Activity Stream

Activity Stream



  1. marksires added a post in a topic Wing rib modifications   

    Ed,
    Ok, I just read all the way through your post from August, and you mentioned filling some spaces with can foam.  Just wanted to make sure you had moved on from there!
    Mark
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  2. EDMO added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Cliff,
    If there is a "spell check" on this site, then this dummy don't know how to use it - As I type, the site sometimes corrects my spelling and any time I write Kitfox it underlines it in red, but when I post the red line goes away. I don't think anyone is going to bitch about something not spelled Kerectly!
    EdMO
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  3. EDMO added a post in a topic Iron design tailwheel   

    "------, and use stock tailwheel at annual."  - Unless you fly in Alaska and cant fly to Anchorage for an annual, because you don't have a pilot license or owner papers for the plane!  
    EDMO
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  4. EDMO added a post in a topic Wing rib modifications   

    Mark,
    Thanks for posting the info - We covered most of it in AMT school - I believe that the canned foam is advertised "Not for aircraft use", and think it can cause corrosion. There is no foam in my plans - the ailerons and flaps are planned with a combination of aluminum and wood ribs and covered with .025 sheet and rivets where not glued.
    EDMO
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  5. marksires added a post in a topic Wing rib modifications   

    Ed,
    A couple of things - don't use the 'can' foam for anything you want to hold it's shape.  that stuff doesn't fully set for a very long time and continues to slowly expand.  It is a urethane based foam, so the chemicals probably won't hurt it after it sets, but I'd test a sample to be sure.  You can get pour foam that will set quickly and not continue expanding, but it is not cheap like the can stuff.
     
    Also, don't ever hotwire any urethane based foam - it gives off cyanide gas when you do, and you've had enough chemicals inhaled already!
     
    The thick PVC foam at home depot, up to 2" thick, is easy to shape with a hot wire.  We use what are basically the big blocks of that stuff used for dock floats as the core of the wings on the composite airplane I have plans for.  We make a template using pressboard, stick one to each end of the block with nails, then run the hotwire over the template.  Slow going if the block is big, but it is the fastest, easiest, most accurate way to shape PVC foam (but not Urethane!)  And no foam mess from sanding, routing or cutting.
    Mark
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  6. akflyer added a post in a topic Iron design tailwheel   

    Larry its easy, you just use the Matco between Annuals and the stock tail wheel the day of annual
     

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  7. akflyer added a post in a topic Thanks Leni!   

    Well thank you sir!  But the truth is, I just keep the lights on, the forum content would not be here without you, the members.  So its my turn to thank you guys for making the place worth while and for making contributions both monetary and in forum content to keep us moving forwards.  I hope everyone is able to spend the day with family and enjoy the day.  I'm at work keeping the lights on for ya
     
     

     

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  8. cliff added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Jim, 
     
    The A model was a compromise to get us in the air quicker. It started out a a donor airplane but ended up being a quicker way to having something to fly. It was a speed wing , we took the stol wings from the MK4 project and put them on the A model. Now we have a poorly built set of speed wings and an Airdale wing extension kit for the MK4. The entire journey we have taken to get to the first flying Avid was long  because of miss steps. We have more money in it than we will ever get out of it if we sell it. It still has mechanical brakes that do almost nothing and a crappy trim system that needs reengineered. It flys great but I just can't see dumping another 10k into it to put a HKS on it. I have been flying it for a couple of months and don't want to be with out a puddle jumper again while I would do the engine swap. It probably would be a good airframe and powerplant combination, but I just don't want to go there. A MK4 with bush gear, extended fuselage, Jabiru 3300, and Flaps was my vision. Sort of a cheaper way to have something comparable to a highlander. I can't afford a Highlander so I thought I would build something close with the parts I have. For now I am going to let it rest and cross this bridge again next year when I am finished with my move to my new airport. I am in the middle of a hangar renovation and toys and playing are on the back burner until I have my new shop up and running.  
     
      Thanks, Cliff   ps how do you use the spell check on this forum?
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  9. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Iron design tailwheel   

    How did you ever get those approved on a certified airplane?  Kudos to you for doing it, though!!
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  10. thebriman added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Thanks Leni!
    I just wanted to shout out to Leni on this Thanksgiving Day.  This forum has provided me with indispensable knowledge and ideas, as well as a place for like-minded (most of us anyways  ) folks with similar airplanes to share our ideas and experiences.  If Leni didn't take the time out of his days to keep this forum running, I wouldn't know half the things about my airplane as I do.  I'd probably have a little more cash in my wallet, as I would like to think I wouldn't be modding my Avid every time something new and cool pops up on here, but thats besides the point!  That being said, my Avid is a better airplane for it, and I'd like to think I'm a better pilot for the things I've learned and continue to learn here.  Thanks Leni for the work you do.
     
        
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  11. EZFlap added a post in a topic Avid B model to MK4 Elevator upgrade   

    With a major increase in pitch authority you will also likely have different (worsened) stall/spin characteristics. An airplane that was unable to spin, or spiraled out of a spin... may now be able to get wrapped up tightly in a spin, or stall deeper, etc.
     
