Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Aircraft and simulator background
The Air Camper is a 1930s-era homebuilt with a parasol wing supported by external struts above the open cockpit. Wood and fabric form most of its construction. Emerald's rendition uses a four-cylinder, 65 hp Continental A65.
Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald · Read more ↗Wood, fabric and a scanned aircraft
Emerald describes using a high-resolution 3D scan of an original Air Camper and recordings of a Continental A65 for its rendition. The manual identifies the parasol-wing structure, open cockpit and largely wood-and-fabric construction.
Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald · Read more ↗Cockpit configuration and assistance
The manual lists no wing flaps. Its carburettor heat uses the simulator's Spoiler axis, while the EFB and silent autopilot are convenience features. The published cruise range is 70–75 mph, with an approximately 35 mph stall figure.
Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald · Read more ↗The v1.1.0 trim change
Emerald's v1.1.0 update uses ELEVATOR TRIM PCT EX1 for the aircraft's trim interaction in MSFS 2024.
Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald · Read more ↗Meet Pietenpol Air Camper
The Air Camper is a 1930s-era homebuilt with a parasol wing supported by external struts above the open cockpit. Wood and fabric form most of its construction. Emerald's rendition uses a four-cylinder, 65 hp Continental A65.
The MSFS 2024 package includes Classic and bushwheel configurations, an EFB and silent autopilot assistance. The EFB and autopilot are simulator convenience features.
Pietenpol Air Camper
Pietenpol → · Explore the family →
Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald · Pietenpol manual ↗Aircraft type designators
No type designator selected for this reference.
History & design
An aircraft built around accessible materials
Bernard Pietenpol’s 1929 Air Camper combined two open cockpits with a Ford Model A automobile engine. Published plans allowed builders to make the wood-and-fabric aircraft in small workshops. That origin explains why the Air Camper belongs to homebuilding history as much as to the story of light aircraft.
EAA · Pietenpol Air Camper: a plans-built tradition ↗EAA Chapter 1644 project account; engine examples describe the homebuilt family
A design carried forward by builders
Later builders adopted engines including the Chevrolet Corvair and small Continental aircraft engines. EAA describes a plans-built aircraft rather than a factory production line, with construction projects continuing through local chapters. Engine choice, weight and individual workmanship therefore matter when comparing a particular Air Camper with a simulator representation.
EAA · Pietenpol Air Camper: a plans-built tradition ↗EAA Chapter 1644 project account; engine examples describe the homebuilt family
Systems & details
Wood, fabric and a scanned aircraft
Emerald describes using a high-resolution 3D scan of an original Air Camper and recordings of a Continental A65 for its rendition. The manual identifies the parasol-wing structure, open cockpit and largely wood-and-fabric construction.
Cockpit configuration and assistance
The manual lists no wing flaps. Its carburettor heat uses the simulator's Spoiler axis, while the EFB and silent autopilot are convenience features. The published cruise range is 70–75 mph, with an approximately 35 mph stall figure.
The v1.1.0 trim change
Emerald's v1.1.0 update uses ELEVATOR TRIM PCT EX1 for the aircraft's trim interaction in MSFS 2024.
In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2024Emerald Scenery Design Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald Scenery Design · Released
Emerald Scenery Design Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald Scenery Design · Released
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Developer documentation
Pietenpol 1.1.0Pietenpol Air Camper
Product description and feature list
Emerald · Read the source ↗Developer manual
Pietenpol manualPietenpol Air Camper
Pietenpol Air Camper v1.1.0 manual; PDF pp.3–4, 7–9 and custom-variable tables
Emerald · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Developer documentation
Pietenpol 1.1.0Emerald · Product description and feature listDeveloper manual
Pietenpol manualEmerald · Pietenpol Air Camper v1.1.0 manual; PDF pp.3–4, 7–9 and custom-variable tablesBuilder community history
Pietenpol Air Camper: a plans-built traditionEAA · EAA Chapter 1644 project account; engine examples describe the homebuilt familyBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261011-v3 · 2 profile choices
Emerald Scenery Design Pietenpol Air Camper
Emerald Scenery Design · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2024
A wood-and-fabric parasol-wing homebuilt with an open cockpit.
Pietenpol Air Camper
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12
A wood-and-fabric parasol-wing homebuilt with an open cockpit.
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