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You guys have great fun. I'm still not airworthy with a LOT of things going on as previously mentioned.

Chomp down on a few delicious goodies for me guys and stay in touch. Like to know how much fun, how many innovative approaches and good fixes, hangar flyer stories, etc. I eat it up. Have fun, be safe, see ya ... Jim

Hey Av8r3400 Wisconsin fellow. There's nothing better than having contact with a friend of a guy who seems to be a real resource for guys like me (I never, EVER use one or two words when I can just as easily use a thousand).

Thanks for the comeback man, this kind of info is treasure at it's finest to me. I tried to call Brett once, left a voicemail, he called back - I wasn't here and so it goes. I've certainly got my eye on him and will get back with him. Crazy schedule right now. You're a standup dude to ring me back (love this website) and it won't be forgotten. Be well and prosper greatly ... Jim

Hey Subie AVID guys,

I'm still tied up with a home addition, a beloved dad in the hospital with a broken neck (88 yrs old), and a need to get all my stuff moved from my old address 45 min one way, to my new residence (two new storage buildings/garages wich I have built just to contain all the junk, tools, and what-nots of my life to this point). Am presently adding two more rooms onto my house (contracting a remodeling job is definitely worse than herding cats). Now have a total of five buildings on this property and still wonder if I'll cram everything in. Have any of you dealt directly with AIRDALE? If so could you give me a general idea of your experience? My initial impression would be favorable toward them. In the future would like to think in terms of a longer fuselage and wider gear on my MKIV. Do they sell just complete kits or can individual items be purchased? I know I should just call them but I'm working a rather hectic pace at the moment. Randy, haven't got the Ellison throttle body shipped back to get it overhauled yet - got to get these builders, electricians, dry wallers, painters, etc to step up the pace. There are times I just have to leave for about 30 minutes or so to keep from blowing a big-time fuse. Haven't physically assualted anyone. You guys take care ... Jim

Wow Jim, it sounds like you are going through a lot. Give your dad our best and we will keep him in our thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery. I hope he does not have any paralisis; his injury would be a difficult recovery for a young person but it gets much harder as we get older. You have a lot going on, I am amazed you can keep the project moving forward but hope you ar eable to keep it up.

Your idle rpm of 2 grand makes me think the redrive is definately geared differently. Mine idles at about 1 grand or lower after it warms up. If I run it to 2K it will be moving unless the brakes are locked. I know stratus give a 1000 hour TBO on their engines so I would expect NSI would be the same. Do you have the NSI maintenance manual for yours? If you don't it would sure be good to find one you can copy to get the recommended maintenance intervals on the parts. I can copy the Stratus one for you which would give you engine info but no good for your redrive or throttle body injector. When I was running my Rotax I checked the redrive oil before every flight and changed it about every 50 hours.

Do you have the wide gear on your Avid? If not I would highly recommend it. I know it saved me on my MK 4 from more than one bad landing situation that would have caused damage to my bird if I hadn't had it. Mk 4's are short and the wide gear gives you much better brake leverage to steer and a lot more stability. You can get the wide bungee gear from Airdale. You are probably a lot better pilot than I am and may be OK without it but I like to have every advantage I can on landing and wide gear and good brakes make a huge difference.

I have not checked my valve lash yet on this engine but it is comming up soon at 20 hours. I have about one more flight before I am there and may be able to get there tomorrow. I will have to check what the manual says it should be. Thanks for the advice on the starting procedure. I put in a split bus master switch but have been starting it with both the alternator and battery on. I will see if it has a little more starting power with the alternator off. Anything would help since mine is pretty difficult to start when cold.

Best to your dad, Randy

Randy, it means a lot to have a buddy who gives the kind of consideration you have. THANKS. Dad is not lucid at this time (they're keeping him under for obvious reasons), but his vitals are good and they just placed a filter to trap any clots from getting to his heart yesterday. He's always been a hard working man with a great constitution and maybe we can get him back to the status relative to when he had his stroke (came through that pretty well). Your prayers and concerns mean a lot as dad (and I) are two people you've never met.

