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To bad about the destruction.

On the lighter side:

It looks like a large formation flight of them smokin' 2-strokes.

steve

just flew up to check out a few buddies cabins. So far the fire has burned 50,000 acres of prime recreation and snowmachining areas that I play in all winter. Lots of buddies cabins are gone now..the last pic is home sweet home

dooooohhh. looks like the heat affected zone got a bit brittle.  I would not monkey with a repair either unless it was my only option in some remote village..I can tell you from chasing cracks like that on snowmachines that unless you stress releive the muffler / pipe after welding chances are that it wont last long... On the older artic cat race sleds we would have to stress releive a brand new pipe in order to make the entire race without blowing out a seam.

Ya know..., as I was taxiing back the last time I thought I heard something "different", but not very much, as I dismissed it as the direction the wind was blowing the exhaust noise.  I noticed nothing different with EGT during flight, no smoke or smells.

It was during the next preflight that I gave the stinger the obligatory handshake that I noticed it could be moved. So the cowl came off, then the muffler.

Here is another picture that shows the extent of the prior repair. That was my first thought too ... just get it fixed, but the extent of all damage combined says "just replace it ".

If anyone wants the assembly, send a postpaid box....it's yours.

Actually it could be repaired, but I would think the endcap would have to be replaced and the baffle re secured inside.

I save everything, and it would/will  be a spare if I got ambitious... but right now I'm not.

did she start sounding like a radial all of a sudden??  hell, weld her back up and fly it till your new one gets here... or jump in the stearman and burn some smoke oil.....

Here is a picture with the nose of N84KF painted with Poly-Tone Insignia Blue.  I had a quart laying around so what the heck. It will never look glossy, but in a few weeks I'll buff and wax it so it should loose some of the "satin"finish.

The cowl was already off...'cuz I'm replacing the muffler. The tailpipe had been bumped by a lawn tractor, cracked, and repaired with welding before I got the plane. I knew it's history and was watching in case the repair failed, and it did. No real harm done, but I'm down for a while as the new one is being made and shipped from Idaho.

I am not familiar with the actual muffler failures that happen on non-reinforced systems, but I imagine this is the weak point so I am including some pictures of where mine failed. Remember, mine failed at a (bad) repair weld, but the area (I think) is the same.

steve

damn.. whats the deal.. you going soft on us???  twas a time when you would jump all over it lol..

I am off to go do a scouting run in the fox, before I do a rafting trip on the river..gotta know what channels have the biggest water to maximize the fun factor!

Never mind...., I won't go there.  Yet.

Any excuse to fly is a good one.  Hope fully next week I will have to pics and vids of some beach / remote flying.  See if I can get the bears stired up a bit..

Today was nice in SE Michigan, and it should stay this way for the next few days. So naturally one has to go flying.

  N84KF is running great, starts right up at the first turn of the key even after sitting for a week or so. I did notice (@ preflight) a small drip of coolant from one of the hoses that run to the cabin heater but a quick tightening of the hose clamp cured that. The antifreeze smell gave it away...kinda like my old car when the heater core went bad. No big deal and it's the first issue I've had with the entire aircraft since I got it. Old man Ray did a fine job, and I think his years of owning and working on certificated aircraft is the reason 84KF is built to what I see as high standards. No mick Mouse stuff...all by the book and aircraft quality materials.

Still playing with approach and landing speeds.... 53 55 mph w/1st flaps on short final works well, slower if you want to drag it on with a bit of power. It lets ya know when you get to slow... it starts to sink fast, but a bit of rpm lifts it right up again. 

Tomorrow might be the first flight for N84KF to a towered airport, KPTK, where I have some dope and fabric work waiting for me. The thing is..., I will drive 15 miles west to get the plane,... then fly 35 miles east to the other airport. I live 'bout half way between them..  Oh well, any excuse to fly eh?

Here is a link to the 24 hr NASA Shuttle. I use the Windows Media Player option  from the "public channel" menue and it's just like live TV. It's worth a look....

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

steve

yeppers.. and no peep from deke..

I actually like the play by play, and seeing people have a running dialog without someone shitting themselves and screaming that it was "fluff"...however.. nothing like self ownage...opening up and telling the world your buddy is flying outside his privileges..

With that being said... I AM NO ANGEL and hope some of my exploits are never published and the wrong person sees it..but then again.. I really don't give a shit.. I was once threatened with license revocation.. (they don't like it when you put experimental floats on a certified plane and don't bother with paperwork or permission).. at any rate, I ended up telling them that if they thought that pulling my ticket would stop me from flying they were sadly mistaken... at least as long as I had my ticket I would stay current on medical, biannual etc.. in the end they saw things my way.

  <to any form of flying anytime anywhere

He must have went into "stealth mode". No new updates I see.

  Leni,

The sweet running Lyc o-145-B2 engine in my old Piper Vagabond decided to break a valve one day ....went through the piston head, bounced around in the case a bit and punched it's way out the top of the case cover.  As luck would have it, I was over a 100 acre hayfield at 1500' so except for the initial smoke from oil leaking on the exhaust, the landing was uneventful.

