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Activity Stream



  1. 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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  2. 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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  3. 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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  4. 4aplat added a topic in Avid Flyer General Hangar   

    Gear leg safety cable
    Hi

    one of my safety cable is HS (the nicopress wasn't well swaged)

    I think the other nicopress have to be changed, and making new safety cable would be more easy to do


    does one of you have the correct dimensions of this cable (it is 19.5" long but I need diameter of the cable and size of the fixture)

    thanks in advance

    MicheL
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  5. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    I wld counter that opinion by saying that rudder action is not where the most force is generated. The max force is generated while braking. Enough force to break welds in rudder peddles. I would say that's enough to stress a poor crimp to failure. It would be a cumulative failure not an all at once thing. But the failure would happen without warning.

    There is/was a YouTube video of a Kitfox crash from this.

    Just something to think about.
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  6. EDMO added a post in a topic Traveling to Alaska   

    Now I feel badly. Sure did Love Alaska. Beautiful and much varied place, from Seward to Barrow. Loved the winters - went there to get away from the hot summers here in "Mizry". But Alaska is a land of extremes, and those extremes can kill you.
    Did not want to scare you - but to be safe, you have to know how to survive there. BTW: Moose are killers too! and they can tear up a plane before you know it. Guns are a common as pocketknives there - they think nothing of it - just survival tools.
    Try a ferry ride sometime, and explore Anchorage and area. People either love it or hate it.
    A guide is an excellent idea for "Cheechakos" (newcomers) - and, you have Leni and Randy on here.
    Best Wishes,
    ED in Mizry
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  7. herman pahls added a post in a topic Traveling to Alaska   

    You guys are talking me out of Alaska.
    I have never owned a gun but looks like I better if I come up North.
    My son flys a modified Pacer on 31 inch bushwheels his sklls and plane are more capable than me and my Kitfox.
    Alaska is on the BUCKET list and hope to cross it off the list soon.
    We already use the Alaskan Bushwheel fuel bladders.
    Leni: the wind and rain you mentioned are not encouraging.
    I can stay here in Oregon for that.
    I appreciate the time you 2 have taken responding to my questions.
    My son suggested that we hire a guide to show us around in his/her plane versus going out on our own.
    Leni: I will give you a call.
    I have no interest in testing testicals.
    Thanks Herman
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  8. EDMO added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    OK - Great analysis. Totally agree.
    Ed in MO
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  9. EDMO added a post in a topic Where do you buy your Adel Clamps   

    Oh, what terrible tales we spin!
    So many bargains! Cheap Chinese junk, but so necessary for retirees to build planes on tight budgets.
    Get their set of step-drills on sale.
    Tip from another builder got me to go get some of the furniture pallets on sale - great platforms for wing rotators, fuselage stands, etc.
    Cut-off grinders, long pliers.......lock pins .....aviation snips.....metal benders......work tables.....list goes on & on
    Good Shopping!
    Ed in MO
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  10. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Where do you buy your Adel Clamps   

    Perfect Ed they just opened a Harbor Freight about 5 mins from my house. I'm always looking for an excuse to go!
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  11. akflyer added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    yes and no.. In order to put force on it, you would have to have resistance. That lil rudder at the speeds we fly DOES NOT put enough resistance on the cables. I have never, EVER had to do a 600# leg press to move the rudder on the Avid, or any other light aircraft for that matter. Can you improperly swage it so you have less than the strength of the cable rating? Sure, too much or too little and you wont get a full pull on it. in reality, a 1/16th cable would have more than enough strength required to run that rudder all day long. There is alot more fudge factor built in. When designing this type of thing, you take into account the fact that guys are building this stuff in their garage and that the quality of workmanship has a good chance of being sub par to an extent.

    Does anyone know of any plane ever brought down due to a failed rudder cable??


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  12. EDMO added a post in a topic Traveling to Alaska   

    If you want to have a pistol or gun for Alaska, or need help, call Jim West, Ray, or Ken at Wild West Guns in Anchorage. You might be able to ship one back and forth thru them. Recommend nothing less than .44 magnum or 12 ga slugs. That old 30-30 just makes them mad.
    Check out WWG website. I used to work for Jim. We made the "Co-pilot", a take-down 45/70 lever-action that is real handy for airplane travel.

