Cloud Dancer

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Everything posted by Cloud Dancer



  1. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Avid Trailer   

    I've been thinking about enclosing the trailer I made for my Avid Flyer. I want to keep it light and easy to tow. I found this company that makes soft tops for trailers in all sizes. It may be feasible to adapt something like this to a basic Avid/Kitfox trailer. It gives you some protection from the weather and keeps your airplane safe going down the road. Link here to a basic cover review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZqiWVHcQuc
    Link here to the actual company. https://www.canvasworksincmn.com/snocaps-trailer-enclosures
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  2. Cloud Dancer added a topic in Hangar Talk   

    Water injection to increase horsepower
    I ran across an interesting video with details why Germany had a faster fighter than the P51 Mustang. Link here for the video: https://youtu.be/1PA70pN6zPM
    If I had a turbo on my engine I'm sure I'd have to cobble together a system and try this. I'm thinking it also would work great for cooling an engine for descending with power reduced. A cheap Arduino to monitor engine temperature and pump water when needed to cool the engine and the system becomes automatic.
    Side note: I had a metal shop teacher in the 70's that had a turbo with water injection setup on his VW bug. It fascinated me that he could inject water to increase fuel economy. The same shop teacher built himself an impressive semi auto pistol. Teachers like that would never get hired now days. This was decades before automatic car starters were invented and this teacher took a wind up alarm clock and some switches and made a device to start his bug in the winter. He had a hard starting car so he set the gear train in the clock up to start his car every hour and run for 10 minutes. I loved this teacher.
    • 1 reply
    • 564 views


  3. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Setback   

    Has anyone designed hub extensions for that engine? I'm just curious because I've seen many hub extensions over the years for many brands of engines. Tons of them used on VW installs in homebuilts.
     
    It sounds like you got your work cut out for you. Chopping your cowl down and getting it to look right does sound like an even bigger problem than making a new mount.
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  4. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Vg"s on a kitfox 1 wing   

    Here's a link to a video on vortex generators on a Kitfox wing: https://youtu.be/IYHuXs2F3ds
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  5. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic latest air vehicle (not really)   

    I've been following the man carrying drones for a long time. With redundant motors and electrical sub systems I'm sure we will be seeing them in the very near future in one shape or another.
    If your looking for something a little more on the wild side.
    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qXWs1WvOYhc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    I'd have to win the lottery to own it but one can always dream.
     
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  6. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Setback   

    I'm curious as to why you want to move the engine ahead. Is this to use an existing cowl or to get your CG correct? I have not heard of any of these airplanes coming out tail heavy.
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  7. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Yeeehaaaa!!! New Gear is On!!!!   

    Wings level make the most sense, the wing area provides a spoiler effect with the tail down making the weight on the tail even greater when your dragging it down the road.
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  8. Cloud Dancer added a topic in For Sale and wanted, you got it, I want it   

    I spotted a Kitfox clone for sale on craigslist.
    https://saginaw.craigslist.org/avo/d/whittemore-raven-kitfox-clone/6826677286.html
    I don't know anything about it but someone on here may be interested.
    • 1 reply
    • 893 views


  9. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Need help identifying this pully   

    You can machine phenolic material but it stinks like hell. I made thousands of inserts for Square D electrical boxes years ago. It cuts easy and leaves a nice finish. If you can't find any the right size you can always put a chunk in a lathe and turn it. I used a cnc machine but you could take an ordinary piece of tool steel designed to fit in a lathe holder and profile grind a 1/2 round shape on one end. Then just plunge cut it into the phenolic to get your cable groove. Before we had cnc's we custom ground many form tools for inside and outside profiles on screw machines.
    I'm not sure if Sun & Fun has all the surplus aircraft parts vendors that the Oshkosh airshow has but if it does I'm sure someone on this list is going. Surplus phenolic pulleys are always available in the fly-mart at Oshkosh but that's a whole summer away.
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  10. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Avid Flyer Model C Seat   

    Anyone besides me ever ride in a Ford Trimotor? Cool airplane. Three things I remember most about riding in it.
    1. The seats inside are made of wicker.
    2. I didn't know they had airplanes that big without flaps and it gets by just fine without them.
    3. The yoke is attached to a big wooden stick that pivots on the floor.
    I think a wicker seat or a cane seat would be a light and breathable option in our airplanes. Very artistic as well as comfortable.Here's an old photo of the inside of a Trimotor. And here's a link to buy an original. I think the one for sale is a cockpit seat. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Tri-Motor-Airplane-wicker-chair-Aviation-Collectable-/253594241645?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10
    Now that's thinking outside the box!
    Brad
     

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  11. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Tail Wheel Swap to a Matco Pneumatic 8"   

    I've got a milling machine and carbide cutters for hole stretching but that stuff if even hard on carbide. My friend never owned a cutting torch but cut lots of steel with an old antique stick welder. He had an endless supply of welding rods in all sizes he had picked up at an estate sale for pennies. If he needed to cut steel or burn a hole in something he grabbed a rod out of his stack and turned up his welder as high as it would go. The welding rod don't seem to mind if it's hard or not. For those that have never seen this done or tried it, grab a piece of scrap steel sometime and give it a shot. Save those old welding rods that got wet and have the coating breaking off as they still work great for punching holes.
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  12. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Touch up paint   

    My grandfather was a sign painter. He could mix up any color under the sun and match it perfectly. A trick he taught me was to mix up the colors and paint a spot on a piece of scrap and let it dry before comparing the color. It will dry to a different color than what it appears wet. My grandfather was so good he knew what wet color he needed to get the dry color he was after but even he still did a sample spot to test it. Those Testers modellers paints do come in all colors but you can also get the three primary colors and mix any color you want. Plenty of color wheel charts to help you mix by on the web these days and even a few apps for your phone.
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  13. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Whelen Stobe not working   

