Activity Stream

Activity Stream



  1. 6320012s added a post in a topic Last of Fall Flight   


    Got Bob's skis mounted last spring so I'm ready to play!
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  2. EDMO added a post in a topic overheating... again   

    I know I missed out on some good float flying in AK, but not qualified, and hate cold water. We only have a couple of lakes here to fly into, and they are big. Too many trees bordering the little creeks too.
    Skis? You mean those flat things that replace the wheels? I have only seen enough snow here once in the last 30 years to use them - they make funny noises on gravel and concrete - not too bad on grass tho.
    Guess I will just have to spend last days flying roads and looking for cow patties to roll my tires on.
    Good Luck on getting the bird with water wings out of the pond.
    ED in MO
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  3. akflyer added a post in a topic overheating... again   

    Float flying is some of the best! It is a toss up for me, floats of Ski's I kinda lean towards floats for fun and safety around here. My options for landing and walking away from it are pretty close to endless for the area when I am on floats.


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  4. akflyer added a post in a topic Rotax 582 behaviour in different altitudes   

    You will be burning just about the same amount as you would at sea level, but the engine will be rich. I can figure mine at 5.6-5.8 gallons an hour at 58-5900 RPM with the carbs set for sea level flight. If I lean it out, at 5500' I can get the fuel burn down to around 4.3 -4.5 gallons an hour.

    If you are jetted for sea level, or close, then you can figure it pretty close at 5.6 GPH at 5500' and 5800 RPM


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  5. akflyer added a post in a topic Private part Died   


    I was for 21 yrs... Nope, gotta make it very clear up front that it is their choice!! They cant cut ya off.. they can change your source, but they just cant cut ya off. Make that clear up front and its all good



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  6. Twister added a post in a topic Specifications for Modifications   



    MOST interesting! Makes me wonder if this mod might be for me--not so much that I care about the speed, but I am interested in the lower end of the operating envelope. Might I still get reasonable short field performance out of the Riblett airfoil? Would I need to lengthen the fuselage to hang the 912 on one? Is the Riblett wing interchangeable with the speedwing; if not, what changes need to be made? I'm thinking of buying a Mark 4 with a speedwing, and was thinking of changing it out for the STOL wing, but now I'm not so sure . . .
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  7. horsepower added a post in a topic tail up   

    This is why I like this forum Brian,there is no scolding,you might get a ribbing or two but its all in fun.My tail wheel instructor taught me in a Piper Vagabond which is a short little wheel based plane.He also has a Skyraider which is a lot like an Avid or early Kitfox so he told me what to expect when I soloed my Skyraider.I wouldnt taxi at anything above 15 with my plane unless I had plans for a takeoff.I did do some long crowhops which is hard for me to do because it doesnt give you time to set your landing up.The best way I could recomeened is pick a dead calm day early in the morning and fly the airplane in the pattern until it feels right for the landing.I had to go around three times before I could get my speed of 60 established for my final approach.When I did finally get it set up it just felt right and then everything came together.Sounds like you will do fine,most people would probably have groundlooped on a highspeed taxi in one of these little guys.It would be nice if you could find someone in your area to help with your first flight,needs to be someone experienced in these type of airplanes.I have lots of drag racing experience and thought it would help me with tailwheel stuff but I was way off on that theory.Its a technic that has to be devolped and that just comes from practice.Good Luck Randy
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  8. Twister added a post in a topic Specifications for Modifications   


    Please note: I did NOT intentionally place that "emoticon" at the end of my comment, I put three question marks and the software added the emoticon. I NEVER use emoticons!
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  9. Twister added a post in a topic Specifications for Modifications   




    I must say that I am very sorry you lost three friends.

    Did the accidents have anything in particular in common except being STOL aircraft? That is, what is causing the accidents? Does it have to do with the aircraft being too light (lacking sufficient mass to maintain forward momentum, as one respondent mentioned), the steep angle of descent, an inability to gain enough airspeed by diving to execute a flare and/or losing too much altitude in that process, or failure to quickly enough get the nose down and execute said maneuver, climbing out at a best angle of climb speed that is too close to stall speed, or what? Are these aircraft capable of quickly trading altitude for sufficient flying speed before the loss of the available altitude if one gets the stick forward fast enough and far enough?

    I'm only a newbie speculating, but here arises another question: If these very light aircraft are designed to make tight turns safely, would spiraling upward at a lower angle of attack (best rate of climb or faster--fast enough to be safely fast enough in a tight turn to avoid a stall with a sufficient margin of safety?) rather than climbing more steeply (best angle of climb speed?) be an option? I'm thinking that such a procedure might keep the speed up and the aircraft closer to the field of departure until enough altitude was gained. How much altitude would be needed for recovery in each of those cases? This gets me to wondering which engines and operating procedures were involved, and whether some engines are more prone to failure (especially on takeoff) than others.

