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Buying my new Avid

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Posted

OK, I decided that the Avid would be the best aircraft for me. I made the decision in about 3 seconds flat while reading the description in the classifieds. At the time I did not really have much clue of what an Avid is, but it sounded so perfect.

About 2 weeks later, in December 09, I went to see G-BVBR for the first time having spent what seemed like for ever on the phone with the current owner. Turns out that the Avid is something like a Kitfox which I got a handful of hours in in the mid 90s. All good so far.

I inspected G-BVBR and my mind was made up. All the logs and records were in perfect order, the engine had just been 0-timed, it has a good instrument fit and radio, and the price is squarely in the budget of the small group we will be forming (yes, destitute East Europeans are forced to group own even such a good value aircraft as an Avid).

Unfortunately I was not able to secure things there and then while I was in the UK because of the remaining group members, so I was forced to come back home (Latvia in Eastern Europe) from the UK and wait things out, praying to God that someone would not nip in there and pitch for it over me.

Well, today I transferred the payment to one of the current owners. I was going to do the transfer to both of them, but it turns out my account has a daily transaction limit which I was already past - you learn something new every day! :(

Should be in the UK in about 10 days time and hope to pick the aircraft up then. I will keep my diary on this thread.

Damn, I just can't wait to fly it now!!!

Jezz

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Posted

Turns out that the Avid is something like a Kitfox...

Hey, that's like putting the cart before the history horse, haha! :)

A BIG congrats on the new toy and be sure to get our jealousy all fired up with a ton of pics! :bday:

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Posted

Congrats on picking it up! will get the copy of the manuals out to you when I get home next week. What engine? 582? gear box B or C, prop etc.. any details on it... and dont forget lots of pics!

:BC:

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Posted

Congrats!!!

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Posted

Sweet!!! We need Pictures!!!!

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Posted (edited)

Guys, many thanks for the positive words and support!

I have a few pics from when I went to view her, I will post them here when I get back, but that is likely to take me all evening (I am a bit slow on the computer uptake these days), so priorities first ... tomorrow is Feb 14th, time to go out and make a last minute ditch effort look like a years worth of romantic planning.

And Leni, many thanks for the offer of info, it will be gratefully received!

Jezz

p.s. maybe another thread I should have started yesterday would have read "romantic ideas SOS"

Edited by Jezz

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Posted

Guys, many thanks for the positive words and support!

I have a few pics from when I went to view her, I will post them here when I get back, but that is likely to take me all evening (I am a bit slow on the computer uptake these days), so priorities first ... tomorrow is Feb 14th, time to go out and make a last minute ditch effort look like a years worth of romantic planning.

And Leni, many thanks for the offer of info, it will be gratefully received!

Jezz

p.s. maybe another thread I should have started yesterday would have read "romantic ideas SOS"

yer looking to the wrong crowd here... I gave the ole lady the boot after 20 yrs a couple months ago... my idea of a good valentines present is a full tank of gas in my Avid or snow machine, blue sky's and deep snow... probably wont help you get any from the missus though :lol:

:BC:

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Posted

yer looking to the wrong crowd here... I gave the ole lady the boot after 20 yrs a couple months ago... my idea of a good valentines present is a full tank of gas in my Avid or snow machine, blue sky's and deep snow... probably wont help you get any from the missus though :lol:

:BC:

I never know if I should congratulate or commiserate when I hear of someone splitting up after such a long time - but if it gives you more time with the Avid then it can only be a good thing methinks! I've spent the last 90 minutes in front of the computer Googling for gift ideas - results I have found the perfect Garmin GPS 196 on ebay and only a day left on bidding ... Ah what the hell, I will buy the 196 as a valentine for the Avid and the Mrs can have a few tea candles scattered around the place for when she comes home tonight (will already be past midnight).

Garmin - $350 (or maybe more if the bidding goes up)

Tea candles - $5

Yep - I think it says it all! Maybe I can make up the other $345 by having a shower and a shave for when she comes home? Nah, on second thoughts I want to try to upload those pictures. OK, off now to buy the tea candles then!

Jezz

p.s. How is the snowfall up there in Alaska this season. Here we have had more than in a decade. I went to the airfield today to look at the building I am stealing (part of the old fire brigade garages, so plenty of room for the Avid), the snow depth has already raised about another foot and the clearance machine drivers only work weekdays so airfield closed so I had some fun putting the car sideways on the runway with a couple of students hitching along. Always good fun to show them that its not only the teenagers that can have fun. Temps are way down here too, normally we get a week or two solid below -15C (day and night) with most of the rest of the season about -5C, but this year it was over 2 months below -20C. Global warming perhaps?

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Posted

Congrats on the Avid Jezz and welcome to the addicts club. Sounds like your next accessory needs to be a set of skiswink.gif .

