New Avid builder in Oregon

[Luked 71]

Hi everone,

 

My name is Luke. I bought a partially completed MKIV kit in January, and I've been lurking on here to learn more about these planes. I got a private license in 92, but have been out of flying for the past 15 years. I just got back into it recently, and rent a local 172 when I can.

 

I hope to use the Avid for some cheap(er?) flying. I started a homebuilt back when I got my license, but ended up selling the project. I've been waiting to get back into homebuilding until I felt like I could commit the time and money to follow through to completion.

 

Thanks for the great forum. I've already picked up a lot using the search. I'll probably post a thread with more details about my project when I have time to take some more pictures and get them posted. For now, here are a few. Sorry about the quality, the place it's stored right now is kind of messy. I need to clean out my garage at home to get some room to work on it.

 

Luke D.

 

Fuselage complete with a layer of dust.

 

Wings

[akflyer 1427]

Welcome aboard here!  Looks like you have a great start on the project and should get it in the air pretty quick.  Post up a build thread if your so inclined when you get started on it.  We love airplane porn here so you can post enough pics to satisfy us

 

[Luked 71]

Welcome aboard here!  Looks like you have a great start on the project and should get it in the air pretty quick.  Post up a build thread if your so inclined when you get started on it.  We love airplane porn here so you can post enough pics to satisfy us

 

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'll probably get some better pictures up in the next day or two. Then I'll start with the questions...

 

Luke D.

[SuberAvid 617]

Welcome Luke.  It looks like your plane is well on its way.  What part of Oregon?

[Luked 71]

Welcome Luke.  It looks like your plane is well on its way.  What part of Oregon?

 

Thanks Randy,

 

I'm just south of Salem. Btw, I've looked over lots of your pictures. I'm totally jealous of the kind of flying you get to do up there  . The pictures are great. I love the ones that show the planes parked on the gravel bars. Thanks for sharing them. I've got a brother in law that lives in Fairbanks. I'd like to get up there some time to see some bush flying in person. Maybe go see the Valdez STOL competition some time.

 

Unfortunately I don't have the budget right now for a high performance STOL plane, so this one will be a basic Avid for local flying mostly in the Valley. I think it will still be a lot of fun, and it's got to be better than the 172.

 

Luke D.

[akflyer 1427]

Luke,

 

Are you the guy making the awesome seats for RVs?  if so, there may be a market for some seats for the Avids and Kitfox.  Some guys here have made their own, but if quality seats were available for a decent price, I am thinking you could get a few more customers!

 

[SuberAvid 617]

Thanks Randy,

 

I'm just south of Salem. Btw, I've looked over lots of your pictures. I'm totally jealous of the kind of flying you get to do up there  . The pictures are great. I love the ones that show the planes parked on the gravel bars. Thanks for sharing them. I've got a brother in law that lives in Fairbanks. I'd like to get up there some time to see some bush flying in person. Maybe go see the Valdez STOL competition some time.

 

Unfortunately I don't have the budget right now for a high performance STOL plane, so this one will be a basic Avid for local flying mostly in the Valley. I think it will still be a lot of fun, and it's got to be better than the 172.

 

Luke D.

Hi Luke,

 

I grew up in Hood River Valley and my brother, sister and I still have our parents place there so I get down there about once a year.

 

I think you will really enjoy your Avid.  They perform pretty darn well and they are affordable to own and fly.  When I bought my MKIV I had several people tell me I should by a "real" plane; well I flew that plane to places that surprised a lot of them and I fly my Avid+ to even more.  They are pretty capable planes once you get to know their advantages and limitations.  I trailered my MKIV to the north slope and flew it up there.  A couple of years later I was hunting with a friend and we were using his Supercub and got locked out by weather coming home.  Since we were on the road system we ended up leaving the plane at an airport and came home; it took 2 weeks before we could get the cub back.  Not a problem with an Avid/KF.  And talk to Joey (C5) he takes his Avid Flyer on some great long trips.  They may not carry as much as other planes but you will fly them a lot more and have fun doing it.  I fly mine more than most of the other pilots I know because I don't have to fret that I am out burning 8 to15 gph in a cub or 180, so I can just go fly for an hour in the evenings or whatever and not feel guilty; and I can do all my own work on it and modify it as I please.  You will have fun challenging yourself with the STOL capability as well.

