cliff

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Everything posted by cliff



  1. cliff added a post in a topic Poly Fiber Compressor Requirements   

    I don't have any experience with the Stewart system. I have used all the Poly Fiber products and they seam to work great. That being said, if you use PolyFiber, I think you could use your small compressor for everthing except the final color coats. You will probably end up having to stop spraying to let the compressor catch up but that doesn't really matter when spraying poly spray, since you will be sanding it before you put on the next cross coat. Try to get a decent water trap or at least use the screw on moisture balls, water and paint don't work well together. When you are ready for color coats you could try to borrow a compressor from a buddy or rent  one and hook it together with your compressor, like some one else mentioned, or you could take it to a local body shop for the color coats. If you have it sanded and ready to paint, it shouldn't cost that much to spray a couple of coats of color on each part. Try to find a small owner/operator bodyshop. Don't go to a chain store type or a car dealership unless owned and operated by a pilot/aviation person. I own and operate a small body shop and have sprayed several airplanes for people who did all the prep work. The actual painting is the easiest and the least time consuming part of the job but requires the most controlled conditions to achieve a smooth, dirt free finish.  Good luck with your project.
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  2. cliff added a post in a topic Fiberglass or Plastic fuel tanks?   

    Chris, I knew I shouldn't have posted anything about sealing my tanks. Thank you for letting me know that there is no coating that will seal a tank. 
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  3. cliff added a post in a topic Fiberglass or Plastic fuel tanks?   

    The KBS sealer is silver. I have been painting motorcycles for over 30 years and have seen every type of tank sealer known to man. I have seen the off white cream sealer fail many times. There is a red product that looks like transmission fluid, It works well but It wasn't known if it would work in fiberglass tanks. The KBS Coatings product had specific instructions for use in fiberglass tanks. One of the custom bike builders that I did paint work for had been using the KBS for years with no problems. I just figured I would try it. I have a fiberglass right tank and a metal left tank. I sealed them both with KBS sealer. We will see if it holds up. I am running clear fuel lines so I can keep an eye out for any break down of the sealer. I will post the name of the product when I go back out to the shop.
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  4. cliff added a post in a topic Fiberglass or Plastic fuel tanks?   

    I sealed the inside of my fiberglass tank with a product from KBS coatings. It is a fuel tank sealer for steel or fiberglass tanks. It is not effected by ethanol and was easy to use with the tank out of the wing. There was an extensive washing and etching process and then the sealer was poured in and the tank was rotated until the entire inside was coated. I haven't reported on it until now because I wanted to make sure it worked, I have had fuel in it for a few months with no leaks and no softening of the fiberglass. So far ao good. I will let you all know if it fails in the future.
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  5. cliff added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Good one Ed!!!!!!
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  6. cliff added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Jim, 
     
    The A model was a compromise to get us in the air quicker. It started out a a donor airplane but ended up being a quicker way to having something to fly. It was a speed wing , we took the stol wings from the MK4 project and put them on the A model. Now we have a poorly built set of speed wings and an Airdale wing extension kit for the MK4. The entire journey we have taken to get to the first flying Avid was long  because of miss steps. We have more money in it than we will ever get out of it if we sell it. It still has mechanical brakes that do almost nothing and a crappy trim system that needs reengineered. It flys great but I just can't see dumping another 10k into it to put a HKS on it. I have been flying it for a couple of months and don't want to be with out a puddle jumper again while I would do the engine swap. It probably would be a good airframe and powerplant combination, but I just don't want to go there. A MK4 with bush gear, extended fuselage, Jabiru 3300, and Flaps was my vision. Sort of a cheaper way to have something comparable to a highlander. I can't afford a Highlander so I thought I would build something close with the parts I have. For now I am going to let it rest and cross this bridge again next year when I am finished with my move to my new airport. I am in the middle of a hangar renovation and toys and playing are on the back burner until I have my new shop up and running.  
     
      Thanks, Cliff   ps how do you use the spell check on this forum?
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  7. cliff added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Ed,
     I always listen to wisdom, especially when it comes from some one who has been there and done that. Thanks for your input.
     
    Chris b.  I don't love to build for myself, but love the results when I am finished. I restore Cars, Bikes , and planes for a living. It is my job, and I spend many , many hours each week making my customers happy. This leaves me little time to build for myself and if I am building, than I am not flying. Your advice is well taken. I need to fly more than build right now (mental therapy). I am still not going to make any decision until next year about the mk4 project. It isn't costing me anything sitting there collecting dust.
     
