Activity Stream

Activity Stream



  1. akflyer added a post in a topic New muffler means test flight   

    right on!  Nice to get it back in the air.
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  2. 84KF added a topic in Avid fox flyers pics and vids   

    New muffler means test flight
    and pictures during same.

    New muffler is fine.  The fit and alignment is perfect. The tailpipe centers in the lower cowl opening just like the original.

    The ride went up to 10,000' msl.  and was still able to climb at 500 fpm @ 70mph.  The total weight was about 1000 lbs


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  3. akflyer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    damn it's dead in here...
    It was dead around here... guess the novelty wore off..ohwell., I plan on getting back to my avid project this time home and hope to have some new pics  to show..but then again, a fishing trip may trump the avid work...going out and catching halibut, salmon, shrimp and shark in the same day has a certain appeal to it right now..
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  4. akflyer added a post in a topic forest fire flight   

    dat one big gaggle of 2 strokes 
    the first pic is a pair of canadair 215's that just loaded up at a lake about 20 miles away.  The second pic you have to zoom in right over the tire and you can see one of them dropping the water.  This was about 300 yards away from my cousins cabin as they were trying to hold the line to keep it from jumping the road.. They did the job and got it shut down just before it hit his cabin!


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  5. akflyer added a post in a topic New hanger same plane   

    sweet!  I will be looking for a hangar in a couple months.. but so far it is looking like 450-600 a month for a local t hangar... HOLY Crap! I am thinking for that kind of money I may as well get a lease at the airport and build my own hangar..
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  6. 84KF added a topic in Avid fox flyers pics and vids   

    New hanger same plane
    Couldn't fit 84KF in with the CubCrafter so it went into a new hanger by itself
    Also logged .1 in the book in the CC SportCub during a quick ride in the back seat. Flew...like a (very nice) Cub.



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  7. 84KF added a post in a topic Keeping it simple...so far.   

    The new muffler should be here soon, maybe a week. Then I can get back to business. The weather here has been perfect, but this has given me time to do a little detail work on the bird.
    I loose my big hanger tomorrow as my friend is returning from Key West with his Navajo, so I have to double up with the Cubcrafter Sport Cub again. It was nice while it lasted.
    I'll try to take some pictures of the new slum soon.

    steve
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  8. 84KF added a post in a topic forest fire flight   

    To bad about the destruction.
    On the lighter side:
    It looks like a large formation flight of them smokin' 2-strokes.

    steve
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  9. akflyer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    forest fire flight
    just flew up to check out a few buddies cabins. So far the fire has burned 50,000 acres of prime recreation and snowmachining areas that I play in all winter. Lots of buddies cabins are gone now..the last pic is home sweet home




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  10. akflyer added a post in a topic Keeping it simple...so far.   

    dooooohhh. looks like the heat affected zone got a bit brittle.  I would not monkey with a repair either unless it was my only option in some remote village..I can tell you from chasing cracks like that on snowmachines that unless you stress releive the muffler / pipe after welding chances are that it wont last long... On the older artic cat race sleds we would have to stress releive a brand new pipe in order to make the entire race without blowing out a seam.
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  11. 84KF added a post in a topic Keeping it simple...so far.   

    Ya know..., as I was taxiing back the last time I thought I heard something "different", but not very much, as I dismissed it as the direction the wind was blowing the exhaust noise.  I noticed nothing different with EGT during flight, no smoke or smells.
    It was during the next preflight that I gave the stinger the obligatory handshake that I noticed it could be moved. So the cowl came off, then the muffler.
    Here is another picture that shows the extent of the prior repair. That was my first thought too ... just get it fixed, but the extent of all damage combined says "just replace it ".

    If anyone wants the assembly, send a postpaid box....it's yours.
    Actually it could be repaired, but I would think the endcap would have to be replaced and the baffle re secured inside.
    I save everything, and it would/will  be a spare if I got ambitious... but right now I'm not.



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  12. akflyer added a post in a topic Keeping it simple...so far.   

    did she start sounding like a radial all of a sudden??  hell, weld her back up and fly it till your new one gets here... or jump in the stearman and burn some smoke oil.....
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  13. 84KF added a topic in Avid fox flyers pics and vids   

    Keeping it simple...so far.
    Here is a picture with the nose of N84KF painted with Poly-Tone Insignia Blue.  I had a quart laying around so what the heck. It will never look glossy, but in a few weeks I'll buff and wax it so it should loose some of the "satin"finish.

    The cowl was already off...'cuz I'm replacing the muffler. The tailpipe had been bumped by a lawn tractor, cracked, and repaired with welding before I got the plane. I knew it's history and was watching in case the repair failed, and it did. No real harm done, but I'm down for a while as the new one is being made and shipped from Idaho.

