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SuberAvid added a post in a topic N844RS
Awsome! look forward to the flying reports (and pics).
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SuberAvid added a post in a topic Lost a friend to an accident yesterday
Very sorry to hear that; they are in our thoughts as part of our family.
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akflyer added a post in a topic Lost a friend to an accident yesterday
Blue skys and fair winds
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C5Engineer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar
Lost a friend to an accident yesterdayI heard about a Plane crash at a neighboring field this morning on my way to work on the radio. When I got to work I googled it and the first thing I see is a pic of my buddys Rans sticking out of the ground. Him and his girlfriend were both killed. Been waiting all day for them to release the names and they just did on the evening news confirming it was him. Witnesses say the plane stalled at 500ft and went straight in. He was in the pattern. No other details as of yet. Remember that what we do is dangerous. Please keep the families in your thoughts and prayers. This is the first time I've lost someone to flying that I had flown with and knew as a friend. This sucks! Stay safe out there!
http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=12651519
http://www.kcra.com/news/23909633/detail.html
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Av8r3400 added a post in a topic N844RS
No, it's your first "greaser" landing in it. You will forever chase it again...
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dholly added a post in a topic N844RS
I always thought the "Oh [crap] what a feeling!" comes when you set 'er down for the first time!
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akflyer added a post in a topic N844RS
where is the pictures Sounds likeyou are very close to putting some time on her! Congrats! the first flight is the best as your creation breaks the ground for the first time.. kinda like the old Toyota commercials Oh what a feeling!
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dholly added a post in a topic N844RS
way to go buddy, looks great flies straight (you hope)!-
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Russ. added a post in a topic Instrument Panel markings
Hey Doug,
Looks better than the wood panel. I bet I know whats under the Sea Plane decal. Russ.
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Russ. added a post in a topic Instrument Panel markings
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Russ. added a topic in Avid Flyer General Hangar
N844RSHi All,
> Well yesterday I received my Airworthiness Certificate. I will have my tailwheel endorcement by the end of this week. First flight to follow when I am comfortable with it, but soon.
> Thanks for all the help
> Russ N844RS MKIV HH 582.
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Jezz added a post in a topic Buying my new Avid
Hi Leni
Too many number for off the top of my head, but I am going flying tomorrow and will check all of them.
Last time I flew I noticed the water temp edging towards the redline (I should know the number of the top of my nut, but I am at the end of an 18 hour day so bear with me ... better I check the actual figures tomorrow - I will be taking an attractive assistant so there is hope of her taking note of the numbers while I take note of her , sorry, I mean the flying). But anyway, the water isn't the thing that is worrying me.
My EGTs have crept up to the 680 mark (sorry, degrees centipedes and brain too fried to work it out - will do for tomorrow). The EGTs seem to be sitting very high in the cruise though. I remembered what you told me about keeping the prop loaded so I have been running her slightly above 6000 rpm which keeps things stable(ish), but in the thermals we have been getting lately, that is not too easy.
I will get the figures when I go play with the young lady ... I mean the airplane ... I mean ....
Till then, Jezz is going to do a little bit of and be out for the count in about 10 minute flat!
Happy landings!
Jezz
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dholly added a post in a topic Instrument Panel markings
Good enough. I like the K.I.S.S. panel but realized no room to put the electric gear switch and indicator lights. Should be out and about soon, waiting for some new fuel line, nuts n' bolts etc. Oh, and a registration might be good, insurance is another matter. Fellow member Russ and the A&P who will do the annual condition inspections did a quick pre-delivery check and found no major squawks. The A&P also owns an Avid and has been doing another buddy's KF-III condition inspections so he knows what to look for. I did tear it apart at home according to the Kitfox Annual Inspection checklist and the only issue that needs resolved before flight is no fuel flow from the aux wing tank with both valves open. Will get into that when the fuel line gets here. Until then, norm engine maint. ie, changing gearbox oil, dexcool and plugs. Working on some temp hanger space at a turf strip just up the road too, would like to get in and go without trailering for the first few months. I'll even take a tie down, plane came with a full canvas cover set hardly (ever?) used.
