Putting a used Experimental back in the air

[EDMO 1078]

The turnbuckle on the rudder control is fine, and offers better adjustment than straps - The safety wiring is not exactly by the book, but all it Is for is to keep the turnbuckle from unscrewing - An inspector might want a cotter pin in the castle nut? - Is it airworthy - Probably - Can it be done better - Probably.   Dean used the straps as a money-saver.  EDMO

Edited 10 Jul 2017 by EDMO

[Yamma-Fox 403]

And Vance, I bet that plane would really rip some holes in the sky with an RX1 motor!

Just came across a mint one all ready to mount.  Sell for maybe $7K  (plus "custom" shipping) LOL!!

(You just knew I was gonna pipe in here right )

 

[chopndrag 226]

getting to know every inch of your new plane is not really a bad thing.  Some things may not bug one person that will bug you (wiring not perfectly run etc).  The crap in the engine would really bug me.  Having ports plugged off can create hot spots and thats not a good thing.  I would be very tempted to pull the head and blow all the passages out to make sure they are not filled and plugged. 

Bigger expansion tank??  grams make ounces, ounces make pounds.  Adding weight to the front of the plane is not a great idea unless you add lead to the tail.  If the plane is nose heavy you will not be impressed with the way it flys.  Relocating the tank means making longer hose runs as well.. it all adds up

Well since I got rid of that gallon oil injection tank and the heavy steel cheek radiators I have a few pounds to spare . My hoses aren't any longer then what was in there with the cheek radiators and my radiator now is aluminum. 

ok, but lets say that one is to keep the radiators they have then add the expansion tank... thats what I was referring to.  Hell I don't know, I've only got a few hours in my avid..

 

I guess it would depend on there cg . With what I personally did my nose is going to be about the same when it's said and done . It may lose a couple lbs on mine but my cg was a little forward to begin with like most avids. 

[akflyer 1427]

Every Avid I know comes out nose heavy... moving the CG back to 16" makes it a much better plane.  Moving it to 18" really improves it.

[Yamma-Fox 403]

All kidding aside, I sure think you are doing a great job checking over your new bird and going through it so thoroughly.

Maybe this has been covered (forgive me), but did they "pickle" that engine up with fogging oil for storage over those 6 years and keep it oiled up?

Of course sitting is tough on any motor, but IMO even tougher on a 2 stroke.  Just little stuff like pitting on the rings can slow heat transfer from the piston to the cyl and cause big problems.

I had one that sat a few years in my KF2 and it ended up dropping a cyl after about 50 hours.  Not sure what exactly went wrong since insurance took the bird after the light damage occured in the off field emergency landing, but in hindsight I remember wishing I woulda sent it to a reputable Rotax aero rebuilder for a tear down and look over before flying it after long term storage.

[NorthIdahoAvidflyer 374]

Thank you and yes I try not to do anything half ass. I really appreciate the guys here for all the input. 

Yes the engine was fogged with some sort of oil. There was still a bunch of it in each cylinder. I plan on washing out the cylinders with a squirt can of mixed gas before running it to get rid of as much of that old oil as possible. It smells funny. 

I cant wait to see your RX-1 installed. That's a good engine.  Keep us posted.

Vance

[Yamma-Fox 403]

I cant wait to see your RX-1 installed. That's a good engine.  Keep us posted.

Vance

I call it "your" RX1.  If it were "mine" it wouldn't look or be done half as nice!  LOL

I plan to do a build thread when I get going (mostly to gather expert eyes and help from everyone here, and hopefully to help a little with anyone considering doing Yamaha power).

Looking forward to getting started, but other "irons in the fire" seem to always get in my way

[chopndrag 226]

I have a hanger neighbor that just put one in his gyro and he loves it. Also another gyro popped up at the airport with a gsxr 750 crotch rocket motor in it . 

[Fly-n-Low 181]

I had to do the same with mine. Flushed the fuel tanks and radiator. Replaced all fuel lines, primer, carb kits, fuel pump kit. new oil lines from the oil pump. The old water drains leaked, so I replaced all of them. Plus new gaskets on the fuel tank fill caps. New thermostat and new coolant. Rebuild the master cylinders and calipers. New rubber motor mounts. Gear drive oil looked great and smelled like it should. All the instrument panel rubbers were rotten, so I replaced those too (and what a PITA!!!). Then I had to replace the hub on my warp drive because the PO hadn't clearance it right and it rubbed a grove in the hub. So I got a new spinner as well.

After I got it running, I hooked it up to my truck with a couple tow straps and let it run at 75% for 45 min to an hour. Now it has been down for a year, so when I get it back going, I am planning on looking everything over really well and running it on the strap again just to be sure.

Good luck!