Activity Stream

Activity Stream



  1. akflyer added a post in a topic Tech Question Avid B Help Please   

    I would level it side to side across the door sills, and fore n aft using the door sill.  I could be remembering wrong, but I dont think they (engine mount holes) are lined up vertical.  you could pull a few measurements on it and check though.
     

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  2. cowlove added a post in a topic Finished and installed fiberglass flaperons. Nice, but I wouldn't do it again.   

    Home-rebuilt 582 grey head with no updates, C gearbox, RK400 clutch, 70" 3-blade warp drive.   Just looking at the numbers, I thought it would take just the right touch to get it off the water.   However, I took it out for some step taxi work to check the flaperon rigging, and had an accidental 4.6 second flight.  It took right off at about 5300RPM(!)
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  3. EZFlap added a post in a topic Tech Question Avid B Help Please   

    Thank you all... I have the fuselage apart... no tails mounted, no wings mounted. I'm just wanting to make my wood engine mount jig with the right amount of downthrust. Does anyone know if the upper and mid-section engine mount lugs (for the original Rotax mount) are vertical, or 90 degrees to level? I can put a vertical level on this easily enough.
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  4. EDMO added a post in a topic Tech Question Avid B Help Please   

    some manuals - and I have both Avid Magnum and several Kitfox - say to use the door sill - while others say to use the cross tubes and longerons under the cabin - check them both out, and if they are the same, you cant go wrong. If not, then I would opt for the door sill.
    EdMO
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  5. akflyer added a post in a topic Tech Question Avid B Help Please   

    level from the bottom of the door sill gets you really darn close.  I think the book actually says to use the 3rd rib out from the root, but when I did that on mine it was dead even with the level on the bottom of the door sill, and that is easier than holding a straight edge or a 4' level on the wing while playing with the jacks to level it.
     

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  6. EZFlap added a topic in Avid Model B   

    Tech Question Avid B Help Please
    Making an engine mount weld jig, and adjusting for thrust line, downthrust angle, etc.
     
    I looked through the build manual that came with my B model, and in the Weight and Balance Section 1 it referred me to "Section 4.1" for leveling the airplane. But there was nothing in Section 4.1 about where you level the airplane from. The info may be missing, or I could just not have it in my manual.
     
    What do I use for leveling the airplane in the pitch axis, with the horizontal tail removed from the airplane?
     
     
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  7. akflyer added a post in a topic Another FNG... Los Angeles Avid B   

    Jack, take a look at the thread I just posted on the model C section.
     

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  8. akflyer added a topic in Avid Model C   

    Lt Dan got sputzees old leggggs.
    ok, so maybe not everyone will read that using their best Forrest Gump voice, but thats how I was typing it
     
    I picked up the gear that Dave had made for his Sputzee that seemed prone to bending.  The left gear leg was bent but a lil heat and the proper application of a 3 pound hammer to a block of wood fixed that right up.  A quick recovering and it was on to modifying the suspension struts and springs.  The original slot for the suspension to slide in only allowed 2" of gear deflection before they bottomed out and went metal to metal.. well no shit Sherlock, something has to bend when things go metal to metal and 2" of travel isnt very much when you hit a log, rut, snowberm etc.  I ran the numbers for the spring used by airdale and I am pretty certain it is a 425# per inch spring, but max deflection it it is only 1.8"... Thats OK if you grease every landing on a manicured grass strip, but damn sure don't lend itself to the name "bush gear"
     



     
    I lengthened the slot another 2" and took off the holy shit stiff die spring ( I couldn't compress it at all in my 6" vice on the bench).  I dug around in my pile of snowmachine springs and found a matching set of take offs from an older Skidoo center shock.  I think the spring rate on these are 190# per inch but I am not certain, I couldnt match up part numbers, but dimensions etc led me to believe that is what they were.  I dug up some urethane body bushings that I had bought for my kids 68 dodge that was spose to be a father son hot rod build but the lil bastage sold the car before we did a damn thing to it.. Hence I felt no guilt in heating up a 1" copper pipe and running it through the bushing so it would slide over the tube and give me a buffer before things go metal to metal as well as help center the new larger diameter spring.  I also busted out the trusty dremel kit and lengthened the slots in the tube to give me another 2" of travel before things start to bend.
     


