akflyer

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Everything posted by akflyer



  1. akflyer added a post in a topic akflyer and akflyerbob out playing 2-22-08   

    drag yer ass up here and we can have fun in the back country doing what these planes were designed to do! 
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  2. akflyer added a post in a topic Parts Suppliers for Avid and Kitfox   

    wow, that is nice... I will see if I can get him to get rid of it..
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  3. akflyer added a post in a topic EGT wiring issue   

    you are going to loose at every connection... how bout you PM me your address and I will send you one.. I bought 4 before I figured out the probes were fine, I had an issue with the gauge.  I will send ya one if you want it.



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  4. akflyer added a post in a topic How many hours on your 582?   

    rodjo that one... I justy got back from a 140 mile run, and most of it was taped to the bar at 8100... only chunked one belt
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  5. akflyer added a post in a topic How many hours on your 582?   


    hehehe.. here we go again   There was a flight school / service center up here that had 5 or 6 trikes with 1500-1700 hours on their 582's.  They did regular maintenance, did leak checks on the crank seals and ran the piss out of them and have never had one fail.  This was the guy that made the Arctic Sparrow in flight mixture for the rotax 2 strokes.  Mr. Jacober is no longer with us due to a training accident with a student.  I talked to his 2 mechanics when I rebuilt my plane.  Itold them I wanted to do a complete rebuild on my 582 so plane and engine were  starting off fresh.  Bud litteraly got pissed at me when I would not not bring the engine up just for him to do a leak check and that I was going to rebuild with new crank etc.  He was adamant that Rotax was outa there f'n minds to say you needed a new crank every 300 hrs.  His kicker was that you had to assure you kept the EGT's under 1200.  He was very vocal about that.  I think he said the engine on his plane was at 1800 and something hrs with nothing but new seals when needed.

    He told me they never had a failure that they did not know was coming.  Slight eratic running of the engine, less RPM on take off, changes in EGT temps from one cylinder to the other etc.  He said the engine will tell you when it is getting tired if you will listen to it.

    With that in mind, I will run the shit out of my engine and see what happens   My personal disclaimer is, I am flying at sea level to about 2000' 99% of the time with moderate temps (may hit low 80s in the summer) so engine cooling / overheating has never been an issue.  If the engine ever does get hot, I will do a leak check on it and make sure the seals were not compromised.


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  6. akflyer added a post in a topic Post a pic of your gas door struts   

    I just kinda guessed at the geometry last week and it worked.  I made quick and dirty mounting tabs out of aluminum. They are a little flimsy so I am going to make new ones out of split tubing with the mount tab welded on like the factory made.



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  7. akflyer added a topic in Avid fox flyers pics and vids   

    akflyer and akflyerbob out playing 2-22-08
    Quick vid of us out playing yesterday. 


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  8. akflyer added a post in a topic HT-6 Bushing.. Got one?   

    Mine did not have the bushing.  It was just a 1/4 turn at a time to get that bastard bolt out.  I figured what the hell, it is not like you are going to be taking the bolt in and out alot.  It is just a spacer, do you could get a piece of 4130 or I would run down to the local hardware store and buy a 3/16" ID steel bushing 1/2" long.  If I ever have to pull mine out I will do just that.
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  9. akflyer added a post in a topic Made some good progress on my wings today   

    Right on, looking good!  keep at it and she will be flying SOON
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  10. akflyer added a post in a topic Check out this wiring diagram.. voltage regulator question   


    mine is the same way.  When the engine is running I can shut off the master and it will keep chugging untill I turn the key and ground the mags.
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  11. akflyer added a post in a topic Check out this wiring diagram.. voltage regulator question   

    I just pulled the cowling and checked... mine is just like your except I have a master instead of the key.  Battery + to solenoid, same post on solenoid to master, master to power buss and key.
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  12. akflyer added a post in a topic Check out this wiring diagram.. voltage regulator question   

    No master switch?  I have everything running throught a master.  I will pull the cowling later tonight and check it out but I think I have pretty much the same setup you have, but it goes through the master.  I have an aircraft key with L/R/ both and start.
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  13. akflyer added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    Need input from you guys
    Hey guys,

    Most ofthe snowmachine forums I hang on have specific state forums so guy from that state can go in and bs, set up riding trips, talk about local riding conditions etc.  Do any of you have an interest in state specific forums.  If so, post up what state you are in, and I will set them up.

