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Dads plane gets a new lease on life, CLICK FOR PICTURES - Unfortunately this posting is ten year past due. The images in this gallery are of my dads plane. The plane here is a Pietenpol, it was designed in about 1929 and was the second plane my dad built, the first being a Jodel. The plane first took to the air in November 1979, on November 29, 1980  I was the first passenger in the Pietenpol, it was my 16th birthday. From the pictures you can see that this is an open cockpit aeroplane, November in the Edmonton area is very cold to say the least, it was the last flight for that year. My dad had countless hours of fun in the bird he had built until it was time to take it apart and do some repairs. The year was 1987 and he expected to fly it again that same summer. Other things took priority and the plane sat partially done for a few years. I moved back to the area in 1991 after being on the west coast for a few years, the push to rebuild was on again. Soon I went into the auction business and it consumed my life, the push was off again. My dad past away on august 4, 2004, the push was back on. Like so many things and so many people we wait until it is too late to do the things that are really important. Had I stuck to my plan in 1991 my dad would have had many more hours of fun, this will haunt me until the unavoidable day that I too will fly into the sunset for one last time.

I wanted the peit  in the air on the anniversary of dads death. In order to pull this off in that time I enlisted the help of two great guys , Dave and Dan. Dave is a great fabricator and Dan does mechanical. I had hoped to be more involved but work got in the way more often than not. I was able to to do the interior, some work on the tail and some light machining, I enjoyed every minute of it. Susan at Alberta Upholstery in St.Albert upholstered the seats that I had made, and my wife Paige paid for them, it gets no better than that.

Long story short it was ready to fly. My brother Steve lives in Salt Lake City and came up with his boy Zack for the first flight. We hit a couple delays, like a balance concern and bad weather. The night before Steve was scheduled to leave for home we got lucky. The weather broke, the plane was ready and Dan my test pilot was in ear shot. Dan is an old time pilot and we thought a more experienced pilot should take the first flight. The pictures show a successful flight and a weight off my shoulders that words can't describe. The weather window that night was short and that 15 minute flight would be all we would get until the following week.

I too had one short flight about a week later and I again can't describe with words the sensation of flying a aeroplane my dad built and I, with lots of help, rebuilt. On top of this I had never been at the controls of an open cockpit plane, this in itself at 1500 feet above the ground is something you have to do to understand. While Steve was up and before the first flight we were talking about the Peit, he described it as a Harley Davidson with wings, never has more true a statement been uttered by man. 

My dad put most of the hours on the plane in the Morinville and Cardiff area. Mom and Dad lived in Cardiff and most of the time he would use the Farmers field behind their house as his landing strip. On August 4 2005 I took Dads plane to the air. I spent about 1 1/2 hours flying around his old haunt. I buzzed Morinville, Cardiff, Bon Accord, Gibbons. I like to think Dad was with me on that flight, he would be wearing his old leather cap and white scarf. He wouldn't have said much but I would be able to tell how much he enjoyed it.

Over ten years ago I had a dream to put Dads plane back together for him to enjoy, That dream died on August 4 2004.
This year I had a dream to fly Dads plane on August 4 2005, I am happy to say that dream is alive and well.

It is now 11:30 PM on Saturday August 6th, 2005 and I can't see the computer screen for the tears in my eyes. Thanks for listening

Brad Ward