Replica 1929 Pietenpol Now On Part Of The Aerodrome's Collection

Early in 2017, a 1929 replica Pietenpol being built in central Florida with the help of EAA Chapter 534 was sold and shipped off to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome.

Lou Larsen had been working on it for about 15 years in his garage. For the last four years it was moved to the EAA Chapter 534 hangar at the Leesburg International Airport in Leesburg, Florida, where the chapter membership tried to help him complete it so that he might get to see it fly, Unfortunately, Lou passed away before the project was completed.

EAA 534 member Ted Luebbers tells Aero-News that the plane was sold by his estate as a nearly completed project to a person at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. "That’s all we knew at the time. The members of the chapter helped load it into an eighteen-wheeler in January of this year and off it went over the road to its new home.

"This replica 1929 Pietenpol had become the centerpiece in our hangar for those years and many of the members had a hand in the building," Luebbers wrote in an email to Aero-News. "We all had lumps in our throats when the truck drove out of sight. We didn’t know who actually bought it and none of us had ever been to Old Rhinebeck but some us knew of their reputation for displaying and flying very old airplanes.

"My wife Joan and I have been traveling around the Northeast part of the country in our motorhome this summer and found ourselves in a KOA campground in Saugerties, NY. While looking at a map of the area we discovered we were only a short distance away from the Aerodrome located in Rhinebeck , NY.  Since it was a Saturday, they were going to have an airshow so we decided to check it out.

"Our secondary purpose was to see if we could find Lou’s Pietenpol and its new owner.

"After being directed to a parking space by show volunteers who were all dressed in period clothing I showed the nearest person I saw a picture of Lou’s plane on my IPad and asked if he knew where I could find it? To my astonishment he said 'that is my plane'."

The new owner is Michael DiGiacmio. He had seen an advertisement in an aviation publication and communicated with Lou’s heirs to make the purchase. He said the plane had not yet been reassembled, and that the  Ford Model -A engine had been removed to be rebuilt.

"Both Joan and I were very impressed with the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum, the flyable condition of vintage and antique aircraft, the enthusiasm of the museum members to put on a good show and the general layout of the grass, undulating airfield," Luebbers wrote. "We were so impressed we put money down for a family membership. We will certainly return to visit whenever we make our northbound trips.

"Based on what we saw and after speaking with Mike DiGiacmio we were happy to know that Lou’s Pietenpol is here and will one day be flying with all the other vintage airplanes. I think Lou would be happy to know this as well."

(Images provided by the author)

FMI: oldrhinebeck.org