nlappos

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Everything posted by nlappos

  1. nlappos added a post in a topic First kitfox coming home to Oregon. suggested mods?   

    Willja,
    The bungees do not break, they stop stretching and act like a solid bar, and then the gear and fuselage bend or break. Look at the photos of hard landings, show us ONE where the gear splays out and leaves the fuselage undamaged, like a sled. And my point is those bungees are somewhat softer, so the same landing G force, the same feet per second of downward aircraft motion, causes  splaying but the same end result, a bent airframe. I would bet no gear we know gives more than 4 g's of impact, springs or bungees either.
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  2. nlappos added a post in a topic First kitfox coming home to Oregon. suggested mods?   

    Regarding the Fitt gear and the coil spring bottoming, I did a careful analysis of the landing condition that zadwit describes, and nobody's gear is any stronger. It takes 12 feet per second sink speed and 4 g's of airframe impact to bottom that spring, which makes Fitt's gear stronger than any Cessna. The softer bungees he describes just bottom sooner, because soft is not better, it just collapses sooner.
     
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  3. nlappos added a post in a topic Drawings for cabana style shock gear wanted for kitfox IV or Avid mk IV   

    Posted on another thread, the Lowell Fitt gear (also known as Highwing LLC gear) is a fine set that is wide and high, and makes landings and rollouts a breeze. I removed my standard gear and installed the Fitt gear in about a day. I have Lowell's contact info if you'd like. His gear was about half the cost of Grove gear.

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  4. nlappos added a post in a topic First kitfox coming home to Oregon. suggested mods?   

    I put Lowell Fitt gear on and it is simply terrific. Basically the same as the Highwing LLC gear, I am told. Very kind on landing, and the aircraft tracks straight on rollout. Very much more stable than the stock gear.

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  5. nlappos added a post in a topic Egt probe location.   

    From the source, the Rotax Installation Manual

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  6. nlappos added a post in a topic Hello from PA   

    Check Barnstormers.com  Two listed right now, almost always someone lists theirs. Avids are typically $10k less than Kitfoxes due to the demand (Trent Palmer?).
    Good luck, I admire your love of aviation, Nick! 
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  7. nlappos added a post in a topic New owners and paperwork.   

    Easy as can be. Fill out the new registration, and provide the bill of sale form, and it is yours. The pink carbon serves as a temp registration until the new one arrives, pretty quickly.
    Here are the forms: https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/aircraft_regn_forms/
    Airworthiness is even easier. The old paperwork is valid, keep the Airworthiness Certificate safe, and the operating limits pages. If the old owner turned it back in shoot him. You have to recreate the entire build package.
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  8. nlappos added a post in a topic Hello from PA   

    Nick,
    Have you thought about an Avid Flyer Mark IV. Many are available, and they are similar to a Kitfox (they should be since the Kitfox design was taken directly from the Avid design), but the Avid doesn't have a press agent.

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  9. nlappos added a post in a topic Ground wind to tip   

    Jenki,
    That is one heck of a story! Nice piece of flying on your part to decisively pour on the throttle and make the airplane fly! 
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  10. nlappos added a post in a topic Looking for Avid MK IV or KF IV   

    Bill D
    I found one 3 years ago across the continent, and did the fly home as a great honeymoon with my new airplane. Seeing the entire country scroll past your windows at 90 mph is a real kick!
    Good luck with your search.
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  11. nlappos added a post in a topic Battery   

    A 20 amp Lion battery would be a perfect match for our airplanes. The resistance is much lower than lead acid, so the start current can be massive. But the smaller batteries can’t hold that rush of current for long.
    Theres a YouTube video of a Kitfox guy who hacks the Harbor Freight to bypass the need to push its button on every start. He uses it as his only battery.
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  12. nlappos added a post in a topic Windshield   

    There are scratch resistant polycarbonates from all the manufacturers. I asked one guy for a quote, it was about 3 times the cost of the regular softer poly, but when I redo my windows, I will go that way. 
    I suggest you ask the plastics company what they have in the hard, scratch resistant poly and they can quote it.
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  13. nlappos added a post in a topic Battery   

    Yamma,
    That battery seems awfully small, and they give no Amp-Hour sizing for it. I suspect it is an 8 AH (one responder said it was 96 watts, which at 12 V is 8 amps) about 1/4 the capacity of the typical tractor battery. The Harbor Freight is 12 AH (12,000 mAH).
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  14. nlappos added a post in a topic Engine mount bushing   