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akflyer added a post in a topic Instrument Panel markings
Looking good! When you planning on putting it in the air for the first time?
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akflyer added a post in a topic Buying my new Avid
Sounds like one hell of a trip You said you were chasing EGT's. What was the issue? What is your static RPM and max RPM at straight and level? Were are you having issues with the EGT's and what temps are you seeing? full power, mid range, decent, level cruise
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dholly added a post in a topic Instrument Panel markings
Thanks for the reply Larry, and that's exactly what I did. Unfortunately, after going through the entire calibration procedure I'm really thinking this was wrong and I should have leveled for flight attitude using the horizontal stab. I base that on a pic of another KF-III panel with fuel graduations I found in another site gallery and pasted below. If you compare that panel and mine for the fuel level graduations, you can see what I mean. Admittedly, that could be wrong but it got me thinking. Also, my h.stab is in the lower of three forward position holes, and I wonder how much altering that down the road might effect the graduations I do now.
At any rate, back to the panel markings overall... I just printed reverse images on clear shipping labels and clear-coated after applying. Originally, clear or white fonts in a black filled text box didn't show very well when put on the black panel, so I just strategically scraped a little black paint off the panel before positioning the label to allow the bare aluminum to show through the lettering. Seems better, not too bright but easily read. The N-number is brighter, I used a white backer for that and it really stands out. I put a speeds reference chart label on the right side and an SPA sticker on the left, to cover a few dumb-thumbprints in not quite dry paint, and clear-coated everything.
I also made a GPS mount for the new panel, installed a headrack mount for the remote antenna and did a bunch of wiring clean-up when running the power. The plane came with a King-Bendix KX99 portable transceiver which is set up for the left side of the panel, I'm toying with switching positions with the GPS. The old Garmin screen is so damn small and it is right at that distance where the reading glasses start to fade out. I've dropped a few Father's Day hints for a Aera 500, not holding my breath lol.
Overall, freshening up the panel took longer than anticipated but I've convinced myself it was worth the $0.00 cost and effort... at least until I redo the flight fuel calibration... again...
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Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Instrument Panel markings
I'd level at the door sill.
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Jezz added a post in a topic Buying my new Avid
Joey, you win the ballsy competition for flying 300nm over Nevada. The thought of doing 300nm over that patch for me would be about 300nm out of my comfort zone. Sure, the freedom levels in Europe are not there like they are in the USA, but it has the benefit that you can't let you attention slip too far and therefore you reduce your possibilities for getting things out of shape. Back in the early 00's I spent a few months hour building in Florida, and that had to be the best flying of my life - you guys really do have a superb system over there.
Back here in Europe, you are spot on about the restrictions and costs. As I work for the CAA, you would think I could smooth over some of the restrictions, but in fact the opposite is true and I have to do absolutely everything "by the book". The good thing for me right now is that Latvia is one of the easier States in Europe to do everything "by the book".
As for the costs ... That's why we got the Avid! It was such a good option for us based on all costs combined.
You are spot on about flying in the UK - one of my main motivators for leaving. Where were you gliding in the UK? I used to do quite a bit at Lasham and Marchington (now called Cross Hayes), but that was way back in the early 90s.
I will not forget to post the pics on here as soon as I have some of them from Vadim.
Jezz
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C5Engineer added a post in a topic Buying my new Avid
Wow this is quite a story Jezz.... I can't even fathom flying an Avid through a place like that. I'll guess I'll chill out about my 300NM trip across the uninhabited Nevada desert I've been fretting on my way to Idaho in 2 weeks. This is a great reminder that us flying in the remote areas of the US should not take for granted what we have. I notice everytime I'm anyplace in Europe you just do not see or hear small planes overhead. With restricted airspace, user fees, outrageous fuel costs, ect it truely is a rich mans sport in Europe to fly and the rules they must follow would make most of our heads spin. I tried to do some flying while I lived in the Suffolk UK for 4 years and there was no way I could afford it. It was all I could to do to get up in a glider once in a while.
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Jezz added a post in a topic Buying my new Avid
Phase 2
Phase 2 is 1 week after the end of phase 1.
We flew back to Riga from Berlin and agreed to go back to Berlin the following weekend and fly the baby home. This rested on only a couple of things. Firstly I had to be able to fix the weeping hose and secondly, we had to be able to depart Berlin with sufficient time in hand for Vadim to get back for his night flight to Tel Aviv on Monday evening.
During the week I bought new plugs for the aircraft because the logs showed it to be about 3 hours overdue for the Rotax 25 hour actions. I alo tried to shop around for a replacement hose, but with no luck in Riga. I did however find a couple of places around Berlin where it may be possible to get the replacement hose.
On the Friday evening Vadim and I flew back to Berlin. Vadim had meetings to attend that evening so it was decided that I would make my own way to the airfield then perform the repairs. I would keep in touch with Vadim and we would decide if he would continue back with me on the Saturday morning, or if he would go back to Riga on the scheduled service.
I got to the airfield after a lovely evening in Potsdam near Berlin, and took the cowls off. There first hose to go on was not of the correct material and melted during ground running. I notified Vadim that he should probably go back to Riga with the airline as there was a reasonable chance that there would be delays and he would miss the Tel Aviv.
I was now in the proverbial sh*t because everywhere was closing on the Saturday afternoon, and I had a (melted) wrong part sitting on my motor and no way of getting the right one. Then the aerodrome guys came up with the idea of speaking to the engineering guy at Cirrus aircraft (they have a maintenance base there). This guy came up with a hose with the correct internal diameter but with a much thicker core and with a metallic heat shield inside the tube carcass followed by the usual fabric shield outer. Turned out to be perfect however it was 8pm local time before I took the baby into the air to flight test the new hose. All was perfect although I spent much of my time in the pattern chasing the EGTs. Otherwise everything was OK.
First thing the next morning I headed out to the airport (having stayed at the airport hotel), and had the aircraft pre flighted, flight plan filled and ready to depart right on the airport opening time.
The next stop was Grudziadz in Poland. I was keeping a good watch on the temps as I climbed away from Schonhagen. A few times I pulled all the way back and took a shallow descent to let her cool down a little, but otherwise all was good. Before I knew it I was already at the border with Poland which is marked by the huge river Oder. On the charts there was a canal before the river and so I had at first thought I was approaching the canal which gave me a further 10nm till the border, but no such luck. It seemed that I had been lucky to get a strong tailwind and that I was already within 5 minutes of the border. I requested the frequency change and called up Gdansk Info literally within a minute of crossing the border. This was a little too close for comfort as all Polish FIR boundaries are identification mandatory zones.
Once into Polish airspace the controller did something I was not expecting. I had planned for a flight that would scout around, above or below dozens of military fields, installations and danger areas. The Gdansk Info controller uttered the most beautiful words to me "you may proceed direct Grudziadz". The weather was clear, the flying was perfect. There were a few places where I thought I would be eating wood if the engine quit, but mostly it was plain sailing. After 3 hours I was in the pattern at Grudziadz. No one was speaking to me on the radio so I did an overhead join for what turned out to be a truly MASSIVE grass field (I had only minimal info about it prior to arriving there due to the limitations of my flight planning programme).
The landing (my first in the Avid on grass), was really flattering - probably much more to do with the aircraft than my piloting abilities. I rolled to the end of the neatly cut grass in search of a runway exit but there was no taxiway, and then someone on the radio told me (in perfect English) that it was perfectly safe to taxi over any of the longer grass in between me and the apron. Perfect flight and when I got out of the aircraft a great reception.
It took me a few minutes to find someone who spoke English, but when I did it was the chairman of the club there. He gave me a really nice welcome and I got talking to everyone there. There was of course a lot of interest in this tiny British aircraft. I started chatting with one elderly gentleman who turned out to be an instructor, the only limitation being that he did not speak any English. This was the point when I discovered for the first time in my life that I can hold down a basic conversation in Russian.
I had lunch and then asked to file my flight plan for the next leg which would cross the border into Lithuania and end in Kaunas (the 2nd city in Lithuania). I faxed my flight plan to Gdansk who then called me back to question my permission to enter Lithuania - turns out that a separate permission is required if you don't have a transponder - this is published nowhere and was completely news to me. The woman in Gdansk gave me the phone number I needed in Lithuania and one phone call saw the (military) form sent to my email. I had the form filled out and faxed within a few minutes and was told that the permission would be within a couple of hours.
The Russian speaking guy from the club took me into the city (a 15 minute drive each way), and I stocked up on everything that I might need (including GPS batteries and some snack foods).
By the time we were back at the airfield, it was already mid afternoon and I had been on the ground for 5 hours. I was eager to press on, and as I was chatting to the guys there, the phone call came through from the Lithuanian military giving me the permission code that I needed.
I took off in the later afternoon and started speaking with Poznan information, then Gdansk who then passed me on to the next controller who I was unable to reach. I flew in silence until the Lithuanian border - this was a little scary as I was crossing at the smallest border crossing between Lithuania, Poland, Belarus and Kaliningrad (Russia). I had to divert to the West (towards Kaliningrad airspace) to avoid a big CB cell and was really close to the Russian border and unable to speak to anyone to tell them I was there. I knew of one instance in recent history where a balloon had been shot down for being not too far from where I was right now and not speaking to anyone. Anyway, I checked the timings and I was on the money. I was obliged to cross the border crossing within 10 minutes of my estimate unless I had otherwise advised ATC. As it was I was right on to within a minute or two, so I continued on into Lithuania without announcement.
I tried several times to get hold of Kaunas information (who cover the south part of Lithuania) but without any luck. In the end I gave up and started speaking to Aleksotas Information (this is the ground station of the GA airfield in Kaunas). I was last at this airfield in 2003 and back then everyone was speaking only in Lithuanian so it was a real surprise to have someone answer me in perfect English. It took me a couple of goes to identify the airfield because I had been looking to closely at the GPS which I had programmed with a departure point from this airfield .... which I was now following as though it was the point that would take me to the airfield .
I landed at Kaunas without any further event and it was already like being home.
The guy from the airfield welcomed me - then apologized that he had to charge me for the landing - hardly a big deal at 10 Euro, but still the 2nd most expensive since leaving the UK.
The manager from the airfield then found a couple of jerry cans and drove me to the local garage to get some cheap MOGAS (because their AVGAS prices were through the roof).
That night I spent in the accommodation on the airfield (which I had all to myself) and was right ready to leave the following morning - only 1 minor problem .... My phone battery was flat, I had no charger with me, I had no fax there and I HAD TO file a fight plan and get the military permission for the onward journey to Riga.
In the end I walked back to the garage where I had bought the gas the night before. The same young lady was working and when I explained my situation (again in Russian - she spoke no English), she let my use her personal phone. I filled my plan, got my permission, explained to the ATS person on the phone that it was fine to file a flight plan at the altitude I wanted (he thought I would not be allowed into the Riga control zone without a flight plan) - we amended my plan with a height limit abeam the Riga CTR and all was good.
15 minutes later I was back on the ramp with the engine turning over and ready to roll.
I started to taxi from cold as the taxi from the ramp to the runway at Kaunas is one hell of a long way. By the time I was at the hold the temps were up to the point where I could do the run up checks and then I was out onto the runway and departing. It was now Monday morning and Kaunas Info had woken up.
This was to be a pretty low level flight because along most of the route the airspace is down to 1500 feet due to Kaunas, Shauliai and Riga CTAs. Kaunas handed me over to Shauliai Information who asked me for my estimate at the border. Took me a few goes to get it right. By that time I was being forced lower and lower by a descending cloudbase.
