Activity Stream

Activity Stream

  1. lv2plyguitar added a post in a topic Merlin GT   

    Here is a picture of a completed Merlin.
     
     

    • 0
  2. akflyer added a post in a topic Merlin GT   

    Good to see that your back in the game!  That was a darn good find!!  I am not sure who would make an engine mount for you.  I dont know if Atlee would build a one off or not.  If they did I am sure you would pay dearly for it.  Most A&P that are well versed in tube and fabric should be able to built a mount for you.
     
    It has already been N numbered so your going to have to make your own data plate and I would make any serial number plate on the plane go away and replace it with your own.  I am assuming your doing this so you can get the repairmans certificate for it?
     
    Keep the pics coming of the progress!! 
    • 0
  3. ChrisBolkan added a post in a topic Project 64.5 Mustang   

    Bitchin!
    • 0
  4. lv2plyguitar added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Merlin GT
    Hi Folks.  Randy got me back into the flying business.  Bought a Merlin GT without engine or main landing gear for $500.  I am going to strip it down and rebuild as a parts built experimental.  Does anyone know how to start that process with the FAA? 
     
    Randy, The third picture is one I found just searching the internet.  This photo is from 2003. Amazing that is the exact same airplane.  Look at the tail numbers.
     
    Alaska Pilots.  Who would you trust locally to build a motor mount for a 0-200 continental.
     
    Thanks



    • 42 replies
    • 10,921 views
  5. akflyer added a post in a topic Project 64.5 Mustang   

    Sweetness!  A little trick for when you run those carbs dry, the little holes on the top of the carb (not the main throat but the small holes on the side of the throat) go straight to the float bowls.  I use my RC hand crank pump and stick the nozzle into the holes and fill them full of gas which fills the float bowls.  This gives you instant start ups while you are drawing fuel up from the tank.
     

    • 0
  6. akflyer added a post in a topic Almost There...   

    saaaaweeeeet!  It has been a long time coming!  Glad to see him getting it this close.  Looking forwards to getting out and doing some flying when I get home!
     

    • 0
  7. marshawk added a post in a topic Almost There...   

    Looking Good, nice to see another avid + almost ready
    • 0
  8. Luked added a post in a topic Almost There...   

    Looks good. Thanks for sharing Randy. If you get any more pictures of the plane as it gets completed, it would be nice to see. I like to see activity on other people projects. Helps motivate me. I hope to get back to working on mine soon (if I can get some free time).
    • 0
  9. SuberAvid added a topic in Fat Avids, Avid Plus and Airdale   

    Almost There...
    Jack brought his Avid+ out to the hangar this weekend to do the final assembly.  A good looking plane as you can see.  Just a few things left to do and it will be ready for its inspection.

    • 29 replies
    • 5,717 views
  10. lostman added a post in a topic Project 64.5 Mustang   

    Awesome clean looking set-up, and it sounds better than it looks! I realize the camera probably isn't picking up the sound quite right in the garage though.
    That feeling you get when it fires right up is the best! Great job.
    • 0
  11. C5Engineer added a post in a topic Project 64.5 Mustang   

    Sorry I haven't been doing a real good job keeping this updated. Started the new motor today on open headers. What a rush! Took a while to get fuel to the carb but once the bowls filled she fired right up. My initial timing setting was really close and idled nice and smooth. Can't wait to drive it!
     

     

    • 1
  12. EDMO added a post in a topic Happy Freedom Day   

    Like most things, feeling old or young is just a matter of perspective:  A week ago I was talking to a man my age as we waited for the barber to finish cutting another man's hair.   The man in the chair was saying that he and his son had picked 12 bushels of banana peppers that week.  He was 94 years old - his son was the one I was talking to - made me feel like I was just pretending to be old!
         This weekend, I watched the 50-year-olds acting like kids and playing knock-the-bottle-with-the-Frisbee and getting beat by the Grandkids while I relaxed in the hammock.  My shoulder injury still has me on the disabled list for that game.
    EdMO
    • 1
  13. akflyer added a post in a topic Happy Freedom Day   

    Happy Freedom day to ya Ed,
     
    A huge thanks to all the veterans out there that gave so much for us!  Damn, my oldest is only half as old as yours Ed, and that still makes me feel old
     