    This "rule" is a generality, and I have ZERO flight experience in an Avid. But increasing the pitch control power ALWAYS exacerbates stall and spin type stuff. Don't panic, but just be careful and understand all of the ramifications that are involved with this type of mod. 
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  12. EZFlap added a post in a topic Iron design tailwheel   

    +1 on the Matco tailwheels, I have owned two of them (put them on Taylorcrafts) and both times I loved it. I particularly like the simple design that does not use highly loaded parts in the lock/unlock mechanisms. Some other tailwheels use highly heat treated parts that are pretty darn small, and they wear out. You can cut out a replacement cam/steering arm for the Matco using a hacksaw and a file from hardware store steel if you need to make an emergency field repair.
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  13. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    I think the 912 would be a lot of motor for an A model. They have a low gross weight, the 912 is a good bit heavier than the 582 or HKS as well. Probably have to add weight to the tail to balance the 912. It would be a single seat rocket though.... Jim Chuk
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  14. TJay added a post in a topic Wing rib modifications   

    great thanks and have a nice thanks giving
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  15. EDMO added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Jim,
    Would the A model take a 912? Seems like that or the HKS would be his easiest solution with the least amount of work and time to finish?
    EDMO
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  16. EDMO added a post in a topic Finally made it!   

    Could be that crop dusting is part of my problems - think I may have been in "Agent Orange" when young and holding flag for cotton dusters ! Guess now they use GPS?
    and, they burned the cotton hulls in late fall until the air was so thick with smoke you could hardly breath - there had to be a lot of chemicals in that smoke.
    EDMO
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  17. marksires added a post in a topic Finally made it!   

    The only thing those duster planes have in common with the Stearmans is they fly low (but not slow), and drop stuff on crops (hopefully).  There were 4 of them operating out of the airport we flew young eages at this summer.  One of them called us over the radio and told us to watch for wake turbulence (I think he was yanking our chain a bit)- he was at gross of 16,000 lbs.   And it still took off in less than 1/2 of a 4000ft runway.  Those turbines just go! 
     
    Link to the manufacturers page:
     
    http://www.airtractor.com/aircraft/802a
     
    Mark
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  18. cliff added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Ed,
     I always listen to wisdom, especially when it comes from some one who has been there and done that. Thanks for your input.
     
    Chris b.  I don't love to build for myself, but love the results when I am finished. I restore Cars, Bikes , and planes for a living. It is my job, and I spend many , many hours each week making my customers happy. This leaves me little time to build for myself and if I am building, than I am not flying. Your advice is well taken. I need to fly more than build right now (mental therapy). I am still not going to make any decision until next year about the mk4 project. It isn't costing me anything sitting there collecting dust.
     
    Thanks again, Cliff
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  19. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    If you want a 4 stroke, and like the Avid A model, get an HKS, install it and you should have what you want. A light A model would perform pretty good with an HKS. Maybe not as peppy as the 582, but close. Jim Chuk
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  20. akflyerbob added a post in a topic Twisted metal raceing   

    I'm running their cranks and clutch also.
    Good guys to deal with, and even pretty fast shipping even from Canada.
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  21. EDMO added a post in a topic Finally made it!   

    Nice Avid - The duster planes in the background got my attention - look like Turbine engines - reminded me of my youth around the round-engine Stearmans and Snows - Where in Coon-ass state is that?
    EdMO
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  22. EDMO added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Cliff,
    I think you have made the best decision for your needs. Maybe you can find a RANS, or JUST, or Kitfox, or something with a 912 or 4-stroke that will fit your needs. I don't have the knowledge or experience to be comfortable with a 2-stroke either - and there are too many trees in
    Central Missouri and too few flat spots for an emergency landing.
    Good Flying,
    EDMO
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  23. cliff added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    I have an A model Avid with a fresh 582 and c box that I fly to unwind and destress when I have the time and I have a Cessna 180 for traveling and other fun adventures. The A model is cheap and fun to fly but, with a few 2 stroke engine out landings over the past 30+ years of flying 2 stroke aircraft, I never feel completely comfortable in the 2 stroke. I am thinking about selling the A model and the MK4 project and buying a 4 stroke LSA. I have a fondness for the Avid/Kitfox type airplanes and would love to build one exactly how I want it but, I don't have the time now or in the forseeable future. It might be time to give up on the building dream and just buy something as close to what I wanted to build out of my MK4 project. I think I will let it stew over the winter and figure it out next year.
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  24. EDMO added a post in a topic Wing rib modifications   

    TJay,
    I posted a drawing on this section of a Kitfox 5/4 rib overlaid with a Kitfox 2 rib, with my extensions, and the modification lines I made.
    There is a yard-stick in the photo, so you can print it, take it to a copy shop and have it enlarged to actual size.
    My leading extension is to balance the Subaru engine and nose gear and heater to the short fuselage, and the longer flaps and ailerons I am making.
    I don't know about the part you mentioned - but just look at some of the spaghetti-thin webs in other planes that are flying and compare.

    EDMO
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  25. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Simonini Victor 2   

    For $10k you can get a real nice, low time, 912.
     
    There is a number of two stroke manufacturers out there chasing the Rotax goliath (Hirth, Simon, Compact Radial, etc).  In my (very active) EAA chapter I've seen several of these "off brand" (meaning no disrespect, just the anyone-but-Rotax fare) installed, ran, fixed, tinkered, crashed and finally re-engined with Rotax.
     
    There's a reason Rotax is #1 in small, light, aviation engines.
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