dav8or

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I have a somewhat temporary custom stick that I have been using for a while now. It has a set back in it because I was unable to get much down elevator travel when I have the seat laced back to give me enough leg room so my knees are not up in the panel. With that I have also rotated it to center the grip portion of the stick between my legs. I am using a grip from a Sea Doo which is fairly thin. I might try a much shorter stick which would pass below my knees but would have to be further forward to allow full up elevator travel. I think it would also feel very unnatural to have the stick travel under my knees.

My thought is to make spacer blocks for the 2 control mounts on the cabin floor and then make an adapter to reach down to the existing aileron linkage from the higher linkage of the raised controls. With that I would probably also have to shorten the sticks which is OK with me. This is a speedwing I am dealing with and I am used to its handling. I don't think the reduced motion of shorter sticks will be a problem for me.

Thanks,

Dan

Has anyone ever raised the pivot point for the control sticks in an Avid? I was thinking about adding a 1.5 inch block under each end and making an adapter for the linkage. I would like the pivot point higher so I am less likely to run out of aileron travel when I hit my legs with the stick. I know I will probably have to shorten the sticks a bit to clear the panel but I am OK with that. I have had a couple of hairy crosswind landings recently where I had this problem. A little more aileron would have made a much nicer, more controlled arrival.

I may mock something up to see how much it might gain me.

Thanks,

Dan

I decided to look through some of my old hangar mate's boxes that I inherited and found this:

It looks like he had modified some type of automotive puller. It worked and the gear popped right off. Easier than expected although the gear was only on there for about 6 months this time.

Thanks, Dan

Thanks. I will give him a call.

I need to take my B-box off of one 582 and install it on another. Does anyone have any tips for getting the tapered crank gear off the shaft?

Thanks, Dan

Thanks, I will keep that in mind. For now I plan to make my own.

Dan

Thinking about converting from 582 to Jabiru. Is there a supplier for the mount or are drawings available to fabricate your own? I am already guessing that I will have to fabricate a new cowling myself. Not sure about fabricating the mount myself from scratch.

Thanks, Dan

I always open that plug when filling and replace it when oil starts coming out. I also have the tubing connected to the remote reservoir properly so air will purge there while filling (top hose from engine block to the fitting that has the tube running to near the top inside). When testing and running up I have released enough air bubbles to equal more than the volume of the rotary valve block reservoir after 10+ runs. I should have tried to track the amount of oil I have added over that time but I think it has been at least half a pint.

I read the article again. It seems like it would be tough to do on the Avid since the exhaust is not easily removed. I would also have to find a source for rubber sheet. If I did this how do I determine for sure that the center seals are leaking? Air bubbles in the oil like I get after an engine run up? If it is not the center seals then I have no idea how this would be happening.

Thanks,

Dan

Hi Jim,

I did check the rotary valve reservoir with positive pressure. Held pressure with minimal leakage overnight. It didn't leak a drop when filled with 2 stroke oil while sitting on the workbench for several weeks and rotating the crankshaft by hand every time I was at the hangar. After that I put it back on the Avid and refilled with oil while bleeding air from the reservoir. I have run the motor numerous times since then and every time I have a loss of oil in the reservoir. Often I would have a large air bubble come from the crankcase reservoir up the hose to the remote tank when I tip the tail up as high as I can reach after shut down. I have been fooling with this since December. Other than a test flight in December when I noticed the rotary valve oil consumption I have not been able to fly my Avid since early 2017 due to a repair and then more repairs after flooding during Hurricane Harvey. I really want to get it back in the air but this engine is driving me crazy.

Dan

Looks like I have to have my 582 overhauled. I am pretty sure the center crankshaft seals are leaking when the engine is running. I am not sure who I should send it to and how much it should really cost. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Dan L.

Avid Model C Speedwing

Does anyone have or has anyone flown an Avid or Kitfox with a throttle quadrant instead of a push/pull cable?

Dan

I would like to simplify the throttle control setup in my Avid with a 582 oil injected. Currently it is setup with a vernier/push pull cable in the panel that connects to the end of a throttle arm type arrangement on top of the engine. From that arm a single pull cable is connected with a cable combiner to the carbs and oil injection. My Avid does not have the cable quadrant setup welded to the fuselage frame in the cockpit under the panel. I would really like to eliminate the throttle arm that is bolted to the top of the engine. The factory type combiner under the panel would be great but for my plane but that would seem to be a major project involving welding in the cockpit area. Does anyone have any other setups or ideas that I might try?

