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  2. Goldendale-flyer

    Posted

    I recently bought an Avid and Brett is building me a bush gear, and providing a tail wheel assembly and spring. His communications are spotty but he always gets back to me in a couple days.

     

    Anyone interested in a nose gear and standard landing gear?

  3. wolves200

    Posted

    Hey High country;

     

    that´s a real good looking plane good job! I guess you are going to make a cover for the bungees? I believe it will be coated with 2 stroke oil as soon as you start flying regularly... Also the original Avid cowling looks very nice without that side radiator.

     

    Regards

    Dimi3

  4. cliff

    Posted

    akflyer, 

     

    One way to make painting the plane easier is to tape up the fuselage and spray the wings, struts, and stabelizer first. Then tape up  those parts and paint the fuselage and vertical. Spraying an entire airframe by yourself is a lot of work and it is easier to keep it from having dry spots from the paint flashing off . I always hang all the control surfaces from hooks in the ceiling of my spray booth to paint them. I also paint the cowling and doors off the plane so I can paint the jam area and the area behind the upper hinge on the fuselage that is blocked by the upper door hinge. There are a million little tricks to make the process easier. I have been painting airplanes and cars since I was a kid and I learn something new every day.

    1 person likes this

  9. Av8r3400

    Posted

    From conversations at Airventure other people had with Brett, he is still in business and is busy as ever.  With what I have no idea...

     

    I can't comment to any of this because it's second hand, but I can't get ahold of him, either.  My only way is to just go over to his house hoping he's there (30 miles away from me).

  13. wypaul

    Posted · Edited by Paul S

    I run mogas in my 3300.  I have a couple of places that sell 91 octane without the alcohol.  It works just fine and I cannot tell the difference between that and 100 LL.

  14. High Country

    Posted

    Mechanical brakes = well you know not much you can do about it.

     

    the problem with converting these older airframes is the limited space in the footwells so you're limited on master cylinders most go with the Matco MC-4D they are small enough to fit and very effective. The rudder torque tubes can have small tabs welded on to make a mounting point for the lower part of the master cylinder or you can extend the firewall forward a bit to allow room to mount them to the floor boards this is the route I did. You will then need new pedals these can be made real easy if you weld or you can buy them from Mikesk here on the board. As for the landing gear you are better off going to the wide gear for other reasons than brake issues but if you wish to use your existing gear you just need a small 2x3"? plate welded on that goes centered over the axle this will have 4 holes drilled in it to mount the new brakes. a single puck matco caliper is all you really need thats what I'm running off of an old kitfox and I can do a complete runup picking the tail up off the ground without moving and inch. The most economical way would be to find parts from an older kitfox maybe someone here will have them laying around and chime in but its going to cost a fair amount anyway way you do it but its well worth the investment. 

     

    Look here http://www.avidfoxflyers.com/index.php?/topic/530-go-kart-to-matco-brakes/?hl=brakes for a good write up Joey did on his bird I believe you have the same airframe as his in the areas of concern.

     

    good luck

    1 person likes this

  15. cliff

    Posted

    My brother and I are working on an early Avid ser# 110. It has Mechanical drum brakes that we have rebuilt and adjusted but they don't work very well. What is the easiest and most economical way to convert to hydrolic disc brakes or is there a trick to getting the mechanical brakes to work better.

  16. High Country

    Posted

    Odyssey. http://www.odysseybattery.com/

    For the couple of pounds you gain, skip a cheeseburger and doughnut or two...

    As much as I want to cut the weight this is the way I'm leaning at the moment as they have a long proven history and I'm a bit gun shy after the earthx went up in smoke. as for skipping a cheeseburger I'm barely a buck fifty as it is and have nothing to loose and I work for the sheriff's office so leaving out a doughnut just won't work  :lmao:

    1 person likes this

  19. EDMO

    Posted · Edited by Ed In Missouri

    I think I have seen copper elbows with beaded ends for hoses.

    They taught us in Aviation school that aluminum tubing was better than copper because it weighs less and does not vibration/work harden and fail like copper and soldered joints - I have seen several planes over the past 20 years that have used copper without any problems.

         You can bend aluminum and use a beading tool to make the beads - there goes more money!

    One of my books had a chapter on rads - He says we don't need the large hoses that a car needs for stop and start driving in traffic - recommending having aircraft fittings welded to the rad, and using -12 hoses - more money spent - never did figure out how he was going to connect them to the engine tho :huh:

    EdMO

  22. akflyer

    Posted

    well he is only full of shit on a few things... like no motorsport vehicle using the same system... except for every snowmachine, 4 wheelers and side by side that I have seen.  They all run a stator to charge and yes, it does put out  AC, that is why we run the regulator / rectifiers on them.  if the lithium has a built in charge system, then he is full of crapola as well as it should take care of over charging the battery.

     

    :BC:

  23. High Country

    Posted

    I had an original piece from Dean Wilson that was pieces of copper tubing soldered together from straight to angled pieces to get the shape you need and on each end was a small piece of wire wrapping around the parameter and soldered on to make a lip for the rubber hose to go over and make a tight strong seal. hope this makes since - straight pipe -45*-straight-45* etc 

  24. High Country

    Posted

    I take it earth X is not standing behind their product..  Care to elaborate on what they have been telling you?

     

    :BC:

    after 2 months and lots of emails and calls they did refund my money but still say the problem is my plane although i've put 5 hrs on it since with no problems and the plane has not fried my radio gps or misc instruments. They basically say that the electrical systems we use are old and out dated and that nobody uses them any more and we should not use anything but a lead acid battery for the 2 stroke engines. I personally believe their battery will work fine and that I just got a poorly manufactured one. My frustration is more with the company than the product. I just wanted to get a different one and move on but after dealing with the customer service and taking 2 months to get anywhere I'm going with a different company.  here is a bit of info I received from their lead engineer 

     

    "Hi Robert, check out the attached sketch.   If the wiring and equipment is right, it may work, but magneto charging systems are not ideal which is why no motorsports/powersports vehicles use them anymore.  The other concern with the magneto charging system is the battery is a major part of the scheme, for without the battery acting as a large capacitor bank, the output would not really be DC. " 

     

    We checked and all matches up with the schematics and also checked the output from all 3 places they requested while running at 3000 rpms and all checks out good. 

     

    "A lead acid battery is the best option for your design, for a lead acid battery is very different than a lithium battery.   A lead acid battery has a higher resistance to charge / discharge current, so it naturally limits both regardless of what the charging system is doing.   Also, a lead acid battery doesn’t heat up during discharge like a lithium, which will also work better with your charging system."