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Being an old "Alaskan Bush Pilot"   Isn't Everyone?

I have a very large fear of being chewed on by a big bear - The .22 is of absolutely no use for bear defense - but it would get you some proteins,

which you should have had with you anyway -

and it can attract bears - they sometimes follow gunshots to a deer kill. 

The combo with the shotgun and slugs is a good idea - but you better not miss with that single-shot. 

A riot gun would be better and real short with the pistol-grip or folding stock.  Mossbergs are cheap.

We loaded our Police shotguns with alternating slug cartridges and shot cartridges - ie: shoot a rabbit, and the next shot is a slug for a bear, or ...............

 

My "Co-Pilot" is the breakdown 45/70 Lever-action made by Wild West Guns, and some HOT Corbon Ammo.

And usually, a Ruger .44 mag pistol.  I think Leni carries a hand-cannon that makes the 44 look small -

To each their own insurance - Nothing is a sure thing.   In Alaska and Canada, I worried more about what is going to eat me, rather than what I was going to eat until help came.

P.S.  They frown on bazookas, but that's a good bear gun!  And Canada bars pilots' pistols!

 

Down here in the flatlands, all I worry about is the farmer's mean German Sheppard, and my little .22 auto pistol will take care of that.

 

P.S.  Nate,  I spotted collared bears once with Alaska F&G - There were 8 bears inside Anchorage City Limits, and 15 total between there and Eagle River.  THAT WAS JUST the ones with Radio collars  - THEY AINT SCARCE! 

Ed in MO

My Nancos and dual fork 8" wide TW take Me everywhere I need to go and then some. It's kind of a pain on pavement but works awesome on grass and gravel bars.

Thanks again for  the info, i still got time to track down some tires since  but that will be a great start, I have the original set of 6" avid rims but they had the drum brakes  so i bought the 8"   rims off barnstormers. Glad to here the floats should work ok , | like ski flying so much  that i figure floats wll be kinda the same and we have hundreds of lakes up here with  some big fish that need to be caught. My flying buddy is putting some on a 701 zenair soon as he builds them so, ill see how his does

The 10/22 is a nice looking little gun. What I have been putting in my plane lately is my Marlin 39A. Although it doesn't break down as slick as the new 10/22, it can be split into two parts fairly easily, and carries 18 .22lr rounds in the tube (or 25 shorts). 

 

What I used to pack was my Savage 24, which is 20 gauge/ .22lr over-under. It breaks down into three pieces and stows in a little carry case. The stock has a compartment for 10 rimfire cartridges and 2 shotshells. Savage made the model 24 in a large variety of cartridge/shotshell combinations, including .410, 20 & 12 gauge, .22lr, .223, .30-30, and probably quite a few more. I have thought about finding a 12 gauge/.22 combo but have not quite acted on that thought. Maybe someday.

 

-Nate

Thats good to hear, I am planning on a set of 26" tires for it ,I have the 8" rims, were is the best place to order them from. I just got my prop back from warp drive and they did repair it, seemed like good guys to deal with. Randy ,would you put floats on your avid, i have never flown with floats but just wondering if the avid with the soob in it would be an ok combination in case a deal on floats pops up,  thanks again

There are two options that I know about for current manufactured 26" Bushwheels and they both go on 6" diameter rims.  The Alaska Bushwheels makes the Airstreak model which is lighter than the true Bushwheel model and much better suited for our planes.  I have heard talk of a non-certified model but I don't know if they ended up doing that or just build the Airstreaks for that market.  Last I knew they were close to $2600 for a pair.

 

The other option is the Goodyear 26" but they are heavier and stiffer, so not as good for sucking up bumps, especially with our light planes.  The price is closer to $800 for a pair though.  I have no experience flying with these so cannot tell you how they perform.

 

If you already have the 8" rims, the Nanco or Cheng Shin 21"x12"W are not a bad way to go and they are made for the 8" rims.  They are light and soft and do a pretty good job; just not as tall.  Much cheaper though at under $100 a piece.  The other option I built was a set of 9" rims and took 25"x12" ATV tires for the 9" rim and cut all the tread off of them.  They ended up about 24" tall and worked pretty darn good; just about as you would expect between the 21" Nanco's and the 26" Bushwheels.

 

I would have no qualms about putting my Avid+ on floats.  I have no experience flying floats but I know that on wheels, the Sube performs markedly better under heavy load than the 582.

I have always figured if I needed a gun for survival I would be best served by a .22 rimfire because you can pack plenty of ammo and mostly would be surviving on small game anyway.  Because of that I usually have a 22 pistol in the plane with me, along with whatever else I think I might need for protection.  Ruger just came out with a 10/22 takedown model with a soft carry case made for it.  You push a pin in front of the magazine and turn the front 1/8 turn and the barrel and forearm come off.  Very cool!  Add a quick detachable scope and/or red dot sight and it is perfect.  And it shoots like a 10/22, what else can you say. 

 

If you have a plane, it is a good excuse to buy the gun; if you have the gun, it is a good excuse to by a plane.

 

Oh, and bring plenty of duct tape too.

