Yamma-Fox

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Everything posted by Yamma-Fox

  1. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Getting ready   

    Allen, USUA or USAA?
    And Jim give NW insurance a call if you haven't
    www.nwinsurance.net
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  2. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Avid heavy hauler on barnstormers   

    On another note Jim, wonder what this is?  Sounds overpriced unless it is a KF5
    https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/avo/d/for-sale-airplane/7193582470.html
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  3. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Tiny Tach problems   

    I tried 4.  3 different brands.  No luck.
    Now I'm mounting a prop tach that reads a small magnet on the prop flange.  Hopefully my luck will improve.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01FQMI18Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
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  4. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic for sale^ belt drives for ROTAX, HONDA, Suzuki, Yamaha etc. conversions/   

    Yes please join our Yamaha Aircraft Conversions Facebook group.  There are 4k members there that would be interested in your offering and we have two highly reputable sources for engine packages.
    There you also may find a volunteer to work with for testing a prototype. 
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  5. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic for sale^ belt drives for ROTAX, HONDA, Suzuki, Yamaha etc. conversions/   

    Ok thanks for the info.  Please post up here or over in the Yamaha Aircraft Conversions Facebook Group when you have a redrive built for a Yamaha (Apex, RX-1, Phazer, Nytro/Vector/Sidewinder)
    I know that there is demand for higher ratio options (below 2.62:1) for the short prop / high prop RPM builders.
    It looks like your experience with belt drives would make the conversion for a Yamaha a pretty easy endeavor and your prices are very reasonable.  It really comes down to proof of theory, which you are confident in, but for buyers 95% of them would want to SEE it proven. 
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  6. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic for sale^ belt drives for ROTAX, HONDA, Suzuki, Yamaha etc. conversions/   

    Thanks, yes I was mostly wondering if you have fitted a belt drive on a Yamaha, tested it, and flown it for a period of time.
    Or are you proposing a new prototype build to be tested by the buyer? 
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  7. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic for sale^ belt drives for ROTAX, HONDA, Suzuki, Yamaha etc. conversions/   

    Have you developed and tested a belt drive for a yamaha yet?  
    Or would that be a custom job. 
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  8. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Rotax 582 power loss diagnosis   

    FWIW here's a pic and description of how I did mine:
     


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  9. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Rotax 582 power loss diagnosis   

    You cannot push through some pulse pumps so check on that.
    My setup on the carbed yamaha is parralel with a check valve to prevent backflow. 
    Works well but when they are both pumping I see about 6psi which my carbs are holding back fine but I'm not sure what the limit is on the Bing. 
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  10. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Cessna 120 down, might have to sell Avid:(   

    Yeah not a cheap proposition, but considering the risk they are taking with the helicopter I think it makes sense.
     
    I got away a little luckier when my Dad flipped our KF2 on the water.  It was in a location where we could hook a line to a tow truck and pull the tail over.



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  11. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Rotax 582 power loss diagnosis   

    I'd replace the pulse pump.  I've had em be intermittent with those same symptoms.  Also maybe add an electric boost pump to double down on redundancy. 
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  12. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Cessna 120 down, might have to sell Avid:(   

    Damn...   Sorry about that mishap Tony.  Crap.
    Sure hope that you might change your plans and stick with the Avid!  Rick's Yamaha sure will be a mega performer in that thing!
    Oh and if you don't mind, what did the helicopter ride cost you?  I am self insured myself and wonder what that might cost me if I ever needed a lift. 
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  13. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic OSH AirVenture 2020 CANCELLED   

    Yeah I've only been there once myself, would like to go back someday but I'm pretty antisocial so I don't need that end of it, and it feels like shopping at Land's End when I'm really more of a thrift store kind of guy.  
    Or put in another way, I found it a bit like Disney World where at the end of the day you have blisters on both your feet and your forehead and you've only "done" 10% of it LOL
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  14. Yamma-Fox added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    OSH AirVenture 2020 CANCELLED
    We Don’t Gamble, We Need A Sure Thing
    AirVenture 2020 is officially canceled

    My fellow EAA’rs. It is May here in Wisconsin, and unfortunately like many of you across the country, we are still under a stay at home order through May 26. Normally, this is the month when we start our preflight planning for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. By this time, we should have begun ramping up our entire site in preparation for our July convention. Volunteers from across the country and world would have descended on Oshkosh. Together they would have formed work parties, our suppliers would begin start setting up tents and infrastructure. Our EAA staff would be printing wrist bands, campers guides, programs and an assortment of EAA collateral as full-on AirVenture execution begins.

