| PIETENPOL AIR CAMPER | The Pietenpol Air Camper is built for fun B Y I A N J. T W O M B LY P H OT O G R A P H Y B Y C H R I S R O S E As you begin bumping down the runway, you're not thinking of necessities like airspeed and keeping the wheels straight. You're too focused on one overriding thought: I must be crazy. Crazy because you're about to take off toward a monster of a tree in an airplane made of wood, from plans drawn in the late 1920s, constructed by a man you've just met who has no formal training. Only after clearing the first row of trees do you relax somewhat-and only many minutes later, when it's apparent you can glide to a field if the 65-horsepower engine fails, do you begin to smile and enjoy the view. Soon you relax and allow yourself to feel the wind cooling your face. Doing lazy circles at 500 feet above the valley on a warm summer afternoon in a Pietenpol Air Camper-once you get used to it-represents the essence of what flying is all about. 74 | AOPA PILOT August 2017