Yeah, this whole affair has been a bit of a jugelling act, better men than I have had worse problems - we'll get through.

I too would like wider gear, at some point I would like to see if I might be able to fabricate or modify what I have presently. I've certainly given it some thought.

Randy, if you can lay hands on the NSI maitenance particulars I would really appreciate it. I hadn't checked out AIRDALE, but I will. I too believe our engines must be quite similar. One thing else, I don't know my prop diameter. Maybe you are swinging a somewhat larger diameter. That could also explain some things.

As soon as dad comes around (it's a process) I'll tell him he has a buddy by the name of Randy Tyler up in Alaska. Be well buddy, I enjoy corresponding with you ... Jim.

Hey Jim, that is great news! One step closer to getting it in the air. I will be interested in your specs; like I said in my other reply, our TO RPM's are quite different so I am qurious what your redrive ratio is and where you measure your blade angle on your prop.

JackAk will be running a Stratus EA81 in his Avid + when he gets it completed so we will have another one to compare notes with. Hopefully he will be able to get it in the air sometime this year. I might even get to be the test pilot for his plane since I manged to first flight mine without damage . His setup will be pretty similar to mine but with the radiator on the belly, a 70" Warp Drive prop and leading edge cuffs on his wings.

On the location of the battery, I placed mine as far in the back of my baggage area as I could get it and also put my ELT there; it is about 6' behind the seats. Also, the additional 18" fusalage helps counter the subie engine weight and I still have to have a minimum of 10 lbs in my rear baggage to be within the CG range. That isn't a problem for me because I have about 40 lbs of survival gear that I always carry and I just keep it in the rear baggage area. For your MK IV you may want to consider installing an access door very near your tail and keep your battery as far backin the tail as it will fit. I have a buddy who has a MK IV with a Subie on floats and it has lead weights in the tails of the floats plus lead weights bolted onto the tail spring. keep your battery as far back as possible so you don't have to add any unecessary weight if if you can.

On the brakes. I don't know of many avid/KF owners who have outstanding brakes, especially with 26" bushwheel on. I ended up replacing the original matco brakes on my MK IV with the Matco remote reservoir master cylinders and moved the top piston mounting position as close to the pivot point as I could get it. I also replace the wheel units with Matco triple puck brakes adapted to fit the original Matco discs. These provide acceptable braking; I can hold the plane with the brakes and blow the tail up with power without a problem. I switched the setup over to my Avid+.

Keep us up to date on your progress.

Randy

Right on Randy, love the detailed feedback you give. I have my battery as far back in the tail as possible. My CG is also quite positive and was really interested in your response regarding this. Have some lead in the tail along with the battery. Have also thought about a baggage access door to allow me to keep some extra weight in this area. Your info on the brakes, I find this very informative. Have also thought of going to a multiple puck caliper at some time. Seems like you're getting much better effectiveness with yours. Hope you get the chance to test fly the Subie under construction. It will be good also, to have another config around to compare notes on. You sound like a standup guy Randy. Thanks once again for your input ... Jim

