gregpro50

Interesting but not practical.  Really heavy and probably has 10 gallon per hour burn.

I hear everyone do it a little different.  I think it really depends on how you were taught.

One of my instructor's pet peeves is when someone says "checking in" or "with you" when contacting ATC.

He also has me announce my full N-number and model at non-controlled airports at every leg of the pattern.  He even has me make sure the gear is down and locked every time we go through the pre-landing checklist even though we've never flown a retractable plane.

It gets "assembled from spare parts" and you assign your own serial number.

Can you re-register it as a newly built aircraft with a different serial number at 1320 lbs.?  You'd have to get another certificate of airworthiness and go through the mandatory flyoff period again but it would basically be a different aircraft.

I'm not sure of the legality of this but I know people that have done it.

The redesigned gear on the full lotus looks much much better than the old design.

Right now I am leaning towards the Zenair amphibs.  I don't think I like the idea of having to drain all the bladders on the full lotus.

Kitfox Iv 1200 912 80hp.  

I want amphibs that will stay on year round so it must have a good gear setup.

Thanks for sharing.  So would you personally recommend the full lotus floats over the zenair?  I want a set of amphibs.  I'll only fly off water for 3 months of the year and pavement for the other 9 months but I want to be able to go back and forth between my home airport and our lake cottage.

I've never talked with him but I've also enjoyed his posts.  I'm newer here and still getting to know people.  Man I hate reading about these things.  I really hope he's going to pull through OK.  

I figured I might as well post up some pictures of the install if it helps anyone out in the future.

I got a great deal on a used but like new KT-76A that someone was selling because they did an upgrade.  It came with the tray, harness, and encoder.  I was able to get the wiring diagram for the transponder and encoder online so the wiring was pretty easy.

I made up a ground plane from .040" scrap aluminum I had laying around at the shop.

I mounted the encoder to the top of the radio with industrial Velcro.

The encoder was tied into the static port.

This is the tool to use. 

http://m.ebay.com/itm/One-Man-Reverse-Brake-Clutch-Bleeder-4-FREE-EPDM-Brake-Bleeder-Caps-/272092445910?nav=SEARCH

Well I have my transponder installed and all wired up.  Now I just have to run the cable from the transponder to the antenna.  I had to order some RG400 cable.

Sounds like an air bubble in the coolant system.

I agree.  The medicals are completely worthless.  I know in my particular case if I never checked one particular box in the application my medical would have been issued right then and there and no one would have ever known.  The current setup actually encourages pilots to be dishonest with their AME.  I think the medicals came about simply to pacify the general public and give them the warm and fuzzies by making them think the government actually has control. 

The whole invasive species thing strikes a nerve with me too.  They are trying to pass all kinds of regulations on the lake I grew up on.

It really just gives relief to the current special issuance pilots like me.  It works for me just fine so I'm happy with it.

Can the antenna be inside the fuselage or does it need to protrude from the bottom? 

I found this picture on the internet.

So this type of ground plane would not be effective because it is not grounded to the aircraft frame?

Isn't the coaxial cable itself grounded through the transponder?

I need some help with the ground plane.

I made up a piece of 8" diameter .040" aluminum to use as the ground plane.  I was thinking I would install it in the belly right behind the header tank.

Can I just adhere it to the fabric with some RTV sealant or similar?

Does the ground plane actually need to be physically grounded to the metal airframe or can I just center it in the middle of the fabric?

I want to ad a transponder.  For the people that have one, where is your antenna mounted and how is it mounted?

I think it would be a good idea.  I was looking everywhere for a tutorial when I did the Bing 64 carbs for mine and I imagine people rebuilding the 54 carbs run into the same thing.  Carb rebuilds really aren't that bad if you take your time and understand what you are doing.

One piece of advice I can give is to disassemble and rebuild one carb at a time so you always have one that is put together correctly that you can use as reference.  I've seen many people take a set of carbs and completely tear them down for rebuild and then when it comes to put them back together they just stand there staring at the pile of parts scratching their head because they can't remember what went where.

There are no changes to the lsa rule.  You'll still be able to fly lsa on a drivers lisence.

Never mind.  I was making a big deal out of nothing.  I think I was looking at the bellcrank for a different setup in the manual.  After looking at the plane today mine does not invert the setup.  The cable change will just be a plug and play.  I'm going to go ahead and order it.

Right now when I push the throttle it pushes on the bellcrank and two cables pull the throttle open.

If I hookup the new cable directly now I would have to push for idle and pull for throttle.

Its probably an easy fix by swapping arms or something but the plane is at the hangar and I just can't figure out the mechanics in my head right now without looking at it.

As mentioned the small tolerances add up with the current setup and makes it difficult to get a good carb synchronization.  I'd like to bypass it and cable directly to the carbs.

So how could I bypass the bellcrank so the throw is not inverted? 

Just curious what throttle setup you prefer for a dual carb motor?

Right now I've got a vernier throttle that attaches to a metal push-rod with two individual cables going to the individual carbs.

I don't think I like the push-button throttle setup.

Digging around on the internet I found this throttle setup that seems like the best of both worlds.  It eliminates the metal push-rods and goes right to the carbs to simplify things.

Anyone using this?  What do you think?

http://mcfarlaneaviation.com/Products/?CategoryID=343&PartNumber=MCTV0005D048&

I think that is a great piece of advice.  I've been practicing slow tail down taxi the last couple days and the tail wheel has surprised me how easy it can break loose and have the whole thing start to pendulum around.