Avid C Float Rigging

[marksires 484]

Thanks to Jim, and a lot of miles on my truck and trailer, I now have a shiny new (to me at least) pair of Avid floats with the water rudders.  BTW Jim is a great guy, and has a really nice place up there in the northern midwest.  It was a beautiful drive up and back with the fall colors coming to full, but I wouldn't want to be there in January!  Jim is a hardier soul than I am!

 

However, I'm fresh out of tubes and hardware to mount them with.  I have the build manual, and it has a lot of pictures so the geometry and general layout are easy, but the only dimension anywhere is that the centerline of the floats should be 68 inches apart.  The tube diameter I can pretty much get from the through tubes on the floats.  I won't know the wall thickness, but if in doubt, I'll just get one thicker than I think I need.  If anyone can give the me the length of any of the mounting tubes, or the distance from the bottom of the fuselage to the top of the floats,  I should be able to figure it out from there.

Thanks!

Mark

 

[EDMO 1078]

Mark,

     I have what I think was part of a float rigging for a Kitfox 1 - Not really sure about it - I was going to post a photo for Jim, but toilet leaked - etc - flu shot shut me down for a week - furnace acted up - going to doctor tomorrow, and hopefully can post a photo for you in a couple of days.  Also, I have a Kitfox pectral fin - donno if you would need it or be able to use it?  I know nothing about floats.

EDMO

[akflyer 1427]

akflyerbob has a set of the original rigging that I can get some measurements off of when I get home in two weeks.  I may be able to get my brother to run over there and pull some measurements for you as well.  Bob cant get around right now due to a hip surgery but I think we can get to the gear and get some numbers for you if no one else has a set handy.

 

[marksires 484]

Lenny,

Thanks, that would be perfect.  I won't get to making the rigging until this winter anyway, so I don't need it tomorrow.  Sorry to hear Bob's down for a while.  I hope his surgery goes/went well, and recovery is faster than the quacks, er, docs, predict.

Mark

[marksires 484]

Ed,

Whenever you get time, that would be helpful also.  I always figure too much information is better than not enough!

Mark

[EDMO 1078]

Mark,

      If you decide you want this part, you can come and get it or pay shipping - I will never use it.

Doctor aptmt today - will try to post photo tomorrow.

EdMo

Edited 21 Oct 2014 by Ed In Missouri

[marksires 484]

Ed,

No problem.  And I hope the furnace is fixed, we are headed into the season where the furnace will be important.

 

Mark

[TreeTopAirways 10]

Mark,

I sent the pictures to your email.

 

Robin

[EDMO 1078]

Mark, Leni, anyone,

     I am attaching a photo of the rig that came with my Kitfox 1 - I don't know, but think it is for that plane - maybe homemade?

Looks like the angled tube which has been cut, may not be part of the original?

EDMo

  

[akflyer 1427]

I dont even see how or where that would mount..

 

[marksires 484]

Lenny,

Glad I wasn't the only one confused!  It doesn't look anything like the Avid Float mounting.  Robin has sent me great pictures of his float mounting.  Which I'm jealous of.  It appears he has a set of genuine Avid Amphibious floats.  I didn't even know Avid made amphibious floats.  They look exactly like the Avid floats I got from Jim, only they have a notch in the front for the nose wheel mounting.

When I get my rigging made up, I'll be taking lots of pictures, and try to put together some drawings to post here, so we'll have them in the library.

 

Mark

[akflyer 1427]

Ed, I am going to take a shot in the dark.  I think that is a home made brace that would go under the fuse side to side and have a longer bolt in the gear fittings to give additional compression strength to the sides of the fuse.  This would be done as floats are mounted rigid and have no give and a hard landing could bend the sides of the fuse in.

 

I have seen this used but only on the forward or main gear attach point not on the rear one as well.  Again, that is just a shot in the dark as for what the structure in the picture would be used for.  It certainly does not look like anything that came with the original Avid float mounts that I can see.

 

[EDMO 1078]

Thanks Leni,

      I just looked at the photo of the Avid on Amphibs, and was wondering if this could be just one side of the float attach.   You may be correct that this is a fuselage brace.

      Both the KF 1 and the clone KF1 owners were float flyers - actually they were both built by David Williams - I have the pectral (anal?) fin for the KF 1 that this brace came with, and Randy and I both knew the late Earl Edgar that I bought the clone from - He was building a KF5 at the time and talked a lot about landing on water - He even had "quick-detatch" sticks made so he could get out quickly without getting snagged on the sticks.

      Guess it will go back into my pile of tubes and whatevers until someone needs it.

EDMO

Edited 23 Oct 2014 by Ed In Missouri

[akflyer 1427]

That would be a Ventral fin.  I seriously don't think it has anything to do with the float N struts.  Maybe a fuse brace from side to side, but not an N strut and certainly not a part of the Avid factory mount.

 

[TreeTopAirways 10]

Mark,

I received this info from High Country.

 

http://www.stoneylak...om/floatrig.htm