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Activity Stream



  1. Av8r_Sed added a post in a topic Maule Tailwheel - Exploded View and Parts List   

    Thanks for the parts list, Doug. For some reason my Maule installation is charmed and I haven't had any real issues with it. I know there are better options, but it ain't broke and I guess I'm not going to fix it... Now I've just cursed myself.
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  2. Av8r_Sed added a post in a topic Looking for a good place to buy Aluminum   

    You could try either onlinemetals.com or speedymetals.com if you want it shipped. If you get to Sioux Falls or Sioux City you should be able to find a steel supplier who will work with you.
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  3. Luked added a post in a topic Looking for a good place to buy Aluminum   

    You might try these guys if you can't find anywhere else.
     
    http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=1249&step=4&showunits=inches&id=76&top_cat=60
     
    I've bought from them several times, and I've been happy. I assumed you were looking for 6061 T6 since it's the most common. The thicker plates only seem to come in T651, but from what I understand, that's preferable to T6 anyway because it removes internal stressed caused by the tempering process.
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  4. dynomike added a post in a topic Proper Tailwheel Geometry - Castor Angle and Shimmy   

    I completely agree .I battled a tail wheel shimmy for 180 hrs on my plane .I wheel landed everywhere to avoid the shimmy .one quarter turn tighter the shimmy disapperaed
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  5. EDMO added a post in a topic Looking for a good place to buy Aluminum   

    I don't Know if Shapiro Metals in St. Louis will ship a piece, but think they might. They cut to order, and I buy almost all my steel and aluminum there.
    EDMO
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  6. akflyer added a post in a topic Maule Tailwheel - Exploded View and Parts List   

    You can get different cam arms to make it release at 25° instead of 40° Are your chains tight?  When I had the Avid in the shop a few weeks ago I measured aross the arms on the tailwheel (matco 8") and I think it was 7 or 7.5" across from hole to hole.  The Avid rudder only had a 4" or 4.5" spread across the holes so I was never going to get the tail wheel to break loose unless I was on wheels and used brakes to stretch the spring.  I took a piece of 3/16" X 1" flat bar and bent it into a "top hat" shape _I  I_ that bolts onto the bottom of the rudder using the stock holes, dropping the ears down 1.5" and gave me the same width as the spread on the tail wheel arms.  This gives better geometry and I can now unlock the tailwheel even on skis when I really want to.  I have compression springs and run the chains just one link from being tight and it seems to work out nicely for me.
     

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  7. Bandit added a post in a topic First flight on my SkyRaider with skis   

    Ya, I love the looks of this setup. Much nicer looking for sure!
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  8. akflyer added a post in a topic First flight on my SkyRaider with skis   

    Looking good.  I like the taller gear much better.  That was one thing about the fisher koala that drove me nuts.  It looked like it was one pebble away from a prop strike with that stubby gear
     
    I am in the opposite boat as you.  I modified my ski's so I could use the 1.25" axles, now I have to buy wheels so I can run them on the plane as the snow seems to have vanished in Alaska.
     

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  9. Bandit added a post in a topic Maule Tailwheel - Exploded View and Parts List   

    I do have one question about the Matco tailwheel. I installed one in my SkyRaider yesterday. It is a full swivel, but it does not release real easy. The tail will twist before it lets go. Is there an adjustment to this? Never had a problem with my Bandit.
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  10. TJay added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Looking for a good place to buy Aluminum
    Looking for a good place to buy Aluminum here. Need to make my engine plate. specs call for 3/8th"       10/5/8th by 9 inches but all I see in spruce or wicks is up to 1/8 inch thick unless Im blind which has happened before.
    • 7 replies
    • 700 views


  11. EDMO added a post in a topic Maule Tailwheel - Exploded View and Parts List   

    Do I hear a cheer for Matco?
    EDMO
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  12. Bandit added a post in a topic First flight on my SkyRaider with skis   

    Just got home from the airport. Got the gear switched over today to the heavier and taller gear. Now with the Matco tailwheel and the new gear it looks more like a real airplane. Did not have the right size allen wrench to finish the brakes. I did try taxing it around, but on the way back to the hanger I could not slow it down so I had to shut the engine down and push it back to the hanger. Those mechanical breaks do not seem like they do much until you do not have them. So I will wait until I finish the brakes before I fly. The little taxing I did seemed like I was not dragging my ass in the grass. It is more like my Bandit now. Only bad thing is now my skis will not work. I'll work on that this fall.


