marksires

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Everything posted by marksires



  1. marksires added a post in a topic Brand new Avid floats and amphib kit   

    Here are a couple of pictures I acquired somewhere.  I have a set of Avid non-amphibious floats, and I found these when figuring out the rigging.  I still haven't installed them, would prefer amphibs, but I bought the non-amphibs when I found them.
    Hope this helps.


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  2. marksires added a post in a topic New forum category! A place to introduce yourself. Please Post!!   

    Welcome!
    These toolmakers make me jealous.  I have a lathe and a mill, but not the skills to use them effectively.  I have gotten really good at turning large useful bits of metal into a pile of easily recycled chips.......
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  3. marksires added a post in a topic Oratex 6000 on a PA12   

    Oh boy! More tubes to paint!
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  4. marksires added a post in a topic Kitfox 4 rebuild   

    Maybe not as good as you think.  Someone mentioned building materials had gone way up.  I looked at the price of a 4x8 sheet of 1/2" OSB.  I paid $8 a sheet 4 or so years ago.  It was almost $28 when I looked a couple of weeks ago!
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  5. marksires added a post in a topic Avid heavy hauler on barnstormers   

    Mine was a 1991 kit.  The build manual says 'Model D'.  Dual cheek radiators, originally had the square tail, the builders ground looped it, and put on the round tail as part of the repairs.  Mine has the single 14 gallon wing tank also.
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  6. marksires added a post in a topic K-Max down   

    Very sorry!
     
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  7. marksires added a post in a topic What to do with Avid Flyer project?   

    I'd agree some model C variant.  It has the Model C tail, but it has a trim tab on the elevator, which I didn't think came along until the Mark IV.  My model C has the Mk IV rudder because the builders ground looped it and damaged it, but still has the original elevator with no trim tab (darn it).  Without original paperwork it's as much a paperwork/bureaucratic paper chase project as much as a build project though.
     
    Mark
     
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  8. marksires added a post in a topic Wings folded up length   

    Heres a couple of pictures of mine in the 8'x20' pace enclosed trailer.


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  9. marksires added a post in a topic Wings folded up length   

    I brought my Avid C model home in an 8'x20' trailer.  I had to take off 1 wing and the horizontal stab because it wouldn't fit through the door, which was only 7' wide.  Length it fit fine, with at least an inch or two in the front and back.  When looking at enclosed trailers, always check the door opening width, it is almost always smaller by a surprising large amount due to the frame.  
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  10. marksires added a post in a topic streamline wood   

    I bought a whole pickup bed load of spruce a year or two ago when Wicks was selling out a bunch of overstock/cutoffs in an online auction.  My intent is to use it to make new fairing as I refurbish my Avid.  The existing ones have cracked/separated from the tubing, and my attempts to remove one of the partially separated ones broke it.
    I got a LOT more Spruce than I expected - I thought it was a couple of small bundles, and instead I barely fit it all in my 8' bed under the tonneau cover - it looked very pregnant the middle.  Once I get the process of making it worked out, I'll probably make a bunch of it.  I really don't have much else use for the Spruce.
     
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  11. marksires added a post in a topic New forum category! A place to introduce yourself. Please Post!!   

    Welcome Mike, I'm also from Florida - we may give that Alaska bunch some competition soon! :-)
     
    I'm up North  at Lake City.
     
    Mar
     
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  12. marksires added a post in a topic Fuselage Frame Paint   

    I'm just starting to refurbish my Avid - the 'original' frame paint is in very bad shape.  I forgot to take the batteries out of the ELT before it sat in a shed for a few years, and the batteries exploded and leaked, so I may have to replace the tubing under where it was at - I haven't had a chance to asses the damage to see if it is just some surface rust or worse.
    I plan on stripping everything back to the frame, cover the wood 'bits' with aluminum tape (mine has the wood spine), media blast the whole thing and then use a good quality epoxy.  That should hold up as long as I'll be around to fly the plane!
    So, Jim, if you're in Gulf Shores this winter and miss working on an Avid, I'll have one in North Florida with lots of work to be done! 
     
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  13. marksires added a post in a topic Original Wheels   

    The Band-aides aren't the important part, it's the proper use of words to convince the tire it's in its best interest to come off easily 
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  14. marksires added a post in a topic Stopped project   

    My condolences, take care of what's important, the plane will be waiting patiently for you to return!
     
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  15. marksires added a post in a topic New Fox 2   

    Have you looked at UL?  They look promising, but are rather pricey.
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  16. marksires added a post in a topic Backcountry runway project   

    Looks fantastic!  The neighbors are going to hate you when the horrible thunderstorm comes and dumps 5 inches of rain in 2 hours.  You know it is going to happen! 
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  17. marksires added a topic in Technical tasks   

    Drag reduction
    I ran across this again and couldn't remember if I'd ever posted it before.  Very eye opening!
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  18. marksires added a post in a topic Backcountry runway project   

    Nice!
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  19. marksires added a post in a topic Grove Gear   

    Hmm, not sure what it's for, the current Taildragger version 66" wide, the nose gear is 62" wide, this is right in the middle.  Probably for a taildragger, I see the height measurement now.  Current taildragger is 22 1/4" , nose gear is only 16 1/4"
    I'd be interested, but I haven't decided if I'm changing mine from TailDragger to Nose gear when I rebuild it.  I have the front section that has the nose gear attachment, but I'd have to cut off the old one and have the new one welded on.
     
    Mark
     
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  20. marksires added a post in a topic Oratex 6000 on a PA12   

    Worried about a roof in winter?? Not familiar with that.  Summer on the other hand...
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  21. marksires added a post in a topic Oratex 6000 on a PA12   

    That'll buff right out... 
    The airplane looks so sad, it's pitiful.
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  22. marksires added a post in a topic Leading Edge Slats   

    I use that joke a lot.  
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  23. marksires added a post in a topic OSH AirVenture 2020 CANCELLED   

    I go most every year, but wasn't planning to go before all this, and certainly wouldn't go now.  I don't play Russian Roulette on purpose either.  (every day is a really a game of Russian Roulette, we just pretend it isn't).
    While I tend to agree that the virus isn't as dangerous as was originally feared, we also don't need it hanging around recurring every year, and learning how to be that dangerous.
    Mark
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  24. marksires added a post in a topic Leading Edge Slats   

    Translation for us 'mericans'
    Sub er avid hello,
    Well done for your initiative to mount leading edge spouts on an avid. I did it myself on my two speedwinds
    and that changes the performance a lot and especially the stall speed (32/35 and parachutal descent)
    friendly your
    Marc Comte
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  25. marksires added a post in a topic Making a copy of a cowling   

    With the shape of that cowl, I think I'd rather make a mold from the inside rather than the outside.  Doing layups on the inside of the mold will be challenging, and removing the mold, unless you plan a one-off and destroy the mold, would be easier.  Plus, the inside dimension to mate with the lower cowl is more likely to be correct.
    Pour foam is decent for a one-off mold.  For long term use, not so much since it continues to cure and expand for quite a while after the initial 'cure'.  Use thin plastic, like really cheap paint drop clothes, inside the cowling, pour the foam in.  Let it cure, then it looks like you should be able to slide the old cowl off by pulling the mold back toward the 'cockpit'.  Tape up the mold with packing tape (although that shrink looks pretty good to), put some mold release on that, then lay up the new cowl over it.  Just don't wait too long before using the mold, as mentioned, pour foam continues to cure and expand over time.
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