Sorry, I should have taken pictures but everything is disassembled right now with the engine off and engine mount removed to paint. I did not think of this change until I started to reassemble everything.

Thanks,

Dan

It was suggested that I pressurize the rotary valve shaft cavity and try to determine which seals are leaking. I did that but no real sign of leaking. It only dropped 1 psi after sitting for a little over 2 hours and part of that loss is probably due to checking the pressure. I also tried turning the crankshaft by hand several times to see if that caused a leak. No difference. I will try pulling a vacuum on the cavity to see if I find any leaks with that. I want to determine what is causing my oil loss before I decide to do a crank rebuild or waste money on anything else that might not be needed. It was not an air bubble. My bleeding process is pretty detailed when filling.

Dan

Thanks! I didn't realize he did that. I have one more possibility to check before I commit to having crankshaft work done.

Dan

Is it possible to rebuild a 582 crankshaft? Is there anyone that does that successfully and at a reasonable price? It sucks to buy a $1500 crankshaft to replace 2 seals that have failed while everything else is running and working great.

Dan

I tried SAE 30 oil in the rotary valve reservoir with the same problem. It was definitely burning the oil.

I have now pulled the 582 off the Avid. I was going to put my piston/cylinders on another 582 that was sitting in the hangar with piston issues but nixed that plan when I pulled those cylinders off and found a lot of play in the rod bearings at the crankshaft.

Is there any alternative to buying a new crankshaft just to replace the inner seals? Is there anyone that can rebuild this crankshaft successfully and at a reasonable cost? It kind of sucks to have to go through $2000 worth of parts for a rebuild just to replace 2 seals.

Dan

Just now saw this post reopened. I was flying regular until a year and a half ago when I started a repair. As I was just about finished with the repair we got hit with Hurricane Harvey and with the plane up on blocks inside the hangar the main gear was still completely submerged in the flooding. With that I decided to get my postponed brake conversion project done. It took me a year because I didn't have a lot of spare time for it. I replaced axles, hubs, wheels, brakes, tires, tubes, brake pedal assembly, master cylinders and ran hydraulic lines. I just recently finished it and had 6 take offs and landings before I have grounded it again due to an internal crank seal leak. I am going to try swapping my cylinders onto the case of another 582 I had sitting in the hangar. Hopefully that solves my problem. I will be weighing and checking the CG after I get the engine reinstalled. It always felt a little nose heavy especially in the landing flare.

Dan

The oil loss is erratic. I filled the reservoir above the full line this afternoon then Made 2 take offs and landings. With taxiing and runup that was about a half hour of run time with no oil loss in the reservoir. Then I flew to the neighboring airport made 2 more landings and returned to home airport for just under 1 hour of run time. After that the reservoir was down at least 1/2 inch. It is not air in the system. It has not been drained and refilled recently. I will be tearing down the motor soon to take a look and decide what to do from there.

It's too bad. The engine performance is great right now. My home airport has a 600' pattern altitude and it gets there quick

Dan

Thanks for the interesting articles. I would have to fabricate and order some parts to run the CPS test. He was checking for air leaks into the combustion chamber. Would the same test work for the oil leak? Maybe it would need to hold vacuum longer? If changing to 30w oil doesn't change anything I might try to set up for the CPS test.

I just read that somewhere. I am thinking about changing the oil to 30w to see if it makes a difference. I guess if I see a change in smoke from the exhaust that might confirm the leak as well.

A leak down test on the crankcase? Wouldn't that require plugs for the intakes and exhaust ports? How would I know what air pressure those seals should be good for? If air goes past the seals there will be air bubbles in the rotary valve reservoir.

Those seals were replaced a couple years ago. No issues with those. I am thinking I might have an issue with the crankshaft seals and the oil being sucked into the crankcase.

What oil have people used successfully for their rotary valve reservoir. I have been using the same synthetic 2-stroke TC oil that I use for the fuel. My Avid has not flown in over a year and a half due to some repairs and then more repairs/replacements after the main gear was underwater during Hurricane Harvey. I think I may have rotary valve oil leaking past the internal crank seals now. I have done several ground runs and the oil level has dropped in the reservoir after each run. There are no external signs of an oil leak. I was wondering if a slightly thicker oil could be used to slow the leak. The engine is running great and I hate to send it for a complete overhaul for just a seal leaking. I am going to try a few more ground runs to see if the oil level will stabilize.

Thanks, Dan

it there anything under the vinyl to make it rigid?