The St Croix Pietenopol Aircamper is an American

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

, an adaptation of the classic 1920s

Pietenpol Air Camper The Pietenpol Air Camper is a simple parasol wing homebuilt aircraft designed by Bernard H. Pietenpol. The first prototype that became the Air Camper was built and flown by Pietenpol in 1928.Bowers, Peter M.: ''Guide to Homebuilts'', 9th ...

, re-designed by

St Croix Aircraft St Croix Aircraft, was an American manufacturer of wooden propellers for homebuilt and ultralight aircraft and a supplier of aircraft plans and kits. The company headquarters was located in Corning, Iowa.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Ai ...

Corning, Iowa Corning is a city in Quincy Township, Adams County, Iowa, Quincy Township, Adams County, Iowa, Adams County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,564 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Adams County. Cornin ...

. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a partial kit and in the form of plans for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 248. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

St Croix Aircraft principals Chad and Charles Willie had built several Pietenopol Air Campers starting in 1941. The St Croix version of the Pietenopol Aircamper is longer and heavier than the original design, with slightly more wingspan. The St Croix Pietenopol Aircamper features a cantilever

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

parasol wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, two-seats in individual

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

open cockpits with windshields, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher c ...

. The aircraft is made with a wooden structure, with some steel parts and its flying surfaces covered in doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. Its span wing is supported by

cabane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s and

lift strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s and has a wing area of . The cabin width is . The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the Ford Model A automotive conversion powerplant. The St Croix Pietenopol Aircamper has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot, passenger and baggage is . The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off and landing roll with a engine is . The designer estimated the construction time from the supplied partial kit and plans as 1000 hours. The design was later further developed into a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

, by adding lower wings to the parasol Aircamper, resulting in the St Croix Pietenpol Aerial.

Specifications (St Croix Pietenopol Aircamper)

References

{{St Croix aircraft Aircamper 1960s United States sport aircraft 1960s United States ultralight aircraft 1960s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft