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LSaupe added a post in a topic Rudder Bushing Alignment Tolerance - Kitfox III 8 Dec 2014

Hey Randy, Thank you for the reply and for posting the images.

I should have mentioned it, but in this case the kit is new (has never flown). Looks to have been possibly a fabrication issue (I have heard from others with the same problem). Maybe that is one reason for changing over to an adjustable system like on the Model IVs?

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SuberAvid added a post in a topic My new and first plane 8 Dec 2014

Congrats on the new bird. The motor on your plane looks like a Stratus; it has a Stratus redrive, thermostat and carb setup. The older ones used the dual drive belts but then went to a single 3" wide belt Those are probably pretty old so really inspect them for aging cracks or just shange out the belt to a 3" to be safe (they are under $100). It looks like the air filters are directly on the elbows to the carbs which is the stock Stratus setup as well. It should be a great running motor for you.

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SuberAvid added a post in a topic Rudder Bushing Alignment Tolerance - Kitfox III 8 Dec 2014

What you have is the result of hard landings on the tail wheel over time that has caused some bending, stretching or possibly cracking of your lower longerons. You may want to take the fabric off of the lower section of your fusalage and check it then do some repairs and reinforce it, In the end, all those rudder pins should line up.

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NorthIdahoAvidflyer added a post in a topic Fiberglass or Plastic fuel tanks? 8 Dec 2014

Thank you for the reply. Ed I told the owner he might want to do some homework on installing the wing tip tanks. I personally would not install them but it's his plane. I'm just getting paid to build the wings.

Thank you
Vance

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Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Simonini Victor 2 8 Dec 2014

1. Experimental. TBO means nothing.
2. I personally know of 912 engines with over 3000 hours never touched. Still running perfectly.
3. I would be willing to bet $100 that with those compression numbers the cross hatching on the cylinders is still intact.

If I needed one, I would buy this motor in a heartbeat. Pull the gearbox for a re-shim and inspection of the clutch, change the rubber and run it!

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BryceKat added a post in a topic Simonini Victor 2 8 Dec 2014

Ok, so help me out here. $6,000 for an engine with 2000 hrs on it with a 2000 hr tbo, isn't the buyer faced with a $$$ overhaul? Bryce

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EDMO added a post in a topic My new and first plane 8 Dec 2014

Guess that's why the Kitfox 5 MCs are attached to the floor brackets and not to the tubes....
EDMO

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SuberAvid added a post in a topic SLATS 8 Dec 2014

Thanks Ed!

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Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Simonini Victor 2 8 Dec 2014

http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=6135

$6500 for a very functional 912ULS.

Will probably be sold in a matter of hours...

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Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Fiberglass or Plastic 8 Dec 2014

First: How old are the fiberglass tanks? If they are part of the "original" kit, they will have little to no tolerance to ethanol contaminated fuels. I the owner of the plane will ONLY operate with av-gas, these old tanks will be just fine. Autogas will eventually destroy them.

The fiberglass tanks are structural to the wing. Not using them will require the addition of drag tubes to the bays where the tanks should be. You are then the aeronautical engineer on a new design.

The small tanks are probably from wing tanks (dot) com. This is a division of Airdale, the remnants of Avid Flyer. They are proof to ethanol gas, but installing them becomes a plumber's nightmare of hoses and joints which are all potential leak points. They are usually installed INSIDE the fiberglass tanks as a repair to leaks (see the website).

Brett at Airdale now sells "new" fiberglass wing tanks, also available directly from a member here, which are much more resistant to ethanol fuel. This is the same supplier who makes tanks for Kitfox, who proclaim them proof to ethanol.

Personally, if it were my airplane, I would go with a new set of fiberglass tanks.

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EDMO added a post in a topic Fiberglass or Plastic fuel tanks? 8 Dec 2014

Vance,
Avgas should not harm the fiberglass tanks.
THEY TELL ME THAT CAPS ON PUTERS IS "CURSING", so turn your hearing aid down low- I have the early Avid Magnum Builders' Manual - I could not believe the STUPID IDEA OF TIP TANKS in those Avid Wings!!!!
IMO, that is the most dangerous, stupid thing that they could have tried - not only does it induce more stress on the outer part of the wing, but adds inertia which can inhibit recovery, and could cause a fuel starvation problem - and a few other problems.
I have 2, 12 gallon fiberglas tanks in each of my wings, all at the root of each wing.
My 5 cents worth!
EDMO

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High Country added a post in a topic Fiberglass or Plastic fuel tanks? 8 Dec 2014

Vance the issue with the fiberglass tanks is the use of ethanol fuels otherwise they are great, and some of the tanks (mine are good) are ok to use with ethanol. the plastic tanks would require lots of fittings ie. places to leak. i would stay away from them. if your tanks are not ok for ethanol and you want them to be you could cut the top off and coat them with the new resins and glass them back together. another option (read that $$$) would be to have Rod at performance products make new ones, that's the route I went.