    Thanks again, Cliff
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  8. cliff added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    I have an A model Avid with a fresh 582 and c box that I fly to unwind and destress when I have the time and I have a Cessna 180 for traveling and other fun adventures. The A model is cheap and fun to fly but, with a few 2 stroke engine out landings over the past 30+ years of flying 2 stroke aircraft, I never feel completely comfortable in the 2 stroke. I am thinking about selling the A model and the MK4 project and buying a 4 stroke LSA. I have a fondness for the Avid/Kitfox type airplanes and would love to build one exactly how I want it but, I don't have the time now or in the forseeable future. It might be time to give up on the building dream and just buy something as close to what I wanted to build out of my MK4 project. I think I will let it stew over the winter and figure it out next year.
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  9. cliff added a post in a topic SCRATCH BUILDING   

    Ed,
    I have a mk4 project, I have many modifications I would like to do to it. Stretch the fuselage, flaps, Grove or bush gear, 4 stroke, etc. I don't have time right now to work on it and it is just sitting collecting dust. It will cost 20k to 30k  and hundreds, if not thousands of hours to build it the way I want.  I am at the point where I look at it and still have the dream, but at the same time I realize I could sell it and just buy a finished plane for the same amount of money. I love flying the 2 stroke Avid I have but, I really want a 4 stroke lsa for my brother to get his sport license in. I am at a turning point. Do you have any advice for me?  Would you go down the path of scratch building and modifying again?
    Thanks, Cliff
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  10. cliff added a post in a topic Highwing Cabane gear for sale   

    Do you still have this gear for sale?
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  11. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    akflyer,  It will be easier to paint your 180 with the wings off, you made the right choice. I always end up with a better finished product when I paint a plane piece by peice. All the extra work will be worth it in the end. 
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  12. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    I had some visitors today. Tom in his Zenieth 601, Linda in her Cessna 150, Bill in his Kolb, and I flew the Avid in for a short visit, Had to put it back at it's hangar at Lazy B because my hangar interior is being renovated. It was a perfect day for flying today, put .6 on the Avid, better than nothing.
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  13. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    Wife and I made our first landing at our airport at sunset this evening. We were flying the 180. If I have time tomorrow I will bring the Avid in.
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  14. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    Mowed the runway for the first time. Not as bad as I thought it might be.
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  15. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    Thanks everyone.  As soon as I learn how to post pictures I will start a progress thread. So far we have gutted the hangar in preparation for insulation , wall and ceiling finishing.  Penndot aviation dept came out and surveyed the runway. we need to cut some trees to keep the runway at it's current published length of 2200'.  It is about 3000' long but the trees create the need for displaced thresholds at each end.  Luckily My new neighbor is willing to allow me to trim his trees and several of the intruding trees are on my property. 
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  16. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    It's a done deal. My wife and I are the owners of Circle W airport.
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  17. cliff added a post in a topic Prop selection Rotax 582 grayhead w B box 2.58:1   

    Thanks for the reply.
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  18. cliff added a post in a topic Prop selection Rotax 582 grayhead w B box 2.58:1   

    AKflyer, Why don't you like the 3 to 1 Cbox?  We just put one on our plane and it seems to work great.  I'm sure you have good reasons, I am just trying to learn as much as possible.
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  19. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    We sign on the dotted line at 5pm est on Thursday October 30th.  Many, many, things to  get figured out. Hopes and dreams, reality and debt. More than my brain can handle. Being guided from above helps with the worries.  Living the dream, but still dreaming.
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  20. cliff added a post in a topic Phase I flight testing   

    Could you post some pictures of your mixing system and flex cables?   Sounds interesting, and thank you for your wing wash out opinion. It will be a while until we get back to work on the mark 4 project but I am continually learning from you guys and taking notes. 
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  21. cliff added a post in a topic Phase I flight testing   

    Congrats on your accomplishment.  I too, recently got an old Avid back in the air and share your enthusiasm  I am very interested to know the answers that birddog486 asked. I have a project mark 4 with speed wings that I have an airdale extension kit for and your experience will help me decide how much wash out to rebuild into my wings. Have fun and be safe.
     
     Thanks Cliff
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  22. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    Thank you akflyer. Now the real work begins.
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  23. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    Thanks, Paul
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  24. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    All the neighbors but one was on board with us by the end of the meeting. Most had valid questions that myself, the state airport representative, or my Lawyer( who owns his own private strip 2.5 miles from Circle W) answered to there satisfaction. Most of there questions were very well thought out and were concerns to each individual. It looks like we are going to have a bunch of really nice people for our new neighbors. Everyone introduced themselves to us after the meeting and welcomed us to the neighbor hood .  America still has it's share of hard working , good citizens and in this area they are the majority. The only guy who had anything bad to say,  had a grudge with the previous owner. Even though he left before we could get to meet him personally he did make the comment that he wasn't  against what I wanted to do. I think he just wanted to get some stuff of his chest as to how he felt he had been wronged in the past. He had a legitimate gripe, it just had nothing to do with us or what we have planned for the property.
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  25. cliff added a post in a topic Cliff's plane pictures   

    Mark,
     
     Thanks.
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