    Speaking of flying, off to go help AKFLYERBOB put new sealing in his engine then go burn some beautiful blue skys this afternoon.  I got a few hours in yesterday in a short wing death trap flying my sister and her husband who are up from CA around.  I will get some of the pics from her later today and get them posted.  I have flown the local mountains ALOT and still am in awe everytime I fly them. 
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  14. akflyer added a post in a topic Rib stitching interval   

    I lied.  I just measured and  I went 3.5" for some reason.  Not sure why, but I did.
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  15. akflyer added a post in a topic Question about the "widebody"   


    Is that the one from Merle Williams?  I really thought about doing that to mine, then got in a hurry and just went back stock width.  I really wish I would have taken an extra day or two and done the mod.  Next time I have to do covering work I will be doing the "wide body" mod.  That will give you more shoulder room, but it is the same width at your ass so it is still going to be cozy.  One thing to think of is the early models were 36" wide at the back of the seat.  The C and later were 39 1/2 or 40" wide.
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  16. akflyer added a post in a topic Why I recovered my wings   


    Crap, forgot to mention that one... That happens ALOT up here.. Guys will do a moose hunter stall and stuff a cub in.  They survive the crash, but burn up inthe fire afterwards.  I know of two recently that the guys buddies were in another plane, lnded and tried to get them out.. the fire was to intense so all they could do was listen to thier bud scream as they burned....  that was the one that really convinces me that stits was the way to go.  I will take any edge I can get to survive something dumb...
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  17. akflyer added a post in a topic Why I recovered my wings   

    I spied a Zaggi in the back ground... you into RC to..  I am a total RC junky.  From 10 gram indoor to 40% and EVERY thing in between.  single cell lipoly to gassers.  Helis too oh, and boats shit cars and truggies too lol.  I bet if I could sell all the RC stuff I have, for what I have into it, I could buy 4 or 5 HH's with 912s in them... Kinda sick when I stop and think about it, but hey, he who dies with the most toys wins right

    The fabric issue.. What was it painted with?  was that dope or aerothane?

    I see alot of guys that hose the shit out of the fabric with paint and fill all the weave so it is a high gloss super slick finish.  That may be cool on a lancair or other composite plane, but on fabric it is a good way to have a shitty finish in just a few years.  The Stits manual warns against loading the paint on that way and for good reason.  You add a butt load of weight and make the paint ring worm just like yours is doing.  I know that some people only fly the planes on sunny days, keep them in a hangar and want to show them at oshkosh.  For those guys, more power to them.  ME, I know what I am going to be doing with this plane. Ease of field repairs was a MAJOR factor in choosing the stits and poly tone.  There is nothing you can screw up on the finish that a rag and acetone wont fix.  For fixing holes in the fabric from those pesky alders or sticks that get kicked up when landing on gravel barts and shit, it is a quick wipe with acetone, patch, poly brush, poly spray with a foam brush, and in about an hour or 2 you are back in the air with an airworthy repair.  Been there done that have the hat AND tee shirt.

    Keep plugging away at the plane and you will be back inthe air in no time!
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  18. akflyer added a post in a topic Snaps Super STOL   

    VERY nice.  I love that cowing! 

    I am still thinking VERY hard on the Arcticat 800.  120 HP at 6800.. 100'# tq... fuel injected <insert tim taylor grunt here>  The 800 gets better fuel milage than my 600 and is a VERY smooth running dual plug engine.  It is single ignition, but dual plugs per cylinder... I think it really warrants a conversion.  May have to seel what the local dealer will get me one for.


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  19. akflyer added a post in a topic Rib stitching interval   

    I think I went with 4" on mine.  I have the aluminum leading edge so I started end of the leading edge skin and went back.  The closer you get to the trailing edge, you have to use the curved needle and do the bottom by itself.  As soon as you get the hang of it it goes real quick.  I will measure today when I get home.

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  20. akflyer added a post in a topic Got her put on ski's   


    YES,  atleast for mine, and my buddies A model you can put 2 people and fuel and fly safe.

    The issue is not staying withing the published CG.  I am going outside the "published" CG to a more rearward CG for testing.  I am told by the designer that I can do this safely and that I will like the way it flys at the more rearward CG.  The plane is fine AS IS, I am just trying to get a little better short field performance out of her.
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  21. akflyer added a post in a topic Got her put on ski's   

    NONONONONONO the plane was designed and will carry 2 adults.

