akflyer

Administrators
  • Content count

    5,493
  • Joined

  • Last visited


Posts posted by akflyer


  1. The 4130 tubing is the one that gets me going. 3/8 inch .035 wall... like seriously?Last I looked it was pushing $10/foot..

    and the smaller diameters being more per foot than the larger ones just doesn't make sense to me.  I get the more popular sizes sell more etc. but when 3/8" of the same wall thickness is more than 3/4" its mind boggling.  How can more material be less?


  2. One of the early reports said the engine departed the airframe.  This has proven out to be inaccurate.  Needless to say, loosing a blade will defiantly be a catastrophic situation...

    I remember when my friend Dave (built Sputzee the Avid-Kitfox hybrid) was later building a J5 Cub with an O320 on the nose, his research told him that adjustable props and direct drive engines are not a good mix.  He went with a solid Catto on that build.

    We have lots hours on lots of the Sensenich Ground Adjust props on many airframes and engine combos and have not had any issues.  I think there are issues when one takes a prop make for a rotax and puts it on a bigger engine that there are issues.  Look at the size of the hub and blade roots on the whirlwind or Sensenich for the lycoming or other legacy engines and you will see they are much beefier than the NR or others.  

    I wouldn't give up mine for anything, it's truly that much better in take off. climb and cruise than the old Borer that was the benchmark and go to for MANY years.

    1 person likes this

  3. damn, seems like an 0320 on a KF is kinda heavy for it.  Shedding a blade inflight could have knocked him out if there was plexiglass and cockpit contents 1/2 mile from the wreckage.  

    Kinda like WAY too many cubs, the pilot could have survived the crash, but the fire afterwards gets them.  This one looks and sounds like a single point landing on the nose.

    Sad to say the least.


  4. When you make a donation, PLEASE include your username in the comments or post on here so I can update you to a contributing member.  

     

    Thanks folks!

    :BC:

    Some of you are not showing up in my search when I use the email addy on your paypal donation, so PLEASE shoot me a message if you donated but are not shown as a contributing member.


  5. I asked santa so nicely back in 2019 (according to this thread) for a paypal donation button on the home page, but I guess I was naughty that year, 'cause it didn't happen.  I've been better (?) this year, and I did just send a paypal your way, but gosh darn it would be so much easier if santa would check his list twice (and maybe send out a yearly reminder that he was compiling his naughty list)..

    Thanks for everyone's support. 

    Jack

    I have not looked into a contribution button, I will put it on the list of things to do.  Thank you to everyone who has made a donation to help keep the site going, you have proven that Facebook hans't killed us yet!

    :BC:

     


  6. We need to keep this thread alive!  Right now, you have to PM to ask for the email address for paypal, or the postal address for checks..  I couldn't send much, but did send a bit.

    If you donate, post to keep this thread up top!  He's not asking, so it's up to us.

     

    Heck- just cut and paste the above...!

    Jack

    Austin, TX.

    (I asked santa for a paypal  donation button on the main page)

    Bump. Paypal to akflyer_2000 at yahoo dot com.

    Thanks for keeping the site going Lenny!

    Egads has it really been that long?  :o(   Sorry Lenny, it's been a few rough years

    Let's keep this site going folks!!!

    Thank you Sir!  Site has pretty much been on autopilot but lately the russian hackers have been trying hard to get in and I have been busy in the background trying to keep the site up.  I think everyone has been hit hard the last few years $$ wise, but I will always do my best to keep the site up and running, even though it seems FB has taken over and replaced most forums these days.

    :BC:

     


  7. Seems that there are a bunch of bots or spammers trying to sign up here.  I try to weed them out but sometimes one or two slip through.

    If you are legit trying to sign up, please don't try a user name that sounds like a 70s porn star, and don't have an email that is just a bunch of gobbled nonsense.  Gmail users seem to have the most creative ones that I have been blocking.

    :BC:

     


  8. Last week I put up a want add for an IVO medium ground adjustable hub.  Yesterday, I got a private message from someone who sent me an email address to someone who has what I need.  Pretty suspicious about it though, being that it was the poster's first post.  That usually is a bad sign.  I didn't respond to if.  Just a heads up to be careful who you buy from.  I would say, never buy without talking to them on the phone.  If they don't know anything about airplanes, that should become apparent fairly soon.  JImChuk

    I have not been approving some who are signing up that seem to be spammers or bots.  If you can PM me who it was that messaged you I will delete them.

    2 people like this

  9. I have built a few using the ring mount on the engine then my own design mount from the firewall to the ring mount.  Unfortunately, its time consuming even with the jigs I made to cut and cope the tubes then weld out the mount.  I get laughed at for the price even if I only paid myself 20 bucks an hour to build it.  No problem, go out and spend 3800 on a good tig machine, take the time to build jigs, buy the materials and teach yourself to weld.  I know its harsh, but there is a reason why people who have tried to build parts to support these planes have failed.  Everyone thinks that we should do it for the same price some dude in china is mass producing parts using shit materials and questionable welding practices can do it for.  Its not just a couple hour job to weld up a good motor mount.

    :BC:

    2 people like this

  10. Just seeing this.  I know Bob has a 503 or two sitting in the garage as well as a few 582s and 670s.  His son will be wanting to sell this stuff off in the near future.  LOTS and LOTS of KF parts, frames, wings etc from mod 1 -4.

    1 person likes this

  11. Just a heads up, if anyone is trying to sign up and has a Gmail account, I don't think Gmail is letting the validation email come through.  I see quite a few guys that have tried to sign up but have never "responded" to the email.  If you are having trouble, shoot me a message and I will go in and manually approve you.


  12. Fair Skys and tailwinds to AKFlyerBob, he took that last flight west sometime last night

    :BC: chugs to all the memories, flights, and times your creations tried to kill me on the first flights I did for you I am sure my dad is waiting for you to finally get to talk about the good ol days in the oilfield.

    2 people like this

  13. IMO, if you want a new Catalina kit, buy a Sea Ray. 

     

    I talked to the original builder of my amphib.  He sold it and bought a sea ray thinking that very thing.  He did not like the sea ray at all and said he would much rather have the catalina back.  He sold the Sea ray.

    Damn, all this talk is getting me wanting to get back to work on my bird.

    :BC:

     

    Interesting Akflyer.

     

    Did he say why he preferred the Catlina over the Searay?

    better performance off the water and hauled a bigger load as well as overall more fun to fly.


  14. The climb and drop is the thermostat.  Mine would open and close several times doing those swings until all the water in the system is up to temp.

    EGTs are directly related to the prop pitch as well so make sure you have a proper load on the prop and RPMS are not too high.


  15. On the topic of rudder trim tabs... None are ever needed,  Grab the top of the vertical fin and the tail post and put a little pressure on the leading edge to bend the fin to get it to fly straight.  This is the same thing that is done for super cubs etc.  A little tweak and you don't have goofy tabs hanging off the back of the rudder causing drag.

    1 person likes this