Activity Stream

I posted this on the Avid Yahoo forum, but wanted to put it out to our Kitfox brethren too since we all basically represent the same family of aircraft.

 

For anyone near southern California looking for an excuse to fly your Avid or Kitfox,
here's info for the upcoming Flabob Low and Slow Fly In, with food, planes and
fun events. There is a (meager) website for registration and meal signups here:

http://www.lowandslowflyin.com


Let's see how many Avids and Kitfoxes we can get out there on short notice. Maybe we can put
on a good turnout for the type. You can't get much lower or slower than the Avid or Kitfox!
 

Be sure to go to the link and register so that they know how many meals to plan for.

Bruce

 

Flabob L-n-S.pdf

Yeah it would be a lot of fun if I had one flying plane but I don't. I bought this to fly while I work on my Magnum so I could have something to fly while I fix it. Now I have two projects. Not where I want to be, but this is not the site to whine on. I'm sure there are a ton of people with no airplane project that would LOVE to have one, so I can't complain too much. I just love to fly so much and my wings are currently clipped.

There is a monster thread on the Rotary Wing Forum on the Weber MPE 750 use in aircraft.. Last I saw there were some installs with a couple years success history. I also read the 750 was discontinued in favor of a new 850 version and the Sea Ray or some other boat manufacturer had exclusive rights so the fly guys might be out of luck with Weber?

They are 138# with the rigging. I'm probly going to add a couple pounds to them putting hatches in them so I will have float lockers.

How heavy are the EDOs? I have that set of Avid fiberglass floats and wonder how they match up for weight. I don't think I'll ever fly floats myself but they were part of a deal I couldn't pass up. Jim

I'm waiting to hear about someone using a webber four stroke.  I understand they are bullet proof as an industrial motor, are used by polaris on lots of stuff, and better weight per hp than a 912.  Anybody see one in an airplane?

 I tryed to put up a couple pictures but kinda forgot how, I couldnt remember how to shrink them sorry

Well after finding out what it was going to cost me to get the full lotus floats fixed (the ones that have has a bad twist sewn into them from the factory) I got pissed and went looking for an alternative. Today I pulled the trigger on a nice straight set of edo 1320s. It's going to be almost 2 months till I get to try them on the avid but I have my fingers crossed that they will work great. They are going to be about 35 pound lighter than the 1450 full lotus and they perform great on tcrates and j3s so I have my fingers crossed on them for the avid.

 Hey Chris, I keep thinking another month or so and I should be flying my avid plus, but seems to be always a month away, being self employed doesnt leave me much time to work on it and I also built  a cedar kayak that I like to use as much as possible and our summers seem so short but I atleast I have a flying kitfox to get my fix.I tryed to attach some pics but forgot how to resize them hope there not to large

Denny couldn't design a dog house on his best day.

 

A hell of a salesman, though...

Couldn't fly taildragger Avid either - I have seen video of him trying to take off and wrecking #1.

Must have had good lawyers too!

ED

Denny couldn't design a dog house on his best day.

 

A hell of a salesman, though...

I just looked and realized I haven't made Sh1t for progress on the plane since my last post a month ago. Moving the engine back a half inch required that I modify the cowl. I'm completely bogged down in making that fit properly now. It's getting frustrating because I bought this plane to fly, not work on, and spring is now here. So much for the buy and fly aspect of this project! I would be making better progress if I weren't kayaking when I'm not working. It's so fun to kayak and the gratification is immediate. Working on planes can be a lot of fun, but right now it is sucking.

Amy Labota - the one who also takes test-drives in planes most of us cant afford, and writes articles about her grand experiences in Kitplanes mag for us "poor builders" to read!

Is there anyone who don't know that the Kitfox is just Dan Denny's "modified clone" of the Avid that Dean Wilson designed?

I just had to say that for Doug's benefit.

ED

I think I know who you are referring to.  I seem to remember an article she wrote about the Kitfox  and it's origin and if I remember right, according to her, the Avid was a copy of the Kitfox.  Jim

Jim,

I'm getting a little tired of reading articles by this woman who evidently doesn't even read a tape-measure: Paraphrasing her: "The Kitfox 7 with 30 foot wingspan has longer wings than my Kitfox 4."

Hell, the Kitfox 1 had 32 foot wings! Lots more McBean advertising in her article too....She copied a lot of Kitfox history from Ed Down's book - Talk about plagerism!!!!

Of course we all know why women cant tell time or length!