Jim,

Thanks for the reply, I kind of lost track where this was posted since it got covered up with later posts. The NSI clutch sounds a little different than the one Leni is running; his does not engage until it hits a certain RPM; pretty nice to be able to idle you plane without the prop spinning. How many hours does your NSI gear drive have on it and how do you like it? I would guess that our final drive ratios are the difference in RPM since both motors are supposed to turn out about 100 HP. The Stratus motors have reconfigured cams and planed heads to boost the compression to a little over 9:1 if I remember correctly; probably similar to the NSI motors. So far the Bing carbs have been running good. The are completely different than the Bings on the 2-strokes. these are like the ones on the BMW motorcycles. They aren't cheap, especially since Rotax started using them on the 912's. I bought mine a few years ago and they were $715.00 each at that time X2 since the motor has 2 of them. The intake manifolds are independent with built in water ports and thermostat placed in the connecting hose between them and the water pump. I configured my intake boxes with filters and carb heat from a heat muff on the exhaust. I spent a lot of time getting this set up to work and fit under the cowl. So far I have not experienced any carb ice so have not had to use the carb heat other than testing. I think be pulling the intake air under the cowl and with the carbs on top of he motor it is probably rare to get carb ice on these but I put carb heat on just in case I will attach a couple of pictures that show it better than I can explain it . So far I have not had to change any of the jetting on the carbs. I read a post from a guy on the Matroncs list who had guite an extensive list of jetting changes he had to do to get his EGT in the target range; under 1400 degrees. This sounds very high compared to the 1200 degree max for 2 strokes but he said he checked with NSI about the max and they said 1500 degrees and Stratus said they can take up to 1600 degrees for short periods of time. He had trouble getting his EGT's under 1400 but mine have stayed right at 1340 to 1380 degrees.

Randy,

Thanks for the comeback guy. I've been out of pocket lately (my 88 yr old dad fell off the porch and broke his neck). His vitals are in the green, had to do an operation and fuse three of his vertebrae. I had just left him approx 10 min before. He's a tough old bird, but I have been @ the hospital pretty much since the incident. Also am jockying with a carpenter and electrician adding two rooms to my home.

I appreciate your tech info, I had talked with Mike at STRATUS and he seemed like a nice dude. Wondered how your BINGs were, seems like they are working fine from your post. Also had wondered about carb heat and EGT (thanks for the detail). Really do love your radiator treatment (looked good along with other particulars in your photos). I've not been at full throttle with my machine yet - still in the process of getting it back airworthy. Don't anticipate any real problems doing this, just a finite time element at the moment. My engine idles at approx two grand, at three the EGTs settle in at pretty much 1000 degrees.

I've found new info for Ellison, called them and they say they will rebuild my EFS-2 throttle body (yeah!). Need to get it off and send it to them in Renton, WA as I remember. I'm not running any carb heat, I do have mixture, with the EFS. My NSI unit has 375 hours by the Hobbs meter. I think my engine should be good for about 1000 hrs before overhaul and would hope the NSI reduction unit will do the same. I'm going to stay on top of the fluids. Just from taxing and playing around with the engine/reduction unit on it's custom built trailer, the package is very smooth, nice throttle response - no complaints. It likes a fairly defined cold startup process but nothing drastic. My little bird is pretty short coupled for the power and weight, but I think I'll get the groove down. She's a little twitchy with thw weight of the battery back in the tail (26 amp POWER SONIC). Wish I had maybe another 18 to 20 inches of fuselage length and a little wider main gear but the guy who built her has flown her far and wide. Says it takes a little practice getting use to the quick rudder response. I owned a KR-2 with a full swiveling nob of a tail wheel (no steering at all below approx 20 mph except with the heel brakes). Guess I'll get this little beast down pat also. Randy, my engine appears to be 9:1 also. Most probably not that much difference in the internals of yours and mine. My valves were set to .012 lash although I've seen some evidence that the intakes can be .010 and the exhaust .014. Will probably go through the lash adjustment before flying her and re-adust as necessary. BTW Randy, I have a split MASTER switch arrangement which allows me to start the engine with battery online only. I then switch on the alternator and full electrical config. I highly recommend this to anyone in a position to employ it. Using a smaller battery is easier if you can cut down on the initial load. Perhaps most people already use this setup.

Don't know that I've covered everything you referenced but feel free to give me a shout anytime, gotta go and see about my 'Iron Man' dad. Take care guy - Jim

I must say that I have been really enjoying getting used to flying the Avid+. I have 8.5 hours on it now and about 7.5 hours air time. As I fly it and get used to it I am overall very pleased with it. I was hoping it would have turned out a lot lighter and I can see that a person could build a lighter airplane the second time around. There are places that I could have saved weight here and there, but now it is going to be a lot harder and probably involve more gym time and eating less.