Just before crossing the Latvian border I tried to raise Riga Approach but while I could hear them 5 they could only hear me with a 3, so I told them I would call back later.
I continued on route with a continuing lowering cloudbase and increasing turbulence. I was considering calling Riga back to let them know I was there, but there was hardly a chance to get a word in edgeways as it was the morning rush hour. Eventually I called Riga Approach back and they could hear me .... But I was only telling them that I would change frequency to Riga Spilve (a CTAF).
The cloudbase continued to lower and for the 2nd time on this trip I ended up being in cloud. This time was a little more scary as I was right on the E side of Riga city with a lot of tall buildings in the neighbourhood. As it was though, I knew I was over a large lake at the edge of the city, which is right on the VRP that leads to Riga Spilve airport. I emerged from the cloud at 600' still over the lake and managed to climb back up to 1000' to fly over the residential area that is between the lake and the airfield.
Finally I landed at Riga Spilve 2h 12m after leaving Kaunas and taxied in to a royal welcome from all the friends and colleagues who had been sitting on the deck wondering when the weather would improve enough for it to be possible to go flying!
So, that was the end of the journey from Otherton in the UK to Riga Spilve (EVRS).
The next thread will be "flying my new Avid"
This really is a dream machine for me and I think there will be plenty more stories.
Jezz
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Jezz added a post in a topic Buying my new Avid
Hey Guys
Sorry I have been out of the loop so much. I have been trying to get on here and update the 2nd part of my trip, but at the moment I am juggling 2 full time jobs, an ICAO audit finding clearance, an EASA audit finding clearance and being on 2 training courses this month to boot ... so anyway - much to the disdain of the Mrs, I am now sitting down at the computer and stealing it for the next hour ... there is nothing she can do further - she must accept her rightful place as 2nd to the Avid!!!
So, the final leg from phase 1.
While in Aschaffenburg Vadim had checked his schedule and the airline had put him onto a standby shift after the weekend, so he had no choice but to plan to use the ID tickets he had and depart Germany from Berlin and fly airline back to Riga. After mulling it over between us we decided that we would both fly home from Berlin and then return to Berlin the following weekend so that we could fly back to Riga together. This left only the left from Aschaffenburg (near Frankfurt in W Germany, to Berlin) in phase 1.
During the overnight in Aschaffenburg we stayed at a hotel arranged by the controller (AFISO) in Aschaffenburg. The price was resonable. We ate the most perfect steak, drank the most perfect local wine and woke in the morning to go to the airfield. The cloudbase was low, but the OAT was lifting so we were quite positive. During breakfast the hotel manager came to us and asked if we were pilots and went on to offer whichever one of us was not flying that day, a champagne breakfast - GUTTED - Vadim and I were strictly flying this as a 2 crew operation so we were forced to decline the offer.
At the airport, I checked the met while Vadim preflighted. Germany was forecast to have a bank of very poor visibility right across the middle, in a line running NW to SE. The departure airport cloudbase was lifting all the time and the destination (Schonhagen nr Berlin) was CAVOK.
Out at the aircraft I offered Vadim to take this leg as PIC from the LH seat which he accepted. Normal takeoff, climbout and departure to the NE. Within a few minutes the visibility was decreasing over the mountains (only large hills for those of you who are out in Alaska), but still, the obstacles on the hills were higher than us.
We flew like that for about 3/4 of an hour before things got interesting. As we pressed on, the forecast was right on the money. In places we were down to about 3km visibility (2sm). It was hard work as the GPS was eating our supply of batteries at an alarming rate. It was a case of resorting to the chart (which had been supplied FOC to us by the hotel manager as we had been unable to pick one up before the trip). As I was pilot monitoring, it was the hardest work hour or so of my life. During this stage the convective turbulence was also pretty hard work as the hand and feet had to keep on the go (I had taken the aircraft from Vadim so he could have a rest for a while). As the visibility started to improve as we passed over the centre of Germany Vadim suggested that I relax for a bit, so I snuggled down in the seat and started to doze off leaving everything to Vadim. I came around as Vadim was trying to work out where we were. He had followed the compass which obviously has a bit too much error and badly needs swinging - and was just about to fly us into the Leipzig CTR. Having corrected that we flew on to Schonhagen and the visibility really started to improve until the point when we were flying in gin clear VMC.
