The Pietenpol Aerial was conceived as a
biplane adaptation of the
Pietenpol Air Camper parasol wing homebuilt design. The design work was completed in 1974 and the first example flown in 1977, with the plans as supplemental drawings to the Aircamper plans. The resulting aircraft features a biplane layout, two separate
tandem open cockpits with individual windshields, fixed
conventional landing gear and a single engine in
tractor configuration. The aircraft is made from a combination of wood and welded steel tubing, all covered in
doped aircraft fabric. Its span wing has four
ailerons and has a combined wing area of . The lower wing is removable, allowing the aircraft to fly as an Aircamper parasol
monoplane. The cabin width is . The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the
Continental O-240 powerplant. The aircraft has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot, passenger and baggage is . The designers estimated the construction time from the supplied plans as 1200 hours. Flight testing showed that the aircraft has shorter take-off and landing distances that the standard Aircamper, a lower
stall speed and better stability in turbulence. The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a engine is and the landing roll is . ==Operational history==