It felt sort of heavy at first but as it fly it more, it still has the sporty feel of the Avid in the steep turns and slips, etc, but is also about the most stable airplane I have flown. It seems to have a little more stall warning shudder as you approach the stall and stalls straight ahead with almost no need to walk the rudder. The full power stalls are the same with no tendency to fall off a wing, just a nose drop and then it is flying again. After getting used to it I now think it is easier to land than the Mk 4, especially to do wheel landings. My Mk 4 never seemed very stable doing wheel landings and the tail was always up and down as I tried to keep the attitude and apply brakes. The A+ seems to be easier to hold steady with the tail up in a wheel landing. The seating position is higher and with the taller landing gear it took me a while to get the landing picture but I think that helps. I definitely like the higher seat, raised skylight and more leg room. Also I flew with my boot packs on last week and didn't have to worry about foot position on the pedals.

I have to build a better flap lever system for it, the 10 degree travel of the lever from full off to full on just doesn't cut it and the flaps will not stay on without continued significant pressure holding them on. I rigged up a real Rube Goldberg to hold them on with a bungee hooked tot eh frame behind the seats and onto the flap handle. When I want deploy the flaps I slide it to the top of he handle as I pull them on. Landings and take offs are much better and slower with flaps, and a must for wheel landings.

From what I can tell, it performs better than the Mk 4 on take off, although I haven't measure length yet. Acceleration is noticeably better. With a smooth push to full throttle (about 3 sec) the tail will come up and then you can rotate and pull full flaps and it comes off the ground. I am not sure what the min airspeed is to get off the ground yet though; I need to work on that still. It climbs out at 50 mph at around 800 fpm and no need to drop the nose to stay in ground affect. My Mk 4 was not a stellar performer and would climb out at 50 mph and around 650 fpm. So I think the A+ can equal or beat the my Mk 4 take off distance but probably not the landing distance due to the greater weight. It will be interesting to get it on skis and see what it does in the deep snow. With my big skis and the tail ski on I think the the 100 hp may more than overcome the weight difference there as well.

I was surprised that the A+ does not want to fly faster than the Mk 4. With the prop set at 16 degrees it cruses at about 80 mph at 3500 rpm. The cool thing is it shows 2.8 gph on the fuel flow meter and the plane and engine feel great. At 3600 rpm the Subie burns 3.2 gph and about 82 mph, and 4000 rpm is 90 mph and 4.5 gph. You can get quite a bit of range out of 28 gallons at 2.8 gph. I always figured on burning about 5 gph in the Mk 4 with the 582 in cruse at 82 mph. I reset the prop to 17 degrees for the next flight and then will try it a 15 degrees to see the affect on take off and cruse.

The longer fuselage and larger rudder definitely make the A+ more stable in cruse. My Mk 4 had to be herded along a bit by picking a point on the horizon to aim it at, which never bothered me on the relatively short flights I typically made. Last Saturday I set the A+ at 3500 rpm, trimmed it level and pointed it a the VOR, then took my hand off the stick for minutes and it flew like an arrow. I tried taking my feet off the rudder but immediately started turning left so it is not completely drone capable. I guess I am getting used to putting in right rudder subconsciously now. Have to watch that on take off too since it has noticeable torque compared to the Rotax.

Sorry this is so long winded, I might be just a little jazzed to be flying again; and after 4 years of wondering how it would perform.

