Aeron Fout's PA-17 Serial Number 9790
"So, I came to love the story of the airplane and I came to fall in love with this particular airplane just because of what a joy it is to fly, this is a forever airplane."
While heading out to finish my story on Dave Bloyd's V8 Seabee, a stunning yellow Piper Vagabond off to my right caught my eye. I just had to reach out to the owner with a business card in the window, and he graciously returned my call. That owner is 23-year-old Aeron Fout of Merritt Island FL, and we met in front of his Vagabond N17VG and told me about his journey with his PA-17.
Aeron said: "It is PA-17 serial number 9790. The way that this airplane came about is, that I was flying the Grumman Cheetah before this. I ended up only flying it about 30 hrs. the last year we had it. I figured if I were just going to fly that little bit of time, it would be more fun to have something with a tailwheel to buzz around the pattern and up and down the beach. So, I put that plane for sale. The listing I put up said will consider a partial trade. A guy emailed me and said he had a Vagabond that he would like to trade, and I did not know what a Vagabond was, I just knew that it was one of the tailwheel Pipers from the Forties. So, a long story short, the trade deal ended up working out and we ended up with this airplane. And through that process, I learned about the history of the Vagabond, and what it meant for Piper."
It meant a great deal for Piper coming out of WWII with excess inventories and difficult financials, utilizing J-3 parts and overstock for a simple side-by-side airplane was enough to keep the doors open and its DNA evolved into the larger Clipper, Pacer, and Tri-Pacer, and the rest is history. Talking with Aeron you can see how squared away he is, and how he realizes that he is a custodian of truly something special, and what responsibility that entails.
"So, I've just been trying my best to keep it maintained to the standard that it was restored to, and put hours on it, and it's been a lot of fun."
Aeron elaborated further about maintaining a restored vintage airplane; "A very big part of this airplane is maintaining it. My dad and I do work on it together with our next-door hanger neighbor who's an IA, and we do everything owner-assisted. And I think that's a big part of being able to maintain a vintage airplane to a certain standard, I guess, having your own hands on it. Because I've been around a few airplanes that are maintained by shops and, and not to say there's anything wrong with taking an airplane to a shop to have it worked on but you can't put your own personal touch on it, your own personal finesse on it, when you just drop something off to have an annual so I really like having my own hands-on making sure inspection panels come off the right way and not get scratched and screws go back where they're supposed to be. And just little details that I think really didn't really keep the quality of the airplane up throughout the years of maintaining it. So, I have learned a lot from a friend who is the IA next door to us, he worked on the Space Shuttle. His standard for engineering and quality is, very, very high. He's taught me a lot over the past few years working on this airplane and other airplane projects that we've had. That's a big part of at least having my own hands in the maintenance and really knowing the ins and outs of the airplane."
Aeron shared details of his PA-17 and that it wasn't the Oshkosh 2021 Bronze Lindy award winner it is now. Originally a Pennsylvania-based aircraft it's been wrecked three times and repaired. The restoration occurred before the previous owner by a gentleman in Illinois named Hugh Stoups that Aeron has not had the privilege to meet and noted would love too. Along the way, his PA-17 was upgraded to a C-85 with the 0-200 stroker crank installed and the Hanlon and Wilson Mufflers.
Equipped with a full electrical system which includes B & C lightweight starter and generator, radio, transponder, intercom and ATSB. Other changes that are on the custom side of restoration is a subtle but modern paint stripping on the sides, an explorer type (almost) full glass door and teak inlaid floorboard that Aeron made and installed that is a work of art. Photos do not do the fit and finish of this aircraft justice, it must be seen in person.
With all these changes the empty weight has increased to about 775lbs, so Aeron plans carefully when carrying a passenger or om solo long cross countries of which it is suited for with dual 11-gallon wing tanks. However, Aeron reports it the overall performance hasn't suffered as 17VG cruises 100 mph at 5 gallons per hr and at 2200 RPMs for local flying at 85 mph, it burns 4.5 gallons per hour. Solo, Aeron says he sees just shy of 1000 fpm climb and even with a passenger has never seen below 500fpm climb on a hot humid day.
In terms of how it flies Aeron said, "It's been a great stick and rudder learning experience. I tell people that I got my private ticket in a Cherokee, but I learned to fly in a Vagabond. That's a great line because it just really taught me a lot that I never knew before, things that I thought I knew about stick and rudder flying, but I really learned in this airplane. It is it's got almost full-span ailerons which make the roll rate very impressive. And it's just a very responsive plane overall. It's got almost no adverse yaw. When compared to a J-3, It's hard to pick up the tail just with one hand, (on the ground) whereas the J-3, you can just walk up and pick up. The mains are really close together it's short, it's heavy in the back end, so it is a little bit of fun on the runway sometimes, but it's very manageable if you know what to expect. It's really responsive and I don't think it's an easy to fly taildragger, but I've come to really enjoy flying it. When I get back to flying anything else, I'm thinking wow, is there's something wrong here, this just feels a little loose, because this thing is so tight, you fly with your fingertips. It's just very little control inputs and so maneuverable and it's really a blast. I think Piper really hit the nail on the head when they kind of accidentally built this airplane. And I wish they would have made more of them."
A big part of Aeron's ownership experience is the friends, and community that becomes part of his journey, as Aeron notes, "We have a really great community" (pointing to a Piper Pacer parked next to him on the flight line) That Pacer right here, he's one of our neighbors, and he's just down the road from us, and he's the president of our EAA chapter, chapter 724 Merritt Island airport. There's a really great community of guys and it's just a really great group of people. It seems like every weekend, in someone's hangar their hosting a little party, having pizza or something like that, it's a really great time. A lot of bonding through airplanes out there.
Talking to Aeron you can see his passion for flight, and it can make you feel that if there are more Aeron's out there the future of Sport Aviation is good. And, you can't help but notice his passion for this little bird, so I asked him do you think you're going to hang on to this aircraft for a long time, and he said, "Yes, I came to love the story of the airplane and I came to fall in love with this particular airplane just because of what a joy it is to fly, this is a forever airplane."
FMI: www.flysnf.org
