1avidflyer

Maybe the people who voted for you were just voting against the other guy??? (LOL) Sorry I couldn't  resist afer you said you didn't really run any campaign at all.  Power corrupts, you're probably better off. 

PS  probably shouldn't hit the post button, cause this might seem mean or insensitve.  I was just trying to be funny     Jim

This is how I see it.  If you tied a long rope tight between two objects on the ground, and then pulled up on the rope, you can get an awful lot of pull on the rope.  It acts like a lever.  The cabane V acts the same way.  When the landing gear deflects in a hard landing, that pulls pretty hard on the bottom of the V.  The crosstube acts to keep the V from pulling the sides of the fuselage in.  If the crosstube had a verticle between it and the V it would have made the crosstube that much less likley to buckle under the load.  My thinking is that if you also tied it to the seat truss, you then gain all the strength from the seat truss also.  If the seat truss is infilled, it's pretty strong in its self.  I'm inclined to think that if you tied the V to the seat truss, you wouldn't even need the cross tube.  Not that it would hurt anything, but I think the seat truss is far stronger than the cross tube.  Good topic for discussion.  Jim

Sorry guys for the way we (maybe should say I) hijacked the other thread with the discussion about bending up the bush gear and such.  Paul,  I haven't ordered springs yet, thanks for that source.  It is a good bit cheaper than the Mc Master Carr prices.  I've been wondering about using multiple wraps of 3/8" bungee instead of springs. Of course the springs compress and bungee stretches so the legs going to the cabane would have to act just the oposite of what they do with the spring system.  With the bungees, it would be lighter, more adjustable (more wraps)  possible longer travel too.  That's what I'm thinking might be some of the advantages.  I could be all wrong on this though.  I know more knowledgeable people than me have designed the gear with springs for good reason.  Of course Cubs and such used bungees for how long also.   It would be nice to get some others into this discussion for a more rounded out pool of knowledge.   I think it would also be helpful if others who have had trouble with their bush gear would give some imput as well.  Take care,  Jim Chuk

I was out in the garage looking at my fusaloge for the MK IV again, and got to thinking that this whole set up would be a lot stronger if the center of the V was tied verticly to the seat truss as well.  Without that tie, a lot of inward pressure is applied to the front  landing gear attachment  in a hard bounce.   That of course is what would pull the sides in, just as it did.  I think if one built the V off of the seat truss with the right triangulation of tubing, it would be very strong.  Of course then it wouldn't be removeable.  A verticle tube between the cross tube and the V would definatly help.  One could then put a strap in front and back of that tube to connect to the seat truss.  There is a tube going forward from the front of the seat truss that you would have to work around, but it could be done in a number of ways.  I'll include a rough scetch I drew up to try to show what I mean.  I'm sure this would all be stronger as well if the seat truss was infilled as much as possible.  I keep wanting to go to this topic cause I don't want a bent up covered fusaloge at some point in the future.

I guess if you strengthen the weakest link in the chain,  then you break the next weakest one.   My thoughts are this, if one was to somewhat infill the seat truss with metal, that would strengthen that.  Good plan even with the standard bungee gear.  I see where some have infilled the sides of the fusaloge as well.  I've done both of those on the Avid MK IV I'm rebuilding.  Wonder what is the next weak link.  Looking at the bent top crossbar on the cabane, I wonder if it had a verticle tube between the cross tube and the V if it would have held up.  Of course, the more tubes you get in there, the more weight and drag.  I'm thinking that some light gauge aluminum going from the flat fusaloge to the bottom of the V in front and back of the V with just the tabs sticking out would streamline things quite a bit.  (was looking at pics of a Champ yesterday, and it's got a V built into the fusaloge and it's all covered in fabric)  Question to others, has the Avid V been bent in any of the times that things got bent?  Do they even use the top cross tube?  Maybe it's built with larger/thicker tubing???  I don't know.  Good topic for discussion though.  Take care,  Jim Chuk

 

PS  just went back and re read your earlier post Paul where you mentioned the verticle tube between the crosstube and V.  Don't  know if I read that before and just forgot or what.....  Well my dad had alshiemers for about 5 years before he died so who knows.....  He was about 87 though when it started,  I'm only "only" 61

The plywood is a good way to go if you want to add strength and don't have it all bent up already.  Avid required the plywood infill if you went to the wide bungee gear.  If you have it all uncovered anyway, the metal might be better.  Take care,  Jim Chuk

I have thought that infilling the trusses with plywood would work equally as well as sheet metal, and wouldn't require fabric removal.  Haven't done it yet on mine, but as I get more adventurous, I probably should.

