Yamma-Fox

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Posts posted by Yamma-Fox

  2. Posted

    Good job on the go around!   Not an easy call once you are down and on the "brakes".

    Your go around track reminds me of stopping skid marks I see at the biggest airports (BOS RY27 pops in my head).  You turn off and look downfield and can almost see the a bit of brown in the giant skid marks leading down towards the threshold!

    Bet you'll have other aviators sctatching thier head while looking at that gouge! 

  3. Posted

    I cant wait to see your RX-1 installed. That's a good engine.  Keep us posted.

    Vance

    I call it "your" RX1.  If it were "mine" it wouldn't look or be done half as nice!  LOL

    I plan to do a build thread when I get going (mostly to gather expert eyes and help from everyone here, and hopefully to help a little with anyone considering doing Yamaha power).

    Looking forward to getting started, but other "irons in the fire" seem to always get in my way :)

    1 person likes this

  4. Posted

    All kidding aside, I sure think you are doing a great job checking over your new bird and going through it so thoroughly.

    Maybe this has been covered (forgive me), but did they "pickle" that engine up with fogging oil for storage over those 6 years and keep it oiled up?

    Of course sitting is tough on any motor, but IMO even tougher on a 2 stroke.  Just little stuff like pitting on the rings can slow heat transfer from the piston to the cyl and cause big problems.

    I had one that sat a few years in my KF2 and it ended up dropping a cyl after about 50 hours.  Not sure what exactly went wrong since insurance took the bird after the light damage occured in the off field emergency landing, but in hindsight I remember wishing I woulda sent it to a reputable Rotax aero rebuilder for a tear down and look over before flying it after long term storage.

  5. Posted

    And Vance, I bet that plane would really rip some holes in the sky with an RX1 motor!

    Just came across a mint one all ready to mount.  Sell for maybe $7K  (plus "custom" shipping) LOL!!

    (You just knew I was gonna pipe in here right :) )

    :BC:

     

    1 person likes this

  6. Posted

    You need to add in on that ak gold reality show.  Bet they'd like to have a fly in prospecter segment.

    Ya just gotta start coming up with some good fabricated drama you could pitch to them so they'd bite LOL!!

    1 person likes this

  7. Posted · Edited by MN Kitfox 2

    My maule would "mush" down like this as well.  I remember thinking it wouldn't be the worst technique to use in a forced landing where you have bad forward visibility  (iced up windshield, imc, dark night with no reference, ect.)

    Gonna bend up some stuff for sure, but I think a guy could have a decent chance of walking away at 500 fpm and <39 mph.

    1 person likes this

  9. Posted

    I know we're off topic a little here, but Leni how did your setup on full lotus hold up to the rough stuff (snow and ice).  Did the inflatable have enough cushion or could a guy bend stuff up easily?

  10. Posted · Edited by MN Kitfox 2

    can you run a two blade prop with the RX-1. is it possible to save weight that way?

    Steve henry has a couple hundred hours with a 2 blade prince with good results.  I like the idea of that to save MMOI more than straight weight.

  11. Posted · Edited by MN Kitfox 2

    It really does mess with you to see and deal with that stuff firsthand.   Gives you a great deal of respect for ptsd and the stuff police, first responders, firefighters, military, and others have to deal with mentally.

    My experiences have been pretty easy in comparison, as a 18yr old: a highway speed head on auto wreck a few cars in front of me....  messy, and it too changed forever how I drive and what I now teach my kids about driving. 

    And about that same time: a fella at our airport who i knew casually.  Spun his glasair in short of the field.  My CFI wathced it happen, then grabbed me and we drove over to the site but were luckily stopped by the sheriff deputy who was there first and  needed a confirmation on who took the plane up because there "was not enough left to identify".  

    Glad he stopped us.

  13. Posted

    Lots of good candidates, snow and water sleds.

    It's all about the adapter plate and gearbox / clutch.

    Wish the answer to that was simpler!

    Thanks to Teal we have a great option for the Yamaha Genesis!

  14. Posted

    I have ski doo sleds with the 2cyl 600 ace (60hp), 3 cyl 900 ace (90hp), and 3 cyl 1200 (135 hp)4 strokes.

    Great motors in sleds, all highly reliable, fuel effecient, quiet, and "computerized".

    IMO the best candidate for aircraft would be a turbo version (aftermarket) of the 2cyl 600 ACE (120HP).  It comes in as the most compact and lightweight with best power to weight ratio.

    https://www.rotax.com/en/products/rotax-powertrains/details/rotax-600-ace.html

    http://mcxpressturbos.com/turbo-kits/snowmobile/ski-doo/ace-600/

  15. Posted

    Cool.  You guys also look up the Park Rapids Zorbaz ski plane fly in as well.  It is 3 mi from my house on little sand lake.  Early feb each year.  They typically plow a runway for wheel planes as well.  Hope to have mine running for that next year.

  16. Posted · Edited by MN Kitfox 2

    Very nice!

