How to Turn an Idea into an Airplane

by Lucie and Cayenne Gutierrez

Who are we?

Sisters. Lucie is sixteen and Cayenne is fourteen. We live in Bakersfield, California.

What gave us the idea of building an airplane?

Woody Thompson, our Dad’s band director in high-school, built a Bowers Fly Baby. This is what made Dad believe he could do it too, and he passed the bug on to us. Our dad built a Sonerai-II plane by himself when he was twenty-six. We grew up seeing the photograph of that Sonerai and being surrounded by his projects. Helping two of his kids build their own airplane was just the sort of thing he’d do. We had conversations about it and we liked the idea. Thus far, Dad teaches us and we do most of the construction. Our dad says building an airplane is easy. All you have to do is ten thousand tasks in the proper order, and poof----an airplane magically appears.

What made us think we could do it?

Our dad is always around to show us how to do things, and we have a lot of faith in his ability to build. Also, he remembers the important little things that we forget.

Like ailerons.

How long will it take?

We don’t know. Building an airplane is a turbulent operation. We had planned to finish by the end of 2021, but it seems we underestimated how much time a project like this can take. The wing ribs are done, at least. That was plenty of work.

What type of airplane are we building?

It is a parasol monoplane designed in 1929 by Bernie Pietenpol. He called it a Pietenpol Air Camper. We chose this model because of the simplicity and beauty of its design. It is lightweight, reliable, and cheap to build. Bernie’s original choice of engine was a Ford Model-A which we hope to use as well.

At this point in the story we should introduce Pete Plumb. We heard of him from Ronald Pierce at an EAA meeting. When we visited Ronald at the Minter Field Air Museum he introduced us to his neighbor Pete of Wood Wing Specialty. Pete took us under his wing. He was not only gracious with his time and skills, but he played a significant role during the early months of our project, and he was a brilliant friend. In our first lesson with him he showed us how to make a rib jig with his unique method. We used a melamine board and drew the airfoil on it. Pete used trig and geometry to mark the exact placement of every UHMW plastic jig block. He taught us the process of soaking and bending the wooden cap strips. Then we learned how to glue the truss pieces to the cap strips and strengthen the joints with thin plywood gussets. In short, he taught us a ton.

Pete gave us flying lessons too. He gave us our first night flights and self-controlled takeoffs in his little Cessna 150.

Is Pete still mentoring us?

No. Sadly, Pete passed away right before Thanksgiving of 2020, while on his morning walk around the three big runways at Minter Field. We’re incredibly grateful for everything he taught us. We learned constantly while we were around him, and he was an amazing person to have as a friend. Saying goodbye was painful.

What are we going to do with the airplane when we’re finished?

Fly it to Mars. We plan to beat Elon Musk.

Do we know how to fly yet?

No, but we’re learning. We hope to get scholarships through the EAA. Lessons are pretty expensive and we could use EAA’s help.

What are we doing to prepare?

We go to Young Eagles events. EAA pilots give airplane rides to kids hoping to create future aviators. We take every opportunity to fly with our local pilots and sometimes pay them back by cleaning the club hangar or washing the bugs off their wings. We also watch Sporty’s Online Courses and read our aviation bible, The Private Pilot’s Handbook, by Rod Machado. Cayenne recommends Stick And Rudder to anyone who still wonders about “angle of attack” and “stalls”.

How many hours of flight time do we have?

Only about ten or fifteen so far. It accumulates slowly.

How is this affecting our lives?

Building something changes you in many ways. For one, Lucie likes it because she feels the project is making her smarter. Cayenne says that after you start to build you notice what other people have built and begin to see the minutiae of things — the construction, the parts, how a different shape or size of rudder affects the airplane’s flight. After you understand the process of putting a rib together, you see the quality of ribs that other builders have made. Building something changes the way you see.

What else do we do besides plane making?

Cayenne is a writer who loves animals. Lucie is interested in space and science. And we both love music.

How are we learning to work wood?

We’re slowly and carefully adding to our skills, though we’ve decided to build the steel-tube version of the Pietenpol fuselage. Steel absorbs force better than wood in case of an accident. So we are learning how to weld.

What tools and materials do we use?

A tablesaw, a scroll saw, a magnetic tack hammer for brass plated nails, plastic resin glue, our Dad’s TIG welding machine, sandpaper, a router table, Pete’s wood-bender, etc.

What is our source of wood?

We bought some Spruce and plywood from Pete and Aircraft Spruce, and a few select pieces of Fir from Home Depot.

Any word on conflicts and how to resolve them?

This project devolved into a low grade version of cage fighting so Dad decided to referee. We are currently back on track.

Do you think you’ll ever build another airplane?

We don’t know. Let’s finish this one and recover our wits and then we’ll see.

Any last words?

Yes. If you want to make something and have the drive to keep going, we’re fairly certain you can build it. Start simple if you must. Start with a paper airplane.

We’re just two kids from California who love to fly. There’s something amazing about being in the air supported by nothing more than a wing and maybe a Model-A engine. You’re free, in a roller-coaster-without-tracks sort of way, and you get a bird’s eye view of the world. Our friend Todd Schultz recently gave us a ride in a PT-23 WW-II trainer. It was our first open-cockpit flight. It was amazing! It convinced us that building the open-cockpit Pietenpol was the best decision, because it feels more like pure flight with the wind on our faces. We’re learning how to turn an idea into an airplane.