Activity Stream

Activity Stream



  1. akflyer added a post in a topic Deer vs 206   

    That's gonna leave a mark!

    In every wreck I have been involved with, the tube and fabric planes fared much better than the spam cans. But I would probably attribute most of that to the fact that the tube and fabric planes were also flying much slower at the moment of impact.


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  2. akflyer added a post in a topic Is your 2-stroke Engine About to Fail   

    I know that from what I have seen, the engine can go either way... Most time she will give you plenty of warning that it is not feeling well and you need to check it out. Say the seals start leaking.. you will notice one EGT start climbing as that cylinder leans out, or she starts loosing power and wont turn full RPM on take off for no good reason, check the compression and the rings and see if you have some carbon in there that are causing them to stick.

    Then there are the sudden HOLY SHIT moments.. I had this happen to me when the rings failed on BOTH cylinders (sure am glad I had that 20 knot tailwind to make the airport). I was flying along fat dumb and happy, EGTs and water temps perfect, then suddenly... the loudest silence you can imagine.. Turns out that the pistons and rings that ole will wayne sells on ebay are junk. The rings railed on both my engine and AKFLYERBOB's engine (on his we were able to milk it around a very short pattern and get her back on the ground).

    Say one of the hoses ruptured or came on on the RV oil bottle. I know from experience that when you run out of oil in that center cavity, you have about 15 minutes before the engine stops running, for no apparent reason... That one was a real head scratcher for me till I pulled the air filter and looked through the carbs while the kid hit the key..

    At any rate, I still trust the engine to get me where I want to go and dont even think twice about it. I have had engine failures on Lycomings too so it is not just 2 strokes that give up the ghost on you!


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  3. Russ. added a post in a topic So whats up with the fat bastard builders???   


    I had a long talk with him yesterday. He now knows I have "Vays to make him vork" I hope to see him flying the KF very soon. Work on the Fat Bastard kit should follow. Russ.
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  4. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Deer vs 206   

    There was a similar incident in this neighborhood between a deer and a 210. The deer actually hit the plane in the tail with no damage forward of the h-stab. However the h-stab and elevator was mostly torn off on one side. The pilot was on roll-out after landing in the evening on a grass strip...
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  5. horsepower added a topic in Rotax and other engines   

    Is your 2-stroke Engine About to Fail
    Anybody have any questions on their Rotax should watch this webinar presentation.It made me feel alot more comfortable about my 582.The guy definately knows his stuff,he talks about prop loading and jetting and everything that makes a aircraft 2 stroke different than a regular 2 stroke engine.It reduces the failure rate by a bunch if you do what he says.I know the 912 guys wont be into watching it buta lot of you on this forum may find it interesting.Some or most may have already watched but here is the website,not sure if you have to be a EAA member or not.It is titled, Is your 2 -stroke Engine About to fail? www.eaa.org/webinars
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  6. Benbell4140 added a post in a topic Deer vs 206   



    Hopefully the back strap wasn't too torn up!!!
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  7. horsepower added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Deer vs 206
    A friend of mine came in just before dark a couple nights ago in a 206. He was training the owner of the plane,soon as they touched down a deer ran right in front of them and it all went downhill from there.Caved in the front gear and motormount,wiped out wing tip and ripped tail almost off.I see what they mean when they call them sardine cans,the deer was a fawn with spots still on it and it did all that damage.Luckily no one was hurt except their pride.Randy



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  8. akflyer added a post in a topic So whats up with the fat bastard builders???   


    so you got hit with the "flying the other new planeitis too huh. very understandable...

    Russ, you were spose to go take care of my light work and light a fire under his ass where ya at buddy


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  9. dholly added a post in a topic So whats up with the fat bastard builders???   

    No prob.
    Err, brushing the dust off counts, right?
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  10. akflyer added a post in a topic So whats up with the fat bastard builders???   

    pics of the progress



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  11. dholly added a post in a topic So whats up with the fat bastard builders???   

    Fat Bastard Slackers



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  12. akflyer added a post in a topic So whats up with the fat bastard builders???   

    I think I may have to start tinkering with the custom member titles.. Maybe we can have a contest for the new title.. My way to early in the morning contribution to get this party started is




    Fat Bastard Slackers

    I do know how it goes once a new plane shows up in the stable though. When I first started my rebuild, I had 98% of it done in the first couple months. then my brother showed up with his Kitfox and I just flew the piss out of his plane the first year. Finally, I knew if I did not hand my set of keys (to his plane) back to him I would never get back on my project. I relenquished the keys and a week and ahalf later I did the maiden on my bird!



    But that was my story, so you have to come up with your own damn excuse Doug!
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  13. Trackwelder added a post in a topic So whats up with the fat bastard builders???   

    Any Fat Avid builder updates? I know how it goes about taking pictures of what you are doing but I would like to see some progress I think it will be plane number 2 for me.


