Activity Stream

Activity Stream



  1. timberwolf added a post in a topic Doing some homework   

    Ya Ive been seeing the prices on everything fall out this year. Its a buyers market luckily. There aint a snowballs chance in hell I want to run another 2 stroke. The rotax's are overrated. Replace a crank every 300 hrs seriously? That is either piss poor engineering or a good way to make a buck. I'm ok with losing a bit of takeoff for the subaru reliability and fuel consumption. No offense to those who run rotaxs but after 2 engine outs and seeing another guy with 4 engine outs after having it "professionally" redone, I wont go back to a 2 stroke. For the price of a 912 or 700T, its getting clear that the best choice is going to be a subaru, suzuki, or possibly the BMW engine. I guess time will tell and I'll hafta see what I can find.
    • 0


  2. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Request pic of compression spring set up   

    What's the advantage of extending out the attachment point? Where did you guys get those little clevises?
    • 0


  3. C5Engineer added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    I moved all my stuff out the hangar today. I have about 3-4 hours of prep work to do to the fuse then it'll be ready to spray. After looking it over again today I think I'm just going to paint the vertical stab and the back of the fuse and leave the rest alone for now. I put the elevator up against the horizontal stab today on sawhorses and I can't believe how close my semi gloss latex matches the Q1050 Insignia white dope. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be ready to reassemble her.

    I put my seat back in it after the doing the bellcrank mod the last time I was out and I sat in the seat and fired the motor today with the wings unfolded. It's a good thing there were chocks in front of the tires I was ready to taxi!!! Can't wait to start doing some taxi testing with it.
    • 0


  4. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Doing some homework   

    Welcome to the Forum. I'm active duty AF flying as an Engineer on the mighty C5 Galaxy. I'm not into airfoils but as far as models go you'll want a MKIV. It's the only one with a built in baggage compt behind the seat unless you do something custom. I've flown a Powered Parachute with the 700E in it and I was not that impressed. Hopefully the T will have a little more juice. Soob's tend to fly them well but you'll lose some STOL capability due to the weight. There are a few flying around powered by the 912 and Jabiru 2200. Good luck finding a bird. There are usually a few used ones on Barnstormers. The prices have came way down in the last year.

    Another link with info
    http://www.avidflyeraircraft.com/avidblog/
    • 0


  5. timberwolf added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Doing some homework
    Hey all...Looking for some info on these wonderful planes...but got a couple of questions first.

    I've previously had a few planes including eagle XL, cgs hawk, and tri pacer...and hopefully within the next 2 years an avid. But there doesnt seem to be a lot of info online about the avids. I would like a newer model, but will be buying used. I don't have the time or patience to build and frankly, monetarily it seems more logical to buy a used one. However I'm still unsure about exactly which model would suit me best. It will have to be a heavy hauler and preferebly have some space behind the seats where I can store some gear and the wolf can ride along. As for powerplants I will be hoping for a subaru or possibly HKS700T.

    Now as another area of interest, does anyone have VG's on their avids? for the slow flying characteristics of the HH, there would be really no drawbacks to VG's. Also, can someone supply me with an airfoil number if it is a NACA airfoil, or if not some useful info such as chord, camber, etc.

    I know this is asking alot to help me decide which model is most fitting and the wing information. But I am currently a senior (5th yr due to ROTC) at Purdue in Aeronautical/Astronautical engineering and figure while I have the opportunity to do research with state of the art equipment, I may as well take advantage of it.

    I figure I have 2 years to gather informationa nd make a decision as I graduate and commission next May and that will give me a year or so to get settled in with AF and get some bills paid before I start looking for another airplane. Thanks for any help guys!
    • 6 replies
    • 816 views


  6. C5Engineer added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    I am impressed at how well my paint came out. I AM going to do my whole fuse. After a lot of fine tuning I have my set up and mixture dialed in. I used half a quart to do the rudder and elevator. A quart of dried latex weights a mere oz's.  Weight is not going to be an issue. My formula came out to be 12oz paint, 6oz water, 4oz floetrol. I'm using a $17 harbor freight spray gun and a borrowed compressor. Here are a few a pics with some light shining through the fence to show the finish. It's not perfect but a hell of lot better than what I started with. The first pic is of the same spot where I had the three big bare patches shown in the previous pics. You cannot even tell they were ever there. I'm going to do the same process on my fuse.







    My Laboratory. I'm using Kelly Moore superior semi gloss mixed to match my horizontal stab which was covered in ceconite and finished in butyrate dope. The floetrol slows the drying process significantly and allows the paint to flatten out giving a smoother finish. It was 95 degrees here and the coats were taking about 25 minutes to fully dry.