    I also made new barrels for the Whaling harpoons to shoot the pipe-bomb torpedos into the whales. Oh-Oh, probably just caught the attention of Homeland Security, and I am a Charter member!!!
    Buy
    Big Pepperspray in Alaska - Canada wont let you have it. Don't lay fish on your tires - bears love it, especially with red-pepper!
    Tell Jim West that I sent you.
    Ed Ashby in MO
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  13. EDMO added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    I respectfully disagree with some of your thoughts, but certainly agree with you too. We used to test cable fittings with a strain-gage, and I have seen some failures at figures far below the strengths of the cables, with forces you could put on with your legs. You would be surprized at how much force you can put on with your legs, compounded by the leverage in controls. I can only pull with my weight, but I can push about three times that much force. Look at the guys who lift 1000 pounds or more. Some rules are put there for a good reason, and we all need to do everything we can to be safe. Listening to others is sometimes a good practice. No-go gages are a cheap and easy insurance that we have done something right, no matter which tool we used.
    Ed in MO
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  14. akflyer added a post in a topic N139AH   

    well now that sucks.. any idea what weight the kit was designed for?
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  15. akflyer added a post in a topic Spin characteristics of a Mark IV   



    What wing do you have on it? Speed, Stol or Heavy Hauler? They all break about the same with the stall coming on a little more agressive on the speed wing, but still nothing compared to a 152 or any other spam can I have flown. They are all easily controled with the rudder, and all you have to do is relax a little back pressure and your flying again. VERY gentle on the stall. One thing that is going to be different is the turn coordination. With the flaperons, you get more adverse yaw that you are used to so you have to stay on the rudder pedals. It wont take long to be flying it coordinated, but you are going to be in for a little bit or a surprise when you first get in it trying to keep the ball centered. It is all very easy to learn and VERY fun to fly! Light on the controls and good performance as long as you are not expecting to ever see more than 95-100 on the ASI


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  16. High Country added a topic in Avid Model B   

    N139AH
    Seeing as this "B" Forum is empty I suppose I will add something to it. I Picked up this "Complete model C" kit in October of 2011 in Lake View Washington. After a long overnight trip to pick it up we loaded it pretty quickly and headed home. After I had a chance to really tear into the kit it turns out there are several pieces missing from my new model B kit. mostly hardware though and what I did have was in great condition as it had been well kept in a hanger since 1986 just waiting for me to build it. I didn't have time to start building until Jan 1st 2012, what a way to kick off a new year.
    First pic is of the airframe as I got it.

    -Robert-



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

    Well sounds good. I have just bought a Mark IV and haven't had a chance to get it home and fly it. I own a Maule MX7 and it is really docile on the break and easy to control with rudder. Hope this one flies like it too. Sounds like its going to be fun.
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  18. akflyer added a post in a topic Spin characteristics of a Mark IV   


    It is not an easy thing to do! Stalls are stupid simple with ALOT of mushing and buffet. you have to work at it to get the darn thing to break (as in pull up very abruptly or use lots of power to keep the nose way up there).


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

    For what its worth, I would not think twice about flying those rudder cables. There is NO WAY IN HECK that you could ever put enough force on them from flying to pull them apart. If you did, it would only be because you wadded that plane up into a ball so small that it would no longer matter to you if the swage was visually perfect or not I used the home depot press to make up flying wires for the float rigging and believe me, they have been stress tested with no slippage at all. As was pointed out, use a go-no-go gauge on ANY swage as the jaws on even the stupid expensive one can get worn over time.


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

    Herman,
    My brother brought his KF up from OK on a modified car trailer. He welded up some angle iron on the front of the trailer in the shape of a Vee and put a sheet of plywood on each side to act as a wind block and to keep any flying road debris from eating up the plane. When he got here we just had to vaccum the plane out from some road dust. he did not have a cabin cover on it ( I would recommend one). The roads are in pretty good shape, there is not very much gravel at all to deal with anymore.

    As far as places to fly, you are only limited by your fuel range and testical size. There is a whole lot of open country here but you have to remember, you get VERY remote, very quick! Most of the areas that I fly there are NO ROADS so aircraft recovery is either fix it in the field, or helicopter it out should you have a mishap.

