marksires

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Everything posted by marksires



  1. marksires added a post in a topic low fuel warning device???   

    If you scroll down far enough, it says the control box needs 100-220v AC.  Not lying, just not designed for our American short attention span.
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  2. marksires added a post in a topic Walmart Aircraft Air conditioner   

    Might work if you are flying in Phoenix.  Florida or Alaska, not so much.  It will just make you wetter.
    I remember years ago Universal Studios in Orlando put the misting fans at the wait lines - they worked great at the California location, so let's put them in Florida too!  Probably somebody getting a kickback from the fan manufacturer, or else just plain stupid. 
    They did a great job of getting you wet, but didn't cool at all.  Hard to get any evaporation cooling when the humidity is already 80%.
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  3. marksires added a post in a topic 8310R   

    What does it cruise at? 
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  4. marksires added a post in a topic Avid STOL airfoil -some calculations   

    Turbo,
    I think you missed the point of the climb out in the article.  The point was that the Avid achieves maximum climb rate at a low speed (60mph in the examples).  If you are climbing 1000fpm at 60mph, then you have a steeper angle of climb than an airplane that climbs 1000fpm at 100mph.   This is a big advantage when  you are in a confined takeoff area.
    My Cherokee 235 will climb at 1000fpm, but it is going 110mph to do so.  At 60mph, it would be mushing along with little to no climb - with full flaps.  So the Avid advantage in a confined area is much greater than just the 600-700 feet shorter takeoff run.
    Always remember these kinds of articles are as much about marketing as they are education- they will stress the strengths of their product, while glossing over the disadvantages.  In this case, I'm sure it was inspired by a competitor talking about how much faster they were, with a slightly longer takeoff run.
    Of course, the Cherokee would be doing that with 4 people, full fuel, and 100lbs of baggage, (or 2 people, full fuel, a couple of dressed moose, well maybe alligators in my case  ), which  is a different kind of advantage depending on what your mission is.  It would also be burning about 20gph in the climb, then 12.5 in cruise, but cruising at 150mph.  Again, different mission, different plane.
    Mark
     
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  5. marksires added a post in a topic Avid STOL airfoil -some calculations   

    The link goes to a September 1996 one, not June 1996
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  6. marksires added a post in a topic Avid Trailer   

    That works great for a project!  Mine was a flying Avid, I think that trailer would be a little short!   I also had two nights out on the way back, and didn't want it damaged by looky loos in the hotel parking lots.  And I *might* have exceeded the 70mph legal limit for a good part of the trip.
    That is a great stealth trailer setup though, no one would ever think of asking for someone with a Mini to help them move!
    Mark
     
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  7. marksires added a post in a topic Leaky tank repair   

    I hope it works long term.  I've heard to many stories of it delaminating and clogging the fuel system after several years.  It is almost impossible to get something to bond when you don't have the opportunity to prep the surface first.  But if it buys you several years, then it is probably worth it.  If you start seeing debris when you sump the tanks after this, it is probably time to replace them.
    Looking through the logs on my Cherokee, I found they did this to the tanks, then replaced the tanks about 5 years later.
     
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  8. marksires added a post in a topic Avid Trailer   

    I have an enclosed trailer, but a wing has to come off to fit the avid in.  It was neither cheap, nor light!  But it was worth it to bring the avid from California to Illinois, then Florida.  I've probably got 75,000 miles on that trailer now, using it for many things except hauling the avid!
    One caution - even more so than when you get a pickup, suddenly you have a lot of friends that need to move.....
    Mark
     
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  9. marksires added a post in a topic Base to final stall   

    30 degrees is more than I like on that turn, there is little chance of recovery if you stall there.  That said, as long as you were coordinated in the turn, depending on the stall speed of your plane you were probably not too close to the edge. If you want to be sure, get up to a decent altitude, and practice accelerated stalls until you know when it is too much.
    But then I've also never obsessed about a square base to final turn.  That is where I get my final read on the winds, and if I overshoot and need to spend some of my 'final' time getting back to the final course, that's just the way it is.  If there are obstacles, that changes things, but there are few times that's an issue.
    Mark
     
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  10. marksires added a post in a topic Water injection to increase horsepower   

