Activity Stream

Activity Stream



  1. efil 01 added a post in a topic More legroom in an Avid   


    hello,as i'm tall too; this is my solution for the model C i'm building:

    radiator belly mont, and reboxing firewall to push forward rudder pedals.
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  2. kinou747 added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Avid or Kitfox?
    First, I want to introduce myself : I am French, from Bordeaux, the wine country, so may be sometime my english will be like all French guys.
    I am a former Navy fighter pilot with some non official wars and some officials(Libanon, Lybia, Tchad, gulf 1) and now Ailrline pilot, flying the B747/400 for Corsairfly. We are landing at Miami.

    I am the proud owner of a very rare PZL TS-8 Bies, under restoration (first flight around june 2011) and I was one of the pilot for the movie Amelia on the L12A.

    But my concern is to have a real plane and I need your knowledge to choose from an Avid or Kitfox!

    I want to fly with my kid, he is 13 now and have some fun with the plane.
    We do not need a stol performer but prefer do sometime very light aerobatics (one rool and one loop) so I was thinking about a speedster or a sppedwing.

    I have read a lot on the web and I have found speedsters, speedwings, optima, aerobat,etc, etc....I am lost.

    Here in France, kitfox models are more on the used market than Avid.

    I have found a nice 1996 kitfox IV rotax 582 with only 300 SNTT but with stol wings. Do you think it is possible to shorteen the wings or do I have to built new ones?

    Is there strongest and short wings for this model? (I do not want ultimate aerobatics but I want ot be on the safe side)
    Is the Avid better for that and wich model with wich wings?

    In my idea, kitfox is more simple with 2 models of wings : short or long as the avid is more than 2 with differents lenght, chord, profile, etc...

    HELP!!!!
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  3. akflyer added a post in a topic Hand lever brakes   


    awe shit, dont tell me the mc5 masters suck.. I just got them for mine. Do you have the stock pedals? If so, that could be the issue, it is the wrong mechanical advantage and not the fault of the masters
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  4. Bandit added a post in a topic Hand lever brakes   

    The reason I was asking is that I have the MC5 master cylinders which don't work real well. I cannot hold my airplane at 4500 rpm. Would switching to the MC4's give me a little more braking? I have never been able to break my tailwheel loose.
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  5. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic More legroom in an Avid   


    (Seat pan.)

    Maybe you ought offer to do just that for him.

    His time is so filled with what he is doing and with his little baby that he has hit the wall of what his time will allow to do with the website....
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  6. akflyer added a post in a topic More legroom in an Avid   


    An engine mount or the fiberglass seat pan?

    It would be a whole lot easier to get stuff if it was listed on the website. I know a guy who has built a few websites (me) that would be glad to help him out getting the site updated and get all the products listed. It would be awesome to be able to click n buy right on line instead of playing phone tag. Damn, it would suck if I had to fly down there and set the parts up to take pics for the website. I would really hate to help do that.


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  7. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic More legroom in an Avid   

    If you can't "find" one, Brett has them at Airdale...
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  8. akflyer added a post in a topic More legroom in an Avid   


    I would say the easiest way to get some head and leg room is to get a seat pan from a kit fox model II or III. It will scoot you back a couple inches and drops you down a little too. I let the laces out on my sling seat till my butt almost hits the controls, but I think the KF seat is a bit more comfortable.

    Almost EVERY one of these planes comes out on the nose heavy side, even with a 582. Why would you want an extended engine mount?
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  9. MikeRSawyer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    More legroom in an Avid
    Hi folks, I'm working on an Avid Model C kit and would like to gain some legroom for my 6'1" frame. If anyone has already done this I'd appreciate some feeback on what to look out for and where to get an extended engine mount made up. I'm thinking of using the Hirth 3502 engine. Thanks
    • 18 replies
    • 3,446 views


  10. akflyer added a post in a topic Pioneer Airport   


    You are gonna have to get off your wallet for that stove.... I paid 150.00 for mine in Soldotna. I searched the internet and found one for 138.00 but after shipping it was more than buying local. REI will have them in stock, and I think they may be a few bucks cheaper than what I paid. Get the biggest one you can, you can always turn it down if need be.