    I am not familiar with the actual muffler failures that happen on non-reinforced systems, but I imagine this is the weak point so I am including some pictures of where mine failed. Remember, mine failed at a (bad) repair weld, but the area (I think) is the same.

    steve



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  14. akflyer added a post in a topic The kids are fighting...again.   

    damn.. whats the deal.. you going soft on us???  twas a time when you would jump all over it lol..
    I am off to go do a scouting run in the fox, before I do a rafting trip on the river..gotta know what channels have the biggest water to maximize the fun factor!
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  15. 84KF added a topic in Hardcore Avidfoxflyers   

    The kids are fighting...again.
    Never mind...., I won't go there.  Yet.
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  16. akflyer added a post in a topic Nice day for flying   

    Any excuse to fly is a good one.  Hope fully next week I will have to pics and vids of some beach / remote flying.  See if I can get the bears stired up a bit..
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  17. 84KF added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Nice day for flying
    Today was nice in SE Michigan, and it should stay this way for the next few days. So naturally one has to go flying.

      N84KF is running great, starts right up at the first turn of the key even after sitting for a week or so. I did notice (@ preflight) a small drip of coolant from one of the hoses that run to the cabin heater but a quick tightening of the hose clamp cured that. The antifreeze smell gave it away...kinda like my old car when the heater core went bad. No big deal and it's the first issue I've had with the entire aircraft since I got it. Old man Ray did a fine job, and I think his years of owning and working on certificated aircraft is the reason 84KF is built to what I see as high standards. No mick Mouse stuff...all by the book and aircraft quality materials.

    Still playing with approach and landing speeds.... 53 55 mph w/1st flaps on short final works well, slower if you want to drag it on with a bit of power. It lets ya know when you get to slow... it starts to sink fast, but a bit of rpm lifts it right up again. 

    Tomorrow might be the first flight for N84KF to a towered airport, KPTK, where I have some dope and fabric work waiting for me. The thing is..., I will drive 15 miles west to get the plane,... then fly 35 miles east to the other airport. I live 'bout half way between them..  Oh well, any excuse to fly eh?

    Here is a link to the 24 hr NASA Shuttle. I use the Windows Media Player option  from the "public channel" menue and it's just like live TV. It's worth a look....
    http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

    steve
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  18. akflyer added a post in a topic Lynns flight   

    yeppers.. and no peep from deke..

    I actually like the play by play, and seeing people have a running dialog without someone shitting themselves and screaming that it was "fluff"...however.. nothing like self ownage...opening up and telling the world your buddy is flying outside his privileges..

    With that being said... I AM NO ANGEL and hope some of my exploits are never published and the wrong person sees it..but then again.. I really don't give a shit.. I was once threatened with license revocation.. (they don't like it when you put experimental floats on a certified plane and don't bother with paperwork or permission).. at any rate, I ended up telling them that if they thought that pulling my ticket would stop me from flying they were sadly mistaken... at least as long as I had my ticket I would stay current on medical, biannual etc.. in the end they saw things my way.

      <to any form of flying anytime anywhere
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  19. 84KF added a topic in Hardcore Avidfoxflyers   

    Lynns flight
    He must have went into "stealth mode". No new updates I see.
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  20. 84KF added a post in a topic engine out logic ??   

      Leni,
    The sweet running Lyc o-145-B2 engine in my old Piper Vagabond decided to break a valve one day ....went through the piston head, bounced around in the case a bit and punched it's way out the top of the case cover.  As luck would have it, I was over a 100 acre hayfield at 1500' so except for the initial smoke from oil leaking on the exhaust, the landing was uneventful.
      I still have a container full of bent and broke parts just as a reminder of what will/could happen at any time.
       Engines are mechanical...and mechanical things tend to, and will, fail.

    Oh... and I then got a fresh OH'd engine for $2000.00 
    Am I showing my age?

    Now quit pissing those people off over there..... They're having a hard enough time trying to write the book on landing speeds.
    You 2-stroke guys are all alike.  ;D
    steve   
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  21. akflyer added a topic in Hardcore Avidfoxflyers   

    engine out logic ??
    couldn't pass this one up.. and as I am probably gonna bash I figured I would put it in here.


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  22. akflyer added a post in a topic New Tundra Tire for 6" wheels   

    scratch this idea... they are closing the doors..damn. I thought I had an easy out for my tundra tires.. now its back to having hubs machined...
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  23. akflyer added a post in a topic Hurt Feelings report   

    I was just looking back at old threads over there... Like the take off / gross weight period...and several others... then I saw the form and just felt compelled to post it up.. I have allready established a hurt feelings form box outside my office door.. I have been dealing with premadona girly men for the last week and am just about to fire the lot of them lol... My patience level for stupidity is very low.. and whiny stupidity is even lower lol...


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  24. 84KF added a post in a topic Hurt Feelings report   

    Damn...I must have missed something.
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  25. akflyer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    New Tundra Tire for 6" wheels
    I justy got off the phone with Kevin at MIPPI and they are now manufacturing the kingfox tire for the 6" wheel.. That is great news to those of us who have the 6" wheels.  He is thinking that they should be available in the next month! 
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