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  14. horsepower added a post in a topic HKS 700T   



  15. napierm added a post in a topic HKS 700T   

    I've got a 700e so of course I've thought about the 700T.

    Expensive but it is a great match for a Kitfox/Avid. It's at least 20lbs lighter installed than a Roxax 912. It burns less gas so you need less fuel for the same range - more weight savings. Fuel injected so no carb ice. Single lever control. The turbo muffles the engine enough that it can get by w/o a muffler can for more weight savings.

    Downside -> more complex, short (very conservative) initial TBO, brand new so no history. No FWF available yet so you have to roll your own.

    But yeah, at 7500ft it produces more power than a R912S.
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  16. akflyer added a topic in Avid fox flyers pics and vids   

    Summer fun 2010
    Some shots of the few days this summer we had sunshine.... Spent a little time out on the water fishing and rafting.











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  17. akflyer added a topic in Avid fox flyers pics and vids   

    Another day of flying
    It has been a record breaking summer here with over 30 consecutive days of rain and cold weather. The few days of sunshine we have had this summer were accompanied by 30+ knots of wind.. Sunday WE had a small break in the clouds so I headed to the lake and took off for a buddies summer fish camp about 40 miles away across Cook Inlet. Was just going to be a quick day trip, but the fish were biting and he talked me into making a quick run back home to hit the local adult beverage store to get some lie telling fluid.

    Turns out we believed that the caps should never be replaced once the bottles were opened

    About 20 minutes before I got back, there was a bear in camp who decided to stand up against the tent two of the clients were napping in... I didn't get any pics of that activity but I am sure I can get some copies from him in a couple weeks when I get back home.







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  18. Hene added a topic in Rotax and other engines   

    HKS 700T
    Hi all
    is anybody thinking about installing the new HKS 700T? With its turbopower of 80HP it seems to me the ideal engine for flying high (up to 12000ft regularily.
    700T 2009-02-13 Overall Dimensions.pdf
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  19. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Roush Racing can do racecars but not airplanes   

    I heard that Jack Roush lost his left eye due to his injuries. Hopefully his pilot's license, too. WIth his money and power he needs to hire a pilot...

    But, it looks like money and power can't buy skills or good judgment...
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  20. akflyer added a post in a topic Roush Racing can do racecars but not airplanes   

    Brings back fond memories of trip last year.. Kinda difficult to concentrate on flying.. all I could think of was what the accident investigators would think when they found the bodies and the state of partial undress I decided that landing and completing the deed was a better option at that point


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  21. akflyer added a post in a topic Corroded Lift Struts   


    I cut the ends off my existing struts and slid them into the new 1"X.058" tubing. I made a good wide fish mouth on the tubing and welded them on. I also bought a new threaded rod end from AVID and welded that in because mine had been bent in the wreck.


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  22. Trackwelder added a post in a topic Corroded Lift Struts   

    AK FLYER I know when yu built your new lift struts you went with a larger diameter and ticker tubing, fr your adjustable ed did you have it custom machined or were youu able to find an off-the-shelf part. I amlooking atdoing the same thing but I want to make sure I am doing it safely, I mde new spar carry throughs out of 1 and 1/4 inch tubing and amlooking atwhatI will need to do to strengthen the seat truss for larger landing gear but wthot access to a lathe the adjustable threaded joint looks to be a hod up, any ideas. I am trying to build this to haveabout a 600lb load limit.
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  23. Benbell4140 added a post in a topic Rear lift strut failures???   

    Thanks guys, just wanted to make sure no AD's were issued for this.
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  24. jackak added a post in a topic Rear lift strut failures???   

    Check out the Avid flyer site on Yahoo, Steve Winder discussed this some time back. You'll have to research the messages.
    Jack
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  25. dholly added a post in a topic Rear lift strut failures???   


    Well, I would submit any nut or bolt is a 'potential' problem waiting to happen. Two failures of a single part in probably 2000 aircraft is inconsequential IMO. And, at least in the case of the UK Avid, I think it is well documented the part likely failed as a result of some other prior 'bending' causal effect:



    "The lift strut is effectively pin-jointed at both ends. Therefore, the flight loads can only induce either a tensile or a compressive load in the threaded rod. However, this rod had failed in bending. The rod had therefore either failed due to impact loads or it was bent prior to flight. If the rod had been bent prior to flight, then a compressive load acting during the takeoff roll could have caused the rod end to buckle, resulting in a bending failure."

    The most important take-away from the accident report for me was that the compressive and tensile loads necessary to snap a rod end are so high there is a very large safety factor. The deadly culprit it would seem is bending load and the most likely cause (absent a hard landing or ground loop etc.) might be from improper tie down, particularly when trailering. Since many trailer their Avid and Kitfox, it is definitely something to be aware about. As for the odds of in-flight failure out of the blue, I sure wouldn't loose any sleep over it unless the aircraft has a prior damage history. Be thankful your Avid has only one adjustable rod end, my KF III has four!
    Avid Lift Strut Rod End Failure.pdf
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