Randy

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Posted

Congrats on picking it up! will get the copy of the manuals out to you when I get home next week. What engine? 582? gear box B or C, prop etc.. any details on it... and dont forget lots of pics!

:BC:

It has a 582 gray-top (0 timed 14 hours ago), a "B" type gearbox and Peery 71"X 37" prop. It has MTOW of 1020 lbs and is in "nose dragger" configuration (I can't guarantee to keep myself (and my group members) current enough to be comfortable with a tail dragger).

My baby looking very sexy at a fly-in before we first met

post-132-12661469278658_thumb.jpg

When I went to view her:

post-132-12661470450069_thumb.jpg

post-132-1266147085739_thumb.jpg

I will probably put the panel into a "Standard T" and may add a transponder in due course.

post-132-12661471182629_thumb.jpg

And another one from the rear:

post-132-12661471865421_thumb.jpg

Will keep you all posted with lots of pics as and when I take them. I will be over to spend a night or two with it in a couple of weeks. Really can't wait - Need to fly! Not sure I will be able to remain sane for 2 weeks. :banghead:

Jezz

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Posted

Now that's some pretty good airplane-porn... :beerchug:

Is that a "C" model? I like that tail shape much better than the round mark IV style.

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Posted

Now that's some pretty good airplane-porn... :beerchug:

Is that a "C" model? I like that tail shape much better than the round mark IV style.

That was only the softcore porn!

Yes, it was made from a Model "C" kit, but was modified to bring it up to the Mk4 so that it could be certified at 1020 lbs. It has the thicker spar tubes 0.085" thickness, thicker tailplane struts (0.5") and the 12" rib spacing. It has 25 gallons total in 2 wing tanks, but rather usefully the mass and balance schedule does not tell what type of gallons they are. As the mass given for the fuel calculation is 7.2lbs per gallon I am assuming they are Imperial gallons (I know, never bet your life on an assumption - I will be checking it too) which will give me a total fuel capacity of 30 USG or 113 liters here in Europe.

The left hand tank is smaller and next to it there is a wing baggage locker - looking forward to popping some camping stuff in there and heading off up into the islands in the Baltic Sea or north up into Finland.

Can any of you guys please give me some idea of what your 582 fuel burn is like? I have 4.5 gph from the current owner (I am presuming he is talking imperial), but I am keen to have some kind of average idea so I can start to plan my 1500nm marathon through Europe (and yes, when I do it, you will have lots of pics from that little trip!).

Jezz

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Posted

That was only the softcore porn!

Yes, it was made from a Model "C" kit, but was modified to bring it up to the Mk4 so that it could be certified at 1020 lbs. It has the thicker spar tubes 0.085" thickness, thicker tailplane struts (0.5") and the 12" rib spacing. It has 25 gallons total in 2 wing tanks, but rather usefully the mass and balance schedule does not tell what type of gallons they are. As the mass given for the fuel calculation is 7.2lbs per gallon I am assuming they are Imperial gallons (I know, never bet your life on an assumption - I will be checking it too) which will give me a total fuel capacity of 30 USG or 113 liters here in Europe.

The left hand tank is smaller and next to it there is a wing baggage locker - looking forward to popping some camping stuff in there and heading off up into the islands in the Baltic Sea or north up into Finland.

Can any of you guys please give me some idea of what your 582 fuel burn is like? I have 4.5 gph from the current owner (I am presuming he is talking imperial), but I am keen to have some kind of average idea so I can start to plan my 1500nm marathon through Europe (and yes, when I do it, you will have lots of pics from that little trip!).

Jezz

If you have a big tank and a small tank (and a wing locker!), I doubt you have 25 gallons on board. The big tank is around 13 gallons and the small one is around 6.

For a 582, 4.5 gph in cruise sounds close. Maybe one of the other guys can comment on this further...

For "American" gallons, the weight is 6 pounds per gallon.

(I don't know Imperial gallons, so my comments are only in "American" gallons.)

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Posted

If you have a big tank and a small tank (and a wing locker!), I doubt you have 25 gallons on board. The big tank is around 13 gallons and the small one is around 6.

For a 582, 4.5 gph in cruise sounds close. Maybe one of the other guys can comment on this further...

For "American" gallons, the weight is 6 pounds per gallon.

(I don't know Imperial gallons, so my comments are only in "American" gallons.)

Thanks for the info. Looks like I will have to do a thorough contents check before I set out. The figures I got were from the original certified mass and balance which was signed off by an inspector so I assumed it to be correct. I will check!!! :news:

If the burn figures are only around 4.5US ph then it is still going to be possible to keep with the original legs that I have planned, even if I end up with smaller wing tanks than I thought.

