Cloud Dancer

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

So what happened? Why didn't these catch on?

I was there all week and didn't see any Avid Flyers. Plenty of things that look like Avid Flyers but all missing the rounded tail feathers. They still had a few old central console Kitfox fuel tanks for sale at the Ultralight barn. I seen a Avid Catalina amphibious listed for $13,000.00 on the for sale boards that looked like a bargain. Later in the week someone had put an X through the listing so it may have been sold.

I spotted this on Craigslist today. Sounds like a good deal for those that like to start from a fresh kit.

https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/avo/d/brighton-avid-mark-iv-airplane-kit-same/7291357924.html

I'm surprised he listed it in the category he did. I think he should have listed it in a few more sections and not listing it under ebay motors aircraft section was a huge mistake. I'll be amazed if it sells listed for this price where it's listed.

I'm late to the party on that one! A long way from Iowa but I still would have made the drive for that one. By the time I checked in today the ad was already gone.

I would have recommended flying in to the Elkader, Iowa airport with it's interesting hilltop turf strip of 1705 feet of length and then catching a ride the 16 miles or so to eat a Gunderburger at a tiny hole in the wall bar called the Irish Shanty. The only problem is the city of Gunder is so small there are not enough people to work the restaurant and they decided to shut down the kitchen until further notice. I don't think the Guinness beer on tap is enough to sustain them and I fear one of my favorite burgers will be gone forever.

https://kwwl.com/news/2019/06/04/irish-shanty-home-of-the-gunderburger-closing-kitchen-service/

Free food will only delay the $100.00 dollar hamburger for a weekend. I know pilots that will burn a tank of fuel for a greasy spoon burger every chance they get when the weather is nice.

I think most people know the difference between city bush pilots and the real deal. Texas and almost every other state in the union is full of self proclaimed cowboys with their pickup trucks and cowboy hats and boots. Most people are also aware that these cowboys are not real cowboys too. It's not worth getting your underwear in a bundle over the difference between a concrete cowboy or pilot and the dyed in dirt real deal.

There was a company that made plastic snap on aerodynamic strips for streamlining wires for hang gliders. I don't know if the stuff is around or who makes it but it's worth a look. I think I seen it in a Glider Rider magazine decades ago.

I'd like to see someone cut some fabric pieces "flag" sized and paint it on both sides with these experimental paints and then raise it up the flag pole and test it. Constant exposure to the elements would give you long term results in a shorter time span. Wind whip, rain, snow, ultraviolet, temperature changes and more. A base could be established by painting a "flag" with recommended number of coats of a conventional aircraft paint system. If it holds up on a flag it should last a long time on an airplane.

I would guess you have to have individual brakes with a castering nose wheel. Once you get slow enough the air over the rudder won't do much.

Another part of the problem with the kit prices is the fact that the price of metals has seen a steady climb upwards for several years. To make matters worse, the tariffs imposed by Trump on imported metals will drive the price up even more. I don't see any kit manufacturers getting rich. Many of them barely get by. An affordable ultralight might mean going back to wood and fabric.

The 447 and 503 were great for ultralights but not much else. Judging from what I have seen at the ultralight end of the Oshkosh airshow the last 3 or 4 years, ultralights are not being developed. The market it too small to support their sales. Most of the manufacturers moved over to "light sport" development where they can grow. Part 103 weight limits and fuel limits regulated ultralights to a premature death.

I now see the "light sport" field to be in the same trouble as the "ultralight" field was in it's heyday. Too many vendors compared to the number of dollars being spent within the industry. The economy just does not allow enough extra cash for expensive toys for most of America. At least with snowmobiles and boats your not spending as much on a license as your toy. A simple drivers license system for "light sport" would help get more buyers into the market and in turn support the vendors.

Until things change a "new" 447 or 503 will be of use as a replacement engine on an old ultralight or a new engine on a new ultralight, both uses are shrinking more each day.

Much different than mine. When and why did they change the design?