    And thanks for the pics.  It'll help to give me some ideas on putting mine together!

    :BC:

    Going with a Kool prop?

  17. Posted

    Welcome Mark!

    I am over in park rapids slowly working on a repower and floats for my kitfox 5.

    Hope to have it in the air before too long and would enjoy meeting up with you and jim sometime.

    Brett

  19. Posted

    Ron:

     

    You made a very good point of the fact that practicing engine out with the engine idling is much different than actually having the engine stopped completely. That can be seen by idling your aircraft with the brakes off. There is some thrust and the aircraft will move, But when the engine is dead the prop is just drag.

    Knowing this, my group of back country flyers decided to go out to one of our high desert dry lakes and set up an Accuracy Dead Stick practice.

    We selected Lake El Mirage just south of Edwards AFB where the ultimate dead sticks were done with the early shuttle.

    We set up a couple of traffic cones at the desired touch down target line and then place 100 foot markers before and after that spot so we can tell pilots haw far off they were.

    We found that after 3-5 tries we would improve from being as high as 300 yards off to actually touching within 50 feet of the target line.

    Depending on the aircraft, engine compression and prop size and pitch, some props would stop (Rotax and Jabiru) and others, such as the Maule would keep turning and give even more drag.

    With 3x 5 miles of smooth landing surface we can also practice the "Deadly Turn Back" where we determine our minimal turn back AGL combined with our skills.

    We also test different take off configurations to find the best combination for the shortest take off.

    We invite anyone in the Southern California area to join us at our monthly practice sessions.

    I have written about this practice in AOPA and EAA Sport Pilot and have presented Wings Seminars on the subject.

    We practice once per month, weather permitting.

    Interested pilots can contact me at skypics234@aol.com.

    Better to have skills you done need than to need skills you don't have.

    John

     

    Wish I  lived near you... this is just the thing I like to practice!

    Please consider posting a new topic explaining how you set up the deadstick practice, what you brief newbies (do's and dont's), and tips for getting good doing this.  Or maybe a link to one of your articles.

    Thanks!

  20. Posted · Edited by MN Kitfox 2

    I dont know.  Not worth much, but it is a good backup motor for my plane so I dont want to give it away...

    $1800 plus shipping?

    It'd make most sense to a NSI guy.

    Or for an airboat project since I'm pretty sure the FOD had been in the system for awhile, was likely one foreign piece that found its way in there somehow, and engine was (is) running great.  

    In a non flying application I'd just run it and dip a magnetic probe in the oil tank once in awhile to see if any more metal is present.

  21. Posted · Edited by Yamma-Fox

     

     

    UPDATE 6-2018   -------  SOLD  --------

     

    Ok, looks like I've finally come up with a game plan to move ahead with the Yamaha RX-1 repower, so I'll put my Subaru (400 TT) up for sale.

    I will update the details when I get to the plane, and add pics.  But this is the motor that was found to have a small amount of metal and FOD (you could put it in a half a teaspoon) in the oil system in 2016.  It is running fine and has good compression but obviously is in need of an inspection and likely an overhaul.

    More likely it would be a great spare parts opportunity for a NSI owner to help keep their Subaru flying in the future.

    All logbooks, NSI manuals, and full Subaru service manual are included.  It has a nearly new NSI sprag clutch on it as well as spare parts including the original NSI sprag clutch that was operating well but developed a "whine" noise for the previous owner so he replaced with a new unit approx 100 hours ago.

    Also included is the mount for a kitfox 5, all accessories: oil tank, alternator, ignition system, exhuast....  pretty much everything.  Basically a FWF except for prop and coolant expansion tank.

    $1800

    Located in Park Rapids Minnesota 

     

    Please read the following post which details the metal in oil problem:

    20170914_222404.jpg

    20170915_103634.jpg

    20171027_195957.jpg

    20170915_104242.jpg

  24. Posted · Edited by MN Kitfox 2

    Man, thanks for joining up here and telling your story!  And I'm totally with you when it comes to the media!  When my dad dunked our KF2 on floats after the 532 dropped a cyl (he swam away safely) it was crazy to see the news stories and inaccuracies and "overcoverage" merely because it had wings.  One article even dramatized the "severe" nature of the damage with a photo of the "wings ripped off" as it sat on the trailer with the wings folded neatly at it's side! :lmao:

     

    As to your accident, thank God for the outcome where no one suffered permanent injury or worse.  I agree, your "distress call" (prayer) was clearly answered!  It (God's hand of protection) becomes clear and undeniable when you witness it for yourself firsthand doesn't it!  I like the part of the cell phone laying in your lap when you woke up to an airplane that was NOT on fire!

    And I am with the rest of the group here - rooting for you to get back in the air and put that day behind you.  That was truly a freak accident, but essentially no different than a countless many auto accidents.  Of course you (and your passenger) would get back in a car again right?

    Take care, look forward, and get back up there again soon!

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