At this time it looks like my routing will be:

UK - midlands (Otherton airfield)

UK - S. Coast (Provisionally Llydd or Shoreham)

Germany - Nr Frankfurt (Provisionally Egglesbach, staying with friends)

Germany - Colone (Stop to see some colleagues in EASA)

Germany - Erfurt (stop to see a friend)

Poland - 1 or 2 stops TBA

Lithuania - Kaunas (city center GA airfield)

Latvia - Home to EVRS (Riga Spilve airport)

Jezz

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Posted

Don't take my word for it - These are just the tank sizes that I know of. Anything could be possible, but a thorough check should be in order...

;)

Your flight sounds like it could be a real adventure! (Gonna take any pictures??)

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Posted

Don't take my word for it - These are just the tank sizes that I know of. Anything could be possible, but a thorough check should be in order...

;)

Your flight sounds like it could be a real adventure! (Gonna take any pictures??)

Yea, I am planning on testing everything I can possibly think of and then some more, before I leave the UK - fuel, engine, instruments and once I have done that lot I am planning to fly the full flight test program just for good measure - I figure that by the time I have done that I will have taken her to all edges of the envelope and will have a good feel for her and also a few hours under my belt ready for the adventure.

Damn SURE I will be taking pictures on the way back! Don't worry, they will be posted here even before the Mrs gets to see them!

Jezz

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Posted

The standard tanks were 14 gallon and the long range tanks were 18 gallon. Some people put a 14 or 18 gallon on one side, and a 6 gallon on the other side with the wing locker. I figure 5.5 GPH cruise for my 582 at 5800 RPM If I back down to 5600 then I may get into the 4.5-4.7 GPH range, but on floats, it really like to fly around 5800 rpm.

Pics look good!

:BC:

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Posted

The standard tanks were 14 gallon and the long range tanks were 18 gallon. Some people put a 14 or 18 gallon on one side, and a 6 gallon on the other side with the wing locker. I figure 5.5 GPH cruise for my 582 at 5800 RPM If I back down to 5600 then I may get into the 4.5-4.7 GPH range, but on floats, it really like to fly around 5800 rpm.

Pics look good!

:BC:

Thanks! So the 18 and 6 combined would give 24 USG which would be in the right sort of ballpark for the 25 on my mass and balance (the extra one for being in the lines and header/collector tank). I wonder if they screwed up their calculations between USG and Imperial when they did the original W&B?

I just checked and they factored 0.91 gallons for minimum, which must be in the right ballpark to give a total fuel of 25 gallons USG (0.91 imp gallon being just a tad over 1 USG). It really is starting to look like I have an 18, 6 and they are USG, and that when they did the original w&b they just screwed up and entered the density for imperial gallons. The good news is that if I check this and it is correct then I can have almost an extra 30lbs of payload or new toys, for free and still have full tanks! :beerchug:

The bad news is that I will have to draw up a completely new w&b schedule :lam:

Anyway, many thanks for the help! What indicated speeds do you get for those power settings?

Jezz

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Posted

Thanks! So the 18 and 6 combined would give 24 USG which would be in the right sort of ballpark for the 25 on my mass and balance (the extra one for being in the lines and header/collector tank). I wonder if they screwed up their calculations between USG and Imperial when they did the original W&B?

I just checked and they factored 0.91 gallons for minimum, which must be in the right ballpark to give a total fuel of 25 gallons USG (0.91 imp gallon being just a tad over 1 USG). It really is starting to look like I have an 18, 6 and they are USG, and that when they did the original w&b they just screwed up and entered the density for imperial gallons. The good news is that if I check this and it is correct then I can have almost an extra 30lbs of payload or new toys, for free and still have full tanks! :beerchug:

The bad news is that I will have to draw up a completely new w&b schedule :lam:

Anyway, many thanks for the help! What indicated speeds do you get for those power settings?

Jezz

I have an excel file for W&B. takes only a few seconds to plug in the numbers. You will have to double check the #s for the datum line etc and use what they have on your existing W&B sheet.

:BC:

Avid 61PW Weight & Balance.xls

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Posted

I have an excel file for W&B. takes only a few seconds to plug in the numbers. You will have to double check the #s for the datum line etc and use what they have on your existing W&B sheet.

:BC:

Thanks Leni, that would be great!

At the moment, this is all I have to go on:

post-132-12661674673893_thumb.jpg

Which is taken from the original hand scrawled working out - these guys have really kept all the papers in order!

post-132-12661675409097_thumb.jpg

I will be really happy if I get an extra 30 lbs :) I am a complete lightweight myself, but it is great to know I can fill her up, two of us get in and not have to worry too much about how much stuff we are bringing along in the locker.

Jezz

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Posted

Thanks Leni, that would be great!