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  13. akflyer added a post in a topic CONTRIBUTIONS TO KEEP SITE GOING   

    Ron
    Av8r_Sed
    Luke D.
    Bandit
    TreetopAirways
    EdinMo
    Av8r3400
    JackAK
    Suberavid
    Allonsye
    thebriman
    Avid Stol HH
    dav8or
    Wolverine
    Logtrucker
    Nukapoint
    JimChuk
    Dholly
     
    If I missed anyone, please let me know who you are.  I have a couple mystery guys that did not include their user name and I cant find them in the members list by the name that I have from the checks.  You guys rock and I don't want to leave your name out!
    Thanks guys for the 2015 contributions to keep the lights on, its much appreciated. You guys rock!


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  14. Bandit added a post in a topic Maule Tailwheel - Exploded View and Parts List   

    Ha Ha Larry, that is exactly what I was thinking.
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  15. Guest added a post in a topic Proper Tailwheel Geometry - Castor Angle and Shimmy   

    I have spent more time than anyone should have researching tailwheel shimmy. I have actually had springs made for both positive and negative castor angle. That "report" is very interesting and sidetracked me from the reality of what was going on for a long time.
     
    All you can really do by changing castor angle is change the characteristics of shimmy and when it happens. The bottom line is that the mass of the tailwheel, trail distance, "spring" in the tire, TW spring and fuselage all act together to create a tuned circuit that WILL resonate if excited. The ONLY way in my experience to stop shimmy is resistive damping (friction) to critically damp the resonance. If you don't have enough resistance to back and forth motion in the tailwheel it WILL shimmy sooner or later.
     
    Not trying to sound like a know it all, but if you have a shimmy problem and it is not from worn parts like bushings or bearings or loose spring bolts, it is because there is not enough damping. Castor angle changes might seem to get rid of a shimmy problem, but it is not the real solution.
     
    Just my 2 cents.
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  16. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Maule Tailwheel - Exploded View and Parts List   

    Wow. 43 unique parts that all should be in the garbage pail in the back of the hangar...


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  17. akflyer added a post in a topic Bush gear springs   

    I looked at the bearhawk gear, but I hate oil shocks and the way they fail in cold temps we deal with here.  of course. they dont see the abuse or cycles that we put on the snogos so they would probably work well on our planes.  I agree on the fox floats, but again, your talking $$  like 12-1500 for a pair of them.
     
    As is par for the course with me, I fear I am chasing unobtainium on a cost effective gear that does what we want, but the country was founded on dreams and I am stupid enough to chase them for awhile
     
    I have been reading an old thread on the supercub forum and it seems they did the same thing we are doing here trying to build a better mouse trap.  pretty much turns out that the engineers with slide rules 70 years ago were kick ass guys that pretty much got it right and Burl is the only guy that has made a bolt on cub gear suspension product that has performed to claims and is viable without mods to the fuse.
     
    I am pretty certain that a few of the guys there would be hard pressed to pass a pee test with some of the ideas they came up with   I do like the discussion here and the ideas kicked back and forth.  We may hit on a combination of things that just work well and would get us the end result we are looking for in a cost effective manner.
     
    I still think the best thing you can do for your landing gear is put gas in the tanks and practice practice practice!  Since I put the gear on my plane I have done things I have not done in 20 yrs.. wheel landings and setting her down gently.  I normally drag the tailwheel then chop and plop on the mains.  This wheel landings stuff feels funny now
     

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  18. FoxDB added a post in a topic Bush gear springs   

    Leonard,
    The Bungie is one of the most travel ideas and is well proven, the only down side is no re-bond dampening. I used a scaled down version of the Bearhawk die spring in a canister that allows more stroke than the external die spring designs and re-bond dampening. The disadvantage is the difficulty in tuning and there is a point were the spring becomes solid. I currently have it designed to 3gs before the spring goes solid. Am considering what spring or combination of springs would change this to 2gs. I really like the design of the Roberts Struts with the Fox Float and bungie or the TK Racing all air shock. The cost is high however. I may build some all bungie struts just for S & Gs.
    Dave
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  19. dholly added a topic in Avid and Kitfox parts Suppliers   

    Maule Tailwheel - Exploded View and Parts List
    Not a Supplier source, but helpful info if you need to replace a particular component and are looking for the proper part number.
     