-Robert-

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SMW added a post in a topic Fiberglass or Plastic fuel tanks? 7 Dec 2014

Hi Vance, first of all I don't have a finished flying Magnum so there might be more expertise out there. The fiberglass tanks are glued in place and have a couple layers of glass around them which also encapsulates the spars. Therefore they could have a degree of structrual integrity built in for the entire wing. Before I installed my tanks, I did a low pressure check (using a baloon) to see if there were any obvious leaks then did a thorough physical inspection and patched any defect I found. I haven't filled these tanks yet so the jury is still out. To install a bunch of plastic tanks would take a lot of fittings, clamps, and inspection holes. Not knowing the shape or configuration of your tanks makes it difficult to assess. Can you post some photos? Fuel systems can be tricky!

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NorthIdahoAvidflyer added a topic in Avid Magnum 7 Dec 2014

Fiberglass or Plastic fuel tanks?

I am building a set of wings for a guy's Avid Magnum. He has a set of large fiberglass tanks and a set of plastic tanks. The plastic tanks look to be 5 gallons a piece and there are 6 of them. He planned on either running the fiberglass as mains and two of the plastic tanks in each wingtip. He asked me if he should use the fiberglass tanks or use all six of the plastic tanks. I've heard of people having issues with the fiberglass tanks so I wanted to get some input.

If I were to use the plastic tanks I would need a plumbing diagram.

The plane with have an 0-320 for a power plant. I'm sure he will be running AV-GAS.

Thank you for any input you may provide. My name is Vance Simons. I live in Post Falls, Idaho. You can call or text me at (509) 599-9477. I do have photos I can send.

Thank you
Vance

22 replies
3,007 views

NorthIdahoAvidflyer added a topic in Introduce yourself 7 Dec 2014

Fiberglass or Plastic

I am building a set of wings for a guy's Avid Magnum. He has a set of large fiberglass tanks and a set of plastic tanks. The plastic tanks look to be 5 gallons a piece and there are 6 of them. He planned on either running the fiberglass as mains and two of the plastic tanks in each wingtip. He asked me if he should use the fiberglass tanks or use all six of the plastic tanks. I've heard of people having issues with the fiberglass tanks so I wanted to get some input.

If I were to use the plastic tanks I would need a plumbing diagram.

The plane with have an 0-320 for a power plant. I'm sure he will be running AV-GAS.

Thank you for any input you may provide. My name is Vance Simons. I live in Post Falls, Idaho. You can call or text me at (509) 599-9477. I do have photos I can send.

Thank you
Vance

1 reply
817 views

6320012s added a post in a topic My new and first plane 7 Dec 2014

EDMO added a post in a topic Tail lights 7 Dec 2014

I don't have any photos, but we just glued the fabric around the inside of the bare taillight mount, ironing out any wrinkles and when we shrank the fabric it just all blended in nicely.
EDMO

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EDMO added a post in a topic I'm a Little Twisted, But... 7 Dec 2014

My fuselage has made several 100 mile round trips to the welder shop sitting flat on the floor in the 6 foot bed of my little Ford Ranger - Just throw a couple of ratchet straps across it, and tape a red rag on the tail - about 75% of trip is on Interstate Highways and the rest is on rural two-lane roads - No Problemo!
EDMO

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EDMO added a post in a topic My new and first plane 7 Dec 2014

Great News about Stratus engine - Now you should know what power and rpm's to expect from it.
EDMO

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High Country added a post in a topic spar question 7 Dec 2014

if the z stiffeners that you have fit the .083 tubing than I would just use it. this setup will be plenty strong for you KF 1. I'm running .083 tubing with just flat plywood stiffeners as per the original Avid manual and have no concerns with it for the gross weights that these early planes are for (I'm set at 1050) FWIW the setup you have with those stiffeners is probably stronger than mine and I have no worries at gross or even ahem... above.

