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I made my last flight on floats right before I came back to work. I should be getting swapped over to wheels sometime this next week. When I return home I'll be going out of town for most of my time off, so I don't have any real time at home until early November. Hopefully by then the lakes will be solid without a lot of snow. I'd like to make it out on wheels at least once this fall. I think solid ice is a little ways out yet, I should think you'd make it out on floats just fine. Where do you keep your plane while it's on floats?
Speaking of Pacers, I was a little surprised by the number of them on floats. There are a handful of them at Lake Hood, and I've seen some video of a couple in Fairbanks. A neighbor at the cabin had a Tri on floats, and I had watched him a few making multiple runs up and down the lake trying to get off. He moved into a 180 HP Cessna 170.
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Hint of things to come: My buddy Dave (Hybrid Avid/Kitfox and Clipper builder) just bought an experimental J5 fuselage to go with the Pacer wings he has...
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It's kind of unrelated but we've been working on a 1956 Beechcraft that has all sorts of issues. It's going to require 50% of the aircraft cost (just purchased by new owner) to get it flying again. we actually called the Nashville fisdo to ask if we could declassify it to an experimental (it's been done here before) and they said no. The largest cost is the prop spinner, $2,450 was the cheapest we found and we were told that only 4 new ones exist. We have 4 spinners for Van's RV's that are absolutely identical that we wanted to use for sub $200.. Apparently they had 3 Cessna's recently declassified to experimental and all 3 crashed due to mechanical failure causing multiple fatalities. So from I understand they are getting a little more strict regarding certified aircraft and recertification due to these recent accidents
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If you have the baggage locker that was part of the wing tank why not just do some fiberglassing and make the locker portion able to hold gas?
I feel an aluminum tank will be quicker and safer. This is what I have decided on after playing around with different w&b's for a few hours.
I measured out all the arms today and they are pretty accurate. My tailwheel is at exactly 160" from the datum. Seems an update In the tailwheel springs a few years ago actually lengthened the airplane a little
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Nate,
You still on floats? I am hoping to get in one more trip to the lodge before the lakes start icing up. I get home Tuesday.
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Your TW assembly is bolted to the lower of the two springs correct? Are you able to break your TW free with that set up? I had to extend my arms and then I tossed the Maule assembly and went with a Matco and then upgraded to the Matco dual fork 8" and haven't looked back.
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I like the Piper Pacer. My father had 150 HP PA-20/22 for a number of years, and it was the first plane that I spent any real time at the controls. It could pack a pretty decent load and fly considerably faster than my Sedan. If I didn't end up with a Sedan, a nice Pacer would certainly be on the short list.
Seaplanes North has one for sale. $35k, 180 HP and 58 gallons of fuel. I know that's a bit more than $20K+ that Joey was talking about, but that plane would be hard to beat. I took a look at it about a week ago and it seemed to be in decent shape. I wasn't looking to buy, just looking to look.
Over at the short wing pipers forum is a thread about how the selling price for short wings is quite low at this point in time. Which is awesome if a person is in the market. I'm still not convinced that anything is cheap in aviation, even Pacers. I think I'd use the term inexpensive.
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Herman, don't give all the secrets away, it will only run the price of a GREAT affordable 4 place plane up
I still contend that it is the most underrated plane on the market right now.Set up like yours was it makes one hell of a good plane. Most of the places that you cant take that plane into, you probly dont need to be going anyways.
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Great pics! Those sure dont look as big on your plane as they do on a cub. Maybe its your extended gear or something
But it looks really good on those phat tires! -
I haven't pulled the wheeles off to inspect them closely but just looking at the camber on the tires, the seem to be doing good so far. I landed a new place on the Kashwitna last week and it is hard to see this strip because it is in the trees and crossways to the river. When you are low enough to land it you can't see it coming. So I was approaching it low, in a slight turn and as slow as possible and lost lift a little high and did a pretty good bounce so I tested them pretty good. I think the tires at 5 psi may help, even though they are wider and the outer bearing has more leverage on the axle. We will just have to keep an eye on them.
I took a few pics while I was there and flying back home. Had a beautiful sunset but couldn't get my camera to not flash when trying to get the alpenglow on the mountains so ther is a lot of reflection off the lexan in that pic.
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Here is my second picture upload attempt. One thing about the beefier spring is your aoa on the ground will be reduced slightly. If you are running bigger tires on the front it doesn't matter. Also, I have a sube hanging on the front, with extra weight at the back so a beefier spring is needed to take that extra weight. I think a heavier spring that is actually a spring is the way to go. The one I bought from Brett could be easily bent and the tailwheel broke off right at the mount kicking the **** out of my rudder as the springs to the horns dragged it along. -
Nice pics Doug Thanks for sharing. In that last photo of that album what is going on with the elevator of that sea plane?
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What to know after a propstrike
Evaluating the integrity of your engine after experiencing a prop strike.
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What to do when it quits
There are two mistakes a pilot often makes after an engine quits. First it quit for a good reason. Don't try and restart it. You'll likely destroy the evidence that made it quit. Second don't automatically blame the engine for your troubles. The majority of Rotax engine stoppages are due to a fuel starvation issue.
This article is another great troubleshooting source.
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Using the right Rotax tools
Information on the Rotax specialty tools available and what they are used for.
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Understanding the Mid-Range circuit VERY IMPORTANT ARTICLE!
One of the easiest way to burn up a piston is by not understanding how the Mid-Range circuit of a two-stroke works. Please take the time to read this article and understand what it is saying and how to apply it the operation of your engine. In a nutshell: Don't pull the power back to 4000-5000 rpm and unload the engine by starting a slow descent like you would with a traditional engine. Your EGT's will quickly exceed the redline of 1200 degrees.
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Understanding the Choke circuit (Enrichener)
Primer or Choke? Good discussion on how the Enrichener circuit in a Bing works.
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Understanding 2-Cycle lubricants
People will debate for hours on what oil to use and at what ratio. This article will help you sound educated when engaged in one of those arguments.
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The Ducati Ignition: Timing-Troubleshooting-Utilizing it's ouput and understanding your electrical system
Timing and Troubleshooting information on the Ducati Ignition. Great information on how the digital ignition system works. The other attached article shows diagrams on how the lighting coil interacts with your voltage regulator. Good wiring schematics and information to help you troubleshoot if you find yourself with no power output or spark.
Timing the Ducati ignition.pdf
Troubleshooting the Ducati ignition.pdf
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The Rotax Decision: A side by side comparison
An excellent article showing long term operating costs between all the Rotax engines. Also a good side by side performance comparison. This article is an excellent choice when trying to decide between a 582 and a 912.
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The new 582
This is an article that highlights the changes that made the 582 with true dual ignition superior to the single points ignition 532.
912ul Pierburg fuel pump FAIL
in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar
dholly
Posted
Man, I am getting dejected this year. Seems every time I go to fly something else breaks and cuts the fun short. So today I notice fuel seeping from one of the weep holes on my fuel pump. If I understand correctly, this particular weep hole will identify a bad diaphragm. Which is not a replaceable rubber so a whole new pump is in order. Just when who knows how many 912ul and 012uls owners are facing a mandatory fuel pump Service Bulletin and clamoring for the part. Last I heard the lead time was 3+ weeks not to mention the RoTAX $$$... grrr.