    • 0


  7. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    Since you are not painting the entire fuselage, how are you planning on blending the new latex to the existing paint?

    I'm seriously following this because I want to fly my Mangy-Fox for a year or two then recover for good looks.  This process could buy me some more time before the recover...
    • 0


  8. C5Engineer added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    Taking a break to let the paint dry... it's working so far after over an hour of experimenting with mixtures.
    • 0


  9. C5Engineer added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    Some guys that start with latex right on their fabric do a layer in black first for UV. Since my airplane already has an approved finish with silver minus these few little spots I'm not worried about it. My Dad painted an ultralight he built in the early 90's with straight white latex and no UV. It's been sitting outside on the farm for 10 years where they get 10ft of snow a year and long hot summers it's never been under a shelter ever. The paint still looks new and the fabric is still strong. I'm sold. The only downside is making repairs with it. It can't be any worse than sanding on aero/ran thane like I have on my fuse now though. I plan on spraying tomorrow evening after the weather cools down. Going to start with a 10% floetrol mixture to slow down the drying process a little bit for a better coating. I'm only going to do a couple coats since I already built back up my bad spots and I don't want to add a bunch of weight. Here's a couple teaser shots.



    Smooth as glass


    • 0


  10. kl7jw added a post in a topic Owner Performed Maintenance   

    Leonard,

    You're right, it's been too hot here the last week or so until today.  We only got to 90 degrees here so far today.  It's been up to 104 the last week.

    I got a few hours in in the last couple of weeks.  Had surgery on my left knee a month ago and it was just too damn sore to get in the Kitfox and fly, but its improving.  I did a bunch of reworking of things on the Kitfox while I couldn't bend that knee. 

    Re-did the brake lines, installed the Grove gear, re-did the fuel lines (I just couldn't see the need for two shut off valves in each line from the wing tanks to the header tank).  I replaced the SS Braided fuel lines with the alcohol resistant stuff and got rid of all those shut off valves.  Took about 6 pounds of old lines and valves out, put back less than 2 pounds.

    Yeah, them engines just go to automatic rough, it seems like, when you're beyond power off gliding distance to shore, and it gets even rougher running when you're ot there at night with overcast skies in a single engine landplane.



    John Hart
    Wilburton, OK
    • 0


  11. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    C5, I'll be following your results with great anticipation. 

    My current thought is to make the few fabric/tape repairs that I need with Polytac, Polybrush and maybe a squirt of Polyspray to get the bird flying.  Then I may refinish the entire plane with latex this winter...


    I've read that quality, exterior latex paints have sufficient UV blockers that the poly spray wouldn't be needed.  Any thoughts?
    • 0


  12. akflyer added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    SWEEEEEEET.  Getting closer to that first flight!  Keep pluggin away you will be there in no time at all!


    • 0


  13. akflyer added a post in a topic Owner Performed Maintenance   


    Hey John,

    You ben getting any stick time down there in the way to damn hot part of the country?  I made a flight to Chisik Island yesterday to run a couple boat plugs to a friend.  First time I took my bird over open water without a wingman   I forgot how much the engine misses when you are 20 miles from shore and on wheels...  I could not go over 4,500' due to cloud and smoke cover.


    • 0


  14. C5Engineer added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    I put three coats of latex which matches my Q1050 insignia white perfectly over those spots tonite with a 1" foam brush letting it completely dry between coats. I was careful to feather in the edges. I hit it with some 400 grit sand paper and it came out smooth as glass. You can't tell those spots were ever there. So far so good. I'm picking up a spray rig this weekend and I'm going to do the rudder and elevator. If that goes well I'll move onto the back of the fuse and call it good. While not ideal people have been doing it for years and if nothing else will buy me some flying time. Oh ya my quart of paint cost $12. Little better than the $1200 I paid for the materials for my wings.
    • 0


  15. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Owner Performed Maintenance   

    Thank you.
    • 0


  16. C5Engineer added a post in a topic My covering again.....   

    Took my horizontal to the paint shop today and got the best exterior Kelly Moore had to offer matched up to it. Started experimenting with it tonite. So far so good. It sticks to the existing stuff great. I'm getting set up with a spray rig this weekend and I'm going to go to town on it. Wish me luck.

    They said I was in the running for the weirdest thing brought in to match paint to. They were a little surprised when I told them the piece was from my full size plane not a model.... ;D


    • 0


  17. 84KF added a post in a topic Owner Performed Maintenance   

    Q.   "What am I allowed to do to this plane for maintenance, repair and/or modification?"

    A.    You may do any repair and all maintenance.  
      Some modifications, (that you may also do) may require contacting the FAA to update operating limitations and establish a new Phase ! period.


