nlappos

Fred, your video is marvelous, and the journey is a once in a lifetime experience. Congratulations on having the moxie to do it, all the more after the difficulty (who hasn't had one??)

Nice job, and thanks for sharing it with us so elegantly.

Nick

The real issue is that your house becomes his house, and your wife gets to drive off if they let her keep the car. For a few hundred it all goes away.

Sure looks like some kind of tubing, thin walled, painted, and then dropped into the mechanism to be eaten.

Can you move the upper pivot to the inner hole? That might give you the recommended mechanical advantage.

Here are the Rotax Overhaulers that I could find in a search:

Bill Larson:  http://www.oregonaircraftdesign.com/engines.html

Brian Harrington: http://www.rotaxrepair.com/rotax.html

California Power: http://www.cps-parts.com/catalog/rtxpages/rotaxoverhaulservice.php

Leading Edge: https://www.leadingedgeairfoils.com/rotax-engines-parts/rotax-repairs/engine-overhauls.html

Green Sky:  http://www.greenskyadventures.com/engineservice/serviceCalc582.htm#

Rotax Rick:  https://rotaxrick.wordpress.com/

Aero Propulsion: http://www.rotaxservice.com/rotax_engines/rotax_engines.htm

Wow! I think I might make it next year, Joey! It is a fun flight from Cedar City UT where I will be based.

Joey,

We use digital everything these days in the helos I help design, and they work very well. Frankly, the mechanical gauges have much worse reliability than the electronic ones, these days.That device looks great, I might get one myself!

We see some conditions like that in flight test in Florida, where the flat country can allow strong winds at 300 feet but virtually nil at the surface, up until about 2 hours after sunrise, when the local heating makes some lifting of the local air and mixing. We use a balloon rig to lift some pitots up to 300 feet and measure the winds at 0, 100, 200 and 300 feet. We can get 20 knots at 300 feet sometimes, 15 lots of time, and very close to zero at the surface. It happens especially when local winds are very low, and the wind is mostly a "land breeze" or "sea breeze" caused by land mass cooling and heating.

There is a Light Sport Experimental class that has all the advantages of EAB but also allows the owner to get 16 hours of training and sign off his annual (condition) inspection. Few amateurs bother to certificate their LSA/experimental as LSA exp

I thought I'd prepare this just to help explain the LSA rules to someone. I edited it to reflect what was posted (Thanks, Guys!)

 Maybe its right now. There seems to be one reason for getting an Exp-LSA Type certificate. The owner can get training to inspect it.

Nick

Ed,

No grounding, has only one insulated wire for wrapping around plug wire. The response to touching the face seems pressure sensitive, if I push it makes the numbers flip. Probably a loose connection inside the cube. CHEAP.

Well that bargain didn't last long. I flew .8 today, and the new tach drifted a bit as compared to the Tiny Tach, about 40 to 160 rpm. I also noted that when I touched the face of the tach it increased to +1000 rpm approx, and restored accuracy when I stopped touching it. The Tiny Tach, of course, shows no such tendency.

Thousands of hours of combat support in big birds, and you get wounded by a civilian flaperon! There is no justice, Joey!

I sprang less than $10 and bought a cheap tachometer/Hourmeter on Ebay (see this link http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Digital-Tach-Hour-Meter-Tachometer-Gauge-For-2-Stroke-4-stroke-Gas-Engines-/331223584733?hash=item4d1e76cfdd:g:~awAAOxyi-ZTadfo&vxp=mtr)

I bought it and installed it on my Rotax 582, alongside my Tiny Tach. The cheaper knockoff behaves very well, has the same update timing, and is exactly as accurate as the Tiny Tach. The basic workmanship and appearance of this tach is the same as the Tiny Tach, as well. Note that the below version from the same company even has a replaceable battery:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Engine-Tach-Tachometer-Hour-Meter-for-Motorcycle-Choppers-ATV-Spark-Plug-/151776852704?hash=item23569afae0:g:9GkAAOSw~gRVzUd7&vxp=mtr

The newest fiberglas tank materials are impervious to mogas alcohol blends, wingtanks.com is an example of the new tanks. The builder of my Avid MK IV aircraft changed the wing tank over a few years back (I'd have to dig into the records to find out what tank he used), and he and I use mogas/ethanol blend with no issues for years. The freedom to spend $2.10 a gallon is a really big one!

