Cloud Dancer

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About Cloud Dancer

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  1. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Stock Avid landing gear   

    I'm still looking for a set of tail dragger legs. It would probably cost again as much for shipping to Iowa. You could strip the wheels and brakes off to lighten the cost and the weight maybe?
     
    Not exactly flying season here but I've been known to buy lawn mowers in the winter and air conditioners in the winter because that's when they turned up on my radar.
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  2. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Dean Wilson ‘40 Special’   

    That's good to hear!  Any clue about getting something you didn't build and has never been registered to a point where it just needs an inspection and the required hours flown off to get an air worthiness certificate? I thought you needed to show you built the major part of the airplane which will never be the case with this airplane.
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  3. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Dean Wilson ‘40 Special’   

    From what I've read I agree with you; it can qualify as a Light Sport but I'm not so sure someone without a current regular pilots and medical can fly off the hours to get the paperwork needed to then get it cleared as a Light Sport. Maybe someone that's been down this rabbit hole before knows all the turns but the F.A.A. like most three letter agencies are terrible at explaining the details. You could talk to ten different agents working there and get ten different answers on any given day.
    Let's hope more of the airplanes currently in museums and storage sheds make it back to the tarmac someday. They were never built to be dust collectors.
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  4. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Dean Wilson ‘40 Special’   

    I was attempting to pretend I could read and understand FAA lingo so I downloaded the requirements to obtain a Light Sport airworthiness certificate. I think this airplane may eventually qualify but it seems you first need a regular air worthiness certificate issued and you can later down grade if it meets the requirements to a light sport certificate.
    That's too bad because it leaves a lot of potential buyers out in the waiting room on this nice airplane. 
    The wing length now being 35' is both good and bad news. At the previous stated 40' length it sounded like the wings may have been lengthened to carry the heavier Continental motor of less power than previous engines used in Avid Flyers. I'd love to have a Continental up front compared to a 2 stroke any day.
    The 40' length also had my mind racing trying to think of what kind of trailer one would need for such a long beast. That problem went away with the announcement that the wings are 35' long but now we have the wing loading issue which probably changes stall speed. The ailerons look like they no longer hang below the wing which probably make it a faster airplane but also give up some control authority at slower speeds unless they are slotted? I really couldn't tell from the photos exactly how they are configured.
    All this stuff effects which type of air worthiness certificate it may or may not qualify for. And then there's the problem of not being the primary builder. There's something in those regulations about the original builder being able to pass along the design specs and maintenance requirements to another individual but it also sounded like a paperwork nightmare to me considering it's the F.A.A. we are talking about and so far I don't have anything good to say about any of the officials I have contacted.
    The F.A.A. wonder why there's a pilot shortage and don't realize they are a huge part of the problem when it comes to seeding and growing future pilots in this industry. 
    It looks like it's configured for a single door that's hinged to swing up but I didn't see anything on the wing to secure it in it's open position. Does this door come off for summer flying? Can you fly with the door open? Has anyone tried to crawl in it? It's hard to tell if it's easy or hard to get in and get a leg over that stick.
    I was just looking over a friends ultralight version of a Cub. It's a cute airplane but you need to be a bit of a contortionist to get in the thing. His stick detaches to get your left leg in position and I think it would be impossible to get in his airplane without removing the stick. Once inside it's actually got more leg and knee room than my Avid Flyer.
    I think I like the look of my round tail on my Avid Flyer better than the later squared of tails of the the Avid Flyer and Kitfox airplanes. I'm not so sure what this tail looks like, maybe more like a Flight Streak line control I had as a kid? The struts on this airplane on the other hand do look sexy! Those chopped off wheel pants remind me of a half helmet for a motorcyclists. Probably won't clog so bad as full wheel pants but may help out in the drag reduction department. The gear legs themselves also look sleek but I don't know the suspension setup. I didn't see a photo of the tail wheel either. I suppose the wings have anchor points like the original Avid Flyer to hold them in the folded position?
    Is there a turtle deck in the back like the Avid Flyer? Same process to fold the wings? I have a friend that wanted to do a little traveling this summer but I'm not sure I could talk him into traveling that far just to look at an airplane.
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  5. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Kitfox IV Standard Gear for sale   