    Fred,
    The Lord company has a full catalog of the mounts:
    http://lordfulfillment.com/pdf/44/PC7000_IndustrialParts.pdf#page=72
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  15. nlappos added a post in a topic Engine mount bushing   

    The mounts can be hand made from 5/8" neoprene sheet, I found 1" sheet on Ebay which could easily be sliced down. Here are the instructions from Joey's build book, section 4:

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  16. nlappos added a post in a topic NR Propeller   

    From my helicopter experience, I suspect bcbushcaddy that there might be some in-plane, lead-lag motion going on on one blade. The difference between powered flight and windmilling is that in powered flight the engine is pulling the blades around, and the blades have drag and therefore want to lag behind the hub a bit. In idle at forward flght, the blades are windmilling and therefore pulling the engine along, with the blades in the leading position. Could there be some lead-lag looseness on one of your blades?
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  17. nlappos added a post in a topic Motion sickness?   

    No, don't take any pills, they dull your senses and your response. Most motion sickness is due to the mismatch between what you are feeling and what you are seeing. Keep your eyes outside, spot the horizon, just gaze inside for a quick instrument scan. If the airplane bumps and the horizon shows your eyes the same bump, no sickness. If you look inside at the panel and your lap, and you feel a bump, that mismatch occurs.
    Do not sweat it, keep plugging, you will be fine!
    https://www.leftseat.com/motion-sickness/
    https://www.thebalancecareers.com/air-sickness-causes-prevention-treatment-282851
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  18. nlappos added a post in a topic Battery   

    I use a Walmart Everstart U-1 size with about 230 CCA, weigh about 17 lbs. Plenty of cranking power. Costs about $35
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  19. nlappos added a post in a topic 2 stroke piston options??   

    Rotax Rick uses ceramic pistons on the 670, his web site says: " with two 670 cylinders containing ceramic top pistons"
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  20. nlappos added a post in a topic Avid Catalina on barnstormers   

    I think you guys are simply not correct, the age of the Avids below 20K is still with us. Kitfoxes are more, for sure, based on uninformed word of mouth, I think, but Avids are still reasonable in price.  I recall several 16K avids, including a Mark IV, in the last few months. Proof, you ask? Here is a listing on Barnstormers right now:
    AVID FLYER • FOR SALE • Avid flyer speedwing $16.500 or trade. for pictures call steve. currently at pmh. Minford oh. • Contact Steve Sexton, Owner - located South Shore, KY USA • Telephone: 7409816324 • Posted May 12, 2019 • Show all Ads posted by this Advertiser • Recommend This Ad to a Friend • Email Advertiser • Save to Watchlist • Report This Ad
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  21. nlappos added a post in a topic Radios and intercoms   

    The Rotax ignition is very dirty, and begs for suppression. A kit used to be sold that put the ignitors in a shielded box, but that is no longer provided. I wrapped grounded copper mesh around the ignition boxes, and the spark plug wires, and made a dramatic reduction in the e-field that washes through the cockpit from the engine. Also, if you have an antenna cable, using the double shielded coax really helps as well. I will post some photos of my shielding when I get home in a day or so.
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  22. nlappos added a post in a topic Dual radiator?   

    Anders
    the right hose goes to the water pump outlet and the left hose goes to the bottom of the right cheek radiator. I used 1” silicone hose which fit perfectly.
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  23. nlappos added a post in a topic Dual radiator?   

    Here is my belly radiator. It is fastened with two steel u-bolts that hook over the diagonal floor members, right through the thin plywood, and then mount the box beam. I had to drop the radiator 2" more with the extra end pieces, because when close to the belly it was much less effective. The radiator is s used Kitfox one, from Edmo, the hose is 1" silicone high temp from Amazon, absolutely leakless. I am currently working a scheme to use a flap to vary the cooling from the cockpit.


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  24. nlappos added a post in a topic Carbs   

    I find the primer perfectly adequate as long as you know there is fuel all the way up to the carb. I had a devil of a time starting my 582 sometimes, especially re-start, and since I installed a 2 to 4 psi firewall boost pump with my 670, not a single problem. The pump assures that the fuel lines and carb bowl are full, something the slight gravity pressure doesn't seem to assure.
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  25. nlappos added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Did you do enough tailwheel landings there, Butch?
    Old tire just came off, new tire going on. 

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