Thats good to hear, I am planning on a set of 26" tires for it ,I have the 8" rims, were is the best place to order them from. I just got my prop back from warp drive and they did repair it, seemed like good guys to deal with. Randy ,would you put floats on your avid, i have never flown with floats but just wondering if the avid with the soob in it would be an ok combination in case a deal on floats pops up,  thanks again

Hi Ed, Randy , sorry was gone for the weekend just noticed your reply, Ed I built the firewall with tips from Randy, I just cut out the flat piece of galvanized sheet metal then  riveted on the angled pieces round the outer edge.The smoker is my brothers wood boiler he build nothing illegal lol.Not sure what a Reveenooers are ,I'm a little slow so will have to google it

  Randy , I got the engine with the rest of plane that was built by a fellow named Karlo Khunner,its a 2.58 gear reduction and the engine is supposed to be tweeked up to put out 100 hp or more.The gear drive actually has the engine oil running threw it at a reduced pressure. It sounding real good and luckly my brother is a mechanic so were getting all the bugs out. I learnt a good lesson a couple weeks ago while we were running up the engine in front of his shop ,the prop sucked up a rock and made a mess of the nickle plated tip , nothing a couple hundred dollars couldnt fix though.Thanks again for all the help really appreciate it

 

 

 Check with Warp Drive and see what they would charget to repair the blade; they have been really nice and reasonable on the swaps and changes I have done with them and I think they could repair or replace the nickle edge if it is so bad that you don't twant to fly with it.  Next is to get that thing on a set of 26" Bushwheels. 

 

Jeff is running the 72" 2 blade IVO medium and has the wide bungee gear with 850 tires.  We have picked up all kinds of rock nicks in the prop and all from just flying from well manicured gravel runways.  I have the 72" IVO medium 3 blade on my Avid+ but with 5.5" extended gear and 26" BW's and have one tiny nick in the nickel edge in about 100 hours on that prop and a lot of off airport.  Prop clearance really makes a difference.

I started with the 6" hard rubber Maul on my Avid MKIV, then went to an 8" pnumatic Maul which was a great improvement but still cut a trench in the soft gravel and sand.  I went to an 8" x 3.5" Matco twin fork TW last year on my Avid+ and really like it.  Also have been flying Jeff's Avid with the single fork Matco with the same tire and it works great too.  I like the balanced load of the twin fork on the tail spring but the massive casting on the single fork is probably as tough or tougher.  Both handle great so I would recommend either one.

It's kinda spendy to be building new wings for.  I'm all over the place on it and a couple other airplanes right now anyway.

Why not just build a set of Kitfox wings and be done with it.

Ok. I like the looks of the 8L.

Whlt-8L whlt-8 or whlt-8w?

Matco 8" pneumatic.  Either the wide one or the narrow one is far superior to the Maul.

Why not just build a set of Kitfox wings and be done with it.

I just purchased a set of nanco tires to replace the very small very hard shoes I currently have.

I'm not looking to go crazy off-roading, just hit every local grass strip I can find. Which includes the sandbars on the river and such.

Anyway, the mains are a start. I have the maule 6" solid on the rear. Again, without going crazy Alaska, what are your recommendations?

Thanks

Kf-iv1200. Rotax 618

My first ride in an Avid was a B model with long wings, but speedwing  ribs.  It took off and climbed just fine.  Cruise speed was a good deal faster than the undercambered wing however.  Maybe if a guy was to build the wings with 2 extra feet length, speedwing ribs, and a more pointed front on the front spar, it would end up better than either one.  But then that is nearly what the Kitfox 4 and later wing is.... Jim

Pic

Says its for 532 582 618 etc...

This one is for $298.

You Have Good eyes Ed, there could be some parts to one of them still type critters up there, in earlier  years , :flame:that stuff kicks too much for  old farts now lol. I have the 72" 3 blade Warp drive right now and sure seems to move some air.,

How about some more info on these?  For what engine?

Photo?

ED in MO

Trying to download for Nate, a photo of L-19 Birddog with 7th Army markings flying over Germany.  Note - this is an older model, smaller engine, fixed prop.

ED in MO

Anyone tried the aluminum radiators from china on ebay?

I was noticing how heavy mine was when I installed it the other day.....

I was referring to the Federal Revenue Agents who track down illegal stills where the White-Lightning, or Moonshine, is being made, so that the government can control the trade and collect taxes - Now known as the BATF, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Just joking!

You need to watch the movie "THUNDER ROAD". ;>)

This is how Jimmy Johnson and other moonshine drivers got started in auto racing as we know it today.

Thanks for the reply!

The 2.58 reduction sounds like you could run a big prop or high rpms on your Soob.

ED in MO

I can do 120 mph without them.

 

I can still fly at less than 35 mph without them.

 

 

 

I'm happy without them.     

 

 

(I don't have farings on my jury struts, h-stab struts or door handles, either...)

I think you just made my point in asking the question - If I had your 120mph wings I wouldn't worry about reducing drag - I can either try to make my STOL wings more efficient, or build another set from scratch - and I am running short on time - want to get back to flying and stop building.

ED in MO

Ed- how'd you like flying the L-19? I have seen a few around and they look like quite the aircraft. Did you get much time in them? I think someone out near Birchwood has one of the Italian turbine Bird-Dogs. He had it out at the aviation tradeshow a few years ago, interesting machine.

 

-Nate

Nate,

The Birddog was the hottest thing I got to fly in the Army - Big engine (at that time), constant-speed prop, and 60 degree flaps. Flying into military fields is exciting too, since you don't follow the civilian rules and patterns. The only time I felt like I was in a "pipsqueak" was when two fighter-jets came upon my tail over Germany and each did a barrel-roll as they passed by at about 500 mph just off of each of my wingtips! I think I was one of their "kills" for that day!

I wanted to buy one after I got discharged, but young and dumb, and still needing education, I was told that it could not be licensed for civilians because of the 60 degree flaps. I came back to the U.S.A. and started commercial pilot training. Only years later, when prices on the L-19 were so high that I couldn't afford one, did I find out that my earlier information was wrong.

Oh well, now we have more "high performance" planes to fly, like the Avid and Kitfox.

ED in MO