I guess if you strengthen the weakest link in the chain,  then you break the next weakest one.   My thoughts are this, if one was to somewhat infill the seat truss with metal, that would strengthen that.  Good plan even with the standard bungee gear.  I see where some have infilled the sides of the fusaloge as well.  I've done both of those on the Avid MK IV I'm rebuilding.  Wonder what is the next weak link.  Looking at the bent top crossbar on the cabane, I wonder if it had a verticle tube between the cross tube and the V if it would have held up.  Of course, the more tubes you get in there, the more weight and drag.  I'm thinking that some light gauge aluminum going from the flat fusaloge to the bottom of the V in front and back of the V with just the tabs sticking out would streamline things quite a bit.  (was looking at pics of a Champ yesterday, and it's got a V built into the fusaloge and it's all covered in fabric)  Question to others, has the Avid V been bent in any of the times that things got bent?  Do they even use the top cross tube?  Maybe it's built with larger/thicker tubing???  I don't know.  Good topic for discussion though.  Take care,  Jim Chuk

PS  just went back and re read your earlier post Paul where you mentioned the verticle tube between the crosstube and V.  Don't  know if I read that before and just forgot or what.....  Well my dad had alshiemers for about 5 years before he died so who knows.....  He was about 87 though when it started,  I'm only "only" 61

How long since it had new seals.  Rotax says every 5 years, and while that is probably real conservitive, If it's been a lot longer, it could be a good idea to get new seals and an inspection and decarb could be done at the same time.  That's easy for me to say though, I have a snowmobile outfit about 10 miles from me that will do that for about $250.  They've done something like 8 different engines for me and I flew behind all of them with no problems.  Take care,  Jim Chuk

I've been thinking of making my own gear, have the tubing now for it.  I'm not sure it's the right thing to do, but I'm wondering about using bungees instead of the springs.  Multiple wraps of 3/8" bungee would make it easier to adjust the tension, If you wanted, the slots could be longer which would give more travel as well.  Bungees would be less weight than the springs.  Can any one give me the actual advantages of the springs besides not having to replace them? Thanks,  Jim Chuk

PS I mentioned longer travel, and thought about how often when a seat truss bends with the standard gear, it happens when you reach the limiter cable.  Ofcourse you can only have so much travel before the prop would hit, but maybe sometimes a bit more would help. 

Hi Paul, sorry about your plane. Are you saying that the bottom tube on the seat truss buckled? I'm also interested in this cause I have all the tubing bought to build the bush gear myself.

Sounds like an idle jet might be plugged in one of the carbs. The holes in the idle jet are really small, like I used a small guitar string to poke through them. Pretty easy to get some junk in them. If one carb isn't working right, it will have a hard time idleing properly. The jets are easy to get to, drop the bottom off the carb, unscrew the idle jet. Hacman kit might be nice, but don't do it just to try to fix the idle, the idle circut in these carbs cuts out and the slide/midrange starts to take over somewhere around the 3000 rpm mark. These engines will not idle real smooth at low rpms, mostly from the prop fighting the gearbox at slower rpms, but it should smooth out at 2500 or 2600 rpm. I had a GSC on my Himax for a while, it seemed fine, but I think the factory says to replace them after 5 years..... Not sure how many people do. One thing to add, if you adjust it, you should never have to tighten the bolts down to where the two halves of the hub touch to get the right torque on the bolts. It's junk if you do. Take care, Jim Chuk

PS this is why you (I) should always read the questions better. (like before I hit the reply button!) If the carb boots are leaking air, that would very much affect the idle as well.

would syncing the carbs and possibly installing a Hacman kit help? also, is the GSC prop a descent prop? It's 3-bladed with what looks like a urethane leading edge. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

My B model serial # about 247 had the flat bottom doors just like my MK IV. Jim Chuk

The "A" model and the kitfox I have doors that are angled at the back and the side rails on the door sills make it much more difficult to get in and out of. I cant remember if it was changed on the "B" models or if the changes came with the "C" model. I would guess that there was a transition time between models where you could ahve had a "B" model with the angled door sill.

:BC:/>

One way to get more head room in these planes is with the bubble top windshield. Avid used to sell them, maybe they still do. There are places that will form plexiglass for you with different sized bubbles. They are for skylights. Avid used 2 bubbles in one sheet of plexiglass, but I would think one bubble would would work just as well. I used to have a site saved in my favorites that custom made them. Not real expencive either. Well under $100 as I remember for a size that would fit on the plane. Roughly 24" X 37" with a 2" or 3" high bubble. A friend of mine is about 6"1 and when he built his Model A Avid, he made it a single seat and it works fine for him. He did put a little dome on the windshield above his head, but I think it's because his seat sits a bit higher than it could have. He has a 55 HP Hirth on it. I'ts 36" wide accross at your shoulders, the B,c, and MK IV models are all 39.5" Here's a pic of my Avid MK IV with the bubbles on the top. If you're flying alone, I think any of these plane will work, especially with the added headroom. Best to find one that you can sit in and see. If your legs are real long verses your body, that could be a problem with your knees maybe to close to the instrument panel. Take care, Jim Chuk