     
    It took me a few head scratching sessions (probly do to me having set sail with the captain an hour or so earlier in the evening) to figure out why the stance was the same on an old set of 25" good years as it was on the 30" airsteaks on my old gear to figure out that Dave thoughtfully had the gear legs lengthened 3" longer than the bungee wide / tall gear! (ok so I really didnt figure it out till the next day when my ski rigging was way too short...)  That was almost as much of a good surprise as finding out that he also had them built to use 1 1/4" axles!  Sweet, hopefully no more bent axles in my future.  The only down side to the larger axles was that I had to modify the skis and will have to order new wheels this summer when its time to take the long boards off, but I love the larger axles!
     
    With 2 people sitting in it the gear does not deflect or sag, but pulling on a wing strut it feels like it does not take as much force as I would like to collapse the springs more than I wanted.  Well as its my normal style, I said damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead and loaded it on the trailer to head for the airport between freezing rain squalls.  I only got 4 turns around the pattern in before the freezing rain decided to show up again so I tied her down and headed home.  I love the increased AOA the taller gear gives me, especially on skis.  The AOA sucked for me before on skis and I had to get around 50 MPH before I could lift off.  Now I can break the ground at 35 and actually use the wing the way its intended to be used.  I took care to grease the landings as I really did not want to fully test the suspension only 10 hours before I had to get on the smoker to come back to work for two weeks but i do think the springs are a little too soft and would not soak up the bumps on skis that a hidden snow ridge or snowmachine track would dish out.
     

     
    I have a couple sets of springs ordered up for me to try out when I get home.  They are 250# per inch and 325# per inch springs, I am pretty certain they will do the trick for me.  I also ordered up some tubing to make a new cabane vee to drop the center down a few inches to make the pulling forces get spread on both sides instead of a straight pull that likes to buckle the fuse side when you do find those hidden objects.  All in all I am really happy to have the gear and cant wait to further test it out and do a few simple mods that hopefully I can share with every one else who has purchased the "bush gear" and bent something.
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  9. jackak added a post in a topic Another FNG... Los Angeles Avid B   

    Leni,
    Any pictures of what you did to your bird and the gear?
    Jack
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  10. EDMO added a post in a topic Wanted: coolant radiator for 912ULS   

    For What Engine?  Pardon me = I missed the 912 ULS!
    EDMO
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  11. akflyer added a post in a topic Another FNG... Los Angeles Avid B   

    I am liking the new gear I have, so if your interested, I can let the wide gear that I have go on down the road....
     

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  12. turboturner added a post in a topic Aerocet 1100 amphib floats w/ Kitfox 3/4 rigging   

    You've probably pawned these off by now, have you? If not, I'd be interested. Anyone else have a set of these for sale?
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  13. turboturner added a topic in Rotax and other engines   

    Wanted: coolant radiator for 912ULS
    any rad that meets the specs would do. Thnx!
    • 4 replies
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  14. EDMO added a post in a topic Wing rib modifications   

    I would use the T6 and not worry about the heat treatment. SkyPirate on here showed me the very nice set of aluminum ribs that he made at home without any machinery - Looked real nice when all assembled for his ultralight he was building. I have enough problems to deal with without making another set of ribs!
    EdMO
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  15. EDMO added a post in a topic Fabric Weight (Model III)   

    TJay,
         the 103, 1.7 or 1.8 fabric is good as long as it has not been improperly stored by folding and creased or in sunlight for too long - the new 2.7 can really warp your bird if you try to shrink it too much - the 103 has a tighter weave than the 2.7 and takes less paint to finish, thereby saving weight and money.  This was the standard fabric supplied with the early Kitfoxes and Avids.
         If you are a Sunday Flyer from the local concrete strip, you could probably get by with tissue paper or silk covering like the model planes - but if you fly like some of the guys on here and use your prop for a brush-hog, then you need Kevlar, Carbon-fiber, or the tiles used on the space shuttle on the bottom of the fuselage and under the tail - some have used the 2.7 fabric there because it is a little tougher.  Oh, and don't forget the big roll of Gorilla tape to patch with!
        There is very little difference in the structure of the Kitfox 1, 2, and 3 models.
        That's my 2cents worth - now you can wait for the other 995 members to give you as many opinions! 
    EDMO
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  16. TJay added a post in a topic Fabric Weight (Model III)   

    I think the stuff that came with my kitfox 1 kit is ceconite  103 is that decent stuff or not
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  17. EDMO added a post in a topic Aluminium wing tanks   