    Title 14: Aeronautics and Space
    PART 43—MAINTENANCE, PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, REBUILDING, AND ALTERATION
    43.1   Applicability.
    (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (B) and (d) of this section, this part prescribes rules governing the maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alteration of any—

    (1) Aircraft having a U.S. airworthiness certificate;
    (B) This part does not apply to any aircraft for which the FAA has issued an experimental certificate, unless the FAA has previously issued a different kind of airworthiness certificate for that aircraft.





    The A&P is only needed for the "Condition Report" which is required at least once every 12 calender months.

    The only benefit the original builder gets is, if he complied with the 51% rule,  the chance to apply for the Certification of Repairmen (Experimental) which allows the holder to perform the yearly condition report while he owns the plane and AFTER ownership is transferred.

    http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/8863795eae3ee7438625736f004a9a0b/$FILE/AC%2065-23A%20CHG%201.pdf
    • 0


  18. kl7jw added a post in a topic Owner Performed Maintenance   

    Leonard,
    That bunch of self-appointed experts really do get going at times, don't they? 

    Same kind of thing my daddy used to raise hell at me about - "I buy you books, send you to school, and you still don't know how to read." 
    • 0


  19. akflyer added a post in a topic Owner Performed Maintenance   

    LMAO, so you were around for the MTOW arguments   oh those were fun.  Steve actually got me to open my eyes and read the FARs.  One thing I never knew about was the discussion part of the rulings where the thought process is written out to give you a clear understanding of what was ment by the ruling.  Kinda cool.. Thanks Steve.

    Now the issue that the stooges have over there is kinda funny, partly sad, and a good sprinkling of dumbass.  Mr, I hold an inspection rating but cant read is really on a mission to push his whopping 16 hr class time knowledge.  Things that can only be learned by spending lotsa money on a 16 hr course.  Things like,
    1. how not to read or interpret the actual FARs that regulate your plane
    2. how to pull a smelly answer straight from you ass instead of the FARs
    3. how to argue that you answer is not smelly, by pulling yet one more smelly answer outa yer ass.

    I am thinking you get thepicture and I dont need to carry on with a morning rant anymore


    • 0


  20. jackak added a post in a topic Firewall   

    Thanks Doug, looks like some interesting stuff. 
    Jack
    • 0


  21. jackak added a post in a topic Setting wings to fuselage (a.k.a. calculating wing sweep)   

    Doug,
    I noticed that there were messages on the yahoo site that Steve Winder is back in the country.  I'd try to get in touch with him and see what he might have to offer.  Everyone would be interested in how to use larger lines between the tanks to speed up refueling, especially if the mod could be done with the tanks installed.  I figured that I'd put 5 gal. in one wing, go to the other side, put 5 gal. in, then back to the first tank.  Overall, the time would be the same, but you'd be doing something rather than just waiting.
    Glad your carry-throughs were properly spaced. 
    A good solid bottom is going to be needed in the tank bays, supporting them could prove to be interesting.  Can't imagine the consequences of a bulging wing bottom after a rough landing or pulling a couple of g's.
    Let us know what you come up with or if Steve suggests something unique.
    Jack
    • 0


  22. Av8r3400 added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Owner Performed Maintenance
    Would our on-call A&P like to comment on the ongoing debate, over at Matronics, on what the owner - who is not the original builder - of an Experimental, Amateur built aircraft can or can not do?


    As an example:  I am the owner, but not the original manufacturer of my Kitfox IV.  What am I allowed to do to this plane for maintenance, repair and/or modification?



    There seems to be a lot of shooting from the hip, again, with a never ending supply of half-informed commentary.  (MTOW revisited?)

    Thanks.

    • 10 replies
    • 1,259 views


  23. dholly added a post in a topic Steve is back in Idaho   

    Yep, was glad to see it. Steve has a treasure trove of knowledge accumulated from years of hands-on experience and I missed his help on the forum boards this past year.
    Just think of all the pictures he could post here that never made it to the Yahoo Photo folder.   
    • 0


  24. C5Engineer added a topic in Avid Flyer General Hangar   

    Steve is back in Idaho
    Saw over on the Yahoo list he's back in town. He's pretty knowledgeable on Avid stuff.

    britishav8r60@yahoo.com
    • 2 replies
    • 3,110 views


  25. dholly added a post in a topic Flight Controls   

    Not a peep for almost a week? Sounds like that bout of illness kicked yer azz! 
    • 0