    I'm curious if these would work on an Avid Flyer? I suppose if the attachment point width were the same on both airplanes they might work? I'm still looking for a standard gear to replace the tricycle gear on my Avid Flyer.
    The newer Kitfox are wider inside but I have no idea if the attachment points were widened out as well.
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  6. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Dean Wilson ‘40 Special’   

    What's the story on the air worthiness certificate? Did it have one at some point? The only thing I can think of keeping this from selling is it must be a dead end to get it legal maybe? Such a pretty airplane, a shame it's hanger flying only.
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  7. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Avid Model C Landing Gear   

    This thread is getting old in the tooth, I would have thought he would be getting tired of moving them from place to place in the shop by now. I'm still looking for a set like those but don't want to pay the postage from California.
     
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  8. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Avid Flyer MK IV for sale   

    Old pilots probably realize your hands in the air waving around meant it was trimmed out to almost fly itself but they did it different in 1932:    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hpJEbSNSMuU
     
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  9. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic AVID ENGINE COWL   

    whizzers; what that your listing for the cowl for sale on ebay? I've been trying to contact the seller through ebay but I have not got a response to my message yet.
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  10. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Avid Catalina Project N157AB for sale   

    Wow, that's a bargain. If I had one less "Kitfox" I'd be making a very long drive across country at the worst time of year to be dragging an airplane home. I plan on waiting until spring to sell the Kitfox when the market is better. The Catalina has always been my "must have some day" airplane.
     
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  11. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Avid with a turbo prop?   


    What's the reason people are doing this? I would think any weight savings on the engine would be lost by all the weight in extra fuel you would have to carry. Is it a cost thing with some parts of the country having access to cheap fuel? Or is it more like a Harley rider feeling he needs louder mufflers mentality; realizing there's no benefit other than the change in noise?
    I'm still waiting for someone to build a wood gas converter to fit inside an Avid. (And I've lost countless hours designing such a system in my head.) Totally not practical but it would sure  be cool to be able to land somewhere and top off your tank with twigs and sticks and then continue on your way for free and not be tied by a long leash to a gas pump. The last thing most pilots want on a rag covered airplane is a wood burning stove. I'm in the "I don't care, I want it anyway" category.
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  12. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Amphib project for sale. (Mostly just the AW cert.)   


    I see you got it listed on eBay now. https://www.ebay.com/itm/234068560608?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20200818142401%26meid%3Dd3e113f24f49404cba71d7cd5124f69a%26pid%3D101124%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D353644402456%26itm%3D234068560608%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2563228%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWeb&_trksid=p2563228.c101124.m2109
    I think more people would have found it under the "airplane" section of eBay Motors than where you chose to list it.
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  13. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Avid Flyer on floats spotted in an old movie.   

    I may have been a little off when I said it was a B movie. Probably goes back to my childhood when 45rpm records only had an A side and a B side.
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  14. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic JAEGER, by Dean Wilson 1986   


    It's fast, portable and even stressed for aerobatics if your so inclined. About the only fault I can identify is the solo seat. Kind of like those single seat Sonex aircraft; I don't see the point of building one when it's so hard to recover any of your money if you ever decide to sell. The labor and kit expenses are about the same for a single seater and a two seater. Even if you spend 99 percent of your time flying alone it's still nice to have a little extra space for a travel bag. Even today there's not an airplane kit on the market with the specs listed and still be portable enough to haul home and store in a single stall garage.
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  15. Cloud Dancer added a topic in Hangar Talk   

    Avid Flyer on floats spotted in an old movie.
    I'm not recommending this cheesy movie but I did see a custom gyro copter and an Avid Flyer on floats in it. The movie is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Hunted
    Typical B movie from 1992 with poor acting, poor plot, 80's style synth backing tracks and unknown actors. I found it in my recommendations from You Tube for some reason.
    Link to movie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueb6Ya9TWuo&t=4505s
    I'm not sure what the gyro copter was made out of, maybe a Sparrow Hawk? The Avid Flyer is the squared off tail variety so that may help identify the model. The fact that they wrote Avid Flyer in big letters on the side of the airplane tells me it was probably a deal done for advertisement more so than money.
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