    But because of circumstances beyond our control, none of this can happen now. We cannot even get to the hangar so our preflight is left to watching the prog charts. While this certainly makes the ability to prepare for the event a scheduling problem, it does not preclude the bigger issue of predicting what will be the health guidelines in July. Right now, there are three phases that have been defined in Wisconsin as the recommended procedures. As I write this, we are not in Phase 1 yet. Phase 2 restricts gatherings to 50 people. Phase 3 allows for mass gathering with restrictions.

    Our convention attracts EAA members not only from the U.S. but around the world. Today we cannot predict when we will be at a point that our event meets the all clear Phase 3 milestone for mass gathering with restrictions. As your leader, I see no clear path to meet our own requirements to insure the health and safety expectations our organization demands for our employees, members, volunteers, exhibitors and attendees. That includes sanitization, separation and personal protection requirements.

    My conclusion is, like in any good flight planning, don’t take the risk. Therefore, I have no choice but to cancel AirVenture 2020. Together, we can come back stronger, safer and ready for AirVenture 2021 and create a memorable world class aviation event. Because of our dedicated and enthusiastic EAA members, our Association is strong. We know that at some point this storm will pass. And over the next 12 months we will continue to support all of you as we again, together, grow EAA in the Spirit of Aviation.

    Respectfully,

    Jack J. Pelton
    Experimental Aircraft Association
    CEO and Chairman of the Board
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  15. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Wanting to buy Kitfox round cowl   

    Hopefully no-one starts an AvidFoxFlyers FB group.
    It would just dillute what we have here and I think it sucks to have multiple places to check in on.
    The Kitfox FB group has really taken a whack out of TKF for sure.
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  16. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Wanting to buy Kitfox round cowl   

    Join up Facebook under an alias Jim!  Try a name like "One Avid Flyer".  Then join our group and you can see Bryan's many build posts and pics, and tons of other info. 


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  17. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Wanting to buy Kitfox round cowl   

    Here's a pic of Bryan Dacus's KF4 short round cowl with Skytrax Apex
    It is definitely crammed in there, the prop is nice and high but not centered in the opening, but it goes to show that it can be done.
     

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  18. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Wanting to buy Kitfox round cowl   

    Oh yeah well the apex setup is so much lower and shorter that I bet it'll fit under many different cowls.   I bet that a short round would need very little if any mod at all. 
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  19. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Wanting to buy Kitfox round cowl   

    Jim those pre model 5 ones are pretty short.  My buddy with kf4 rx1 had to do a "sleeve ring" for some added length.
    Not a difficult mid, but some extra work.
     
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  20. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic YAMAHA RX-1 (140 HP) install in Kitfox 5   

