akflyer

Administrators
 View profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    5,493

  • Joined

  • Last visited


Everything posted by akflyer



  1. akflyer added a post in a topic Yeeehaaaa!!! New Gear is On!!!!   


    X3.  Beef up the truss and fuse sides.  A pound or two here is much better than a wrinkled up wreck.
    • 3


  2. akflyer added a post in a topic PA-22-108 Piper Colt experience???   

    I know a lot that top off the tanks before every flight.. why carry around 4 hrs of fuel for a 30 min flight.
    If that has dual wing tanks, remember, below 1/3rd tank DO NOT try and take off on the right tank or do much aggressive maneuvering unless you like to pilot a greased anvil.  I think the only bird with a steeper glide than an avid is the pacer / colt.
    I am planning on Stewart tips for mine.  50% better glide and increased climb / cruise to boot!  

     
    • 1


  3. akflyer added a post in a topic Plane shooting lasers at the crowd!   

    looking at that I guess it answers how critical wing tip design is.  Nothing like having a half dozen barrels hanging off each tip!  Hell of a light show!

     
    • 0


  4. akflyer added a post in a topic 582 to 912 questions   

    prop turns the other way on the 912 I think.  I am not sure the weight difference, but from everything I have read they all say its worth it.
    • 0


  5. akflyer added a post in a topic Avid/Foxes?   

    Funny I see this one today.  I have been thinking about putting the Avid on the market.  I love flying it, but in reality, with the kid along with me 99% of the time and the other birds I have in the stable, she just is not getting flown much.  At this point I think I would be happy to hang onto the Pacer, Coyote and amphib and let the C HH go to someone that will fly the crap out of it like I used to.

     
    • 0


  6. akflyer added a post in a topic FAA inspection   

    Congrats!  Give us the good news on the fight reports!
    • 0


  7. akflyer added a post in a topic Avid MK IV 582 Motor Mount Needed   

    Run a reamer inside the tubes to clean up the ID and use an internal sleeve.  Pretty sure I would cut the other side as well at this point and do the same on it as its been bent.  
    Like 109 above I would do the repair during a good BS session and a bottle of Captain.  1200 to fix that is nothing short of rape with some sand on it.  Hell I can have a 180 mount reconditioned for less than that.
    • 0


  8. akflyer added a post in a topic Reregistering in order to get repairmans cert?   

    I spend a lot more time on my planes than I guess most do.  I know every nut and bolt on them.  I don't wait for an annual inspection, I am going over mine much more often.  When it comes time for an annual. There is almost never an issue that the mechanic comes up with that I did not already know about.  So I pretty much do it all, then he double checks things.  AS Larry said, it really doesn't hurt to have another set of eyes on your bird and in the grand scheme of things, its only pennies that you pay out to have these checks done.
    • 0


  9. akflyer added a post in a topic East TN Flyer   

    Sounds like a lot more work than what you really need.  Some self adhesive weather stripping from the hardware store works just fine for the rest of the fleet.
    • 1


  10. akflyer added a post in a topic Something you hate to see.   

    Looks like an active access trail, might be able to put it on a trailer and haul it out.  Sucks to see another one down.
    I will say that in my early years, I was putting a 152 into places I had no business going into.  Got damn lucky to get back out of some of those places.
    • 0


  11. akflyer added a post in a topic Bringing a Kitfox 1 back to life   

    I would put a diamond shaped reinforcing plate on the ears as well.  That's a lot of tension on the welds and I would be afraid of cracking at the toe of the weld.  
    • 2


  12. akflyer added a post in a topic Bringing a Kitfox 1 back to life   

    using the die springs that he uses your looking at less than 2" of compression before the springs go metal to metal.  That is my main argument with the die springs that these guys are selling with "bush gear".  The ones that were on the gear I got had 1.57" of compression before they were sacked out.  And the guy was pissed that he bent the bird and gear legs on a pretty "normal" landing.
    If we are working on a budget, either the skidoo center shock spring I have used or bungees are the only way to go.  If money is not an object, then go full blown with the shock set up and hope they don't ever leak on ya.
    For me, "bush gear" means keeping it simple and functional like you have done with yours!  I would love to come see your project one day soon.

