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  1. herman pahls added a post in a topic Traveling to Alaska   

    Again I appreciate the flying in Alaska comments.
    My sons Pacer will have his family with him.
    I am starting to see that camping out in Alaska requires more preparation and has greater risks than most places in the lower 48.
    It sounds like no matter where you land backcountry you should be armed even if it is only 10 miles from Anchorage.
    Maybe it would be best for our first flying trip in Alaska to find a small town with a motel and fuel and do nearby day trips.
    We are more interested in how many scenic take-off and landings we can do on beaches and gravel bars than flying long distances.
    Legal to land gravel bars and beaches are limited here in Oregon.
    Wasilla and Soldotna would probably have motels and Dillingham seems to be far off the beaten path plus the weather issue.
    Any other towns that you would suggest for the day trip idea?
    Thanks Herman
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  2. EDMO added a post in a topic Spin characteristics of a Mark IV   

    Just imagine the diference between the Maule and a Cessna 182 or heavy Piper. Now, you have a light bird that floats on landing and finds all the potholes and bumps in the air, but great fun flying.
    I used to drive a M4C, and 182T.
    Ed in MO
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  3. EDMO added a post in a topic EA-82 Power   

    Well, the military is loaded with our $$$! Old retirees are not. Also, lazy, poor, A & Ps dont like high cost/maintenance on old long-stroke, magneto-failing, engines. Also have the same thoughts about Rotax. Changing the $1 sparkplugs in the Soob every 100,000 miles is enough for me.;<)
    Ed in MO
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  4. EDMO added a post in a topic Traveling to Alaska   

    Herman,
    I really hope you go to Alaska and do some flying there. IMO, you should double-up in the Pacer and go have fun until you know the country better, and then consider the other plane. Guides and friendly advise from locals are both good ideas.
    I loved winter flying the best - still do because it is so dang hot here in summer.
    Dillingham may have a lot of low ceilings and miles of visibility below the clouds. Recommend Birchwood or Palmer / Wasilla as a base, or go on down to Soldotna as a second base. There is a rule-book on flying Alaska - guess you get it from FAA? Ask Leni.
    Torch: Hope you get to enjoy the state too. Hope we have helped some.
    P.S. All of the names I have listed can be found on internet sites or yellow pages. Give me for a reference.
    ED in MO
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  5. akflyer added a post in a topic Spin characteristics of a Mark IV   

    your gonna love it me thinks! The bird will be perfect for your mission. Take it up and play with it and I think you will be happy with the stall on it. You have to work at it to keep in a stall. With the HH wing and 582.. probly gonna be closer to 85-90 in reality at a 5800 RPM cruise. Sounds like your familiar with 2 strokes and how to keep the pilot cooling fan turning. If not, ask lots of questions and get a firm grasp of the differences between flying 2 strokes and 4 strokes!


    Your W&B will be ok. may have to put a little lead on the tail spring. Flying it with the CG at 18" makes it a whole new bird that I think you will like if your looking for short and slow!


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  6. Orphan added a post in a topic Spin characteristics of a Mark IV   

    Well thanks for all the info, it has a heavy hauler wing on it and a 582. I have a Tbird II also and its really squirrely on the ground and not to bad in the air but is still a hand full. I just dont feel comfortable in the Tbird, not enough air frame around me and too big of a wing. 36' wing span and 18' long, can't hold it down on the ground when the wind is blowing, which it never stops in South Dakota. As far as speed 95 to 100 is just right for me, want low and slow for watching critters along the Missouri River in South Dakota. I have lots of flat grass lands and river bluffs to play around in so its going to be a lot of fun. My Maule is great flying too but I wanted something slower and cheaper to fly chasing coyotes and things around the patch. Talked with Bret about the wide gear and found grove wheels and Air Streak wheels to fit 1.25 axles on the new gear and hopefully that doesnt mess up the weight and balance on the bird. Any suggestions on that?
    Thanks,
    Ole
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  7. akflyer added a post in a topic Gear leg safety cable   

    Stock length on the cables is fine.

    What I did to mine is knocked the little tab off the end of the gear cross leg that the bungy wraps around. You have to ream the ID of the tube as the weld from the lower gear leg brace penetrates a bit and distorts the ID of the tubing. I slipped another piece of tubing inside there to give it more strength right at that weld intersection and so I would have a clean tube inside that was not directly welded to it for the crack to propogate through. I check the gear leg under the bungies every flight to see if it has started cracking. So far so good this time! In theory, even if it cracks at the toe of the weld, it cant (or wont) propogate through to the tube I slipped inside and will give me good heads up that things are going south and I need to fix the gear leg if it does start cracking!



