akflyer

I paid 1500 for the "C heavy hauler" that was in worse shape but had a full panel and a 582 in it.

 Not sure I would offer more than 1000 for it, but I am a cheap bastage at times. 

This is a completely loaded question.  At lower weights with a good pilot, yes.  At gross plus its going to take longer to get off the ground.  Touch down speed is only a small part of the equation.  The larger part of the equation is how much room do you need to take off as most can land shorter than they can take off.

Spending time watching youtube vids can only set you up for failure if you try to go out and mimic what you see without good instruction and time in type.

I spent a lot of years and had a lot of fun with my Avid (I do miss it) playing in the back country on fishing an hunting trips.  It is a very capable plane in the right hands.

Were they laser cut or water jet?  I have tried a few things on my plasma table and I was not super happy with the outcome.  With laser or water jet you could have them cut and the holes "center punched" but your jig makes that task easy as well.  

As always awesome work and great vid Mr.

Looking good.  Should have known that the wing swap wouldn't have been as easy as we hoped.  I think its going to be well worth it in the end though mr.!  looks like you could really use a tailwheel lift.  I built one for my brother a couple months ago and I don't know how we got along with out one all these years working on the birds.

I am making a platform for the lift so I can put a scale on it or the tailwheel with a tail ski on it.  Makes leveling stupid easy and I love being able to crank the tail up to work on things and not have to strain.  Granted, our tails on the avids are not too bad to pick up but the pacer and 170 are not as much fun.

That sucks.  Do you have any pics of the failure?  This is sounding all to familiar and is a WELL known and documented issue if it failed where I think it did.  I have made many posts about this on this and other forums.

no glove?  how unsanitary!    Remind me not to piss you off on a fly in camping trip.

bumping this one back up to the top.

It seems like most these days are scared of stalls and try to not get into them.  I think the first flight in any new plane should be a full regiment of stalls at altitude so you learn houw each planes flys.  I have flown enough different planes of each flavor to know that there are SO many variables that you can't trust a "book" with published speeds.  AS indicators ae notoriously unreliable especially on the lower end.  Planes have been wreck and rebuilt and often the rigging is out of wack.  There might be mods done that will let the plane fly slower than another of the same type etc.  Bottom line is its extremely important to know your airplane.  It should not be an issue if you take off and find your AS indicator is sitting on zero because you have ice in the line.  You should know your approximate speed based on RPM and your ass should tell you all you need to know on the lower end (are the controls mushy etc).  Stalls are fun and I practice them often just for giggles.  Low and slow is not the place to find out about control reversal either!

Merry Christmas from the far frozen north. 

Hope this year brings you lots of fun flying!  I have not been on here much as my focus has been on the water more than in the air this year, but I did squeak out 4 oil changes worth of flying.

Be safe out there guys and gals and have fun!

I would love to get a manual.  Any chance you can scan it an  post it?  Or send me a copy and I will scan and post it?

Bent tubes are pretty easy to straighten with a block of wood and a mallet.  Use a hard wood block and a router to shape the block to the tube OD.  A few good smacks with a mallet and its good to go.

kitfox is probably your best bet.  Or call the local metal supplier and have them order the tubes. 

Any updates and on the ground reports?  Looks like a cluster this year with wrecks and broken pilots.

I gotta toss in my normal .02.  One thing that has and continues to kill lots of people is the "accelerated stall" and the uncoordinated "moose hunter stall".  Seems these folks are now promoting events that use both of these elements in the course.  Is your few minutes of youtube fame worth your life, or worse yet, being busted up and have life altering injuries that keep you out of the air and reliving your choices? 

I enjoy doing dumb shit and getting out exploring, but it seems when the cameras are rolling guys are pushed to do things beyond the skill set and limits.  Think about this as you are filming your daring deeds to see how many thumbs up you can get on youtube and how many likes your FB post will get.

Stay safe out there and have fun!

on the bold... uhhh.. no real delicate way to say this.  It is a FAR cry from flying a 100% purpose built aircraft at minimum weight, and the guys that fly one at gross day in and day out from strips that would make you shit yourself.  Not to take away from the youtube sensations, but to say they are the best STOL guys on the planet  

I am sure they are cool enough and down to earth, but I would not call someone flying the lightest bird you can build with a stupid amount of HP in the nose the best stol pilots on the planet.

sounds like a "moose" stall.  Kills a lot of people.  When I am yanking and banking hard its a pretty good bet that I have the throttle pushed in all the way. 

My instructor HAMMERED me on these "accelerated and uncoordinated" stalls and they always end with a spin.  Depending on if you are slipping or skidding you will either turn turtle and spin opposite of the bank, or just spin with the bank, either way it normally happens really fast!  Glad we are reading about it here and not in an NTSB report as a probable cause.

I think the biggest benefit is when you pull the flap handle.  You can pull more flap before you get into the control reversal issue.

I tried the 3/4" axles with 26" and 30" tires.  Bent both of them in short order.  Loved the 30s for soaking up the rocks tundra but the 582 was just barely marginal and ROC went to around 500 FPM.  That sucked so I ditched the 30s.

Pretty sure he used the lift struts as well to crank some of the washout out of it.  It really doesn't take much "force" to take some of that twist out of the wing.

20210423_123436.mp4

I didn't video the whole routine as I decided I wanted to actually watch and enjoy it!

I'm still alive and kicking even though I haven't been around here much.  It's been a beautiful spring here in AK and I try to make the most out of the daylight.  Here are a few pics from a few flights.

A buddy that does aerobatics in his Citabria flew out to Montague Island with us and gave us a show with his full routine that he does at the Valdez airshow every year.  Was a pretty cool treat to top off a great day of flying and beach combing.

1220 and 1260 work ok if your flying solo.  Put 2 people in it and your not going to have much fun trying to get it off the water.  I don't remember them ever making a straight "1200" float.

I have been using those for a couple years now and they work great!  Boat, plane, trailers etc.  Have not had one break off or turn loose yet!

Had a few sunny days last hitch home and I got out to do a little playing.  Started off doing a little river running playing follow the leader with my brother in his 170B and laying down some tracks on untouched fresh powder then ended the day with a sunset cruise to Homer and back.  I did a couple sunset cruises just because the ladies seem to love them

The sun setting behind Augustine Island is about 80 miles south west of where I was.  The pics don't do the view justice.

That was a pretty good aha moment when we discovered the amount of down thrust in yours.  Still amazes me that it performed as well as it did with that much in it!

I can't wait to see how that gear looks on the bird and how they perform!  I might have to borrow that jig and start making more of these.