1avidflyer

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Everything posted by 1avidflyer



  1. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Avid/Kitfox   

    Well I'll add my 2 cents worth on this one.  First off, the standard Avid wingspan is 2' shorter than the standard Kitfox wingspan.  2 stroke engines in KItfoxes are mounted sparkplugs up, Avids are plugs down.  That makes Avids easier to see over the nose by a fair amount.  The Kitfox 1 was a copy of the Avid A model.  Both are 36" wide in the fuselage.   Kitfox 2,3, and 4 are 39.5" wide as are the Avid B,C and MK IV.   The Kitfox 4 was a large departure in design from the earlier models.  Different style/profile on the wing, larger tail, ect.   Gross weights for the Kitfox 2 =950, Kitfox 3= 1050,  Kitfox 4 started at 1050, but later raised to 1200.  Avid has a speedster wing, a STOL wing, and Heavy Hauler wing and gross weights range from 911 lbs to 1150 lbs for models B,C, and MK IV.  A guy could write a book I guess, but I'll leave it here for now.  JImChuk
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  2. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic 912 and 914 on ebay   

    Music to my ears!  ;-)  JImChuk

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  3. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic 912 and 914 on ebay   

    I didn't call this guy, but if you click on the 'see other items'  he has lots of other 912/914 parts.  Looks like smaller sized drone engines and parts + lots of other stuff.  3 pages worth of listings.  I think this stuff came from a government auction, and now he's selling it off.  Even has a big semi trailer sized "atmospheric testing chamber"  maybe that's where the 912 engine was run.  If I was driving by, I would like to stop and take a look at the stuff.  Not saying the engine is perfect or anything, I have no way of knowing that by reading stuff on ebay,  but I think it is a real motor and is really for sale.   JImChuk
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  4. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic 912 and 914 on ebay   

    Hi Ed, Actually it was cold here today.  Yesterday morning at 7:30 it was 70.  (back home was -28)   by about 10 AM it started dropping like a rock.  In the after noon it was about 50.  44 for a high today, but it's supposed to be back in the 60s and sunny tomorrow.  Warming more later in the week.  Really don't know if $4000 is to much for a long block 912 or not, but we will see. If you had a prop striked 912 with a bent crank, you might be happy to buy it at that price.  Then you would have all the other goodies you need already.  JImChuk
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  5. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic 912 and 914 on ebay   

    I looked at their feedback, they have sold some other 912 parts and such along with a bunch of other stuff.  Just for the fun of it, and I'm bored I called their phone #.  Sure sounded like a shop to me.  Gave their business hours and such.   I don't see the accessories for the engine included with it, I think they may have sold them off separately.  Might not be a scam,  hard to make up positive feedbacks on ebay I think.  Maybe I'll call tomorrow just to see what they have to say.  JImChuk
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  6. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic avid mark4 project for sale   

    A bit out of the way on both ends I think.  Bath NC?  JImChuk
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  7. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic avid mark4 project for sale   

    What are you buying now Ed?  :-)  JImChuk
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  8. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Cowl openings   

    I found this one that might give you some ideas.  I'm not near them now to measure.  The crush plate on the outside of the prop looks like it would be the same size as the prop hub on the engine.  Just guessing, I would say the opening is about 2" high and 7" wide.  I had to make the flapper door so I could close it off in the winter to keep oil temps higher.  And I also removed the cooler in the winter as well.  JImChuk

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  9. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Born to Fly   

    Men really are just big boys.  :-)  JImChuk
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  10. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Ride in a Kitfox 4   

    Well I got a repeat performance in the Kitfox 4 with the 503 today.  Wow!  It really is amazing how well that plane performs on that 52 HP.  I brought my Chinese gopro camera and got a bunch of video but am having trouble getting it to load onto my laptop without distorting.  Think the adaptor isn't compatable with the mini SD card I'm trying to use.  Once I get it sorted out, I'll do a utube video.   Well we flew along the beaches at about 150' just like the Blue Angels were doing the other day.  People waved at us also.  We didn't come back and do any barrel rolls though.  This is a bit of video I put on utube from last year.   We went over some of the same area today plus a bunch more beach flying.  Fun!  JImChuk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkgqb8SrWkA
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  11. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Kitfox 1 build   

    I have read that there was a court case as well, but nothing really came of it.  At least nothing that benifitted Dean.  I don't remember the part about weather the kit was stolen or not.  What I remember was that Denny was given the kit to get rid of any interest he had in the company or design.  This is all going off my memory of what I read, or think I did.  Not saying it was written accurately either.  And some days I can't vouch for my memory........  a, what were we talking about???? ;-) JImChuk
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  12. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Looking for N618GZ info   

    I believe that was John Miller's Avid B with a Jabiru 80 HP.  Look at the colors of it, and at Joey's plane, especially the cowl.  ;-)  JImChuk
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  13. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic KItox 912 rotax motor mount   