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High Country added a post in a topic Tail lights 7 Dec 2014

Well I finally received my strobe light but they forgot to send the mount and cover for it I may just fabricate one. I'm hoping to have my tail lit soon. so far my impressions of this light are good. seems well made very small, contains 3 sides of LED's with a total of 9 bulbs. the controller is pretty small so I hope it will not be too difficult to feed down through the vertical stabilizer and up to the front of the plane. it has 4 wires. hot, negative, one for setting the strobe pattern (19 options) and one for tying it to other lights if you wanted to (may tie to wingtip strobes at some point). I'm cutting the fabric off the top of the tail down to the first cross tubing that goes fore/aft then cut top tubing where it ties into the vertical tube where the rudder hinges are. this is where I'm welding in the mount. I hope this will give me enough room to feed the wires down and back up the fuselage. then I will just have this small piece of fabric to replace and once the tape is across the seam at the structural tubing it should look like I never touched it when I'm done. I plan to put aluminum foil on everything around the area before welding to keep from seeing the magic smoke I may gas weld it to reduce the sparks if i still have any acetylene left. I will take pics next week and keep you all posted on the progress.

p.s. still looking for pics of how others have faired the light back into the tail.

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fusionfab added a post in a topic My new and first plane 7 Dec 2014

Yeah the new engine I have has has all the machine work and electronic done to it with receipts from earlier this year. Just has the larger 2 bbl on it. I will dig a bit more to find out about where the dual carb motor came from

****update****
Just got an email back from the gentleman who helped the elderly man sell me the plane. He spoke to the original owner and stated that he purchased the engine from stratus a few years ago, paid over $8k, the carbs and air filters came with the engine.

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TJay added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar 7 Dec 2014

spar question

Hey guys I have 4 spars here 2.5" 2024-t3 .083 and I see the book says 6061-t6 .065 for my kitfox 1 would you use the heavy ones or order new ones from spruce. also I have the stiffeners shaped like a Z, 48" long would you use those or get the updated I beam. thanks

12 replies
1,118 views

EZFlap added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar 7 Dec 2014

I'm a Little Twisted, But...

... the fuselage of Avid B s/n 234 is not !

Today, a friend showed up with a truck at my house, and we loaded the fuselage into the pickup bed with the tail sticking up oh about four feet above the cab. With me standing in the bed of the truck, arms wrapped around the rear fuselage, we drove a couple of miles to his car repair shop.

Along the way, we passed quite a few people who for some strange reason were totally shocked to see an airplane in a pickup truck, driving through the streets of Los Angeles with some idiot standing there in the back holding it down. I could see them thinking to themselves, "must be one of those twisted Hollywood types doing some sort of a publicity stunt."

Well... sort of.

So for my part, I acted like it was totally normal, that I knew exactly what I was doing, and we Hollywood types do this sort of thing all the time. I smiled and waved at them because after all... I was the Grand Marshal of the bent airplane parade.

We got to Rudy's shop, walked the fuselage in, and I smiled. Because there, just as promised, were six or eight big ass anchors embedded in the concrete floor. We set up the fuselage on wooden blocks at three locations: The port side wing strut fitting, the port side forward landing gear fitting, and the starboard side wing strut fitting. We had positioned the fuselage catty-corner at an angle between two of the ground anchors. One of the anchors was under the port side rear wing spar fitting cluster, and the other anchor was below the starboard side forward wing spar fitting cluster.

We tied the port rear spar cluster down to the anchor with a ratchet strap. We ran the cable from a come-along from another floor anchor, up through an eye bolt attached to the anchor under the starboard side forward spar cluster. A loop of nylon strap went around the cluster and hooked in to the come-along.

After two solid hours of pulling the starboard cluster down a little, letting it spring back up, measuring, re-measuring, and pulling it again a little... we finally straightened out the twist in the old girl's body. Wooden blocks and steel bars were arranged on the door frame and upper fuselage tubes, and the pressure from a large C-clamp made the slight bows in the tube disappear. A small bubble level (ripped out of a string line level) with help from a 6 foot bar level, verified that our efforts had succeeded.

The forward and rear spar carry through tubes at the top of the cabin are now parallel.

So while I may be twisted more than just a little, my Avid's upper fuselage wing mounting is not.

3 replies
696 views

EDMO added a post in a topic My new and first plane 7 Dec 2014

Probably nothing bad about that, except loss of about 20 hp if the dual carb is a Stratus.
Variables, such as cam grind, head milling, hydraulic lifters, points or e-pickup, timing advance and reduction ratio differences can really amount to a lot. Matching prop and engine power can make or break a combo too.
EDMO

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