    MAULE TAILWHEEL PARTS LIST.pdf
    • 6 replies
    • 4,238 views


  20. dholly added a topic in Technical tasks   

    Proper Tailwheel Geometry - Castor Angle and Shimmy
    This topic comes up every so often in the General Forums so I thought it was worthy of it's own post in the Technical Forum.
     
    Read the EAA Counselor's comments and compare the attached pic to your own tailwheel. It may provide the solution to your problem.
     
    Tail Wheel Shimmy.pdf
    • 3 replies
    • 2,666 views


  21. Luked added a post in a topic plastic leading edge   

    Cost for 2 was $93.90 last year when I bought them. Nice place to work with.
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  22. EDMO added a post in a topic What adhesive to use to secure fiberglass wing tank   


    Doug, It is in the KF1 manual - I have the KF4 and part of KF5.
    I guess McB found something more expensive than the GE Silicone II you can buy at Walmart?  I don't know which GE Silicone they had back in the early 1980's, but I worked hard with a box knife at getting a tank out of my Kitfox 1 wing after it had been there for about 25 years - that white rubber stuff really sticks.  It would have been easier if  the builder had used Saran Wrap on the spars.
    EDMO
    Note:  I think that putting a row of rivets into the spar is a BAD, BAD IDEA - It don't need it, and none of mine ever had that.   That may have been left over from the metal tanks - STILL A BAD IDEA!
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  23. EDMO added a post in a topic plastic leading edge   

    I did the same, but cut the extra 8" off, and didn't fare into wingtip. I used lightweight Bondo after gluing with 9460, but Leni says Kittyhair (?) is better.
    EDMO
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  24. akflyer added a post in a topic plastic leading edge   

    Nice job fairing that LE in!  Looks very nice.
     

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  25. akflyer added a post in a topic Bush gear springs   

    I think Highcountry is onto the right track using the "cub style" gear with bungees.  With this, you could put 6" long slots in it and never go metal to metal unless you really really worked at it.  If you hit that hard, folding the gear is probably the least of your worries.  I do think safety cables are a good idea as many cub owners have found out.  If you break a bungee the safety cable catches you and you dont have the sickening view of the tire punching through the lift strut at the same time the prop eats the dirt and catapults you over in a not so perfect pirouette.  You don't get style points for that maneuver unless its done with no (well maybe just a touch of) blood shed.
     
    Another thing to look at is the evolution of gear on the cubs.  When they first started making extended gear, they had issues buckling gear legs etc.  Atlee dodge and a few others figured out that you need to put some braces in-between those long gear legs to keep them from buckling.  Just like on the fuse, you add a brace and make cute triangles and you add a ton of strength with little weight penalty.  Personally I would rather have a gear that weighs 4 more pounds than a wad of tubing sitting on a sand bar due to a folded gear leg.
     
    I will see if I can get my engineer back on it to give me the actual loads and optimize the cabane vee angle to spread the loads and not add a lot of weight.  This will also give us the needed travel info other than... hey, hold my beer, yep that looks about right, tack it.
     
    I understand that these are experimental, and we can pretty much build what ever we want out of bailing wire and duct tape, but I think some of the back yard engineers (not a slam to anyone) thought they had a good idea, did not fully test it, marketed it, and cost a lot of people a lot of money on bent birds.  I would not market a "bush gear" until I had done due diligence and beat the shit out of the gear on my own airplane and I was satisfied that it was not going to cause unintended damage to a buyers airplane unless said buyer really went way above and beyond the realms of normal abuse.
     
    With that said, I really love the idea of rubber "bushings" or a polymer of some sort like the AOSS suspension system.  Maybe if I get enough interest from the guys running the "bush" gear, I can go talk to burl face to face and see what he would do for us.  Its a pisser that we spend 1500 on gear, then would have to spend another 1500+ on it to make it function right and not bend our birds.
     

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