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Posted (edited)

Hi All,

 

So I decided to buy bargain of an Avid MKIV.

G-BUIR003.jpg

It has a high hour 582 bluetop (255 hours).  Compressions and bearings are all good so I am not overly worried....especially as I paid less than $6k for it.  It is ultra different to flying Cherokees 6's which I am used to....but it is massively cheaper for simply burning holes in the sky just for the fun of it.

It used to be a tail dragger but some monster converted to a nose pusher.  A few things I want to do it:

 

1) Convert it back to tail dragger.  I have seen some undercarriage options from Airdale, but they don't respond to email or answer the phone.  Does anyone know if they are still in business? or anywhere else I can get taildragger kit from?

2) I want to replace the doors the Perspex or whatever it is called these days.  Again anyone know where I can buy a set from?

Edited by Gfry
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Posted

You can look a grove for the main gear:

http://www.groveaircraft.com/landing_gear.html#avid

The stock tailwheel setup is a bit twitchy.  The grove gear is wider, which improves that.  There are other threads on different main gear here as well.

 

Lots of threads here on tail wheel options.

If you do the conversion, I want first dibs on the gear you take off! :-)

Mark

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Posted

I am working on a set of gear that should work very well.  The doors are just lexan sheet that you you cut and rivet on yourself, its easily done in a couple of hours. 

Good looking bird but would be a lot more fun with the little wheel in the back where it belongs :lol:

For the cost it is very hard to beat these little birds for the pure fun factor!

Welcome to the forum, post up lots of pics and flight adventures, we love good stories and seeing different parts of the world around here.

 

:BC:

 

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Posted

On your doors, like akflyer said, I redid mine to, just temoved the old panels, drilled out the rivetshttp://creativemetalmontana.com/examples.htm, straightened the frames to fit better, then made a pattern of the door frame out of cardboard and cut 1/8" Lexan to fit leaveing adout a quarter inch to trim at the end, use the same rivet holes in your frame or weld them shut and drill new ones. My plastic hangs over the frame about an inch for rubber to seal it against the body.

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Posted

You can look a grove for the main gear:

http://www.groveaircraft.com/landing_gear.html#avid

The stock tailwheel setup is a bit twitchy.  The grove gear is wider, which improves that.  There are other threads on different main gear here as well.

 

Lots of threads here on tail wheel options.

If you do the conversion, I want first dibs on the gear you take off! :-)

Mark

Tell you what, lets go halves on a taildragger kit and you can have all the nose pusher stuff of my aircraft....I will pay the shipping.

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Posted

On your doors, like akflyer said, I redid mine to, just temoved the old panels, drilled out the rivetshttp://creativemetalmontana.com/examples.htm, straightened the frames to fit better, then made a pattern of the door frame out of cardboard and cut 1/8" Lexan to fit leaveing adout a quarter inch to trim at the end, use the same rivet holes in your frame or weld them shut and drill new ones. My plastic hangs over the frame about an inch for rubber to seal it against the body.

I take it you did not form the slight bulge in the lexan that you used?  If you did, how did you do it?

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Posted

My Lexan is flat, or goes with the slight bend in the frames, if you want the bubble kind youd have to use a vacume former for plastic, it heats up the plastic and sucks the air out under the soft, hot plastic against a form that youve made. Or buy them.

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Posted

In parts for sale section there is some bubble doors for Avid lV for sale, Gary Dwinwal??

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Posted

Forgive my ignorance of the Mark IV, but couldn't you reuse the main gear by moving up to the next set of attach points and perhaps swapping sides?  There are better alternatives than the bungee gear, but none cheaper than using what you have already.

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Posted

Forgive my ignorance of the Mark IV, but couldn't you reuse the main gear by moving up to the next set of attach points and perhaps swapping sides?  There are better alternatives than the bungee gear, but none cheaper than using what you have already.

Possibly.  Still need a tail wheel.

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Posted

Forgive my ignorance of the Mark IV, but couldn't you reuse the main gear by moving up to the next set of attach points and perhaps swapping sides?  There are better alternatives than the bungee gear, but none cheaper than using what you have already.

I thought that when I first started exploring changing mine to a nose wheel.  The main gear are different for each configuration.  The rake angles aren't the same.

Mark

 

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Posted

Trike mains and taildragger mains are different, just like you said Mark.  If one runs a want add for used taildragger gear for an Avid, probably someone will have a set they want to part with.  MK IV gear are taller then earlier gear, but I think either one would work.   Or there are several people making the bush gear that is lighter and cheaper than the grove aluminum gear.  Tail wheels are easily available new or used.  Matco, Maule ect.   Tail spring can be made fairly easy..  What else do you need?  Some chain, springs, and connectors to hook the tail wheel to the rudder.  JImChuk

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Posted (edited)

Bubble doors can be had from LPAeroPlastics.  They have them available for the Mk 4 Avid door frames.  The Kitfox IV windshield from LP will fit beautifully on an Avid C or Mk 4.

A tailwheel can be had reasonably from Matco.  Parents:  Keep your children away from a Maul tailwheel, they are crap.

Edited by Av8r3400
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Posted

Gfry,  Welcome aboard with your bargain Avid.

We, "Rebel Colonists" sometime have a problem identifying where in the vast Empire of the United Kingdom you are located - rather than run down the list of "Territories", maybe you should just list your town and country, like in England, or some other place, so we know exactly where you are.    Jolly good show,  Cheers, EDMO  

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Posted

Here you go Ed, always happy to help the Google Maps challenged :-)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Malmesbury,+UK/@51.5869557,-4.340162,7z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x48716a2a0dcb10bb:0x385ca6955d214ad5!8m2!3d51.586357!4d-2.102834

Mark

 

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Posted

Welcome to the forum! Great deal on your Avid too.

 

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Posted (edited)

Here you go Ed, always happy to help the Google Maps challenged :-)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Malmesbury,+UK/@51.5869557,-4.340162,7z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x48716a2a0dcb10bb:0x385ca6955d214ad5!8m2!3d51.586357!4d-2.102834

Mark

 

Google Maps challenged?  Heck, I was challenged trying to light the kerosene lamps, or tune the battery-powered Radio to get the Grand Old Opry on Saturday nights until our log cabin burned!  ;<))  EDMO

Edited by EDMO
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Posted

Awesome!!! I would fly it some before I took it apart!!! Probably a LOT!

FIRST QUESTION: Does it have the tail wheel horns on the rudder?

I bought the tundra gear from Airdale and am pretty disappointed. It took a lot of work and without advice and guidance from members here I would have probably thrown it in the scrap metal pile.

And I like the doors from here too. http://www.lpaerodirect.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=35&pg=1 

 

 

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Posted

Yes it does have the tail wheel horns on the rudder.  In general fly's really well.  Few niggles like the flaperons are not rigged quiet right and the prop pitch is slightly off.....both jobs that I am working on tomorrow (20th March).  AOA was wonky on the port wing so winding out the rear strut by 720 degrees solved that one.

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