akflyer

I would be hesitant to offer any advice for mods based on this.  Your right, its none of our business so why bother.
I think it safe to say that a mission should be in mind when building or modding a bird.  Why should I waste time listing out a ton of mods that you have no use for?? Why beef up the fuse and make it big tire ready when you have no use for big tires?  why mention mods for float use when you would never put it on floats
I think you can see where I am going with this in as nice of a way as I possibly can... this is after having a few days to really think about my reply.

brakes can save your ass.  When the tail wheel breaks loose or the springs break the only thing you have left to keep the plane going straight is the brakes.  If over braking is an issue for you and you tend to "panic" brake, then perhaps your not as proficient as you would like to believe.  We do it every day here day in and day out.  Lots of guys don't even have the tailwheel connected and it just free casters.
In almost every instance I have seen of "over braking" it was done in front of a camera or a crowd trying to show off how good they weren't.  To advise someone to have less than optimum braking for fear of incorrect use makes as much sense as gun control in my book.

pre and post heat can be taken care of with a propane torch or weed burner if its a large cluster.  Proper filler metal and welding procedure take care of any cracking issue.  I 100% agree that if you are not competent with other techniques, oxy acetylene is the go to in order to get the job done.

Fred has been flying his for awhile across the pond.  Look him up on here.  We also have another member with one here in AK but it has not flown yet.  I think Fred is your go to guy here for the V2.
Which floats do you have?  I have flown the 1220,1260 and 1450 on the Avid with the 582.  Solo they are great, with some setup you can get them to work when you have a load in but I agree 100% that you need more power to really use the full lotus floats on the Avid.
 
Welcome aboard.

The build manual is posted here on the forum.  Are you talking about the wood stringer or the longerons?

The issue with mig is that its easy to get cold lap if you don't know what your doing.  The weld might look OK, but its really just laying on top of the steel and not melted in.  What ever you do, you will want to get a ton of scrap and PRACTICE until you think you have it down, then practice some more.  Getting the machine set up and dialed in is key.  Start off on thicker stuff, like 1/8" and weld, weld weld.  Once you are happy with that, start going to thinner materials.  Your first weld on .028" think material should not be on the tubes of your plane.
Once you have a feel for welding on plate, then get some tubes and start practicing on them.  Remember, the smaller the tube the more difficult to weld correctly as the angles and travel around the tube happens so fast.  Even certified pipe welders who have been welding for decades still have to pass a small diameter test due to this (qualified to weld the diameters of the test coupon and up).
For welding thin materials the pulse mig is the cats ass, but now your spending a lot more money.  
Mig is much easier to learn as you just point and pull the trigger.  TIG your manipulating both hands and a foot and you have to get them all talking to each other at the same time.  If you chew bubble gum, then you just added a 4th dimension.  However, TIG, once learned, is a better easier process for welding on the small diameter tubing.
Once again, it will be about $$ spent.  What ever leads and torch come with the machine will work, but chances are, they will suck.  Drop some more coin on a quality torch and lead, lots of tungsten as you will be sharpening much more than you will be welding for quite awhile.  I love the CK welding super flex hoses and the flex head torches.  Once you have used a good TIG rig, you will smash the ones that came with your machine with a hammer and cures everyone in the manufactures family for selling such an unwieldy POS.  
Everlast seems to be making some good machines that don't break the bank (comparatively speaking).  What ever you do, get a machine that has a good remote foot pedal and has a HF start.  Scratch starts are OK for heavy wall pipe and plate but suck for the thin wall that we deal with.
If money is an object, then chances are you are money ahead having a good local welder to your work.  If you have money burning a hole in your pocket and you have a lot of spare time then get set up to learn.  YouTube is your friend these days and you can find a plethora of welding videos and tutorials that will help you GREATLY!  If you are buddies with a good welder that can come over and help set up YOUR rig and give you pointers, looking over your shoulder and slapping you in the head then you have a huge leg up on the learning curve.  If you have no clue what your doing wrong, or what is causing an issue, then you can't really learn and chances are you will throw up your hands in disgust and will be listing your shit on Craigslist in a matter of days.
At any rate, welding is not voodoo magic, its lessons learned from repetition and anyone can learn it.  Some are better than others.  if you don't have a steady hand, don't bother buying a TIG set up as you will hate life.  

 

When you hit the reply button it should still have same drag and drop options to attach files or click the choose file button.  

