Dusty

Members
 View profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    325

  • Joined

  • Last visited


Everything posted by Dusty



  1. Dusty added a post in a topic Bush gear failures   

    Guilty as charged 
    I thought that may be you
    • 1


  2. Dusty added a post in a topic Bush gear failures   

    I put around 100 hrs on my eurothane pucks with no problems, Unfortunately i have been out of the air for a while as my fox required a major rebuild, (the gear survived just fine)          during the rebuild I fitted Acme struts (a bit of overkill for most flying). If I didn't have the Acme struts I would still have my puck setup as it worked exceptionly well                               Improvement vs $ I would recommend the pucks                                                                     I
    • 1


  3. Dusty added a post in a topic Running lean   

    The 503 is an awesome motor. My old 503 was stripped and inspected at 600 hrs and released for service. At 1200 hours it is on condition and still going strong for the new owner of my trusty drifter
    • 1


  4. Dusty added a post in a topic Salt water operations in sea-drowned valleys   

    Based in Rangiora,   I'm not hard to find  Just ask for the owner of kitfox JFA ! There is a YouTube video of one of our trips to D'Urville 
    D'Urville island landing https://YouTube.be/GJeUOf9Mgz0
    I'm currently flying borrowed KIV and very soon CGT,with the rebuild of JFA progressing slowly
    Looking forward to catching up
    • 0


  5. Dusty added a post in a topic Salt water operations in sea-drowned valleys   

    The sounds are a great place to fly. I have landed at Grevill  Harbour a few times .
    Calm weather only, Got severely spanked a few years ago in a southerly.
    An avid amphibian would be so much fun. 3 friends are  building restoring amphibs so we may catch up sometime.
    • 0


  6. Dusty added a post in a topic Rotax 582 cooling questions   

    Chuck your thermostat in in a pot and heat / measure .observe what it does. Also there needs to be a small bypass hole in the flange to encourage flow past the bulb for smooth operation.
    • 0


  7. Dusty added a post in a topic rotary valve oil being pushed out the reservoir bottle on 582   

    Perhaps ground run with the cap off and observe. May be expanding by foaming . If so change to a different oil as some have better anti foam. Bubbling is bad but as suggested oil may possobly be sucked by the crank seals rather than case pressure blowing.
    • 0


  8. Dusty added a post in a topic What do these pictures tell you?   

    The brake and rudder pedal assembly is completly different with the "E" pedals,also the brake cylinders are not mounted directly to the torque tubes. This isn't definitive as it is an easy swap  The tall rudder and large hinge gap due to the rod end hinges is the obvious give away for a1200 but not such an easy job. 
    Have fun
    • 0


  9. Dusty added a post in a topic What do these pictures tell you?   

    Great project. +1 on the last post . A 1200 ! You've captured a unicorn 
    • 0


  10. Dusty added a post in a topic 109JB got another wrecked Kitfox   

    Yes you need to install a richer setup. The hacman by nature slightly leans from standard, even when off. This amount varies with the size of the reference port.
      I will have to hunt out the data from my last install which may take a few days.
    The needles definatly need changing from 11g2 to 11k2 to eliminate a lean spot just off mid range. These are 503 tc needles.
    A hacman type device is one of the best mods that can be done to a 582 but vigilance is required at all times and especially at part throttle decent 
    • 0


  11. Dusty added a post in a topic Mn ski flying   

    Maybe the "experts" from the seventies who were predicting an impending ice age were right . Yea na!  Ski flying looks like so much fun.
    • 1


  12. Dusty added a post in a topic Rotax 582 gray head cooling system mod idea   

    The Grey top has a single action thermostat  the blue a two way ,a much better system but the single action seems to work ok(not as cold here).I am assuming your Grey has a thermostat? If it still isn't holding heat ,the steam vent at the front of the head maybe be bypassing too much coolant. Solder this up and drill a small hole. This is usually the easiest  fix.
    • 0


  13. Dusty added a post in a topic J3 Tail Springs   

    Just a suggestion before the tail end is covered. Put the lift handle to the top longeron it will make handling easier
     
    • 0


  14. Dusty added a post in a topic Grey Vs Blue   

    Contact an experienced rotax repair shop and get an estimate for a rebuild and go from there. I personally have no preference for blue over silver  as the later silver tops had the same crank as the blue ,the waterpump seals don't give trouble if using dexcool. These seals can be retrofitted with ceramic seal if you feel the need. The bluetop cooling is better able to tolerate poor throttle handling.
    Cheers
    Dusty
    • 0


  15. Dusty added a post in a topic A new baby coming home   

    The stuff panel beating suppliers sell for polishing faded plastic headlights works surprisingly well
    • 1


  16. Dusty added a post in a topic 914 rotax for sale   

    Seems a lot for what is essentially an 80 hp long block ! And an early light, head to crank case bolt engine.
    • 0


