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I'm new to this forum, and new to Avid HHs too. I recently bought a MK IV HH that needed some love. One of the things that had to go was the original tailwheel. The springs were bent and the tailwheel assembly was junk. I replaced the entire assembly with this:
So far, it's had one trip up and down the runway, steers and behaves very well. Flights will commence after the inspection and upgrades are done, and most importantly, after the brakes are fixed. The brakes were improperly installed and the pedal geometry is all wrong... but that's a different discussion.
Sharp eyed readers might notice that the new tailwheel assembly looks very much like the one that are commonly seen on Van's RVs. It is very similar, but not the same. I figure if the tapered spring worked well on those planes, it should be plenty strong enough for the Avid. (Yes, I understand that something else might bend, but that's why we fly experimentals, eh?)
BTW, it weighs 631# on certified, calibrated scales and has a 582 BH with a Kiev prop.
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Hey Leni,
Can you please post a really good video/picture of your heat set up? Bryce
I have to go out to the hangar tomorrow and I will get more pics of the heat muff. I just got the MK IV in cowl radiators set up on the plane and they work GREAT! now to get the air scoop back on so I can have cabin heat again.
I have 2 slots cut in the dash with computer fans mounted under the dash to blow air on the windshield. With my current set up, I will have air coming into the heat muff preheated by the air from the radiators.
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Dang it looks like that plane was totalled not long after this article aired.
http://www.initialfix.com/reference/accident/1992/20001211X14517/N582MK.html
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Many Thanks to forum member Jim Peet for sending me this entire magazine. I've scanned the Avid article from Sept of 92. Good stuff!! I love the Alpine tape deck in the panel! If you are having trouble reading the text click on the Plus sign up at the top of the page to Zoom in.
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My grove gear was a great improvement over the original bungee gear, but after stripping the nuts off the clamp bolts (still not sure how that happened), I will be oversizing the bolts and adding two nuts. Great gear, but they don't track very well with only one clamp in place.
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The later - Kitfox 5 to 7 - Grove spring weighs 10 lbs more than the 1-4 Grove gear, but it is 8 inches wider wheelbase and more Gross weight.
EDMO
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thanx for the welcome ,im in Kalispell so not to far from you c5.im waiting for the rudder(my painter is very slow and irritating)to do the w/b .ill check on the toe in.
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I did the conversion to Grove from bungee and the plane gained 12#.
Look at my mangy fox thread and you will see I put on a taller custom Grove spring. 2-1/2" taller and 3" wider. L
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Since all those piper wing components are available individually, whose to say you didn't build them? Or bought a set of wings, totally disassembled them to put in new spars, essentially building them from parts? I could name several planes like this that have been recently built and signed off. There are many, many experimental Cub clones with major Piper parts on them.
Now, saying you built a Bonanza as an experimental, will probably never pass muster. That's a different situation.
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I priced a compact car heater core today, early dodge neon $40.00 at oriellys, in the box it weighs less then a 1 lb, about 6"x8"x1.5" thick, has 9/16's or 5/8's inlet/outlet
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How durable is the Grove Gear and how it attaches to the longerons?
Thanks Herman
Very effective and durable landing gear for vertical force absorbsion (ie., pancake landing). However, horizontal linear or rearward twisting forces to the spring gear are transferred to the fuselage at a single point via a relatively small clamping block (vs. tube gear with two wider attach points). Therein lies a definite potential downside of using the Grove gear IMHO. See the pics of my wrecked KF3 on site showing what happens to the fuselage when you drop a wheel into a ditch or gopher hole at speed. Suffice to say that the spring gear is a whole lot stronger than the fuselage. In my case the spring gear was undamaged and I can't help but wonder if either oem or bush style tube gear would have let go first and saved the frame. I highly recommend you gusset the side truss over the gear attach brackets when using Grove spring gear on older models, there is a good reason the new KF kits have side gussets welded in.
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Yep - everything except my retirement pay - which is surely stuck in the late 80's!I'd say similar. Figure $20k fwb, $30k fwf with motor, $20k paint, radios, instruments, etc. for a new Kitfox SS kit.
Lots of stuff was cheaper in the very early 80s, Ed. That would be the last time you would ever see a complete kit for anywhere near $10-15k.
Then you could buy a nice house for $25k. (Twice the cost of a kit) Now you need to spend $150k for a similar nice house. Ironically about twice the cost of this kit, still.
A good job then paid $15k per year. Now a similar Good job is $60-75k? See the pattern?
Everything is relative.
My first house was $11K, and I am almost done paying off $200K for my most recent house which sold in 1964 for $12K.....Everything is relative, so I have to build cheap! Sure hope my kids can sell my Foxy Flapper some day for $100K
EDMO
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Don't forget to run some defroster ducts to the windshield - I get real nervous when the whole thing frosts over and I cant see what is in front on takeoff.I thought about mounting 2 Dallas cheerleaders .for heat...