  I still have a container full of bent and broke parts just as a reminder of what will/could happen at any time.

   Engines are mechanical...and mechanical things tend to, and will, fail.

Oh... and I then got a fresh OH'd engine for $2000.00 

Am I showing my age?

Now quit pissing those people off over there..... They're having a hard enough time trying to write the book on landing speeds.

You 2-stroke guys are all alike.  ;D

steve   

couldn't pass this one up.. and as I am probably gonna bash I figured I would put it in here.

As far as the engine out logic' date=' this is mine, if the engine isn't up to par don't take off.  Must be why I have a Rotax 912.  Have a nice day and above all, make the flying fun.

Are friggin kidding me??? must be why I have a 912.. oh great one, you are now immune to any type of engine trouble.. may your filter never clog, carb boot never crack, ignition never fail, fuel never be contaminated or a freeking host of other issues that have killed many many people...I think someone is in bad need of a piss test.

OK done ranting for now... I just cant beleive someone would put this in writing..

scratch this idea... they are closing the doors..damn. I thought I had an easy out for my tundra tires.. now its back to having hubs machined...

I was just looking back at old threads over there... Like the take off / gross weight period...and several others... then I saw the form and just felt compelled to post it up.. I have allready established a hurt feelings form box outside my office door.. I have been dealing with premadona girly men for the last week and am just about to fire the lot of them lol... My patience level for stupidity is very low.. and whiny stupidity is even lower lol...

Damn...I must have missed something.

I justy got off the phone with Kevin at MIPPI and they are now manufacturing the kingfox tire for the 6" wheel.. That is great news to those of us who have the 6" wheels.  He is thinking that they should be available in the next month! 

Just thought I would post this one up..I think some on other sites could use it..

HurtFeelingsReport.pdf

I just read the manual on it.  It only states that you need to have a filter before the ducer so you dont clog up the gauze filter in the transducer as that could lead to engine damage.. So I thinkthe best bet would be to install a bypass line and a valve you could hit real quick if it starts clogging inflight....

Of course..while everything mechanical can and will go wrong at one time or another, how great is the risk really??  I have the screens in the tank, a filter on each tank before the gascolator, a filter after the gascolator and one after the fuel shutoff / tank selector valve..Any shit gets through to the transducer, and I have not been looking at the see through filter in the pre-flight...

I am not sure it would really be worth putting in bypass line... I dont have a spare engine behind the seat just incase my rotax gives out on me....There can be many trains of thought on this one.

I like the looks of yours better.

A concern I have revolves around this type of situation:

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources/Europa_XS,_G-IOWE.pdf

Main concern.....

"The fuel flow transducer was fitted in the single fuel supply pipe to the engine. The design was such

that there was one path, with no bypass facility, for the fuel to pass through the transducer. The

dimensions of the inlet passageway were of a size and shape susceptible to restriction or total

blockage by small debris particles"

So it would seem that a built in bypass system would be the best bet. It dosn't mention what the sender is like...  I'll look into it.

http://www.northstargps.com/images/2006-images/explorer-images/Explorer-Manuals/F210.pdf

steve

http://www.boatersland.com/fuelflow.html

Steve,

I have seen several guys on the list that used the flowscan.  That is the nice thing about experimental.. we can use parts that are not PMA/FAA approved.  I remember that the guys that had used them loved them and did not have any problems. 

http://www.boatersland.com/f210.html

This looks interesting..you can make it a part of the preflight to punch in how many gallons you have onboard and it will keep track of fuel burn and give you a low fuel alarm.. and it is cheap!  I changed my mind from the flowscan and I think I will give this one a go.

I've had my eye on this fuel flow product for a while but I cant find much mor info on it other then what "Spruce" has to say.

Any more info, experience with, or links would be appreciated

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/fuelmizer.php

steve

ps.  I hate the look of the gauge..., but whatever.

I would like to get as many links as we can to help people out who are looking for Avid or kitfox (or any homebuilt/experimental) suppliers.

Airdale http://www.airdale.com/

Kitfox Site http://www.kitfoxaircraft.com/

California Power Systems http://www.800-airwolf.com/

Blue Sky Aviation http://www.blueskyav...et/catalog.html

Wing Tanks http://wingtanks.com/

Aircraft Spruce http://www.aircraftspruce.com/

Leading Edge Airfoils http://www.leadingedge-airfoils.com/

Matco Wheels and Brakes http://www.matcomfg.com/

JMB Rotax Carb Sockets (dont crack) http://www.geocities...tips/ROTAX.html

Carlson Aircraft. Supplier for streamline Aluminum tubing for float mounting etc. http://www.carlsonai...com/struts.html

Williams Aviation http://www.murlewilliamsaviation.com/ <this link does not have any bugs in it as of 11-19-09

Just wanted to say a heart felt thank you to all the veterans out there.  With out you guys I truly believe that life would be much different around here.