The inspiration for the Pietenpol Air Camper, CF-AUK, started in Brandon Manitoba by Gorden Brown, sometime after the plans came out in the Modern Mechanics and Inventions magazine in the Spring of 1931. The plans offered a proven two seater aircraft at the fraction of the price required for a factory built ship. This was largely due to Mr. Pietenpol's design innovation that used a Model A car engine rather than an expensive aircraft engine. The construction of the Air Camper began however as a hybrid of sorts because it started from the parts of a Mono Monocoupe 113, CF-ANI, that was damaged on April 4, 1931 in Brandon. Brown built a Pietenpol wing, but used the tail and engine (Veliee M-5) from that aircraft. Brown received the registration for the aircraft on July 7th 1933. The airplane was flown, but according to the log book the airplane was damaged after approximately 1.5 hours flying time.

The fuselage and engine must have been destroyed in the crash, as the wing and tail and the paper work was sold to Harold Thompson of Russell Manitoba. Harold worked for the power company in Russell and from mild steel tubing he cut up and fabricated the optional fuselage per Mr. Pietenpol's plans in the company's powerhouse. Not having the skills to weld proficiently enough for an aircraft, he tacked together the fuselage and shipped it off to Winnipeg to be welded up by a professional. The completed fuselage was returned and the airplane was completed using the modified Ford Model A engine called for in the plans. Boots Elliot was a instructor pilot from Brandon who came to test fly the bright yellow aircraft in Russell in 1937. The airplane, with 9 hours on it since new, was then flown all over southern Manitoba by Harold including a trip to Brandon, Steinbeck and Winnipeg.

Harold Thompson's Pietenpol CF-AUK in 1937

In 1938, while on the first flight with a passenger, the little ship had an mishap. With Harold's son Robert (Bob) in the front seat, a weld broke on the landing gear on touchdown. The wing tip hit the ground and the airplane flipped over onto it's back. Both occupants were not injured but Robert was left holding on in the front seat with no seat belt while his father was unable to release himself from the homemade rear seatbelt. Harold was not too please with his predicament. The badly damaged wing was removed from the aircraft, the fitting were removed and the wing set a blaze.

A new wing was built with a larger wing span (2 ft) and the aircraft was modified to place the radiator under the nose of the aircraft rather in front of the windscreen of the passenger as called for in the plans. The relocation of the rad and the rebuild of the Model A was completed by Clair Manley who owned a British American service station in Oakbank. This improved the visibility and reduced the heating of the passenger on warm days. The airplane was not ready to be flown again until 1942. As the wartime restrictions were in effect the aircraft was not immediately allowed to return to the air. The resourceful Harold however used the aircraft as a research vehicle and this allow a temporary, at least, flight authority to be issued.

It's seems that the local airforce base was using the paved runways for their trainers on muddy days. The tires on the Tiger Moths were wearing out in as little as a week on the abrasive hard surface. An experimental wheel was developed with spring loaded flaps on the hub cabs that could be employed in flight, the purpose of which was to cause the wheels to rotate with the air flow and reduce the wear on the tires due to the acceleration of the wheel on landing. The flaps could be retracted from the cockpit by way of a cable. With this device Harold was able to fly the Piet and contribute to the war effort!

CF-AUK in 1942 with new wing and lowered radiator

The freedom of flight did not last long and the airplane was grounded and dismantled in 1944. The wing was stored in the same B/A service station in Oakbank Manitoba. In this building the new wing had been made. The fuselage was stored in the chicken barn. At the end of the war the permits for homebuilt aircraft were not reinstated and the airplane stayed in storage until 1958 when a Air Force officer named Sava came along.

Charles "Chuck" Sava and his friend F/O McLeod were interested in a Pietenpol to fly and the two acquired one built by J.R.Friesen in Steinbech Manitoba in 1935. CF-AMV was in a workshop in Winnipeg having the engine changed when there was a shop fire that destroyed the aircraft. Somehow it was discovered that there was another old Pietenpol in the area and Harold offered CF-AUK to Sava for his use. The ship changed hands without a penny but there was a condition. When Sava was finished with it, it was to be return even if it came back in a basket. Sava had to get a new registration for the aircraft as the CF-AUK had be given out to another aircraft. The new registration was CF-RAZ.

Sava standing in CF-AUK in Oakbank in 1958.
Note the new (CF-RAZ) registration on the tail.

Sava had some repairs to make, as the rear of the fuselage had corroded while in storage. The fuselage was recovered after the repair. Sava had the aircraft through most of the 1960's and kept it in Rosser, northwest of Winnipeg. In 1965 he decide to recover the wing and replace the engine with a modern one. A Continental A-65 (J-3 Cub engine) was fitted and the aircraft was repainted silver and blue. The same year, Sava got a flying job with Quantus of Australia and left Canada but not before disassembling the aircraft. In 1969 Sava returned the aircraft, as part of the original agreement, to Harold Thompson. Harold agreed to compensate Sava for the cost of the Continental engine.

The airplane was reassembled in 1970. Harold added a cut down Piper Cub gas tank to front of the fuselage because the original wing tank was leaking due to corrosion. The plane seemed to fly tail heavy even though 12 inches were added to the front of the fuselage when the Continental was installed. Washers were added to the top fittings of the mount to add some down thrust and the aircraft flew much better. Robert (Bob), Harold's son, became the new Pietenpol pilot. Bob flew the Piet around Oakbank, Manitoba for twenty three years and more than 200 hours along with a number of other aircraft Bob owned over the years. In 1974 Bob repainted the plane to it's original color of Cub Yellow. When Bob decided to give up flying due to age and the ill effects of the small, cold cockpit on his body, he decided to sell the plane. In June 1993, a young man named Marc LaRochelle and from Gravelborg, Saskatchewan became the new owner. The plane was flown the 480 miles to it's new home by Marc's father. Rumors are that the old bird is in good hands.

CF-AUK (CF-RAZ) as it looks today

Today there is another Pietenpol with the original registration CF-AUK. It was completed by the author in 1989. The registration was selected from available registrations from a list of the more than 30 Pietenpols built in Canada before 1940. It was not until recently, and by accident, that it was discovered the original was also flying!