 

We are surely blessed to be able to fly and land about anywhere we want here in AK and I know I sometimes take it for granted it is so common.  I am reminded that is not the case everywhere when I go down below.  Even in places like Montana they restrict where you can land, etc.  You got to love AK, hopefully it will stay this way for a long time and you all can get a chance to visit and enjoy it with us.

[Luked 71]

Hey Leni,

 

Yes that's us. We've been doing it for a little over ten years now. It does seem like the market for "Avid type" (counting the various derivative designs) aircraft is having a resurgence. I remember being interested in Kitfoxes back in the early 90s when I got my license when they were the hot item.

 

We would love to offer products to more aircraft owners, but unfortunately there are some practical considerations that complicate things. Without getting into the gory details, it takes a fair number of sales for most of our products to even break even on the design work that goes into them. Also, there are quite a few items that our current RV customers want that we have not completed yet. Right now our biggest challenge is not volume of sales (we stay pretty busy year round), but improving the profit margin. People would be amazed if they say the number of seats and other products we produce in a year, compared to the profit we end up with. I think we are already perceived by some customers to be one of the higher priced options (our products do in fact cost more than some competitors, but that's because they are more expensive to produce), and in the current economic climate, customers are pretty sensitive to price. We have been focused on reducing the cost to produce our products through buying materials in larger volume, and improved efficiency in all parts of our business (I could share lots of detail there, but won't bore you). Once we feel like we have gotten things where we want them in terms of efficiency, we will probably go back to focusing on new products.

 

I have people with various aircraft types ask me about this fairly often, and I hate to sound like a wet blanket when I answer. It's just that after doing this for a while, I've learned to limit my commitments (in the early days, I started trying to make seats for Glastars, Zeniths, etc.). For the past 10 years I've usually worked about 70 hours a week, and that doesn't leave as much time as I would like for family (I have 4 kids now 8 and under).

 

I view the Avid project as my own personal recreation vs. "business". On the other hand I would be happy to help anyone here with advice when it comes to seats, upholstery, etc. if it would help. Offering free advise is much more relaxed than providing paid goods and services. That's probably a lot longer answer than you were looking for. I guess I got into some of the gory details after all. Who knows we might make seats for Avids and Kitfoxes someday. If I can help anyone here, just let me know.

 

Luke D.

[Luked 71]

Hi Luke,

 

I grew up in Hood River Valley and my brother, sister and I still have our parents place there so I get down there about once a year.

 

I think you will really enjoy your Avid.  They perform pretty darn well and they are affordable to own and fly.  When I bought my MKIV I had several people tell me I should by a "real" plane; well I flew that plane to places that surprised a lot of them and I fly my Avid+ to even more.  They are pretty capable planes once you get to know their advantages and limitations.  I trailered my MKIV to the north slope and flew it up there.  A couple of years later I was hunting with a friend and we were using his Supercub and got locked out by weather coming home.  Since we were on the road system we ended up leaving the plane at an airport and came home; it took 2 weeks before we could get the cub back.  Not a problem with an Avid/KF.  And talk to Joey (C5) he takes his Avid Flyer on some great long trips.  They may not carry as much as other planes but you will fly them a lot more and have fun doing it.  I fly mine more than most of the other pilots I know because I don't have to fret that I am out burning 8 to15 gph in a cub or 180, so I can just go fly for an hour in the evenings or whatever and not feel guilty; and I can do all my own work on it and modify it as I please.  You will have fun challenging yourself with the STOL capability as well.

 

We are surely blessed to be able to fly and land about anywhere we want here in AK and I know I sometimes take it for granted it is so common.  I am reminded that is not the case everywhere when I go down below.  Even in places like Montana they restrict where you can land, etc.  You got to love AK, hopefully it will stay this way for a long time and you all can get a chance to visit and enjoy it with us.

 

Small world. My wife's family is actually from Trout Lake, so we usually pass through Hood River at least once a hear to go to visit relatives. It's a nice area.

 

I'm really looking forward to the getting the Avid flying. Economy is one of my main goals. Like you say, when I get it flying I want to fly it a lot without worrying so much about the hourly cost.

 

Hope to make it up there at some point. My Grandpa used to live there, and always talked about how beautiful it is. Oregon is pretty, but not quite the same.

 

Luke D.