    I agree to what's already been said on this topic. I'll add that if you take the cover off do not touch the bulb with your fingers. The oil from a finger print is enough to create a hot spot on the bulb and lead to premature failure. Kind of like the old halogen bulbs you need to clean them with alcohol to remove oil from finger prints. If you have voltage at the unit and it's still not flashing, listen for a high pitched whine from the high voltage section. Remember those cheap disposable cameras with flashes? That whine in those cameras is the flash section charging up and you can hear that if your under a specific age and still have most of your hearing. If you can hear the whine it's probably the bulbs burned out. If you can't hear the whine and there is power to your unit then the fault is in the high voltage section of the circuit.
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  14. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Need help identifying this pully   

    As thin as the area is around the failure point I don't think it would have survived if it would  have been machined out of steel. It needs more wall thickness. I'd be revamping it. My design considerations would include making it out of a material softer than the cable so it wears out before the cable. Give it plenty of wall thickness for the  material of choice. Include a cable retainer in the design to prevent it from jumping off track and binding. They seem to be pretty fond of those fiber compound pulleys in the aviation world. The material won't corrode because of a difference in metals like an aluminum pulley would. They are light and many come with a stainless steel cable retainer. I've got a lathe handy and plenty of plastics and aluminum so I might try making one if an off the shelf aviation grade pulley was not an option. Nylon holds up well under load too.
    I'm sure someone will chime in with a part number for you and a vendor.
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  15. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic What model is it?   

    The shipping alone cost far more than you paid! Great deal.. Those tail wheels alone are $180.00 bucks American.
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  16. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic 582 unexplainable stoppage   

    I'd feel much better flying behind that engine here in Iowa than in Idaho. No corn fields, no bean fields just one big pasture to land in as far as you can see in all directions and mostly flat. Spring is a great time to test an airplane back here. Until you get some mileage on it that uneasy feeling is not going to go away. Good Luck...
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  17. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Losing weight from the turtle deck   

    Fabric is lighter than aluminum if your really wanting to shave weight. I flew Mitchell Wings and the entire center section was a clear Mylar. In my case I added weight. There had been a number of fatalities from the Mylar coming off in flight so when it came time to replace mine I covered it with Stitts polyfiber and painted it silver to match the metal wing. I lost visibility upwards but I never missed it.
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  18. Cloud Dancer added a topic in For Sale and wanted, you got it, I want it   

    Found an early Kitfox project somebody may want
    https://northmiss.craigslist.org/avo/d/fulton-kitfox-first-generation/6844251832.html
    I stumbled on it browsing Craigslist. Maybe somebody in that area might be interested.
    • 3 replies
    • 822 views


  19. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic 582 unexplainable stoppage   

    By "milled in a vacuum port" do you mean in the carburetor or in the intake manifold? I'm guessing it was done on a mill  and cleaned up before mounting back on the airplane? Would a metal chip that got left behind get sucked to the rotary intake valve and block it like a brick in a revolving door?
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  20. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic 582 unexplainable stoppage   

    Was something changed that might allow fuel to gravity feed through the carburetor or vacuum port if the engine was sitting in an intake port  open state? A cylinder full of gas cannot be compressed and would feel solid. Turning it backwards would move the liquid in the other direction and throw some of it out.
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  21. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic New toy coming for the shop   

    I hope you got the water pan option and have a great vent system. The job shop I worked for back in the 90's bought one and put it in a large shop with no over head vent system. When it was running the cloud was so thick we had to duck under while walking through just to see where we were going. I was running cnc's in a connected building and didn't have to go in there much but the guys that did had a hell of a time during winter. The summer plan was to open up all the tall over head doors and let the wind clear out the smog. That was with a water pan. It paid for itself in a short time but the owner didn't want to spend any money on a vent system and workers kept leaving because of the smog. He finally decided to sell it rather than put in some smog control measures. The walls and everything in that building ended up a black color from the smog.
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  22. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Making a new set of skis   

    Anyone wanting to make a set of skis out of plywood? Maybe make a tail wheel ski? Maybe make a wooden tail wheel spring? I found this method and thought somebody here may get some use out of it. https://www.instructables.com/id/Bent-Wood-Lamp-With-3D-Printed-Tool/
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  23. Cloud Dancer added a topic in Avid Model B   

    Jabiru cowl to Rotax 582? Possible? Practical?
    How much work is involved to adapt a cowl from a Jabiru engine install for use with an inverted 582 mounted engine? How close is the propeller height and length with these engines? I'm wondering if I can rework it to save some time over starting from scratch. The cowl was on a B and that's what my Avid started out as. Anyone have a 582 cowl wanting to trade for a Jabiru cowl?
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    • 1,039 views


  24. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Need help   

    I second the MEK method over the heat gun but find out what type of finish process was used if possible. There are people out there using latex paint and others are using old tried and true dope. Some are extremely flammable. Some processes can be put on top of the other, some cannot. If in doubt the MEK will dissolve most and give you an idea on what may have been used. It can be a slow process with MEK on finishes outside the Polyfiber products but in the long run it can be repaired without requiring new material if that's what your after.
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  25. Cloud Dancer added a post in a topic Tinted 0.060 4x8 Lexan Sheet $50   

    Find out what what it's coated with if you can. Many of the early coatings used on polycarbonate eye glasses de laminated with time. The coating we used breaks down from alcohol in cleaners. Some break down from flex. Others from heat. As long as you stay within the limits of the coating you should get some good results.
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