If you pay attention, you learn something every day. A few posts back, someone (Avid STOL HH) asked to see the metal caps on other planes. I brought the camera with me when I went to go flying to get some pics for him. I took some of my MK IV caps with the ram air vent tubes, then a couple of the cap on my C model HH wings. I knew those caps were plastic. Low and behold! those caps were close to the fusaloge just like yours are. Glad you brought up the problem you were having with them, I think I will replace the caps to where they should be before I recover those wings. Funny how if your not looking for something you maybe don't see it. I've looked at those wings various times, but never noticed the caps location till today. Well here are the pics... Put another 2 hrs on the MK IV today, helping my friend master the taildragger. He just got his Private a few months ago in a 172 and wants to start flying the Avid... Big change. He showed lots of improvement today. We are on skis and landing on a packed strip on a lake. Take care, Jim Chuk

Let it warm up good!!! I dont go over 2200RPM till I have a solid 140 on the water temp. Cold siezures are not good and can give you a false feeling that all is well because most times, the engine will squeak, then die, then as soon as it cools a tad you can restart and it will seem to run fine. The problem is, there WILL be aluminum off your piston stuck to the side walls and sooner or later, your looking at a major tear down. It is easy to avoid cold seizures... LET IT WARM UP GOOD!

Here is what a piston looks like that's had a cold siezure. This came out of my last MK IV after I got it home. The guy didn't have a thermostat in the plane, and he said it was really hard to get it to warm up. It was about +40 F and after taking off and getting to about 200' the 582 died and he was able to land straight ahead with no damage to the plane. It started up soon after and he couldn't find the reason. I should have pulled the exhaust pipe and looked at the cylinders before I bought it, but it ran nice and sounded good so... I figured on tearing it down as soon as I got it home for new seals anyway, but wasn't expecting to put another $700 in parts into it. I'm not crying though, price was low even with the overhaul. Jim

I read in one of the Avid newsletters why they went to the ram air vented tubes. One of Avid's main guys was flying behind a 582 to Oshkosh and his fuel pump quit. He had to put the plane down in the mountains somewhere. I could find the newsletter if need be, but that's how it came about. The ram air pressure will keep the fan turning. (that's kindof nice) On my first MK IV, I drilled out the metal caps and epoxied in 1/4" aluminum tubes. They worked fine. I also used those caps without the tubes for a long time with out problems, although shortly after I stated to fly the plane I had a fuel filter between the wing tank and header tank plug to where I had to land in a neighbors hay field. (It doesn't take much to stop gravity feed) If I had had the vented tubes then, it may have pushed enought fuel through the filter to keep it running. Take care, Jim Chuk

I would be hesitant to use a fuel cap that does not have the goose neck ram air tube in it. The steel cap that Jim refered to can have the tube braised or welded into it. The guy that had my avid before me did not have the ram air tubes in the plastic caps and said he never had an issue with the engine running out of fuel but I am hesitant to try it. I may put one on a tank and take it up and try running on that tank to see if it draws fine over time, but there was a reason that the factory put out the service bulletin to modify the caps with the ram air tube in them.

Just my .02

:BC:/>

Leni, you wouldn't insult me, just curious, what did the factory want for a set? Was that the Avid or Kitfox factory? About 8 years ago, I picked up a messed up Kitfox 3 that needed a wing and flaperon. I remember talking to Kitfox then and they wanted to sell me a Kitfox 4 wing kit. Don't think it included the flaperons, but it may have. They wanted about $4500. Later on I was sure glad I didn't do anything with them. Just after that they stopped filling orders after taking the money. I would probably have been one of the poor guys that got screwed. Just to be clear on this, if anyone doesn't know about this Kitfox thing, it's not the current owners that were robbing people. Take care, Jim Chuk

I know what the factory wants for a set... NO THANKS, I will build my own for a very small fraction of the price.. I would not want to insult you with putting a number out there Jim, however, I will tell you that I would go without flying for a very long time before I paid the factory for a set of them, and I cant live without flying! :lol:/>

:BC:/>

Chris, you just need to spend more time out in the shop with those two planes turning wrenches and whatever else they need!! LOL. One other topic: Congrats on the purchase of the new plane RMendler?? Was wondering what you meant by oil injected but at 100-1 so premixing is still required. Is the oil injection pump set incorrectly? Take care, Jim Chuk

Yahoo! Awesome!

