Mike Ricketts, nice to meet you Joey!

[n611af 11]

Hi Joey

Nice to meet you at OSH and put a face with a name. And thanks for inviting me to your campsite to watch the Valdez demo. You guys had a choice spot! I left Wednesday and went over to Iowa for a few days. Between giving rides and hitting Brodhead and another fly-in, I ended up putting just shy of 17 hrs on the Avid. The HKS used 41 gallons for the trip and purred like a sewing machine. Love that little engine.

Hope to see you up there again next year.

Mike

[C5Engineer 1170]

Same to you Mike thanks for posting!

[Av8r3400 1179]

Mike--   I know it would be very well appreciated if you could give us a little write up on your Avid-HKS machine.  What your numbers are and how the install went and anything else about that neat little motor.  Good and (if there is any) bad. 

My friend Paul (white Avid mk4 parked by me) would love to put one of those Ina Ridge Runner project he's working on. 

Edited 2 Aug 2016 by Av8r3400

[horsepower 24]

I would like also to see some numbers when you have the time.Was considering this motor for my Super Skyraider.It weighs right at 500 lbs.

[n611af 11]

Hello

If your Kitfox was parked a couple planes down from Pauls Avid, its one of nicest I have seen! I spoke with Paul about using the the engine on the Ridge Runner and have absolutely no doubt that if it is propped correctly, he would be pleased that he selected the HKS. I introduced Paul to a friend of mine that has an HKS for sale. He had the engine on his Rans S7 and though it was the most trouble free of the three engines he has had on the plane, it wasn't enough horsepower for the kind of performance he was looking for. Thats not to say it didn't work, it flew the S7 fine but the performance was only comparable to a Cub or a Champ. 

My Avid had the 582 originally and I flew it till TBO and had to make a decision wether to spend the money on the overhaul or switch to the HKS. I studied the torque curve of the engine and compared it to the 582 and on paper it seemed feasible. I then talked to Richard Kosi who had just won an award at OSH for his HKS powered Jenny and he convinced me that if the engine would work on a machine with such a high drag bucket, it would certainly work on an Avid. I then talked to a fella that had the engine on his Skyraider and that convinced me to go the HKS route. Even though his engine was under performing (he had dual exhausts that were not tied together, no scavenging, no balance, etc) he still flew it from OSH back to California with himself and another person in a little jump seat that was in the back!

This fella sent me allot of pictures of his install and that was the basis that Jim Carruthers used to fabricate the install on my Avid. Jim is a craftsman of uncommon ability and I am fortunate that he lives just down the road. He has the gift of seeing the cause and affect of how one thing is going to affect another and so he did the complete install, motor mount, cowling, exhaust, oil tank, ignition, etc, etc, one time and it turned out perfect. The only teething pains we had were with regards to the exhaust.

We started with stainless and it proved to be to brittle. I taught Alex Borla how to fly and eventually became their company pilot. They make stainless exhaust systems for cars. Alex was supplying me the materials and so it wasn't a quality issue, its just that with the heat cycle of such a compact installation, and the vibration of the engine, the exhaust needed to be fabricated from mild steel. So Jim fabricated it from mild steel and the cracking issues stopped. Jim also fabricated a bracket that suspends the muffler can from the engine itself so that the whole assembly moves in harmony and that is a must for avoiding cracking issues. The original HKS muffler only lasted 140hrs but I think I may have caused that. I was using copper anti-seaze on the joint between the header pipe and the muffler and the can turned to rust. Dis-similar metal electrolysis! Jim rolled a can out of 18 gauge mild steel and that problem was solved.

As for the propeller, and I think this is critical for the success of the install, it needs to be an efficient long two blade prop that can absorb the torque of the engine. I am using the same 71 by 37 Peery Prop that I used with the 582 and its perfect for the HKS. It allows the engine to spin up to 5700-5900 on takeoff depending on the day, and that is right in the meat of the torque curve of the engine. Out of curiosity over the years I tried a Powerfin and a GSC and they grossly underperformed the Peery. And I do mean grossly underperformed, night an day difference. My friend Joe Maynard has a two place Hiperlight with an HKS and an Aerolux propeller. I gave him a spare Peery that I had and he tried it. He said the performance was identical to the Aerolux so for anyone considering the HKS the Aerolux would be a good choice since Peerys are no longer made.

Whatever you choice, long and two blade is the way to go, 71 by 37 or 72 by 36. 

As for performance the 582 with the 2:58 gear box allowed the 71 by 37 Peery prop to turn up to 6100 rpm on takeoff. As I mentioned the HKS with the same 2:58 ratio gearbox allows the 71 by 37 Peery to turn up 5700-5900 depending on the day. Based on the same weight this equated to my rate of climb with the 582 to be around 1200 fpm and with the HKS I get a solid 700-900 fpm depending on the day. Not considering fuel flow, overhaul time, maintenance schedule, etc, this is the only performance parameter that was affected by the conversion. The weight of the plane after the conversion was a few pounds lighter. My avid weighs 530 lbs. 

I live and fly the Avid in the midwest and the performance by far exceeds what is required to fly around here. If I lived in the mountains, I would want more horsepower. 

A few years after I had the conversion done I had a lot of folks asking about the performance so I shot a video of the instrument panel on a flight and posted it on Youtube. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOnOrQKaH6M

The HKS has been on there 12 years now and I have 650 hrs on the engine. Its brought me allot of joy and I am very happy I decided to make the conversion.

Mike Ricketts

[Av8r3400 1179]

Thank you, Mike, for the compliment and the write up. 

[n611af 11]

Ubet.