If you find an older Avid with older tanks, plan to change them for peace of mind. The job isn't trivial, but the end result is great economic freedom.  BTW, the Rotax manual says burn high octane in the 582, I buy 91/93 Octane mogas with ethanol regularly, and only burn 100ll when I am at an airport and can't get mogas. My plugs are clean and light tan, as a result, and no lead fouling at all.

I did mine and never measured, just opened the lower screw and filled slowly till it leaked out that lower hole. I would estimate it took only about 5 oz. I used 85-140 oil. Note that the two screws allow this method whichever way the box is mounted.

I contacted a Philippines model company (see David Alejandro on Face Book https://www.facebook.com/woodenaircraft?fref=ts) to make a custom wood model of my Avid, and they are getting ready to ship. Here is a photo of the model and the airplane side by side for comparison. I'll let you know what the in-person examination looks like. They used photos, and did a custom paint job, charging $139 incl shipping.

I am thinking that an extra belly radiator might be necessary to get my water temp back down to redline on hot days. With outside temps above 85 degrees, the minimum water temp in normal cruise is 170 to 175 degrees, and it gets to 180++ in climb.

I wonder if I could hang a belly radiator at the bottom of the firewall, using a quality motorcycle aluminum radiator. Lots of expertise here, I invite your criticisms and comments. BTW, I have flushed the system, checked the thermostat, blocked the sides of the nose radiators to guide the air into the rads, but I get the same ultra warm H2O anyway. 

Below is a pic of one possible motorcycle radiator, is this a bad idea?

Thanks

Nick

Next time around, I want to be your kid, Joey!  

I flew across the country, and agree that only off airport can you buy mogas. I have a 582 Blue Head, and I installed the Hacman leaning system that was great. It allowed max power at altitude without changing any jets, and it also kept the plugs pretty clean since the fuel mixture can be significantly leaned. If you decide to spring for the Hacman, Joey and I can give you advice on installation, it only takes about 1 hour.

http://www.greenskyadventures.com/bing/home-current.htm

"He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune, for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Certainly the best works and of greatest merit for the public have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men." -  Francis Bacon

Great article, thanks! Three thoughts:

1) the fuel system wasn't designed for mogas, and the original Stinson temperature tests might have allowed line temps that mogas doesn't handle. The STC process is many times a pop-corn test that has little rigor, unlike the original certification testing (I am an engineer for an OEM, and have seen horror stories in STCs) so it didn't fully explore the corner you backed into. I bet a little line wrapping or separation would cure it, now that real test data is at hand (the hard way).

2) There is nothing quite so helpful as a fuel boost pump to stretch your glide! I have one on the shelf in my hangar, doing no good. Based on your story, I am installing it this weekend!

3) You guys make a good team, be proud.

The number one cause of excessive quiet in an airplane is the pilot allowing too much air to be stored in the fuel tanks.

Yes, Leni, we used to say that when things got rough you could slide up an ice pick!

And you are right, training is key, in the actual emergency, sometimes your brain turns to mush and you need to fall back on training. I find even just thinking thru the items, as you look at them in the cockpit, helps. Restart in flight: 1) trim and airspeed, maintain flying speed; 2) Forced landing spot, sighted and ahead; 3) Fuel on; 4) Throttle set; 5) primer cocked and fuel pump on; 6) starter engaged 7) know when to quit trying.

Look at each item, say the action, then go to the next. Do that three times and you are set for a month.

Where would they go?