Hey Randy,

Just talked to EFS and ascertained that they are still very much in business and will overhaul my EFS-2 throttle body if I send it back to them. It feels like Christmas all over again. They gave me another website (ELLISON-TBI.COM) and even had my serial number on record. To put it mildly, I'm in a most joyous mood! Gonna ship it out as soon as possible, they give a return time of around two weeks. Price seems right for the overhaul (approx. cost as per LOU) and I'm gonna be flying behind a nice overhauled EFS-2. Miracles do still happen and this will be one step closer to climbing back in the seat. Hope I don't knock down my buddy's fence like last time, but that's another story for later. Be well and keep s abreast of you and your bird. BTW, I'll be able to give you more definite performance data on the engine/NSI PRU/prop etc. later on. Jim

Hey Randy,

I'm running an NSI gear drive, not exactly sure just what the final drive ratio is. It has a clutch unit that engages as soon as the engine starts. You can freel-wheel spin it in one direction and it freely spins with no friction. I'm told (got some NSI literature) that it stays locked up if the engine quits, haven't tried that out(for sure). It uses thirty weight non-detergent oil and man the exploded few in the manual shows about a million parts (give or take). I've owned three different aircraft with ground adjustable WARP DRIVE props. The first one I bought came about after I inadvertently proped off my KR-2 with chocked wheels, but FULL THROTTLE. It went straight over on it's nose and sprayed tooth picks from the two blade fixed pitch prop all over the airport (I don't recommend doing this, kids). I used a needle type protractor from a PEGASUS trike on which I also had a WARP DRIVE to set the pitch. I set it using the tip of the prop as the point of reference, about three or four inches inboard. My NSI EA81 manual showed 19 I/2 degrees as the best climb vs. cruise compromise. I'm cranking out about 100 HP with the EFS-2 throttle body (still don't have a repair/rebuild solution but trying to contact STRATUS). Don't know about the difference in rpm you and I are turning but would guess that final drive ratio would be a likely explanation. Oh yes, my engine was built with a non-standard cam also. My torque curve would likely be a little different than yours.

Thanks for the info Randy, anything I can learn or impart I'm all ears and hopefully not so much mouth. Give me a shout-out anytime ... Jim.

Randy, Forgot to ask - are the BINGs working out for your configuration? Are they very expensive, what about carb heat, manifold, etc. I think I had BINGs on my PEGASUS trike with ROTAX 503, don't remember. I'm sure the BINGs for the 912 are a little different. Thanks man ... Jim.

Hi Jim,

The Stratus is running dual Bing altitude compensating carbs; the same that the Rotax 912's run. They are set up to produce 100 - 105 HP. The redrive is a 2.2:1 cog belt drive.

I notice that you have a lot more pitch in your prop at 19.5 deg and you still turn higher RPM at 5000. What is your HP, what is your redrive ratio and where do you measure your prop? I only get about 4200 rpm on takeoff with 15 degrees of pitch measured at the tip.

Randy

Hey Randy,

I'm running an NSI gear drive, not exactly sure just what the final drive ratio is. It has a clutch unit that engages as soon as the engine starts. You can freel-wheel spin it in one direction and it freely spins with no friction. I'm told (got some NSI literature) that it stays locked up if the engine quits, haven't tried that out(for sure). It uses thirty weight non-detergent oil and man the exploded few in the manual shows about a million parts (give or take). I've owned three different aircraft with ground adjustable WARP DRIVE props. The first one I bought came about after I inadvertently proped off my KR-2 with chocked wheels, but FULL THROTTLE. It went straight over on it's nose and sprayed tooth picks from the two blade fixed pitch prop all over the airport (I don't recommend doing this, kids). I used a needle type protractor from a PEGASUS trike on which I also had a WARP DRIVE to set the pitch. I set it using the tip of the prop as the point of reference, about three or four inches inboard. My NSI EA81 manual showed 19 I/2 degrees as the best climb vs. cruise compromise. I'm cranking out about 100 HP with the EFS-2 throttle body (still don't have a repair/rebuild solution but trying to contact STRATUS). Don't know about the difference in rpm you and I are turning but would guess that final drive ratio would be a likely explanation. Oh yes, my engine was built with a non-standard cam also. My torque curve would likely be a little different than yours.