    MSR XGK EX Stove at REI
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  11. SuberAvid added a post in a topic Pioneer Airport   



    I think I have all the parts to duplicate your pre-heater Leni, I couldn't believe Sportsmans Warehouse didn't have any white gas stoves with the remote bottle like the MSR's; had a half a dozen brands that take the butane/propane canisters. I guess they don't expect you to need them at 0 or below. Jack found a place with the 50cal. ammo cans at The Ammo Can (figures) . Just need to get some time in the shop to put it together. That thing works like a champ.
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  12. SuberAvid added a post in a topic Fish creek Lodge flyin #2   

    Hey Leni, that sounds good. I will try to take a couple of days off so I can stay out there a little longer. Looking forward to the great food and company, and hope we get some of the same incredible weather.
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  13. SuberAvid added a post in a topic Hand lever brakes   

    I have never flown a plane with a single brake control but I know that I like the control of having differential braking; it adds a lot of authority to your steering with a tail dragger. I don't think you could break the TW loose all of the time without being able to lock up one brake. It might work OK on an airport to airport plane (or if you didn't have a choice like Leni's friend), but I like to manuver my plane as much as possible from the inside. I think it is just a personal preference thing, that's why some people still prefer tail draggers.
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  14. Av8r3400 added a topic in Technical tasks   

    912UL Carb Adjustment
    I just adjusted the needles to the third (from the top) notch. It was in the second notch.

    I was having a partial throttle roughness that was getting worse in the cold weather.



    Has anyone else played with the settings on their 912 carbs?
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  15. akflyer added a post in a topic Hand lever brakes   

    A buddy of mine (who has since taken the final flight west) lost a leg long ago in a lil conflict we had in the jungle. He had a prosthetic leg and was not able to use toe or heal brakes. He used a single "johnson" bar tied to a single MC-1 master cylinder under the dash that operated both brakes. As long as you kept the bird straight on landing this was not an issue (it was on an Avid MK IV). I flew it a few times and just could not get used to not having differential brakes on a tail dragger, but Bill had put quite a few hours on it prior to his final departure. No he did not take his final flight in the Avid. Another buddy bought the plane from the estate and I removed the single brake setup and put in the dual toe brakes as he had everything from the original kit. I think I have the parts still at my house that I took out for the single bar mount, and I may even have some pics of the install. It was very simple, and it worked remarkably well, but I just dont like it for a tail dragger. My Pacer had the same set up and there were many times I wished I had differential braking in that plane too, and it had the little wheel up front where it does not belong


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  16. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Pioneer Airport   

    We're trying to plan a makeup ski fly (out?) for the following Saturday the 29th. One of our club members who doesn't fly his Pterodactyl during the winter has a fishing shack on a lake a little bit away... He's always looking for visitors!
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  17. efil 01 added a post in a topic Hand lever brakes   

    on my little bipe, i've got two strong bicycle hand breaks on stick, they are separated by an angle of 20° and it works very well, i can turn on one wheel and can catch both for stong braking. it works because the plane is light, i don't know if it would be enouth for hand breaking in heavy plane
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  18. horsepower added a post in a topic Hand lever brakes   

    I was kind of wondering the same thing,it seems natural to me.Ive driven dragsters with hand brakes and I like them but was wondering what you would do if you needed differential braking or to use them for sharp turning.I would also consider a hand brake if they would work well on a tail dragger.
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  19. akflyer added a post in a topic Pioneer Airport   


    That sucks, I hate scrubbed missions! I need to get some pics up of my preheater. Now that I got the tubes cut to length she pimps out the heat good! Takes about 20 minutes to go from a gear box oil that will barely allow you to turn the prop with both hands to free wheeling with one finger.

    Hope you can put a fly in together soon, skis are a blast!


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  20. Bandit added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Hand lever brakes
    Has anybody tried the hand lever brakes? My friend has it on his Ridge Runner and he really likes it.
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  21. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Pioneer Airport   

    I'm sorry to report that the mission has been scrubbed.

    High temps are forecast to be 5° on Saturday, so the guys I was going with are backing out. We are used to the cold but not to the extent you guys in AK are. Very few people down here have "portable" preheating or bush equipment...
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  22. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic How to Groundloop your taildragger   

    I saw this thread and thought that this video would fit here well. I found it posted elsewhere...

    http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8247077/
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  23. akflyer added a post in a topic How to Groundloop your taildragger   



    http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/search.php?search_id=active_topics

    Back country pilots. Good group of guys, but the site is kind of a pain in the butt for things like posting pictures etc. If I remember right, to join, you ahve to answer a few questions based on his "forum rules" etc.. took a few minutes, but it does weed out the bots and the guys that are not really intersted in back country flying.


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  24. 84KF added a post in a topic How to Groundloop your taildragger   

    BCP?? Not sure what that is. I want to check it out
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  25. akflyer added a post in a topic How to Groundloop your taildragger   



    I took the floats off so I could do some work on the rigging and am on ski's now Yes, you can ground loop on ski's but you have to be real determined to pull it off... Well, unless you are on glare ice then it can get out of sorts pretty easy

    BTW, nice to see you posting Mr. You been putting any time on the KF or just boring holes in the sky with junky old planes like that stearman you take care of

    Thanks to you I have been stiring up a bit of debate over at BCP on the ole sport pilot, gross weight versus max take off weight thing. Fun to kick the bees nest then sit back and watch hahaha


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