     
    • 2


  13. akflyer added a post in a topic Reregistering in order to get repairmans cert?   

    I went through this with mine.  I bought a twisted pile of metal tubes and broken plywood.  I stripped it down and did more work on it than would have been required had I built it from the kit.  FSDO said no way on getting the repairman's for it as I was not the original builder.  If the plane was previously registered and had an airworthiness, your not going to get the repairman's cert for that aircraft unless you were the original builder.
    • 2


  14. akflyer added a post in a topic Oddball Question   

    I too use garmin pilot on my phone and tablet.  We had an issue here this summer when a TFR was expanded due to the forest fire.  When they expanded the TFR it only showed the new larger expanded area on the garmin pilot app and took out the original TFR area.  A few guys got nailed for busting the TFR due to this.  They wanted to check out how bad the scene was in the fire area and thought it was now clear to fly over that section.
    I love the moving maps and the weather updates etc that we now have available to us in the air.  There are countless times I could have used them in my early years flying up here.  Don't get lazy and loose your old school pilotage though.  Its sometimes fun to follow along on an old beat up folded chart and see if you can keep up with where you are on the sectional.  

     
    • 2


  15. akflyer added a post in a topic PA-22-108 Piper Colt experience???   

    I would not think twice about going of a 2k strip.  If your worried just put in enough gas to get you where your going next with required reserves.  If you are only going a few miles to a larger strip there is no need to have the tanks topped off.  That is just more gas to dribble over you as your hanging in the trees at the end of the strip.

     
    • 1


  16. akflyer added a topic in "other aircraft your working on"   

    another short wing death trap
    The latest in the stable.  She is a 57 that has a few miles on her.  Hopefully after the heart transplant I did last week she will be good to go for years to come.  I needed something to fly farther and haul more weight than the Avid likes to carry.  Narrow deck factory 160 with an 82X44 prop and she gets off the ground just fine.  New tips / extension in the very near future will give it around 18" more wing on each side.
     

     
     


    • 31 replies
    • 5,106 views


  17. akflyer added a post in a topic PA-22-108 Piper Colt experience???   

    Its classified... I could tell ya, but then...   yes, I do practice what I preach.
     
     
     

    • 1


  18. akflyer added a post in a topic Skelly flys the kitfox   

    Love it!  Pound for pound about the only sled that will give the elan a run for its money is a yamahahahahaha bravo.  Both are great trapping sleds as you can lift them right out when you stick them and the old one lungers are tough to kill.. you have to really try to get them to stop running.

     
    • 0


  19. akflyer added a post in a topic PA-22-108 Piper Colt experience???   

    I have some time in one as well.  Put a climb prop on it and you might be shocked at how quick you can get her in the air.  A buddy here has Colt #1.  While your working on it.. Putting those small N numbers right above the horizontal stab keeps them out of sight when flying above eye level   
     
      
    • 1


  20. akflyer added a post in a topic East TN Flyer   

    Weather stripping.  Mine is stuck to the bottom of the windshield.  I also have some rubber around the lip of the boot cowling.
    • 0


  21. akflyer added a post in a topic Avid C type Speed Wing 40 hours on type   

    the bottom is much different.  A quick search should bring you lots of info and comparison on the 2 different profiles.
     
    Nice vid!  
    • 0


  22. akflyer added a post in a topic Converting to a 912   

    Its in Randys signature line.  Its an Avid+ with extended wings.
    • 0


  23. akflyer added a post in a topic Wanted VW engine Cowling for Avid C model   

    VW engines don't work well on these planes.. it has been tried.
    • 0


  24. akflyer added a post in a topic what is a bush pilot?   

    That's why a real cowboy wears tennis shoes these days... they don't want to be confused with a California truck driver.....
    • 2


  25. akflyer added a post in a topic Strip it the rest of the way down?   

    I would venture that its structural and would not remove unless you like popped seams and leaky tanks.  There was a reason that KF stopped using aluminum tanks, I would not take away anything that adds stiffness in that area.
    • 2