Thanks for the info Randy, anything I can learn or impart I'm all ears and hopefully not so much mouth. Give me a shout-out anytime ... Jim.

Hi everyone...I'm brand new to this forum and want to wish everyone a Happy & Prosperous New Year!

Besides that....I took a test flight with Dan Denny at Oshkosh when they 1st showed the Avid to the public in 1983, but I couldn't afford one at that time. I now can, and am looking for the original model with the big bicycle tricycle gear. Can anyone direct me as to where to find a nice one? Thank's

Bobby,

Don't have any specific info but have seen some of the big gear tricycle geared machines on YOUTUBE. You might be able to get some info from someones profile there. Good luck ... Jim

Hey guys ... your knocking me out! I'm trying hard to get my EA81 Subaru back into the air and thought I was the only person in the world doing so. Randy, I'm gobbling up your PIREPs and the detailed blow by blow. Even though yours is an A+ and mine is a Heavy Hauler (MKIV), this stuff is like manna from heaven. Saw your photos you referenced and man is that some sweet looking machine. I like the 'cheek' radiators, mine is mounted transversly between the main gear (hope to rework this in the future). Like the looks of your larger tires, I've got the small ones we most often use down south on the lower half of US of A.

Randy, where is your battery located? Had to locate mine in the tail due to my short fuselage and the heavier 4 banger. I'm going to let the guy who built mine take the old one out (a real project I'm told) so I can install a brand new Power Sonic 26 amp unit.

Any of you guys care to comment on hydraulic brake effectivenes? I've got a Scott steerable tailwheel but haven't seen much anchor power, at high taxi or manuvering tight.

It's a real pleasure to run into some kindred spirits - thanks all. Keep us informed Randy. Jim

Hi Jim,

You might try Mykal Templeman, the owner of Stratus; he doesn't use the throttle body set up on his motors but he used to work at NSI before he bought Stratus. He may know where to find parts. His number is 541-754-4114.

Randy

Just noticed this guy I'll get on it pronto. Thanks much guy. Jim

Hi Jim, welcome aboard.

I am running an EA81 on my new Avid+; I don't have a whole lot of hours on it yet but so far I really like it. My setup is a Stratus motor and redrive with RAM dual ignition distributor, mini alternator and serpentine belt for alternator and water pump, dual nose radators, I built the exhaust and used a FMP "Supertrap" type muffler; also using a 72" three blade warp drive prop. There are some pictures of mine in the Avid plus area of this forum.

What setup do you have on yours? Give us an idea what you mean by getting it back in the air?

Randy

Thanks Randy for the heads-up on your EA81. I'm not familiar with the STRATUS config, but man do I want to suck up any details on ANY Subaru powered AVID. I'm running the EA81 with the NSI reduction system. Friend of mine built it and has flown it all over the southeastern US. I've got an Ellison EFS-2 throttle body on it and have been trying to get either a rebuild kit or info as to where I may send it for a rebuild. Ellison seems to have gone the way of the DODO bird. I to am running a WARP three blade with 19 1/2 degrees of pitch in it - engine turns 5000 rpm on take-off. I've done some taxi test since purchase but need to tweek a few things before going for the glory. Just received a new battery (located in the tail end for weight and balance), some fluids, lubricants, filter, aviation hydraulic fluid (no right brake), and am awaiting the FAA to send me an application to re-register this baby (GRRR..). Engine runs fine, but feel like I need to replace the diaphram in the EFS-2 throttle body (got some time on it).

Thanks loads guy for getting back to me, got to run right now but will sure check out any pics of your machine and will get back with you to swap some data. Be well man and 'keep one foot on the ground'. Jim

We are all still lurking around here.

