marksires

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Posts posted by marksires

  1. Posted

    Ed,

    I have a pair of MC-5's I took out of my Avid to put the shorter MC-4GH's in. I installed the 'intensifier' kit in them in my first attempt to improve braking. These are the ones with the reservoir built into the top. Make me an offer if you are interested!

    Mark

  2. Posted

    I don't think so.  I told my wife if she goes before I do I wouldn't remarry.  Regular trips to the 'ranch' look cheaper to me!  :P

    1 person likes this

  5. Posted

    Ed,

     

    Thanks, I've checked with them and they don't have the aluminum I need, they do have the 4130 though. I can't seem to find anyone that carries 2.5" .083 wall tubing for spars. Several places online carry the .065, but I want something stiffer for a heavier build. Maybe I'm just overly cautious with the spars.

     

    Doug,

     

    Thanks for the kind words. If you liked her write up on the accident you should check out her books. Plus it will help us a little financially! I do have the time to rebuild as I'm not working. My biggest issue is the space to work in right now. I have my little Teenie Two in the garage and the Pursang in my big trailer that is usually my work shop so I'm limited. I need to build a shed or at least tarp the Pursang fuse so I have my workspace back I guess.

     

    I really was hoping to just have to rebuild the fuselage and install everything else that I have. The right wing be damages wasn't in the plan. I can rebuild it and have the skills to do it, just didn't want to have the extra expense or time put into it.

    Wicks has a 4130 sale on right now. I don't see the 2.5"x.083 on the list, but here is a link to the list:

     

    http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1105202523133-110/wicks+4130+sale.pdf

     

    Mark

  9. Posted

    Sorry Brother, you know I cannot part with the floats, but if I find some for sale, will pass that info along.

    Thanks,

    That's why I said enjoy them!  I thought there were more honest politicians than amphib Avid floats, but you proved me wrong! :-)

    Mark

    1 person likes this

  11. Posted

    Kenneth,

    Good to hear from you again!  I have gone to Florida twice this year, and both times went to Tavares to get an hour of float time at his business (Jones Brothers Seaplane Adventures) in this airplane.   He posted on facebook in April offering the pilot privileges for the 8 hour trip for less than 1/3 the price the 8 hours would cost normally, which basically paid for the gas.  I responded first, so I 'won'.  We had already planned to go to Florida again the week he was flying it to Missouri on Friday, so it worked out for me to have no additional travel expenses.  Various things including weather caused it to be delayed until Monday, which meant I had to stay on the lakefront at Tavares for 3 days watching boats and seaplanes, it was really tough!   :BC: .

    Since we are looking for a home to buy in Florida, (that's why all the trips) it was also a good opportunity for me to do the cross country to/from the Midwest with another pilot in the plane.  My cross country skills were a little rusty, so it was good all around.

     

    Mark

  12. Posted

    Just finished flying a Cessna 180 on straight floats from Tavares, FL to Lake of the Ozarks, MO.
    Got off the water in Tavares at about 8:05 am, had glass smooth air to our first fuel stop at Lake Blackshear in Georgia, about a 2 hour leg. The Lake Blackshear resort marina has a seaplane friendly dock, but the Marina was closed, so we added the 20 gallons we had in cans to make it to our next stop in Guntersville, AL.
    The weather gods were kind to us again, and we arrived at Guntersville after about another 2 hours. The airport has a seaplane dock at the north end of the airport, just be aware of the high tension lines that are also at the north end. Plenty of room as long as you don't forget about them and try to do a big fly around before landing. 

    The staff at Guntersville were extremely helpful. We called about 8 miles out, and when we landed they had the 100LL trailer and the courtesy care waiting for us at the dock. We filled up the airplane and the cans again - 62 gallons total. Guntersville is working on getting an official seaplane base designation, and believe they will have it by the end of the year. They also have a commitment from the TVA to keep the seaplane basin clear of weeds out to the main body of water once the seaplane designation is official. If you've landed there before, and had to fight the weeds late in the summer, this will be a big improvement. They are actively seeking out more seaplane business, a very good thing this day and age!

    We departed Guntersville, and the weather wasn't as good as we'd had, but still pretty good for a long cross country. Scattered at about 2,500, but not too many bumps, and no significant headwind. We had a tailwind forecast, but it had not yet appeared. I count no headwind as a tailwind in most cases anyway.