    I think the Kitfox 1 through 4 use the same mount.  If it's in good shape, under 400 is a good price.  I bet Kitfox gets a lot more for them then that.  JImChuk
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  14. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Looking for N618GZ info   

    Just have to think it would burn a lot of fuel and who knows what the reliability is like.  Don't think they ever got popular, and that is often a bad sign.  JImChuk
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  15. 1avidflyer added a topic in For Sale and wanted, you got it, I want it   

    KItox 912 rotax motor mount
    Hi all,  I just saw this on Barnstormers.  If it's good, that's not a bad price.  I don't have a dog in this fight, just passing it along to the rest of you.  I see he also has a muffler for same engine and plane.  JImChuk
    Kitfox Model 3 Engine Mount
    KITFOX MODEL 3 ENGINE MOUNT • $375 • FOR SALE • Model 3 engine mount with good shock mount for a Rotax 912 • Contact Doug D. Lords, Owner - located Idaho Falls, ID USA • Telephone: 208-403-8149 • Posted December 14, 2016
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  16. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Landing gear stubshaft instalation   

    Or reach for the BIG hammer!  ;-)  JImChuk
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  17. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Looking for N618GZ info   

    A friend of mine has a 55 HP Hirth in his Avid A model.  He used to fly a gyrocopter.  Had a 503 on it.  Thought the Hirth would be better so he sold the rotax and put the Hirth on.  They both performed and used fuel about the same.  Later on he gave up flying the gyros, and finished the A model Avid and installed the Hirth in it.  This is the carbureted engine.  They make some with fuel injection, they may be better on fuel but his burned as much as my 582 Rotax which makes 10 HP more and would fly away from him in a heavier Avid fairly easy.  The Hirth is 600 and some CCs but turns up to a slower top RPM.  JImChuk
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  18. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Looking for N618GZ info   

    Ed,  I don't know of anyone putting a redrive on a Jabiru.  JImChuk
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  19. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Looking for N618GZ info   

    Jabiru 2200 flying weight is about 125 lbs, and the 3300 is about 175 lbs.  They run jabirus in lots of planes without cowlings.  Mostly pushers, which don't usually have a cowl anyway.  No reason why it couldn't be ran without a cowl in a Kitfox that I can see.  You would have to make things a bit more secure so they wouldn't flap around in the breeze though.  One thing though, the Jabiru will never take off and climb out like a 912.  Smaller prop at higher RPMs are better for high speed planes, not so good for STOL work.  JImChuk
    PS  reread some of the previous posts, and so I'm adding more info.  Ed,  the 3300 Jabiru is supposed to produce 120 HP.  The Jabiru engines don't use a cooling plenum.  They have fiberglass ducts that enclose the tops of the cylinders to direct the cooling air.  Here is a picture of a plane with the top cowl removed.  (not mine)


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  20. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Yamaha RX1 Engines   

    You can use a single gauge and then use a 4 position switch to switch from the one probe to the next.   You can even wire the switch to control the EGTs and the CHTs going to different gauges or opposite sides on a dual gauge with the one 4 position switch. It's actually got 8 connections on the back, but only 4 are wired when you get it.   That's how I had my Avid MK IV with a Jabiru wired up.  JImChuk
    http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/westcombos7.php?clickkey=62470
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  21. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Normal acting altimeter   

    Might not be a bad time to upgrade to the Belite electronic one that Joey bought last week.  This one looks to have gone south.  JImChuk
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  22. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Winter   

    Well I do know of an Avid not to far from me that might be had for a reasonable price.....    Wouldn't be the first time I hauled an airplane half way across the country.   JImChuk
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  23. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic avid mark4 project for sale   

    Ted said in his post that it's still for sale.... JImChuk
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  24. 1avidflyer added a topic in For Sale and wanted, you got it, I want it   

    Fiberglass spring landing gear on barnstormers
    Well Barnstormers is back up and running, and I ran across this add.  I had a fiberglass spring gear on my Himax years ago, and it worked real well.  I have thought someone should start making them for larger planes, and had even talked to the guy who built my Himax gear about making a heaver set for a Kitfox or Avid.  He didn't want to monkey with it cause he didn't have a plane to put it on for testing purposes.  Anyway this guy is making them.  I emailed him looking for more info.  Would be nice if it worked right.  A good bit cheaper than grove aluminum gear also.  Anyway, here it is.   JImChuk  
    SPRING LANDING GEAR • $565 • FOR SALE • The material - fiberglass. Spring weight - 10-11 kg. Aircraft weight - 450-550 kg. • Contact Meglinsky Vladimir, Owner - located Kharkov, Ukraine • Telephone: +38-0507481355 • Posted December 13, 2016 • 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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  25. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Kitfox 1 build   

    The cowl that TJay has came with the kit from Kitfox.  His was serial # 11.  It was listed in the inventory sheets for the kit.   I've seen this cowl on another kitfox 1 also.  I think it was a better look and function then the round cowl that came later.  JImChuk
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