Now if only I had a flyable plane.....Two in the shop and Zero in the air is not where I like being, but it is far better than Zero in the shop with no hope of getting in the air! :-/>)

ChrisB

Just looking my Wag-Aero catalog at gas caps and necks and they show (on page 3) and aluminum weldable neck that is 2/14" in diameter. If one was to use a hole saw, maybe 2 3/16" size, you could slip this neck into the hole. Might have to file a bit, but usually the hole saws cut just a bit oversize. You could then perhaps epoxy or fiberglass the neck into place. Not saying this is the best way, but it's the one that comes to my mind right now. The price for the neck # E-448-000 was $8.40 the cap # E-482-000 was $6.95 Take care, Jim Chuk

Just reread you post and as far as fixing the leaking fuel caps, when you install the new caps, remove the old ones and patch the hole with fiberglass. Just thought of another thing. Do you have plastic caps? Wasn't Leni saying his caps leak fuel also. He had the plastic caps. The caps I mentioned from Wag-Aero are the steel ones and look like what my MK IVs have. No problem with fuel leakiing out of them.

Was just talking to brett at airdale and he was thinking the same thing, however he was wondering if I needed to get to the back side of the cap to do that which is impossible because it is inside the tank. Maybe you can help me research a little. However, I still need to solve my leaking fuel problem.

Wonder if you couldn't fiberglass new caps in where they should be, and remove the old ones? Might not have to do a lot of fabric patching, and it should all be over a solid surface. (the tank) Take care, Jim Chuk

I have learned that the previous partial builder of my AVID installed the wing tanks on the wrong side therefore placing the fill cap about 4" away from the lexan. Also this causes me to lose about 2 gallons of fuel per tank because I cant fill them all the way. Not so much worried about the little less fuel but I have fuel spilling out during flight. I have the vented gas caps. What is a permanent fix to keep fuel in the tank and off the wings. It is very critical because the fill cap is so close to the lexan.

Definately when I get more time I am going to remove the fiberglass tanks and install plastic or aluminum if available. But for now I just want to keep her flying.

Does airdale or any supplier sell a gas cap that fixes that problem?

Thanks for input.

The guy on the TeamKitfox Forum with the Kitfox 3 wings has the flaperons also. I'm thinking they may be the same as the Avid ones. You would have to compare the hangars/hinges and distance between them and yours. I do know that the Kitfox 4 flaperons are larger and mount differently. He is in Michigan, I'm in Mn, so he's further from you than me, but maybe a deal could be made. Anyone want to offer an opinion what one should ask for them? And yes I do realize that opinion would be somewhat different if one was buying or selling. LOL! Take care, Jim Chuk

I do have the brand new flaperons that are in that Kitfox 1 kit I just picked up a week ago, but I'm still not sure if I want to part it out or sell it off as a complete kit.

Please keep me in mind if you decide you can part with them... (and I can afford what you want). :shitfan:/>

Thanks

Stephen

I have a set, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them. Thinking maybe when I rebuild the wings I would sell them togeather. Might let them go sooner though? Take care, Jim Chuk

I'm still interested in finding a set of used but straight flaperons for an "Avid C HH" if anyone has or knows of a set around.

I use synthetic 85/140 that I got from the local "men's" store. (Like a Farm And Fleet) The synthetic doesn't get real stiff in cold temps. Take care, Jim Chuk

Do any of you have a recommendation for 90 w oil for the c drive that is readily available.

THanks

Just wondering Doug, was the wife out of town when you turned the kitchen into your workshop? LOL. Looks like you are going to have some nice seats when you get done. I may copy some of your ideas. Take care, Jim Chuk

I would highly suggest sculpting in some lumbar support...

Hi Leni, in a recent post of yours, you said you use Mecury Power Tune every 100 hrs. to get rid of the carbon in your engine. Can you tell me more about that product, and how you use it. My hour meter is showing 51 hrs. since I rebuilt the 582 last Sept. and I'm thinking about Rotax's saying to decarbon every 50 hrs. Thanks, Jim Chuk

There is a guy on the TeamKitfoxForum with a set of Kitfox 3 wings, and flaperons for sale. Just a reminder, the strut attachment point is further out on the Kitfox 3 than the 2, but if you have the Kitfox 3 struts, that might not be an issue. Or maybe you can just lengthen the Kitfox 2 struts. The guy was looking for an idea of what they were worth. Might come to a deal with him. Take care, Jim Chuk

If Kitfox or Avid cant supply the original undercambered STOL ribs for your wings, I can send you a pattern. I also have some rib-building fixtures for sale. I can have the Kitfox 1 manual copied which is the same wing.

ED in MO