    My Kitfox fglass tanks are set with GE Silicone II - no rivets - One manual I have and forget whether it is Kitfox or Avid, shows a row of rivets attaching the rear of the tank to the rear spar - I sure don't care for that idea of riveting any tank to the spar.
    Another manual says to wrap the front and rear spars with the thin "stretch-tite" plastic wrap used to wrap meats before using the GE silicone to make for easier removal - I didn't do that, but wish now that I would have.
    EDMO
    Again, just guessing, since I am not an engineer, that the 6 gallon tanks may not have as much induced stress on them as the wider, 12 gallon, aluminum tanks, with the flexing of the wings.
    EDMO
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  18. Tree top pilot added a post in a topic Wing rib modifications   

    I am really liking that set of spars. There's a lot of nice things with that design. I bet the die for that was slightly high priced.... Nice looking wings ! Still wanting to form a set of ribs out of aluminum.....I know they can be made lighter. Lots of ideas and not enough time... I should have started earlier in life with all the airplane stuff....
     
    I had spoken with another engineer in my area about making the ribs from 6061 T-0 and then having them heat treated. After we looked at some CAD models and there would be a need for compression struts...but allowed the use of cables for sail/anti sail bracing and tube trailing edge. Could CNC the rib die and form ribs with rubber block in press ready to phosphate and rivet in place.... We estimated that would come out to a completed wing near 25 lds ready for fabric. The flaperon hinges would also be T-6....flaperons made up of aly ribs and .018" 2024 sheeting. Round tube wingtip of T-6. Basic profile and lighter weight....unless parts were all carbon composite.....
     
    Ed... that water that looked milky was the abrasive that is suspended in the water to aid in the cutting action. I know a guy out west that has one in his shop...said he needed that machine 20 years ago for the time it saves his shop. No slag to clean up or hardened edge to grind beyond....and doesn't warp the metals from heat of CNC torch - laser - plasma cutting. Says it takes just enough pressure to keep the parts from wiggling around to hold them in place when cutting.
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  19. FoxDB added a post in a topic Aluminium wing tanks   

    TJay,
    I have (1) 6 gal aluminum tank in each wing and have not had any leaks. They are set with RTV to prevent flexing the tank.
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  20. akflyer added a post in a topic Germany fly from bavaria to the see   

    cool pictures, thanks for sharing them with us!
     

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  21. marksires added a post in a topic Finished and installed fiberglass flaperons. Nice, but I wouldn't do it again.   

    May have been a lot of time and effort, but at least you don't have to worry about corrosion on it now.  On a seaplane, that's worth something.
    Mark
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  22. EDMO added a post in a topic Aluminium wing tanks   

    I have only heard that the aluminum tanks were prone to leaks because the wings flex so much.   Jim may have a good idea about wrapping them in fiberglass before installing - If you decide to try that, be sure and use a Vinylester (I cant spell it) or similar epoxy that is supposed to be alcohol resistant, and build up about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick bosses where you want to drill and tap for fittings.
    I don't care for any of the sloshing compounds - heard bad reports on the Cream (sp? again) pealing off inside the tanks.  CASWEL is the name of the epoxy sloshing used for motorcycle tanks, and I thought that it might be good, but my flying buddy said he had bad luck with it too in aluminum tanks - maybe he mixed it wrong?
    I have an old 12 gal fg wing tank, and a nose tank,  but planned to sell them with my Kitfox 1 clone and parts, if anyone ever buys it.
    EDMO
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  23. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Aluminium wing tanks   

    I never did anything with the tanks myself.  I wonder if wrapping aluminum tanks in fiberglass (and sealing them also) might be the way to go with them.  Don't really know for sure though.  Every once in a while I see Kitfox  fiberglass tanks for sale on barnstormers,  maybe even run a wanted add for some there and on these Avid/Kitfox sites.  Some guys want the latest ethonal resistant tanks, and might part with the older ones at a reasonable price.  Jim Chuk
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  24. TJay added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Aluminium wing tanks
    With all the bad posts about these not sure I should use them. Hey Jim did you ever slosh these tanks or not. if not are they ok to use if I put a sealer in them before installing. what you guys think is anyone still flying with aluminum tanks
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  25. akflyer added a post in a topic Finished and installed fiberglass flaperons. Nice, but I wouldn't do it again.   

    Well its looking good and one step closer to getting back in the air!  What do you have in it for power?
     

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