    Note that it wasn't straight water injection on the 109, it was a Methanol/Water mix.  This is still done, and kits are available for cars:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkPFZWd8wj4
    B52's used water injection during takeoff when loaded heavy.  They could only use it for a short time or it would cool the hot section too much and reduce the power instead of increase it.  Jet engines, particularly pure turbojets like the B-52, make thrust by shoving air/exhaust gases out the back really really fast.  Add water, which is much more dense AND expands much more than air when it converts to gas (steam), and you get a much higher thrust.  At least until the cooling effect sucks up too much energy and things quit expanding.
    I did an aviation camp at the former Castle Air Force base in Merced, CA with my son one summer.  It was a former B-52 base, and they brought in some of the old B-52 pilots to talk about it.  They had a museum with a B-52 and a B-36 (what a monster!).  They also had an original B-52 simulator - it took up 3 rooms.  The Air Force had removed some boards so it would work, but the cockpit, flight engineer, and weapons officer stations (in 3 separate rooms) were all complete to look at, sit in the seats and make airplane noises.
    Mark
     
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  11. marksires added a post in a topic latest air vehicle (not really)   

    You watched a video of a hot chick in a bikini flying one, and then post that video.  Sounds like grounds for banination to me! 
     
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  12. marksires added a post in a topic Avid Trailer   

    When I bought my Avid in California, I bought an enclosed trailer (8' x 20') to haul it back to Illinois (and later to Florida).  Best decision I ever made.  Unfortunately, the only one I could find in time was too narrow to load the Avid with the wings attached.  I took off the wing without a fuel tank, not terribly difficult, and easy to reattach.  I didn't check the tail, and it is just as wide as the wings are folded so it had to come off also.  That one nut buried in the vertical stabilizer is a ROYAL b*tch to get out, particularly at a remote field with only the tools I brought!
    Still have the trailer 13 years later - probably has 75,000 miles on it by now.  Most useful thing I ever bought.
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  13. marksires added a post in a topic Avid Trailer   

    Big difference hauling one short distance at low speed (tire/wheel bearing limits) and hauling one across the country on the freeways at high speed.
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  14. marksires added a post in a topic Airworthy Magnum   

    Congrats!
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  15. marksires added a post in a topic Avid Flyer Model C Seat   

    I too have become quite adept at turning perfectly good metal into a bunch of recyclable chips with my lathe and mill!  
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  16. marksires added a post in a topic Grass strip help....bumpy.   

    If all you did was plow up/smooth the existing soil, and that soil is mostly clay, then it will always return to its naturally bumpy state.  As BryceKat and Yamma-Fox said, it is complicated, and if you have clay, with rain, and freeze/thaw cycles, keeping it smooth is a never ending job.  The grass strip at our airpark is marvelous, but it is in Florida, with mostly sandy soil.  It doesn't take a lot of maintenance to keep it in excellent condition.
    One thing, is the grass is way too tall - that is part of the clumping problem. It needs to be mowed as frequently as your lawn.
     
    Mark
     
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  17. marksires added a post in a topic Hangar size   

    That's who I bought my 50x50x18 kit from.  Good product, good service, and reasonable price.  It showed up when promised, and when I found a couple of missing items, they shipped them out quickly.  It went together easily - combined with an amazing job my concrete guy did setting the anchor bolts, it didn't need a single shim anywhere to be square and plumb.
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  18. marksires added a post in a topic Hangar size   

    My new 50 x 50 x 18 hangar was feeling a little small yesterday - junk accumulates faster than you can remove it!
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  19. marksires added a post in a topic A different film from Fred...   

    It does make me more confident in the strength of 3d printed items...
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  20. marksires added a post in a topic Build or fly?   



  21. marksires added a post in a topic Diary of a snow shoveler   

    Exactly why I live in Florida now...
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  22. marksires added a post in a topic Nice Evening of Ice   

    Nice pictures, but my idea of a nice evening with ice usually involves a glass.
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  23. marksires added a post in a topic Wind   

    I can attest to the accuracy of that Wyoming windsock after I drove through there in the middle of March.  One stop I had to go around to the passenger side to get in.  The drivers side had the wind blowing directly on it and I couldn't open the door.
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  24. marksires added a post in a topic Brrr to cold to fly   

    -18 in the middle of Illinois 5 or 6 years ago is why I now live in Florida!  Bit chilly here today though, only 38 degrees at 10:30am, and that is COLD in Florida!
    Mark
     
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  25. marksires added a post in a topic Any a&p near hazel, ky   

    No, that would qualify as a 'major alteration', requiring another period of test flying, per the operating limitations issued with the original AW certificate, usually 5 hours,  but it does not require a new AW certificate.
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