycatcher, a conversation with a student pilot and reflection on her own first aircraft lead her to reaffirm her deep and overarching love for all airplanes, even the most "quirky" ones.

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A few weeks ago I flew the Cessna 180 to a nearby grass strip to give a sport pilot practical in a man’s Pietenpol Air Camper. Coincidentally, somebody else had just sent me an old Antique Airplane Association magazine. The “Our Lady Antiquer” section in this January-February 1968 issue featured “brand new AAA Member 9010, Martha Franke; of Cincinnati, Ohio (who) owns and flies a 1939 Pietenpol Air Camper and promises to bring it to Ottumwa in ’68 barring a 60-65 mph headwind.”

“Miss Franke” (a ham, obviously, even back then) told about a friend at Lunken Airport who had bought and dismantled the airplane with plans to restore it with an original Model A Ford engine. Built by Bernard Pietenpol in 1939, N18224 lived in the Minneapolis area for over 25 years, but somebody along the way “modernized” it with a 65 hp Lycoming engine, a tailwheel and heel brakes.