    Getting out to dillingham is doable but will take some planning on fuel! What kind of plane is your son flying? Perhaps he can be your fuel caddy

    There are lots of areas you can get to pretty easily to keep you more than entertained in pretty short flights from the anchorage area. One word of caution. The Anchorage / valley area is ALWAYS windy. Its another 150 miles of senic road to drive to my neck of the woods, and you can bet on alot less wind 95% of the time. Soldotna airport is a great place to base out of and stay pretty central.

    Are you looking to do some fishing too or just flying and camping?

    If you are flying and camping remote, make sure you have adequate protection from the skeeters (look up bug shirts you wont regret having spent a few buck on them) that are as big as your plane and the bears that like to make your plane a chew toy. The .454 alaskan is a great choice for a side arm but you cant bring a pistol through canada. Buy one down there and ship it up, or just plan on buying one when you get here. A 12 gauge with slugs does a pretty good job too and is probably more along the lines of a good all around weapon for camping. Any rifle .308 or bigger is a good choice too but harder to carry. I like the pistol with a chest holster so it stays out of the way when fishing and it is very easy to carry that way!

    If your planning on camping alot, DO NOT go for the cheap coleman tents. The weather can turn on you in a dime and you could be stuck someplace for a few days or a week. Spend the money on a good minimum 3 season tent that is as light as you can find. A 4 season would be better. There is nothing more miserable than a week in a wet tent that leaks or is so light weight that the wind folds it up on top of you.

    A great way to haul fuel is the portable fuel bladders that you can buy from AK bushwheels. Expensive, but they collapse and can be stored very small rolled up and out of the way till you need them.

    You can call the Alaska ferry system for schedules and rates.

    If you are planning on fishing, what would you like to target? Trout? Salmon? This will determine the best times to come up. Weather can be very weird here. Last year we had the most beautiful spring imaginable, and a crappy summer. I think all summer I got less than 30 hrs of flying in (with my work schedule, it seems it was sunny when I was gone, raining and crappy when I was home). I work a 2 week on 2 week off schedule and will be off on the following days. June 27th to July 9th, July 25th to August 6th, August 22nd to September 3rd. I will be able to show you around a bit any time during those weeks.

    I think AKflyerbob is pretty much open these days as he is retired and just spending his time trying to figure out which damn plane he will work on today, his Model III, Model IV or the Catalina

    If staying in the Anchorage area is more to your liking, Randy ( SuberAvid) is a GREAT guy and loves to play on the gravel bars up in that neck of the woods. He knows the area up there MUCH better than I do. At any rate, we have enough guys on here that live to fly and would really enjoy getting out with you and showing the place off.

    If you would rather talk by phone you can call me on the cell phone. I am at work now, but am pretty flexible and will answer it if I am not in a meeting. 907-398-3755

    There is lots to do up here and we have lots of toys to play with to get out and see lots of areas and enjoy the back country. Hope the trip works out and we get to spend some time playing follow the leader and make some meories!


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  21. akflyerbob added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    I have both, the stupidly expensive aircraft swagging tool
    and the home depo tool.
    They make the same swage. It all depends how you hold the tool and start the swage.
    In the first pictures you can see the tool was not held straight, making
    a visualy ugly swage.
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  22. EDMO added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   


    Great! Now you can consider yourself, "saved"! (at least, saved from our comments!)
    Ed in MO
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  23. High Country added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    I used the cheap go-no-go gauge that aircraft spruce sales and all my crimps checked out good. Also i had an A&P check it out and he said I was good to go. These crimpers are pretty heavy and feel very solid to me.

    -Robert-

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  24. EDMO added a post in a topic Where do you buy your Adel Clamps   


    Just picked up an assortment in a box at Harbor Freight - cheap. These were insulated - couldn't find plain ones.
    Ed in MO
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  25. EDMO added a post in a topic Cable swagging tool   

    I second that opinion! get gage.
    I was also "saved" from mistake of buying cheap, chinese, cable once - I had to "save" my flying partner to pay for that one!
    Spruce also sells a cheap, (tighten bolts on swage blocks) that does an acceptable job. Still, you need gage.
    Ed in MO
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