    :biker2: :flag:
     

    • 0
  14. EDMO added a topic in Close Call's and dumb stunts   

    Happy Freedom Day
    Celebrated the 4th today with wife's family - Bar-b-que and fun times.
    Her oldest son just turned 50 this week, and my oldest daughter will be 50 in two weeks -
    OMG, our kids are getting OLD! 
    EDMO
    • 2 replies
    • 677 views
  15. EDMO added a post in a topic Forging ahead...spar tubes and fittings   

    TTP,  Aren't you concerned that the powder coating will interfere with the 9460 bonding them to the spar?
    The builder's manual does not say to paint them before bonding and riveting.
    If I had to worry with lawyers, I wouldn't even build a plane - just buy a spam can or someone's built bird.
    Thanks for the engineering data.   I already have mine on the spars, and spare parts to start another set.
    I lost fellow soldiers in Germany, and no telling how many of my outfit died in Nam.
    My family has served since the Colonial Wars and Revolutionary Wars.
    BTW: Most folks think that the Revolutionary war in 1776 only lasted until we defeated the British the first time - Truth is, that they fought against our freedom for nearly 40 years before finally giving it up as a lost cause in the war of 1812, which stopped with their defeat at the Battle of New Orleans in 1814.  
    Wish we could have kept Canada too! 
     But, Canada and Australia are two of our best Allies.
    God bless those who served and will serve to keep this country free.
    Happy 4th!
    EDMO
    • 1
  16. Tree top pilot added a post in a topic Forging ahead...spar tubes and fittings   

    Still would like to know what thickness have been used out there....my reasoning below....partially
     
    OK for the math.....4130 N steel has a yield of near 63100 psi. The cross sectional area of the narrow portion that bears most of the load is .040" thick x 4" long = .16 sq. in. per side of the fitting. Both sides combined = .32 sq. in.  So then take sectional area  x  area of the part......63100psi  x .32 = 20192 psi. Divide by a safety factor of 2 =10096psi. That is a lot of force to just get this to start to tear open. That is for pure tension only...no bending moments. The math gets a little scary for the real stresses that are present in these little pieces so I won't take you on that trip. There is a small component of compression...but those loads are transferred directly to the spar tube and the wing moves up. Not enough to be an issue....but the force is there at times. You have to look at everything a part can encounter alone and in the place it will work with other parts as a whole. Time and math is the only way to be certain provided the materials have no flaws to skew your calculation. That is why I like to use a safety factor of 2 instead of 1.5. Errors on the strong side only adds a tiny bit of weight.....but a ton of confidence. So for my little bird that would mean about =7 G's before the fitting would start to fail with correct FEA load testing. The spar would probably give up the ghost first. But this is not taking into consideration the two sides are tied together as a unit of three pieces....that's when the game starts getting more complicated. The stainless rivets are good for over 400 psi in shear....
     As for the original fittings....my attorney said to keep them. The reason being is that I am going to make a full disclosure of my experience. We both have photo documentation and the original parts as delivered on the following day to cover any issue of a slander suit in any form by the manufacturer. I just want the truth to be known. It may keep someone from being hurt. I would be willing to loan out my fixtures if you want to make a set.
     
    Your mileage may vary...I am on medication.
    Have a happy and safe 4th....and thank you to all who have served to keep freedom of all we have to enjoy. I lost a good friend in Iraq.
    • 0
  17. EDMO added a post in a topic Forging ahead...spar tubes and fittings   

    Since I am not a mechanical engineer, I cant even guess at the difference in strength/stiffness between .040 and .050 - Guess if it don't bend or break it will work either size.   Looks Good.  I added 6 of the 8 additional rivets that the Magnum specifies for each attachment fitting, but Leni said it was not needed because there has never been a failure reported there.
    Sand-blasted and painted, the old ones should be OK to use.  I would pay the postage if you are going to scrap them.  I have a Kitfox 1 clone that could use them.
    EDMO
    • 0
  18. dholly added a post in a topic Forging ahead...spar tubes and fittings   

    I would help if I could but everything is riveted on and/or under fabric. Good to see you up and working on your kit.
    • 0
  19. Tree top pilot added a post in a topic Forging ahead...spar tubes and fittings   

    Just to make sure we're both on the same page......made from .040 molly sheet. Rusty ones were the poorly made parts as delivered. No pride in the workmanship......not to mention no concern for safety. I powder coat most all small parts that will fit in the shop's oven. Girly pic is my nose art I am working on / editing as time gets closer to finish.



