Activity Stream

Activity Stream



  1. EDMO added a post in a topic Strobe question   

    Ron,
         I don't think you will have any problem with the LED strobes, but I agree with Leni, I would put the IP and strobes on  separate busses, and also the radio, but you may have a "filter" already for the alternator noise on the radio.
    I got into trouble once in electrical class trying to tell another student how capacitors work - yes, absorbs pulses - just connect to ground wire buss screw from power supply and make sure capacitor is also grounded.  Now waiting for some EE to tell it better!  I cant tell you what size capacitor to use either.
    EDMO
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  2. akflyer added a post in a topic KITFOX FLAPERON ENDS?   

    My soon to be Ex wife got her a curtis drain valve to the top of the head one day.. I did laugh.. good gouge with a lil gasoline mixed in.. hard not to laugh at the cocky um.. person..
     

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  3. C5Engineer added a post in a topic KITFOX FLAPERON ENDS?   

    My wife is taller than me and got herself a Cessna tramp stamp to the forehead from a flap one day following me on a preflight of a 172. Was hard not to laugh. Only time I've done it was in my hangar on a mission to get a tool from the bench. Was right after I went to a three bladed prop. 
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  4. akflyer added a post in a topic KITFOX FLAPERON ENDS?   

    so true!  Thats one reason I love the big tires and extended gear.  Not I just skim the top of my head, not get cracked right between the eyes.  Please tell me I am not the only one who has found themselves laying flat on their back at the airport looking around sheepishly to make sure no one saw you   Worse yet, when I did it on ice with about 3" of standing water on it... that ended that days flying cause I had to go home and change clothes 

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  5. akflyer added a post in a topic tail wheel   

    It depends on what you are planning to do in the future.  Are you wanting aviation as a career or just pure fun?  If its just for fun I got money on the seaplane rating being your funnest course and funnest flying followed closely by the aerobatics.  I think its horse shit that spin recovery is not a requirement for the PPL or any other initial pilots license.  I don't think the first time you find yourself in a spin should be without an instructor as shit can happen really fast and the airspeed can get away from you really quick if your not recovering or keeping it fully stalled.  I grew up flying model airplanes and was way far into competition aerobatics with models since I was in Jr High school so I knew all the control inputs needed for various maneuvers and recovery so I was automatic on the stick and rudder during my flight training.  Yes I loved doing stalls and spins (the best I can get out of the Avid even at a more aft CG is a tight spiral not a spin). 
     

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  6. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic KITFOX FLAPERON ENDS?   

    I can relate to the cracking your head thing.  Best thing to wear while in the plane is a baseball cap to block the sun with, worst thing when walking around and under the plane cause it sure blocks things then as well.  Jim Chuk
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  7. akflyer added a post in a topic Strobe question   

    The old lights draw a ton of juice.  The LEDs I am sure wont make your instruments pulse as they draw next to nothing.  You may run a separate bus bar for your lights though just in case.  Crappy or inadequate grounds seem to be the root of a lot if not most of the electrical gremlins I have had to deal with in planes, cars n boats etc.
     

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  8. akflyer added a post in a topic Do I really need a radiator under the belly?   

    Sweet pics! 
    I had issues with the cheek radiators cooling on mine when I got it so I pulled them and went to the belly radiator.  When I got the MK IV cowling and actual MK IV radiators I put them on and got rid of the belly radiator.  I did use the silicon baffle to seal up the radiator to cowling and increased the lip on the bottom as Chris suggested to get more air pulled through.
    In the winter time I put the radiator scoop on he back of  one radiator to help out my heat muff to really get the cabin toasty.  In the summer I have to pull the scoop or I have over heating issues, but I don't want the extra heat in the summer anyway!
     

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  9. RDavidson added a post in a topic Strobe question   

    Ed,
    Yep, it was an old strobe system...not Wheelen, but similar.
    I'm using a LED strobe, but my buddy was asking too because he is using the an older Wheelen system.
    Just to better understand what is going on...the condenser goes on the ground wire?  How does a condenser work?  It absorbs the pulse?
    Could my problem have been using a common grounding bar that had all of the instruments grounded to it as well?
     
    Thanks,
    Ron
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  10. Dusty added a post in a topic tail wheel   

    Thanks for posting the link
    Had time to sit and watch and rewatch some parts,very relevant!
    a must watch for all taildragger pilots,we are never to old/experienced to learn something new.
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  11. akflyer added a post in a topic KITFOX FLAPERON ENDS?   

    When I fixed Bob's on his mod 1 I used a piece of 1/2" balsa and shaped it to fit into the tip then gave it a nice rounded profile and glued it in.  Worked great and gave it just a little strength to hold shape when you crack your head on it.
     

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  12. ChrisBolkan added a post in a topic Do I really need a radiator under the belly?   

    You can do it either way trigear or taildragger:







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  13. EDMO added a post in a topic KITFOX FLAPERON ENDS?   

    I know about the blue Styrofoam and 9460 method - I think he may have done something like that on the full profile squared outer ends.  I have the KF 1 and 4 manuals.
    The root end of one is completely open, and the other has about 1/3 chord of thin aluminum still there.   I guess the new owner could use the foam/9460 or squeeze them and rivet - either one would work - I was just curious if instructions changed for model 3.
    Thanks,  EDmO
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  14. akflyer added a post in a topic Fresh Engine First Time Out Suggestions   

    If they did the ground break in then I am pretty sure they had the prop set right otherwise water temp, RPM and EGT's would not be where they need to be to get the one hour break in.  Just do a GOOD preflight to check for leaks.  Warm it up on the ground, shut down and check for leaks again then take to the sky's.  As Tom said, I would hang out close to the airport or stay over landable terrain for the first hour or so then head for home if all is well.  Keep a weather eye on those gauges and make sure they stay in the green!
     