    I had the same thoughts guys, and have had 16 subaru cars in the family with millions of low maintenance miles on them.  But here's what I came to:  
    Subaru car runs avg 2800 rpm and what maybe 60ish hp avg cruising along at highway speeds.  The Subaru in airplane works much harder for sure, and is typically modded up for more hp, which I find troubling.
    The yamaha on the other hand runs 10,300 rpm in a snowmobile and the R1 motorcycle that the engine was born from raps out 15,000!  Stock HP is 140, but sled guys run turbos in the 200+ HP range with very reliable results.  It therefore, conversely to the subaru, is running detuned in the airplane (which I find comforting) at about 9200 rpm and is internally geared at 1.19 to an output shaft rpm of 7700 and 125-130 hp.
    The snowmobile guys have reported it very reliable with many machines over 30,000 miles (approx 1000 hrs at an avg speed about 30-35 mph) and mote than one example with over 100,000 miles.  That can be contrasted to the generally accepted rebuild time for a 2 stroke snowmobile in the 6,000-9,000 mile timeframe.
    Is the RX-1 perfect in the snowmobile? NO.  Do they break down or fail in the snowmobile?  Rarely, but yes.  But so would some Subarus that were modded up for more hp by shaving heads and changing cams (as I understand my 118hp NSI e-81 was).  Especially if that modded subaru car was pushed for near max hp for 10 min straight like it often is during takeoff and climb in an airplane.  Yes, sooby lovers, they do do well in airplanes, but they are not perfect either! 
    So along those lines of thought I found more comfort in the Yamaha over a Subaru (detune vs. "uptune").  The big question then was how about yamaha over rotax (912/914).
    To that I entirely concede that a 80 or 100 hp rotax has an outstanding reliability factor, with decades of data to back it up.  Problem for me is that I want to run a continuous 100 hp, with 130 available to get off the water and over the hill on the other side of the lake.  Rotax wouldn't do that unless I did a zipper type kit.  But a zipper kit strips the top half off that ultra reliable rotax and replaces it with aftermarket parts... and again we are trying to get MORE out of an engine than it was designed for, instead of detuning from it's design.  That (zipper) was going in the wrong direction for my taste, and also way out of budget.
    So then along comes Steve Henry.  The first big name to run the RX-1 in a fixed wing plane, tune it correctly, push it hard, and prove it out.  Teal's kit had been out for a few years (run mostly in gyros) and the motor and c gearbox proved to hold up well, then Steve proved it for us airplane guys and worked out some important details along the way.  
    With steves plane (now sold) at over 700 hours, a couple of other yamahas in that 500-900 hour range,  and 20 or 30 other skytrax conversions along with approcimately 100 other Yamahas out flying, so far we have no reports of engine failures and only two reported significant malfunctions, both in the rotax c gearbox due to improper assembly on one and the pinion shaft bolt coming loose on the other.  In both cases, the gearboxes held up for some time before the problem was noticed and the pilot did not suffer power loss.
    So the track record in the air has been very very good so far.
    Anyhoo,  with that background on Teal's Skytrax kit, along with my experience with my RX-1 snowmobile, I decided to move ahead with this project.  And as with any single example of a particular plane and engine, only time (and some luck) will tell if I made a good choice
     
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  21. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic YAMAHA RX-1 (140 HP) install in Kitfox 5   

    I just talked to a few people and came up with a couple degrees left and "zero" up/down.  Nothing really scientific, might shim the mount a bit if I find I want something different. 
    The skytrax apex (with it's 3 gear gearbox) turns a right hand prop as opposed to my left hand RX-1 so it could possibly benefit from a couple degrees right.  The angle is to counter the P factor.
    UPDATE AFTER FLYING:
    The plane is flying really well and I'm happy with the angle I put in.  If anything I do notice that I find I need a little left rudder trim now in cruise and there is a bit of "power up - nose up".  So I don't know if a little down angle would have reduced that tendency or not?
     
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  22. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic What cowl for your Avid Flyer with RX1 engine   

    Yeah the rx1 engine sits high because the prop flange on the short 2-gear c box is low.
    The apex prop flange is 2 or 3 inches higher because of the 3-gear gearbox, so you can mount the motor much lower.
     
    I needed to go with that round KF cowl to get it tucked in. 
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  23. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Twin track, no skis snow machine   

    Couple classic tail-draggin skiplanes... and one duck out of water!  
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  24. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic Twin track, no skis snow machine   

    That was a fun day Jim!  I totally forgot to take a pic of our three planes out on the ice.  Dang!
    When I get those wing extensions on then lets meet up again and you can get some stick time @9000 rpm   
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  25. Yamma-Fox added a post in a topic My ski flying video for today   

    Couple hours in today.  Absolutely perfect day to get out.  Had a few "sticky / glue trap snow" moments in the 45F sun but the Yamaha pulled me through it.
     

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