BANDIT and other fellow sojourners,

I'm lookig high and low for any info on a rebuild kit (or rebuild strategy) for the EFS-2 throttle body on my Subaru powered EA81 (NSI) MKIV Heavy Hauler. Any info or leads would be appreciated. EFS is now defunct, my throttle body works fine but has some time on it. Would like to just get a rebuild kit (have certified A&P/A&I support). Any vendors or people of knowledge, I would like to hear from you. Thanks to all - Jim

Yes sir, there are a few of us out here! I was out of touch with the outside world for a few days (no internet at the snowmachine cabin).

Warms my heart profusely 'akflyer'! Thanks many for your reply. I'll try to keep up with you guys, not on here before. Jim

I was going strong flying everyday trying to earn my PPSEL back in 2005. I was learning to fly at Felts Field in Spokane WA in a C-172N. About 25 hours into my training I got tagged to be a Flight Engineer for work and had to go to Oklahoma for 8 months for school. After I got into the routine of the school I went out to the local airport looking for a plane and a CFI so I could keep flying on the weekends. I found a redneck CFI from Northern Texas and local airport had a beat to death run down C150 for rent for cheap. I flew a few times with him and got a solo endorsement for a few of the local airports. He was busy and didn't have time to teach on the weekends so every weekend I went out as a student pilot solo in that old C-150 and beat up the pattern and flew back and forth to the next airport 12NM away. It was that summer that I think I really learned to fly and also that summer that I did some pretty dumb stuff.

After a few mos in Oklahoma I should have known that God flips the wind switch at about 11am. For some reason I had the hankering to go fly so I headed out and went and played around. I lost track of the time and suddenly realized the ground was going by really fast below me. I thought oh crap the wind has came up and made an immediate 180 back for the field. As soon as I made the turn I basically stopped. I was following a small two lane highway back and the cars were going WAY faster than I was. After the roughest and slowest flight back the airfield I've ever had I was finally on approach.

Of course I was a student and had been taught to fly the pattern the same way every single time. I was smart enough to make a straight in but not smart enough to leave the flaps up. As I got close I started trying to fly speeds I normally did and lowered the flaps on schedule. Pretty soon I was full flaps about a mile from the runway and wide open on the tired ol C-150 and not going forward anymore. I wish I would have had a GPS back then because I'm pretty sure I was going backwards on the approach at one point.  After what seemed like an eternity I finally crossed the threshold with a whole bunch of power in. My landing roll was about 20 feet. I had to keep "flying" the plane down to the first taxi turn off. When I turned off the runway I had the ailerons positioned right but it still almost tipped me over. I got turned back parallel to the runway and slowly taxied it to parking. By now the wind was gusting to 35. I had the seat cushion so far up my butt I could not breathe.

Thank god no one was around that day they would have been like WTF! Lessons learned... when your a brand new student pilot dont screw with the conditions your CFI puts those limitations in your endorsement for a reason and when it's gusting to over half of your approach speed DONT use flaps!! 

Hey guy, had a lot of fun things like this happen to me at about your level of experience. I got away with a few things, some of my friends didn't and paid the cost. I decided to go up one day from a little crop duster strip in a 150 and just check out the conditions. I knew I was in trouble when it took me three attempts to even tune my xceiver to unicom for an airport 30 miles away. Made my pattern (no flaps) and had the stall warner beeping steady at thirty feet up. Went almost full power and rejoined mother earth with wobbly knees. Sat out the rest of the day and finally flew back to the duster strip. Times like these either make you or break you (literally). Been told I could write a book or two on some of my more glorious moments. Truth is, I really don't want people to know just how stupid some of us can be. You brought back a memory or two (or 15, maybe 100 give or take a thousand). Hang tough guy, it ain't over 'till it's over' (original expression of mine). Jim

Pretty neet man (or can we still use that word). Getting mine ready, a little warmer here in 'BAMA though.

Any of you guys have interesting tidbits to contribute to this general topic? I'm going through the process of getting my machine back in the air.

A lot of the posts seem to be a little 'dated'. Is there anyone out there??