I think the reference on the AOA is trying to get the wing tips flying.  All you have to do is look out the window in cruise and see how far down that leading edge of the tip is.  There is no way possible that LOADS of drag are not present.  I am not an engineer nor do I  have a PHD in fluid dynamics, but I have stuck my hand out the car window more than once and I know what happens when you tilt your hand.  

 

I keep going back and forth on the airfoils.  In life we know there are theories and realities.  In theory someone could build / design an airplane that will outperform a cub.  In reality, no one has been able to match the performance and guess what's still winning the STOL contests.  Pound for pound, HP for HP, if you want to carry a load and get in and out short (reliably) you go with a PA-18, big tires, VG's and a big flat prop.

Love it when all the pieces come together and make a magical transformation!

 

Congrats on the new bird!  That doesn't mean you have to be a stranger around here, swing by from time to time and kick the hornets nest mr!
 

 

So with all this being said.... Have you designed an airfoil that you think would be optimal on these planes to retain the STOL yet be better in cruise?  If so, I am interested in being a test pilot.

 

I can fly with no gloves on in my avid at these temps.  The heat muff works really well for me.  Current Density Altitude at this airport is -5082' and its currently -8 F there.  Yes, the planes perform very well.  So much so that flying them in the summer is a bit of a disappointment.

 

Yes I have flown a lot in these temps and worse.  One trip to the lodge was at -38.  Ended up having to drape a tarp over the entire plane and ran 2 big space heaters in there to thaw it out after a week of sitting.  These days I find something else to do when it this cold, especially of I am flying an aircooled engine.  You have to plan your flights better and be very careful on descent to avoid shock cooling.

You will know when you start using the heat gun.  It will pull about 98% or better of it out.  don't get it too close and don't get in a hurry.  It will shrink the fabric and pull the tape tight again.

Not really.  Most KF will benefit greatly from having a bit of weight in the tail anyway.

If you are going to lube, be careful that is it s greaseless lubricant so you don't attract more dirt and grime.  I would say reach in there with a small wire brush and knock the dirt out followed by a shot of compressed air or a shop vac to clean them out.  a hiem joint should not lock up and not rotate.  That looks much more like a shock load did it in and not just normal use.  Like a tail wheel coming up and smacking the bottom of the rudder or something of that nature.

Nice milestone!  I agree, these birds are a blast to fly.

 

Lots an lots of planes flying in the USA and none of the mods have been needed that I am aware of.  I find it odd that the majority of the issues with these birds are in the seat truss area and its well known here that they need to be beefed up, yet its not required across the pond.  
Most of those mods look to me like they are to justify someone's job at the CA and not really needed.

I am pretty sure that I could not come up with a more difficult way to hang a rudder.  There is some creativity there and proof that someone at the factory should be piss tested for coming up with this arrangement.  Simple hinges like the elevator uses have worked since the beginning of flight..

All of those breaks are clean and shining.. Took a pretty significant load to snap those off.  If it had happened over time, you would see rust in the break where it was cracking out till it finally gave way.  Did you land hard and smack the tail?  Were there any significant winds in your area that could have been banging the rudder back and forth?

any flight reports yet?  

I think you will find that with a thermostat you will be fine.  I dislike adding additional failure points to the life blood system on my plane.  I too installed a heater on my side x side including a 12v pump that stratos manufactures to give circulation through the heater core.  The pump body failed in short order.  I was able to bypass it on the side of the trail and dump in some drinking water I had and saved the ride.  This would have been a forced emergency in the airplane.  Do what you wish as it is your airplane, I just like to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to my plane.

 

I run 2 jets.  165 in the summer 170 in the winter.  Only once or twice did I wish I had 175 jets but I doubt you will be flying at -40 like my dumb butt was.
If you want to loose altitude and keep the engine RPM up, pull back on the stick, don't push forward.  Slow the plane down and trust me, it will come down.  use your power to keep the sink rate where you want it.
First and foremost, check the thermostat.  Are you running a 120, or 160 deg thermostat?  I run the marine (OMC) thermostats and they are 160 and work juuuust fine in the cold weather.
With the shutters on the back side you still have cold air hitting the radiators.  Put a strip of aluminum foil tape on the FRONT of the radiator and see what that does for you.
I have had the water cabin heater and the heat muff.  I have always gotten more heat off the heat muff and at less weight.