Wish I could have met you up there at OSH. Im kicking around flying to Grassroots at Brodhead again next month. If I go I will look for your plane.

Mike

[Av8r3400 1179]

Mike if you're talking to me, we did meet.

I'm the short fat guy with a beard.   (DHolly and Me on right, doing what we do best: eating)

[dholly 718]

Just for the record, I left with a BIG doggie bag! 

[Av8r3400 1179]

What ever makes you feel better about it, Doug…  

I fed 6 people breakfast for 3 days with my leftovers.  

[n611af 11]

Yes I remember and I want one of these shirts! No Brodhead for me this year as the mother in law is coming from Iowa and have to move my son back into a dorm one last time. If you saw the post about the Avid going down in Indiana, Im familiar with that field as I have camped there a few times on the way to OshKosh. Mr Miller is super nice and the place is great. In the middle of corn country though so no place else to go for that fella.

[horsepower 24]

Hello

If your Kitfox was parked a couple planes down from Pauls Avid, its one of nicest I have seen! I spoke with Paul about using the the engine on the Ridge Runner and have absolutely no doubt that if it is propped correctly, he would be pleased that he selected the HKS. I introduced Paul to a friend of mine that has an HKS for sale. He had the engine on his Rans S7 and though it was the most trouble free of the three engines he has had on the plane, it wasn't enough horsepower for the kind of performance he was looking for. Thats not to say it didn't work, it flew the S7 fine but the performance was only comparable to a Cub or a Champ. 

My Avid had the 582 originally and I flew it till TBO and had to make a decision wether to spend the money on the overhaul or switch to the HKS. I studied the torque curve of the engine and compared it to the 582 and on paper it seemed feasible. I then talked to Richard Kosi who had just won an award at OSH for his HKS powered Jenny and he convinced me that if the engine would work on a machine with such a high drag bucket, it would certainly work on an Avid. I then talked to a fella that had the engine on his Skyraider and that convinced me to go the HKS route. Even though his engine was under performing (he had dual exhausts that were not tied together, no scavenging, no balance, etc) he still flew it from OSH back to California with himself and another person in a little jump seat that was in the back!

This fella sent me allot of pictures of his install and that was the basis that Jim Carruthers used to fabricate the install on my Avid. Jim is a craftsman of uncommon ability and I am fortunate that he lives just down the road. He has the gift of seeing the cause and affect of how one thing is going to affect another and so he did the complete install, motor mount, cowling, exhaust, oil tank, ignition, etc, etc, one time and it turned out perfect. The only teething pains we had were with regards to the exhaust.

We started with stainless and it proved to be to brittle. I taught Alex Borla how to fly and eventually became their company pilot. They make stainless exhaust systems for cars. Alex was supplying me the materials and so it wasn't a quality issue, its just that with the heat cycle of such a compact installation, and the vibration of the engine, the exhaust needed to be fabricated from mild steel. So Jim fabricated it from mild steel and the cracking issues stopped. Jim also fabricated a bracket that suspends the muffler can from the engine itself so that the whole assembly moves in harmony and that is a must for avoiding cracking issues. The original HKS muffler only lasted 140hrs but I think I may have caused that. I was using copper anti-seaze on the joint between the header pipe and the muffler and the can turned to rust. Dis-similar metal electrolysis! Jim rolled a can out of 18 gauge mild steel and that problem was solved.

As for the propeller, and I think this is critical for the success of the install, it needs to be an efficient long two blade prop that can absorb the torque of the engine. I am using the same 71 by 37 Peery Prop that I used with the 582 and its perfect for the HKS. It allows the engine to spin up to 5700-5900 on takeoff depending on the day, and that is right in the meat of the torque curve of the engine. Out of curiosity over the years I tried a Powerfin and a GSC and they grossly underperformed the Peery. And I do mean grossly underperformed, night an day difference. My friend Joe Maynard has a two place Hiperlight with an HKS and an Aerolux propeller. I gave him a spare Peery that I had and he tried it. He said the performance was identical to the Aerolux so for anyone considering the HKS the Aerolux would be a good choice since Peerys are no longer made.

Whatever you choice, long and two blade is the way to go, 71 by 37 or 72 by 36. 

As for performance the 582 with the 2:58 gear box allowed the 71 by 37 Peery prop to turn up to 6100 rpm on takeoff. As I mentioned the HKS with the same 2:58 ratio gearbox allows the 71 by 37 Peery to turn up 5700-5900 depending on the day. Based on the same weight this equated to my rate of climb with the 582 to be around 1200 fpm and with the HKS I get a solid 700-900 fpm depending on the day. Not considering fuel flow, overhaul time, maintenance schedule, etc, this is the only performance parameter that was affected by the conversion. The weight of the plane after the conversion was a few pounds lighter. My avid weighs 530 lbs. 

I live and fly the Avid in the midwest and the performance by far exceeds what is required to fly around here. If I lived in the mountains, I would want more horsepower. 

A few years after I had the conversion done I had a lot of folks asking about the performance so I shot a video of the instrument panel on a flight and posted it on Youtube. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOnOrQKaH6M

The HKS has been on there 12 years now and I have 650 hrs on the engine. Its brought me allot of joy and I am very happy I decided to make the conversion.

Mike Ricketts

Thanks Mike for the performance numbers,I have a set of  of your buddies Borla exhaust on our Rear engine Dragster.They are a nice piece.Thanks Randy

[n611af 11]

I remember Alex making a set of mufflers that slipped on Bernstien seniors headers to tone down the volume for the spectators in the pits when they were running the engine. First time they started the engine they went flying about 40 feet in the air. That was the end of that idea!

[Avid90 12]

Fish dinner at Wentz's?