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  15. Knuckledragger added a post in a topic Fresh Engine First Time Out Suggestions   

    Engine had 295 hours and 15 years since new according to the engine log.  It ran fine (to me) with no noted leaks or weeps prior to O/H.  <300 hours across 15 years in Florida was my main concern for this engine.  Labor report (attached) shows the carbs were gone through.  My home field a 1.2 hr flight from KSEF, so hopefully jetting etc. is unchanged. 
    your advice regarding notation of things like jetting and settings is duly noted!

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  16. C5Engineer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Dark or Light color for the top half of cowling?
    In preparation of making my cowling mods I am trying to decide on a new paint scheme for my cowl. As most of you know I bought a FWF from John Miller's B model when he switched to the Jab many years ago. The cowling was pretty close to the rest of my plane so I never did anything else with it. For those that have flown lots of different planes which do you prefer..White on Top or a dark color on top for reflections, landing picture, etc? The new cowl will be a combo of Navy Blue and White. Here's a shot of when John and I finally got our planes together at Johnson Creek back in 2012. Kind of funny to look at how the stripes line up. He never really took the time to match his new cowl set up either. This pic also shows how much taller the Bush gear is over stock bungee gear. He was running 21" dessers on a 6" wheel and I was running the 21" Nanco's on an 8" wheel in these pics.
     
     
     
     

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  17. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Who's running a 406 ELT?   

    Tom there is a version of the 451 that has GPS feed but it's about 3 grand! I never take off without my SPOT running. Guys if you are running one take the time to teach your wife how it works and any codes you may use. For example I was camping in a spot with no cell signal one time and woke up to extremely dense fog that none of us anticipated. I had told the wife what time abouts I would be back in cell coverage. Not knowing what else to do I kept sending OK messages throughout the day. She was confused on why they were all coming from the same spot but at least she knew I was okay. We didn't get out until almost 2pm that day and needless to say she was pretty stressed when I finally made contact. Now she understands that if I keep sending OK's without moving we are weathered in. My Spot has paid for itself many times over with her having the peace of mind of knowing where I am. I figure if I go down and it was running just looking at the track log would give a vector and a relative distance from the last known point which narrows the search area down a lot.
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  18. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Classic IV Restoration   

    Great to see progress and always fun to see big parts bolted on! I am planning on tackling my cowling when I get home.
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  19. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Fresh Engine First Time Out Suggestions   

    I agree with Tom. Leaks are the big thing to watch for. I flew over the airport for 45 mins in mine after my Rotax Rick overhaul recently. I couldn't stand it much longer then that and went and found a field to land in. I have heard various ways to break in a new motor but as a general rule on a two stroke just run it. I was pretty nice to mine for the first two hours as far as cruise power settings go. I used to rebuild my 2 stroke race bike on Friday night and race it Saturday morning. Before I sent my engine of to Rick I pulled all my jets and visually verified the size and wrote it down and also noted where I had my idle and aircrew settings so I had a baseline for when it came back. I wouldn't think they would mess with your carb settings but something to think about. Hopefully they didn't mess with your prop pitch either. Depending on how tired your engine was you may make more RPM now that it's fresh.
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  20. Knuckledragger added a post in a topic Fresh Engine First Time Out Suggestions   

    Correct.  I had just enough time to fly it down there and hand them the keys and get back to work.  Like you Joey, I travel a LOT.  So I had them do everything.
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  21. tcj added a post in a topic Fresh Engine First Time Out Suggestions   

    For the first flight with the airplane just out of maintenance it is always a good idea to stay above the airport for about 1/2 hour at least.  Climb up a couple thousand feet above the pattern altitude and circle around up there while you watch (the gauges) listen and smell for anything amiss.  Then land and do another thorough inspection of the engine for anything loose, leaking, chafining etc.
     
    I am assuming if they broke the engine in they retorqued the heads, exhaust and intakes afterwards.
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  22. C5Engineer added a post in a topic The First Time Out   

    60 mph works good for climb, cruise, and approach as a very general rule of thumb.
    Congrats on your first flight! Rudder is very sensitive on these planes and you will find if you stick the ass end someplace it will stay there and not really want to self center like a bigger heavier plane. On long flights I often stick my right leg across middle of the plane to stretch out. I end up having to keep tapping back and forth on the rudder pedals with my left foot to keep the ball centered.
    Where did you set the incidence of your flaperons with the handle clear down? A few negative degrees (reflex) seems to work pretty good. The more reflex you add the more nose up trim you will have using flapersons BUT there is a tradeoff because the roll axis will start getting stiff. As you start getting some time on her start playing with the flaperons in flight in very small increments. They are very sensitive to the pitch axis.
    Glad your landings worked out well. Grass helps a TON. Just be careful because I have found about the time I am feeling really comfortable in my airplane it does something to make sure I remember that she's the boss.
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  23. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Fresh Engine First Time Out Suggestions   

    They overhauled your engine AND did the reinstall of the engine??
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  24. Knuckledragger added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Fresh Engine First Time Out Suggestions
    Well, FINALLY after what seemed like an eternity (~5weeks) Lockwood is releasing my plane from service.  I had the 582 overhauled and broken in.  Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll be able to fly again. 
    That said, me being a newbie pilot (30 hours, 8 weeks), what things should I add to and or focus on in tomorrow's preflight and initial flight?  I'm comfortable actually flying the plane, but I don't want to overlook something that more experienced pilots here might have checked.
     
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  25. Knuckledragger added a post in a topic The First Time Out   

    Congratulations!   What is the 60/60 rule?
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