At the moment, this is all I have to go on:

post-132-12661674673893_thumb.jpg

Which is taken from the original hand scrawled working out - these guys have really kept all the papers in order!

post-132-12661675409097_thumb.jpg

I will be really happy if I get an extra 30 lbs :) I am a complete lightweight myself, but it is great to know I can fill her up, two of us get in and not have to worry too much about how much stuff we are bringing along in the locker.

Jezz

I wont admit to taking off over gross... i will however say that there have been times (most flights) where I needed full fuel and 2 people (200 + each) and our shot guns, decoys, gear bags etc. Now I did not run the exact numbers on them, but I am sure that if you can get it inside the plane, or strapped on the float, I can get it off the water and fly.... I don't do so in conditions that are condusive to turbulence, but have gotten bounced around a bit at "maximum weight"... In the U.S. if ever questioned or ramp checked, I would challenge the fed to show me where there is a "gross weight" on my paperwork or certificate :lol:

It is all what you feel comfortable with once you get to know your particular plane.

EDIT here is a file for your plane. I did not add the "unusable fuel" to the empty weight, but the numbers work out to 10.99" versus 10.97" close enough that you wont ever know the difference...

Jezz Weight & Balance.xls

:BC:

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I wont admit to taking off over gross... i will however say that there have been times (most flights) where I needed full fuel and 2 people (200 + each) and our shot guns, decoys, gear bags etc. Now I did not run the exact numbers on them, but I am sure that if you can get it inside the plane, or strapped on the float, I can get it off the water and fly.... I don't do so in conditions that are condusive to turbulence, but have gotten bounced around a bit at "maximum weight"... In the U.S. if ever questioned or ramp checked, I would challenge the fed to show me where there is a "gross weight" on my paperwork or certificate :lol:

It is all what you feel comfortable with once you get to know your particular plane.

EDIT here is a file for your plane. I did not add the "unusable fuel" to the empty weight, but the numbers work out to 10.99" versus 10.97" close enough that you wont ever know the difference...

Jezz Weight & Balance.xls

:BC:

Leni - wow! That's awesome. Many thanks indeed!

From the 2nd scenario I would have to shed 30lbs though (in theory at least) because the Avid was only ever given a permit for 1020 lbs MTOW on the British register (unless I could blag the 1050 as ramp weight and claim 30 lbs taxi fuel :lmao: ). On the other hand, most of our group are featherweights (I am about 140 lbs fully clothed and dripping wet). But this XLS is excellent, many thanks! I will now be able to do the measurements again and see how much she has gained since '94. At least with this 6lbs per USG instead of 7.2 per imperial, I will pick up 30 lbs along the way, and all just for getting the math right :BC:

Right, off to bed for me - tea candles are lit and she will be home in 10 mins. I can but hope!!!!

Jezz

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Posted

My new GPS (Garmin 196) came yesterday!!! That is the belated valentine for my new baby. Just another week of waiting and I will see her again :D

Leni - did you get back yet? Don't want to pester as you have been a great help already, but I was just wondering if you had managed to find those extra files? Hope you are having a great time in the snow - we started to thaw here yesterday, but a bit of -10C overnight and now back with a healthy covering again this morning!

Jezz

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My new GPS (Garmin 196) came yesterday!!! That is the belated valentine for my new baby. Just another week of waiting and I will see her again :D

Leni - did you get back yet? Don't want to pester as you have been a great help already, but I was just wondering if you had managed to find those extra files? Hope you are having a great time in the snow - we started to thaw here yesterday, but a bit of -10C overnight and now back with a healthy covering again this morning!

Jezz

I have a 196 in my Avid also. I've been flying all types of planes with it for the past 4 years. I've never had any issues with it. I updated the database once is all.

I just used a RAM mount over on the right side of the panel.

IMG_3449.jpg

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I have a 196 in my Avid also. I've been flying all types of planes with it for the past 4 years. I've never had any issues with it. I updated the database once is all.

I just used a RAM mount over on the right side of the panel.

IMG_3449.jpg

Thanks for the pic Joey. The 196 was my number 1 choice because I think it gives the best value for money. I have a lot of space over on the right hand side to put avionics (and an extra 30lbs for free to fill it up with thanks to Leni helping me sort out my W&B), but I really don't want to put a panel mount over there. Aside of the fact that it would probably cost as much as my aircraft, I will be doing some instruction in her and I wanted a GPS I could take out so I can give the students a hard time with map and compass :angeldevil:

I am pleased that the 196 is serving you well - I just can't wait to get mine in the air now. SOoooooo impatient I am!!!!!

Have you clocked up any hours these last few days? What is this 40 hour restriction all about anyway? I think things are a bit different over here in Europe so it is a bit confusing for me.

Jezz

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