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  8. High Country added a post in a topic Gear leg safety cable   

    Thanks for the input nice to know these things before your upside down. is the 19.5" OAL still good or should it be a different size?

    -Robert-
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  9. akflyer added a post in a topic Gear leg safety cable   

    Just a quick note... My plane was on its back TWICE do to gear leg failure (previous owner). I got to ride it over with my brother in his kitfox when his gear leg broke. The attached sketch shows where the gear breaks, and where to put the saety cable so you still ahve a wheel under you when it breaks instead of having it at shoulder level looking at you through the door..
    gear leg.pdf
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  10. High Country added a post in a topic Gear leg safety cable   

    Just made mine last week, according to my model "B" and "C" manuals the cable needs to be 19.5" end to end this should give the landing gear 3" of travel before it hits the cable it doesn't say anything about the size of the loops so I just made them big enough to slip over the posts snugly. as for the cable it says to use 3/32" hope this helps. good luck

    -Robert-
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  11. kosseman added a post in a topic EA-82 Power   

    I fly and extended speed wing heavily modified avid c with and a75 on the nose. My empty weight is about 710 and operate out of 1500 ft rough grass with no problems. Cruise speed is about 105 at 2350 with a 70x40 prop
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  12. Torch added a post in a topic Traveling to Alaska   

    I'm glad Herman asked the question as I plan on doing the same thing soon. I go to Anchorage all the time with my cargo airline but have yet to fly a light plane in Alaska. I'm coming to the Alaska Airmen's show next month. It will be my first time attending and then I plan on doing some flying with a couple of friends that live in the area, one lives on a private strip in Wasilla (Pacer) and the other hangars at Birchwood(C180) so I'm looking forward to flying something in Alaska besides a 747. Thanks for the info guys.
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  13. C5Engineer added a post in a topic DAN DENNY LEARNING TAKE0FFS   

    My first flight... I couldn't believe how quickly I felt comfortable in the airplane. Just goes to show you how good of a flier these little birds are.


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  14. 4aplat added a post in a topic DAN DENNY LEARNING TAKE0FFS   



    Oh Oh

    I've got the movie of my first landing (and take off) with the avid

    It was the first time (for me) in a tail dragger

    I wasn't allowed to fly the plane (I had to finish the bathroom first !!!!) and I was just training to drive the plane on the ground

    but I pull the throttle on and...... it goes up !!!

    and the only thing to do was to ........... land

    the vid is in a bad quality but I wasn't supposed to fly this day


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  15. akflyer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Happy Birthday Doug
    damn boy, how many of those are you gonna have this year??? I would have sworn you had one just a few months ago

    Hope you have a great one !



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  16. akflyer added a post in a topic DAN DENNY LEARNING TAKE0FFS   

    Sounds like one we need to find..

    I am damn thankful no one has my first half dozen landings in my brothers kit fox on video.. A state trooper was parked out at the airport watching planes buzzing around during his lunch break.. yes, he came over and talked to me when I pulled in to tie it down Turns out he was just interested in what it was we were flying and he wanted to go up for a ride (just proves you dont need brains or good judgement to be a cop) He has become a great friend and we spent alot of time flying around together till he moved out to Illiamna.


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  17. akflyer added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    I remember quite a few broken rudder pedals due to the piss poor geometry of the brake mounting and not being able to get enough pressure to the master cylinder.. I could be wrong (hell yeah, it has happened many times before) but I don't remember any rudder cables pulling out or breaking at the swage. Hell I damn near wadded mine up when the tail wheel chains were loose and the tail wheel unlocked and I didnt have enough brakes to keep it straight. Yep, that lil ride is on youtube, so is joeys lil quick 360 at mile high. I have also seen cables get worn and frayed where they have worn through the teflon guides and started cutting into the metal mounts that caused a cable failure, but not at the swage. As I stated, I could very well be wrong, but if I make a crimp, it is good on the go-no-go gauge, I am gonna use it. I would bet a pay check that the one shown will pull 100% if you put it on a strain gauge.