    • 0
  20. EDMO added a post in a topic Forging ahead...spar tubes and fittings   

    TTP,
          I believe that there is more stress on the spar strut fittings than on the spar attach fittings - I think I made the curved portion of my strut fittings out of .060 - still going to shop today to double-check sizes just for curiosity.
         Later,
    I checked as best as I could, and all of my spar fittings measure about .070 to .075 with the paint on them,  Sooo, guess I used .060 for everything - Not saying that is what Kitfox used, but probably what I had at the time.
    EDMO
    • 0
  21. Tree top pilot added a post in a topic Forging ahead...spar tubes and fittings   

    The old ones were made from .040". Just wanted to see what else was out there. There is a lot of stresses where these make the bend coming off the tube. As for the inserts.....a suggestion was made here to make them from 1/4" plywood. So I drilled and "V" shaped the ends and sealed with epoxy clear-coat. That should do the job of keeping the tube in shape and from collapsing under all those + G forces. I mean if .040" will safely handle a 1350 MTOW on an Avid I would like to know that it has been proven to be safe. There was a pair of washers welded on the bolt hole side to spread the load on the bolt. It was to be finished reamed to .250" before bonding to the spar.
    Thanks for looking into this.....
    • 0
  22. Luked added a post in a topic Enough already AOPA!!   

     
    Well, I got my license in 92, but started it in 91. I never got many hours though. It wasn't too long before I got married, and eventually started a family. I just recently got back to flying again. They also had a 172 that rented for $58/hr wet.
     
    Rental rates actually seem to be in line with inflation. I found this website: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ , and calculated what the 172 would be in today's dollars. It came out to $101.31. I'm currently paying $100/hr wet to rent a 172. It's even a 180 horse with constant speed.
     
    The thing that's disappointing to me is that we haven't figured out how to make homebuilts more affordable to build. I do think Avids are probably one of the best bang for the buck homebuilts out there though. That's why I'm building one.
    • 0
  23. EDMO added a post in a topic Forging ahead...spar tubes and fittings   

    TTP,  Did you measure the old Spar Attach Fittings?
           My Kitfox 1 manual gives .040 for the Jury Strut attach angles - My new extended ones will be .060.
    No thickness given for the Spar attach Fittings, or the Strut Fittings, but I can measure mine tomorrow if you don't get a better answer.   My strut fittings also have a thin washer bonded to the attach hole in each side.  Manual don't say that, but that was how my first Kitfox was built, so I copied it - Been too long for me to remember thickness.
    What are you going to use for Spar Inserts?
    EdMO 
    • 0
  24. EDMO added a post in a topic Bad start to the summer   

    Kenneth,  There was an ultralight that went down near you ( In Illinois ) early this week - no other reports, but looked like the bird suffered a broken wing - believe no injuries.   Guessing engine out?
    The Cessna on I-364 (Page extension) took off from Creve Couer and was probably right next to the old - closed - Arrowhead airport.   I used to fly out of both of them.
    EDMO
    • 0
  25. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Enough already AOPA!!   

    My renting history
     
     
    1987 - Wisconsin Rapids, WI (KISW)
     
    PA28 Warrior II - $48 / hour, wet
    C152 - $35 / hour, wet
    Instructor - $18 / hour, (wet behind the ears)
     
     
    1991 - Marshfield, WI (KMFI)
     
    PA28 Warrior II - $55 / hour, wet
    C172RG Cutlass - $75 / hour wet
    PA28 Arrow - $85 / hour wet
    Instructor - $25 / hour
     
     
    2003 - Stevens Point, WI (KSTE)
     
    PA28 Cadet - $60 /  hour, wet
    PA28 Archer II - $80 / hour, wet
    C182 RG - $110 /  hour, wet
    Instructor - $25 / hour
    • 0