  17. Dusty added a post in a topic New Unsinkable Carb Floats?   

    At the risk of a thread drift, the jabaru style floats look like a possible "cure" to another Rotax Bing problem of the guide pins coming loose. This is a scary problem in early models as the bottom of the pin hole arn't blind! The latest incident here saw a plane returning to its hanger trailing fuel, a bit of a close go!
    • 0


  18. Dusty added a post in a topic New Unsinkable Carb Floats?   

    I have looked into using these but the price was a deal breaker.
    They are definatly heavier which I don't think would be an issue if they are set up using The Rotax procedure of a syringe through the choke area. The float lever can be successfully tweaked to get the level right.
    Peace of mind I guess, but I check mine within every 25 hrs and have had only a few replacement due to variances. If the drip trays arn't used,checking is a very simple procedure of weighing or checking against scribed witness marks inside the float bowl so well worth the effort.
    • 0


  19. Dusty added a post in a topic Bush gear failures   

    If I were to start over I would use the 6 pucks. There is the chance of combined sag but a little preload will negate this. I had a local engineer cut mine in a lath after freezing them. The suggestion of machining an angle  is a solid idea .
    It's great to see so much enthusiasm for this project .
    • 0


  20. Dusty added a post in a topic Bush gear failures   

    I haven't drilled the pucks yet, this is my next job. The reasoning behind this is to give the material an additional path to displace to and maybe soften the rate. If you can add extra pucks to your build this step may be unnecessary,the current setup works fine but I feel just a little softer/more wheel travel may be an improvement. I was thinking 5 x 5mm holes worth an option to encrease up to 10 mm?
    • 0


  21. Dusty added a post in a topic Bush gear failures   

    Yes I used 4 pucks,1 inch x 2inch 1.5 deep.if I were to start from scratch. I would use more pucks as you suggest.You will loose some material when parting off  but you have plenty of spare. I am not sure on going to 2 inch deep pucks, it may work in your favour to effectively soften your rate which is possibly a good thing. The diameter to depth ratio I assume will change the  characteristics of the setup. Regarding sag ,there is a small amount over the last 6 months which seems to have stabilised 10mm?(similar to the die Spring)  If you need to preload you can make a simple Spring compressor. I can post a photo later today . I am interested to know how this works out for you 
    cheers
    Dusty
    • 0


  22. Dusty added a post in a topic Tailwheel spring design   

    Your Spring may be a little long so will get a a weird looking sag in the straight part under normal use. By putting a constant curve in it ,this isn't so apparent.
    I don't know your setup but Avid/Foxes are typically nose heavy( not so much 2 strokes)  so weight on the tail is a good thing. Extra leaves are advantageous with the benefit of still being able to fly and not having to repair a beat up rudder when a spring breaks.
    I run two springs with three staggered /tapered overload springs.
    • 0


  23. Dusty added a post in a topic Bush gear failures   

    The inside and outside diameter is stock,we are metric here but I suspect they were supplied in imperial which is fairly close. The internal diameter felt a little tight so I wrapped a bit of tube in sandpaper and clearances it, I don't think this is really necessary as   friction is an advantage. I used grease more for corrosion control. 4 pucks fitted the high tech ( looks about right) philosophy . The distance between washers however is an area worth experimenting with(3x50mm v's 4x38mm?As is extra length of the puck assembly(your 8-10' sounds good).I used Standard washers however they could be fibreglass or CF . I am keen to see others experimenting with this setup as at the moment rebuilding a fox 4-1200 for my brother is taking most of my non flying spare time cheers
    Dusty
    • 0


  24. Dusty added a post in a topic Bush gear failures   

    I use LEP Engineering plastics who may only  be  a NZ company .you are bound to have a similar company near you. The item I use is from a stock mold 50x25   Code#PT405025
    • 0


  25. Dusty added a post in a topic Bush gear failures   

    The pucks are definitely firmer than the springs., which I believe is a good thing as my spring setup had been bottoming out.

    This is the top of the rod that goes out to the wheel. The bolt was partial chopped through from the hammering. I fly off field a lot and on some pretty rough hillsides.
    I have tried different urethane shore hardness. Currently the red (90) is the best. I tried a 75, which was too soft and sagged. 

    The next step is to machine the pucks to have grooves around them, or vertically drill them. Like a pistol magazine. Urethane can't be though of as a spring as it doesn't compress.
    Think more like water where it just displaces and absorbs energy in the process. 

    The piece of wire is my high tech device for measuring suspension travel. This is from a normal landing, so there is plenty of travel, but I would like more.
     
    If rebuilding a suspension I would use 5 or 6 pucks to effectively change the rate. My weight saving calculation was out a little, approximately 1.4kg weight saving. 
    We get the urethane here from an industrial supplier as a one piece tube. We freeze it,and part it off in a lathe. This is extremely cheap so not a huge cost for experimenting.
    I have a wee way to go, but even at this stage I see a huge improvement over the die spring. 
    I will post updates as I go, but am pretty busy with work at the moment, and rebuilding another kitfox.
     
     
     
     
    • 0