    This is all making me wonder whether or not to go for the STOL light sports and be content with a performance envelope and design that would not be so prone to departure stalls (or even straight-ahead stalls with aircraft that require more altitude to recover than is available).
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  10. lakertreetopflyer added a post in a topic tail up   


    SW missouri
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  11. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic tail up   

    Brian - Where are you located? (You could fill in your profile...)
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  12. Livio added a post in a topic Rotax 582 behaviour in different altitudes   


    Thanks for the quick reply.
    Is there any way to estimate how many more fuel it will burn in terms of percentage due those 2000 more Feet ?
    I know that it is not possible to be precise due other variables, but I'm looking for a general feeling. Could we say something like 5 or 10% more ?
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  13. lakertreetopflyer added a post in a topic tail up   


    I have around 150 hrs in my last plane ,a Bucccaneer B2B.Used to do it all the time in it.This is obviously a different beast.I am looking at this as a lucky to not tear anything up lesson.Thanks Guys
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  14. lakertreetopflyer added a post in a topic tail up   

    Is there some where online I could get a flight manual for a MK4??
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  15. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Specifications for Modifications   

    I guess I'm the labeled 2-stroke hater. That's mostly from my own ignorance of them and having the want to NOT learn them. Sorry.



    Now, let me put another myth to rest. Gliding.

    The guys here with the Avids and early 1-3 Kitfoxes have a very high drag under-cambered wing. This wing has great (awesome?) slow speed performance. It will, however, hit the aerodynamic "wall" at 90-100 mph and no amount of horsepower will make it go faster. This drag also makes the plane behave like a bad mitten birdie. Pull the power off and the drag will quickly slow the plane.

    My Kitfox(es) is a model IV. This has the "new" Riblett airfoil that Kitfox still uses today on their SS model. It is similar but different to the Avid "speedwing" airfoil. It will give up very little in the slow end of the envelope to the undercambered wing, but allows speeds of 120 mph or more without making the wing act "unhappy". My plane will cruise all day long at 125 mph on my 80 hp 912.

    Part of the transition problems with this wing/plane is the fact that it is much less draggy. It is relatively hard to make this plane slow down, even power off. This makes the plane glide like crazy. Not ready to go soaring with it, but it glides much better than an Avid, short wing Piper (by far) or even a long wing or metal Piper or even a Cessna.
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  16. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Ohio Bushplanes comes to Norcal   

    opps he moved his vids around

    http://ohiobushplanes.com/1/?page_id=18
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  17. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Rotax 582 behaviour in different altitudes   

    It will run just fine at 5500ft but you will be burning more fuel than really need to. You can adjust your mixture with a system called the HACMAN. If you are only doing this trip once I would day it's not worth it but if you are always going up high this system will pay for itself in one trip.


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  18. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Private part Died   



    That's right, you're not married, yet...
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  19. Livio added a topic in Rotax and other engines   

    Rotax 582 behaviour in different altitudes
    Hi,

    I will be doing a 2 hours air navigation in the next weekend. The altitudes from source and target airports are about 2000 FT. The field altitude during the route is also about the same altitude.
    I have 2 options regarding the altitude to be used during the flight: 3500FT or 5500FT.
    What is the Rotax 582 behavior at 5500 FT, specially regarding fuel consumption, comparing with 3500 FT ?

    Thanks in advance for the help.
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  20. EDMO added a post in a topic overheating... again   

    Oh yes, floats - those things you put on with your life preserver.......never use them.
    Thought maybe you were walking on water with the big Alaskan bush tires?
    Duh - forgot to take my memory pill this morning!
    Ed in MO
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  21. akflyer added a post in a topic Ohio Bushplanes comes to Norcal   



    The video is set to private...


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  22. akflyer added a post in a topic Private part Died   

    Mine didn't!



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  23. akflyer added a post in a topic overheating... again   



    Not much to tie down to in the swamp... the ropes on the floats dont do much good tied off to swamp..Noth much in the swamp will work unless you have a few 5 gallon buckets you can push under the muck and fill with mud to tie down to. Not much room for those in the plane


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  24. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Ohio Bushplanes comes to Norcal   

    Bumping this one up for the Caliwhackers vid. Man that was a great day!
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  25. EDMO added a post in a topic Specifications for Modifications   

    Why did I imagine the Highlander being a take-off on the Piper? Looks like a s/s PA to me....ailerons & flaps.
    ED in MO
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