    Not sure where that came from.  I fly with 2 guys in mine all the time.  The avid will certainly carry them.  The issue is gross weight.  Did the builder puta full IFR pannel and auto pilot in it?  Dont laugh, it has been done!

    Empty weight versus gross weight.  I have close to a 600# usefull load in mine.
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  22. akflyer added a post in a topic Got her put on ski's   

    18" is easily doable.  I was going 220-225 when I first started flying them... now down to 195 -200.  Move the battery further back in the tail, add lead to the tail spring etc.

    Here is my take on what happend.  The avid was originaly designed with the cyuna 430 in the nose, very light air cooled.  As people kept wanting more and more out of hte plane to make it a CC cruiser etc, it got heavier, bigger engines inthenose, bigger gear boxes ect.  The 503, 582 912 and subies all added a shit load of weight up front.  To combat this, most guy added lead in the tail, or moved the battery to the tail etc.  Some stretched the fuse 16" to accomplish the same thing.  I have been looking at the majority of the specs guys have posted on the web and I see that most are running way close to the forward edge of the CG range that it published...... and they cant figure out for hte life of them why they run out of elevator in the flair.... cant figure out why the hell it takes 700' to get off the ground etc.  The published CG range on the "C" model is 10.2" to 16".  Mine is at 11.07" empty and 13" with me and full fuel.  Dean told me last week that they tested the CG to 37% with no ill effects, however, he figured there were going to be alot of low time pilots flying the plane so he put a VERY conservative CG range on it.  I am going to just use divers weights clamped to the tail spring to do some tests later this week and report the results.  Dean says ther will be a big difference in performace and stall with a more aft CG.  He did say he would not reccommend stalling the plane at 21" without having full flaps on.

    I fly home tonight so weather permitting, I will get some testing done in the next couple days.  I will pu the hemet cam out on the wing so you guys can see what is going on with attitude etc in the stalls.
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  23. akflyer added a post in a topic Any of you guys into 4 wheeling?   

    Just throwing mud, never got into rock climbing as there is not too much of it around here.  I picked up a chenowth Sandrail when I was in Hawaii and brought it back... Lots of fun inthe mud, and even more fum on my buddys moto cross track.  I have an 80 blazer that I lifted etc for runnin in the mud and for a plow truck.  Got 38" on it but dont remember what they are... some BFG tire if I remember right.  I hardly ever fire it up anymore...

    That truck about got me divorced... when the wife was in the hospital having my last kid, I decided that would be a good time to lift it and put big tires on it... I went to pick her up (she is 4'10 to begin with) she was one hostile ole lady.. having just had a kid, she was no too damn impressed with having to try and climb into the blazer   The kid Turns 18 on the 22nd of this month and I still hear that damn story evertime someone new comes to the house for a party... she just has to tell the world what an unthoughtfull prick I am

    <fer all the toys we have, may we grow older but never grow up !
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  24. akflyer added a post in a topic Got her put on ski's   


    you do you do lol... They are from www.landshorter.com  I put them on per directions and template they provided.  It was pertty close to a 5 MPH reduction in stall speed, the only thing it, you have to get the nose at a rediculously high deck angle to really feel and notice the VG's.  The stall, though very tame before the VGs is not pretty much non existant.  It just sort of mushes and wont really break.

    I am WAY nose heavy according to Dean Wilson (thanks C5).  Right now I am around 12.5-13" and was plannin on going back to about 16".  Now I am going to move it back to 18" or so and try that.  Dean said I could go 20" and be fine.  He said short field will really improve if I move the CG back, and I probably wont be running out of elevator in the flair.

    I have not put the Vg's under the stab yet, even though I have them in the tool box.  I will try to get around to that one of these days soon.  I will only be home about a week so I dont know if I will have time this trip in or not.


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  25. akflyer added a post in a topic New member intro   

    I really wish more of the "old" guys would open up about aviation, the experiences and hard learned lessons.  That is one issue on the kitfox list.  If you try to tell stories even aviation ones, they come down on you and get pissed because you are clogging up their "email" inbox (instead of using the forum format).  Here, I really encourage the dialog, and really am interested about how your flight went today, the cool shit you saw, the short strip you went into, the 100 hamburger etc.  There are alot of guys that are in rural areas, that really love flying, but cant go out and fly with a group of guys.  These guys want to share the experience with someone (and if your wife is like mine she could give a shit less how much fun you had flying today).  That is where people can come on here, and tell the world what ever it is they are just dying to share with someone.


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