HKSMark4

HKSMark4's Activity

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   HKSMark4 added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar    9 Nov 2021

   It Fly's

    
   One of my other Aircraft is a Rans S6XL.  It just had it’s first light with a newly installed 912
   
   In late 2019 I discovered a Rans S-6 for sale near Sandpoint Idaho. We (Norm and I) hurriedly drove the 400 miles back to Calgary and returned the next day with a bank draft and trailer.
   
   Arriving back in Calgary, Norm was in awe with the S6’s interior roominess,  fit and finish and incredible speed with only a 582.  Norm fly’s a 912 powered Kitfox IV.
   
   Below are pictures of the Rans as it arrived at the hanger, after adding trim, and one of the mishap damage.  I was surprised to see comments on this site about 582 powered  S-6’s cruising at only 65 mph. .  I previously owned a 582 powered Rans S12, and a 912 powered Rans S12XL. Both of the S-12’s, which are pusher aircraft, flew a lot faster than that. My 582 powered S6 easily flies at 95 mph. Thinking a 3 blade propeller would result in a smoother running engine I replaced the 2 blade wood propeller with a 3 blade quick adjust Ivo Prop.  I always set the Static RPM on 582’s at 6000RPM.  The 3 blade Ivo ran smoother, however cruise speed dropped to 65 mph. I then switched the Ivo to a 2 blade.  It hardly got off of the ground.  So much for Ivo.  Doing some research it was interesting to note that Kitfox outsells Rans in the US but the Europeans prefer the Rans S6.  My 582 powered S6 weighed  only 512lbs. Changing to the 912 added 80 lbs.
   
   – At about the time I started rebuilding my Avid this spring, a friend, as a favor to a  Covid 19 emergency room nurse volunteered to help her transition from a glider pilot to powered flight using my Rans S6. She did take off and landings with no trouble so after a few hours my friend didn’t pay much attention to her flying.  As they were doing circuits she landed long and went off of the end of a runway, hitting a road embankment and ending upside down in a farmer’s field. Amazingly there was very little damage.  The nose gear folded, propeller trashed and the bottom of the cowl scraped.  Even the comm antenna on the fuselage was undamaged.  Since I had a 912 sitting around my friend Norm decided this would be a good time to replace the 582 with a 912. The 912 installation was complete, except for reinstalling the cowl, about the same time as I took my Avid from my home to the hanger.  Norm spends the Winter in Arizona so he thought he should test fly the 912 powered Rans before leaving.  He flew it without the cowl --- now all I have to do is repair and install the cowl.  During the winter the S6 performs much better than the Avid on our poorly maintained grass strip.
   
   
   
   
   
   

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   HKSMark4 added a post in a topic Avid Mk4 aerobat - wing replacement question    27 Oct 2021

   The Wing extensions attached to the Fuel Tank are probably installed at too high an angle.  If they are attached with structural adhesive you can soften and remove them using heat.  Compare the distance between the bottom of the wing and the flaperon with the left wing dimension.  Put a string line between the outer flaperon hanger and the nylon bearing,  I'd lthen oosen the bottom bolt and remove the top bolt on all of the flaperon hangers.  Adjust the hangers so that the flaperon now sits on the hanger.  You should be able to figure out if the Wing Trailing edge extensions need to be relocated.  I had a similar problem with an Avid I just reconstructed.  Fortunately it was only the inner extension that was out of wack. Take a look at my rebuild video.  You can see the problemand fix near the end.  youtu.be/2qsTK7rQRbI    Let me know how you make out.  Ed
   

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   HKSMark4 added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar    27 Oct 2021

   Found, Kitfox/Avid abandoned in a hanger.

    
   Over the past 30 years I have assembled a 582 powered Avid A Model, two Rans S-12’s, and an HKS powered Avid Model IV.   I currently fly an Evektor SportStar and a Rans S-6.  Locally everyone knew of what was suspected to be a disassembled  Kitfox aircraft that had been sitting in a hanger for almost two decades.  It turned out to be an Avid B Model, which I purchased and rebuilt. The only modifications I did was add a baggage compartment, wide body mod, underbelly radiator and  added airfoils to the tailfeathers.  This latest 582 powered Avid has not yet flown.  Hopefully I will get it in the air next week.  I have attached photos of aircraft I have previously assembled.
   
   I put together a PowerPoint presentation of some of the rebuilding then turned it into YouTube Video which can be viewed at  youtu.be/2qsTK7rQRbI  or look under “Building a Kitfox/Avid Flyer in 3 Months
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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