    A quick example. Take a look at the piss poor welds on a 1942 piper. They will scare the ever loving shit out of you, yet somehow, they have managed to hold up to the abuse that we can dish out. I have seen welds in very critical areas that I would not pass on a visual by one of my welders even on a garbage dumpster, yet they are still holding up just fine.

    The redesigned pedals make braking action 100 times better and MUCH less force is needed to keep things pointed in the right direction. I dont have to stand on the brakes anymore to get the darn thing to turn or stop (except when I am on skis, the brakes dont work for shit then no matter how hard I have stood on those pedals)

    Great disscusion and lots of points of views. I guess it all comes down to the fact that some people are perfectionists (you see that alot more in the home built market than in factory certified planes) and others are willing to accept some imperfections. Lots of people would never consider flying a plane with a few rolls of duct tape on it, others, like myself, dont think twice about it



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  18. akflyer added a post in a topic EA-82 Power   

    I have seen a guy posting up about an Avid MK IV he put an 0200 in. He seems to like the combo. The mission with dictate how well it will work for you. If you want a lazy (slow) cross country plane, you can put the heavier engines in them and take away usefull load and give up your STOL. If you are into hitting the small short rough back country strips, keeping it LIGHT is the key.

    Yes it can be done, and it may just be the perfect combo for you, it is all mission dependant though. Adding 50 # on the nose of a plane that generally comes out nose heavy anyway is not a great idea in my book. I hate to say it, but in the light weight, HP versus thrust the 912 wins hands down every time. There is a reason that the military uses it in the drones and UAVs.. It simply works the best. Cutting edge technology is normaly developed for the military or other intel agencies. We have the CIA to thank for Lithium batteries etc. They tend to use what works (most of the time)


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  19. akflyer added a post in a topic Traveling to Alaska   

    Herman,

    In no way would I try and talk you out of flying up here! On the contrary, I think once you get a taste of flying up here and the freedom we have I think you will be dissapointed flying anywhere else!

    The Pacer is the PERFECT pack mule for those long trips. We have pulled the back seat on ours and loaded up 15 - 5 gallon cans in there. That gives you ALOT of options on places to go! Some areas of the state are better known for wind than others, but in no means should it discourage you from coming up here!!

    With the pacer, he can pack along cute lil things like a "bear fence". They do work GREAT! A buddy has a bear fence around the massive tent camp he guides out of every summer and I have watched the bears come up, get zapped and high tail it out of there. You can get one set up pretty darn cheap if you pull the parts together yourself. Besides the 12 volt battery, the fencing and plastic stakes only weight a couple pounds.


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  20. EDMO added a post in a topic EA-82 Power   


    Absolutely, this has been done. Usually the reason for not doing it is the cost of a certified engine, and the weight which is less than a redrive Subaru. Now that I have talked in regard to Kitfoxes, the Avid guys can give you better feedback. I'm not sure which model you have, or much about any but the Airdale and the Magnum.
    Ed in MO
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  21. EDMO added a topic in Close Call's and dumb stunts   

    DAN DENNY LEARNING TAKE0FFS
    Has anyone ever watched the video of Dan Denny attempting takeoffs and wrecking the first Avid (aka Kitfox)?
    Donno where it exists now, but watched it years ago and busted my gut laughing.
    Can anyone post it?
    ED in MO
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  22. TheDeltaFox added a post in a topic EA-82 Power   

    Thanks for the info Ed. I have another question that this engine talk raises. A friend let me know yesterday that hes got a C85 for my J3. So that leaves my A75 free to sell or use. Looking from a numbers perspective the dry weight is 170 lbs and it produces more thrust than a VW for its dispacement. Gets me wondering if anyone has ever put a Continental on the nose of an Avid. I"m sure its been done but i'm too new to the Avid world to know how it worked out. I'm just thinking that if i have a perfectly good engine that I just put new bearings and rings into, i'd like to use it. I guess that still brings up the question of engine mount, cowling work and prop.



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  23. hector added a post in a topic Avid C with stol wings and Rotax 912   

    Thank you. That confirms that it is o.k. with HH's on my Avid. Now I only have to prove it some how
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  24. hector added a post in a topic Avid C with stol wings and Rotax 912   


    Hi Paul
    Thanks for the link. I have now applied to become a member.
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  25. EDMO added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    Again, I agree. With all the brains in action, something usefull has to come out of this.
    At least it has everyone thinking.
    ED in MO
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