Projects

The Pietenpol we are restoring was built in 1932 by David Comstock of Roundup Montana. Previous to this airplane, David taught himself to fly in a glider that he built himself. First flight was down mainstreet in Roundup at 3 in the morning after the Sheriff went to bed! His next airplane was a 1916 Avro in which taught him the fundamentals of flight and prepare himself for building his own plane. He started building the Piet in 1932 and flew it nine months later. The first engine was a Ford Model A engine in which he logged 110 hours and 250 flights. He even supercharged this engine with a housing and impeller from a discarded vacuum cleaner. Max altitude attained with this engine was 8,300 ft with a passenger and 12,500 by himself. In the fall of 1934 he replaced the Model A with a LeBlond 5 cylinder radial engine which raised the cruising speed to 85 mph and top speed to 100 mph. David placed the aircraft in storage around 1935 and went off to college to become a mechanical engineer. The aircraft has been in storage since until his passing in 2005. Upon his passing, Mr. Comstock left money for the restoration of this aircraft and for a building to house it in alongside the Musselshell Valley Museum in Roundup. Restoration is currently under way. EAA members and some of my students will be restoring the aircraft over a period of several years.