Vadim set us up on a 15nm final for Schonhagen (well he is a 757 driver by day so he can be forgiven). The touchdown was uneventful, but he didn't hold the nosewheel off and the shimmy was back like sent from hell.
While we were taxiing in, I could smell something a little strange. We parked and I pulled the cowling off to reveal a weeping leak from one of the coolant return lines (the one that exits the block above the exhaust). It looks like that long flight over Germany (almost 4 hours) had managed to partly melt the hose due to the heat soak from the exhaust.
Vadim had managed to sort out hangarage there for free so we put the baby to bed and decided to have lunch and leave everything until the next week.
We took a taxi to Berlin's Tegel airport and then set off home, thus ending phase 1 of the ferry.
The pictures for this are still on Vadim's camera and at the time of writing this he is in the USA (I think actually in Alaska), mountain climbing. I WILL upload them as soon as I possibly can!
Leni
My low stuff over the water was only started within a mile or two of the shore and stayed within beach landing distance for the remainder of the flight, so no real ballsy stuff. Had it looked any worse I would have diverted back to Lydd in the UK, but as it was there seemed little point in not pressing on. The guys who landed after us said that they had been down to 300' on the same route. We had just managed to get in in time!
My thoughts on the baby:
I was expecting to have to use my feet, and having come from a gliding background, I did not have a problem with this.
I had read about the neutral stability in yaw but still this took me a few hours to get used to and it probably was not until we were in Berlin that I really felt 100% comfortable with this. Now when I fly her I find my feet doing exactly what they are supposed to, when they are supposed to and without any fuss.
The first few take-offs were poor in climb, but that was just because the ball was way out to one side. Now corrected, she is a beauty. I really enjoy the handling, exactly because she is a little different, but having flown close to 50 different types it may be that I have an adaptability built into me.
I am writing this well after the end of the ferry flight so I will probably start a new thread called "flying my new Avid". ATM I would say she is a dream. I am especially impressed by the performance I get (load lifting, climb (with the ball in the centre), cruise speed etc).
One thing I am still finding difficult is controlling the temps. Especially I am chasing the EGTs more than I wanted to. I took out the air filter and gave it a good clean but with only minimal difference. Next I will probably have a look at the jetting.
OK. Next post will be the 2nd phase (which geographically was only slightly shorter than the 1st, but which was much shorter in terms of stops, time and events).
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dholly added a post in a topic Instrument Panel markings
I want to mark ground and in-flight fuel levels of the dash tank through the site window on the panel. What's the best way to simulate flight attitude, ie., level using lower door sill, wing spars at a particular rib out etc.?
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akflyer added a post in a topic Jetting question
Not doubting u too much, but are those numbers bass akwards? your climb RPM should be more than the static on the ground cause the prop unloads.
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akflyer added a post in a topic Cabin Heat
I was going to put another muff on the pipe from the Y pipe to the muffler if I needed it, but as of yet I have not needed it.
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C5Engineer added a post in a topic Jetting question
Swapped to the 160's today. My grey head had 159's in it. During my static run up I had to let out of it at 6700. I added a degree of pitch and flew it but was only getting 6150 in the climb. I took just a smidge out to get me back to 6500 static and 6300 in the climb. I picked up 100fpm climb and 5mph in cruise. My EGTs are now running at about 1150 during a 5800-6K cruise instead of 1050-1100. Mid range is the same.. had to adjust the idle slightly after the pitch change. Tedious process but it runs better for sure.
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