    The next leg was about 2.5 hours to Lake Wappappello in southern Missouri. No facilities there at all, so we beached next to a boat ramp on one of the branches. There was a guy fishing farther up the branch, so he came down to see what was going on. Very nice, and helped hold the plane on the beach while we lugged the cans up and poured them into the tanks. He was pretty happy he'd have a new story to tell all his friends biggrin.png

    While we were fueling, the winds picked up. The first takeoff we had to abort, the winds had shifted and we now had a tailwind. We moved out to a more open area, let the plane weathervane to find the right wind direction, and then took off without incident, although the water was significantly rougher than we had experienced so far.

    The next leg was about 1.5 hours to Lake of the Ozarks, where the plane will be based for the summer months. The wind had really picked up, and there was continuous turbulence the entire leg. Not terrible, but I worked harder that 1.5 hours than I had the 6.5 previous hours combined. We did pick up a nice tailwind though, and gained about 15 knots if ground speed.

    We landed uneventfully in a small cove where the plane will be based at about 4:35pm local, or 5:35pm at our departure point. Total time was 9.5 hours, including the 3 fuel stops. I had done all the takeoffs and landings to this point, but the winds were gusting to 23, as a crosswind, and I was tired after dealing with the turbulence the last 1.5 hours, so I let the owner, who had landed in this cove all last summer, handle that landing. We tied up at the dock, met his family there, unpacked the plane. The only passenger was a very unhappy cat, who made the trip with lots of complaining, but no problems.

    It was a fun adventure for a new seaplane rated pilot - 8 hours of flying, 4 takeoffs and 3 landings, all on different lakes hundreds of miles apart, and a lot of low, relatively slow flying from point to point. Until the last leg, our ground speed was around 100kts, the last leg with the tailwind we were typically around 115kts, but I saw 122kts for a few minutes.

    Mark

  16. Posted · Edited by mark

    Highly recommend the seaplane rating. Did mine in December and it has become an addiction.  I'm sitting in Tavares Fl right now, was supposed to fly a 180 on floats from here to Lake of the Ozarks (MO) on Friday, various things delayed that till Monday.  This is what a flight delay looks like when you fly seaplanes....

    Mark

    post-503-0-25502200-1400365255_thumb.jpg

    1 person likes this

  18. Posted

    It's only 80 miles from KFXE to MYGF (Freeport Bahamas).  He might make it, but it will take him a long time to get back.  To fly to there from the US, you have to have an FAA registered plane, and the N numbers have to be at least 12" high.  He might get to spend some time in the 'free hotel' if he makes it.

     

    Mark

  19. Posted

    That's right, but remember Ron White's lesson - it doesn't matter what she looks like, it can be tucked, implanted, liposucked, stretched or sagged as needed. But always remember, you can't fix stupid!

    Mark

  21. Posted

    Apparently it all came to the midwest this year.  I remember one day in January I was in Chicago for a meeting.  It was -18f actual when I left the hotel to walk the 1/2 mile to the meeting.  After I thawed out a bit, I thought I'd make myself feel better by looking up the weather in Fairbanks, since it was always cold there.  It was +34 degrees at that time - 52 degrees warmer than Chicago!

    Mark

  22. Posted

    I agree about Wild West Guns, occasionally amusing, but for the most part Ken makes me want to go check my wallet, then wash my hands. I did like the tag line on one of the show - 'There are two kinds of people in Alaska, those that carry guns, and bait'

    Mark

  23. Posted

    I think the MCMC4GH master would work better on the Avids with the updated pedals as it is shorter than the 4D master.  But you still have to deal with the rudder bar issue and slot the bottom of the master or move one mount tab on each of the rudder bars.

     

    http://www.matcomfg.com/MasterCylinders-tp2-5.html

     

    Link the Matco master cylinder page

     

    :BC:

    The MC4G is the master cylinder I used when I remade my pedals to make the brakes work.  When I'm back in town (the end of May at this point), I'll take pictures of the new pedals/cylinders.  They work much better than the 'stock' Avid pedals with the MC5 cylinder.

    Mark

    1 person likes this

  24. Posted

    I plan to be there the whole week, but that may change based on client needs.  I'll be in the campground with a house that follows my Black Ram 2500 Longhorn around sometimes.......  Hope to see you there!

    Mark

  25. Posted

    If your brake pedals don't have the 2.5x1 geometry that Matco says you need, then fixing that will make the biggest improvement in braking over anything else you can do.  My 'stock' avid wouldn't hold at 3000RPM, let alone 5000-5500rpm needed for runup.  It had the MC5 cylinders with the built in reservoir.  I tried the augmentation kit that matco sells, which made a marginal improvement - maybe I could hold 3500RPM.  So I bit the bullet, put in MC4G (really short) cylinders, an external reservoir, and built new pedals that gave me the 2.5x1 geometry.  Now I can hold 5500rpm for runup.  Same calipers, lines, etc.

    Mark