ED in MO

IMO, I am not going to use these vertical tapes - Only on the necessary tubes and the horizontal stringers.

ED in MO

Do I dare comment on a "new" engine without Doug jumping in on my "new" experimental plane?

Yeh - I'm brave!

I just read an article about "new" diesel engines for experimental, and they said that the Mercedes, Smart engine with only 42 hp, was a flop!!!!

Better results are with the VW TDI and Peugot (sp?) engines, with more horses.

I haven't done any research on it, but I am wondering about the Subaru gas engine in the new Scion - I think it is a 125 hp, maybe turbo, and don't know what weight.

ED in MO

I'm wondering if the vertical side stringers that start flush with the fabric at the lower longeron, are about an inch from the fabric at the center of the fuse and flush at the top longeron get a finish tape from top to bottom? The manual calls for a finish tape where all tubes touch the fabric but Im curious on these as only the first couple inches actually touch.

The Pope went on vacation for a few days to visit the rugged mountains of Alaska .

He was cruising along the campground in the Pope-Mobile when he heard a frantic commotion just at the edge of the woods. He found a helpless man wearing shorts, sandals, a 'Vote for Obama' hat and a 'Save the Trees' shirt. The man was screaming and struggling frantically, thrashing all about, and trying to free himself from the grasp of a 10-foot grizzly bear.

As the Pope watched in horror, a group of loggers wearing 'Go Sarah' shirts came racing up. One quickly fired a 44 magnum slug right into the bear's chest. The two other men pulled the semi-conscious man from the bear's grasp. Then using baseball bats, the three loggers finished off the bear. Two of the men dragged the dead grizzly onto the bed of their pick-up truck while the other tenderly placed the injured man in the back seat.

As they began to leave, the Pope summoned all of the men over to him. "I give you my blessing for your brave actions!" he proudly proclaimed... "I have heard there was bitter hatred between loggers and environmental activists but now I've seen with my own eyes that this is not true."
As the Pope drove off, one logger asked his buddies, "Who the heck was that guy?"

Dude, that was the Pope," another replied. "He's in direct contact with Heaven and has access to all wisdom."

Well," the logger said, "he may have access to all wisdom but he doesn't know squat about bear hunting! By the way, is the bait still alive or do we need to go back to California and get another one?"

Hey, thank you very much!

 

Nice pictures!

Sorry for your loss, Doug.  If you're like our family you'll always look at Sophie's favorite spots around the house and see her there just from your memories.

It is amazing to me how attached we get to our furry family members.  I spent more on my last one than I have on some of my kids just to try and keep him around for another 6 months.  In the end I had to make the same decision you did.  That was 2 yrs ago and I am still not ready to try and replace him.

 

Sophie was a great looking pup Doug, sorry for you loss.

Very sorry to hear the sad news.  I will miss throwing the ball over, and over, and over again.  Hope to see you and yours soon.  Russ.

So sorry for your loss, Doug. The loss of a family member is very tough.

We lost our Sophie in 2011. She had been my moms and came to live with us when my mom passed in 2009. She was 17 years old. http://theav8rweb.com/sophie.htm

We are a dog loving family, always have been, because our pets seem to love us more than they love themselves. They are always up for anything, whether it’s some outside time on a sunny afternoon or curling up on a night in. They are always content just to spend time close to us. They become such a part of our family it's hard to lose one.

 

Tough as it is, as loving stewards we have an unspoken covenant with our pets that we will euthanize, if it is necessary. In the final analysis, only the owner can really understand when the time is right. And even then, emotions still make it so difficult. This is the ultimate loving act for our beloved companion animals. It is for them, regardless of the effects on us, that we must do this and the decision is made. Only nine years young but it was time.

We get so much love and delight from our beloved pets in life, and we grieve deeply for them when they die. Because of the unique enhancement they give to our lives they become a treasured part of us, forever. When a dear pet's life ends, more dies than just a cherished friend and companion. Since we make them into living symbols of our own innocence and purest feelings, a treasured secret part of each of us also dies. This can be reborn as we slowly pick up our shattered emotional pieces and move on. Our dear pets bless us, just as we do them, and they enrich and prepare us for our moving on in life. The loving memories become a permanent part of who we are, and they live on, in our hearts.

 

Thanks for everything Sophie baby, R.I.P. You got dealt a bad hand but played it magnificently and lived like no other. Do they play 'Cheetos On a String' in Doggie Heaven? Tell Lucy and Millie we love them, we sure do miss you guys! Charlie doesn't quite know what to do with himself now.