Ok all seriousness aside , just about any compact car heater core with a couple 12 volt computer fans , if you wanted to get fancy you could even make a plenum and run duct work to the floor and or tie into any existing cold air inlets that may or may not be in your panel, the duct tubes are very light, a plenum could be built out of .016 aluminum which would also serve as the mount for the heater core
EDMO
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They tightened the rules a while back - Breezy, which I have flown years ago, is no longer legal to be licensed for "amateur-built experimental" with Piper wings - The originals are already licensed -
But,you can build Dakota or other wings and be legal - The same goes for the Piper with the v6 which was sold a while back - it was made before the rule change, and you cant license another one the way that one was licensed.
The rules state, and I am paraphrasing: No Major parts (Wings, Fuselage, etc.) of a certified airplane can be used for an airplane that is going to be licensed as Amateur-Built Experimental.
At least that is my understanding of it - My Cessna rudder pedals are not a "Major Part".
EDMO
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First and formost, unless your building an experimental from a kit, the Nash Fsdo Can't tell you their ass from a hole in the ground! When I was teaching myself to weld, I asked them to look at some of my test samples. No one knew what qualified as a satisfactory weld! Nor could they recommend anybody in the middle Tennessee area. The head of home built examinations for the middle Tennessee area told me to just follow the manufacturers instruction book! I asked him what if I was building an airplane from Plans, and he replied I don't know! Breezy aircraft have always used a piper PA 12 or Cesta 172 or fill in the blank Wing from a certified aircraft. These have been getting signed off and flying for as long as the guy in the FAA office has been alive! As for decertifying an aircraft and turning it into an experimental, you might have to go the restricted route. A call to the EAA office can probably help tho you gonna have to dig your way through the layers of you bureaucracy to find somebody that knows what they're doing with this. Good luck man!
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Nice looking Plane Mike!
What is your current cg?Before the first flight I'd check the landing gear and make sure it isn't toed in.Keep us posted...
Mike
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Well, it looks like I will be moving to PA in the very near future. How many east coast flyers do we have out there?
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I thought about mounting 2 Dallas cheerleaders .for heat... Ok get your mind out of the gutter
one on the floor at my knees and the other as an ear warmer after thinking it out, i wouldnt be able to see to fly or run the rudder pedals, but then i thought ... Who cares!! LolOk all seriousness aside , just about any compact car heater core with a couple 12 volt computer fans , if you wanted to get fancy you could even make a plenum and run duct work to the floor and or tie into any existing cold air inlets that may or may not be in your panel, the duct tubes are very light, a plenum could be built out of .016 aluminum which would also serve as the mount for the heater core
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I know on the kitfox aircraft web site they have a video of a drop test with grove gear, thinking its over 4,000 lbs of weight on it but im not positive, i'd be willing to bet the gear would survive a hard landing moreso then the fuselage, unless your building a kit or modifying the area where the gear mounts on a finished kit, which adds more weight , common sense has to play a role in how much abuse one subjects the plane to, the old saying its only as strong as its weakest point has some merit
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Welcome to the site Mike! Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself. Nice looking bird I really like that color combo. Lots of members are very successful with the Soob. What part of Montana you from? I am an Idaho native from across the border from Missoula. Stationed in CA now. There's lots of great information and flying stories here. Looking forward to hearing about your first flight. My bird didn't fly from 1992 to 2009. I'm not sure who was more excited me or her...The wife named her Diva (Avid backwards) because she's my weekend girlfriend.
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Welcome Mike ; surprised I'm the first guy to say hello but good to have ya, great looking airplanes!
jack
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I have been searching for a Kitfox model 4 with a 912s to replace my model 2 with a 582.
I also want taller gear for more angle of attack
I like the simplicity of the Grove gear but had the impression it weighed 30#'s more than the stock gear so I never considered it.
I called Grove and they told me the their complete gear with mounting brackets for a model 4 weighs 30#'s and they could make it a few inches taller.
So how much weight does the Grove gear really ad?
It is expensive compared to the alternatives.
It's design should be more aerodynamic.
How well does it absorb landing loads, especially on rocks with ABW's compared to the stock bungee gear I am using now?
It seems this forum has been cautious about the durability of the aftermarket "Bush Gears" so I have been looking for other options.
How durable is the Grove Gear and how it attaches to the longerons?
Thanks for sharing your "Gear" experiences.
Still searching for a Kitfox model 4-1200 with a 912s.
Thanks Herman
WING STRUTS
in Technical tasks
Trackwelder
Posted
Old thread I know, but since I am looking for older information I will add my 2 cents. Look for Carlson Aircraft they sell streamlined aluminum extrusions for struts, I know one being put together with a set he is waiting for the DAR now, I Got side tracked building a Wittman Buttercup and now have hangar space so both airplanes are sitting side by side being bult. I am spending time on both aircraft at once, the Avid will be finished first, I need to make rudder pedals bend a new firewall and freshen up my motor, I took a taildragger lesson in a Kitfox and got bit by the bug again.
My problem is I need a second set of hands to build with, building alone is just a little difficult. I have a whole airport to myself most days and I need a hand once in a while.