Buying my new Avid

[horsepower 24]

Here in the U.S after the D.A.R. inspects your airplane and everything passes then he will give you an area near your airport that you can fly. This is usually a 40 hour time frame and during that time you are not allowed to take a passenger.I guess they figure it will take 40 hours to get the bugs worked out of it.I guess its a good thing but 40 hours does seem excessive.Good Luck with your new toy. Randy

[Jezz 1]

Here in the U.S after the D.A.R. inspects your airplane and everything passes then he will give you an area near your airport that you can fly. This is usually a 40 hour time frame and during that time you are not allowed to take a passenger.I guess they figure it will take 40 hours to get the bugs worked out of it.I guess its a good thing but 40 hours does seem excessive.Good Luck with your new toy. Randy

Thanks for that Randy. Perhaps the 40 hrs is linked to the ICAO time it takes to get a license. Perhaps they think that if you have done 40 hours in the thing then you should be proficient to fly it? Anyways, I am in the middle of working out the test schedule for when I take delivery of my baby. I am going to do probably 5-10 hours before setting out on the track back. Photos will be forthcoming!

Jezz

[Av8r3400 1179]

Perhaps the 40 hrs is linked to the ICAO time it takes to get a license. Perhaps they think that if you have done 40 hours in the thing then you should be proficient to fly it?

The 40 varies with the aircraft. If you are using a certified engine, and a known airframe, this time can be as little as 5 hours. If you are using some home made engine made from an old washing machine he may make the time 1,000 hours.

40 is kind of a standard for common experimental equipment. But, it's really at the discretion of the FAA representative.

Edited 21 Feb 2010 by Av8r3400

[Jezz 1]

The 40 varies with the aircraft. If you are using a certified engine, and a known airframe, this time can be as little as 5 hours. If you are using some home made engine made from an old washing machine he may make the time 1,000 hours.

40 is kind of a standard for common experimental equipment. But, it's really at the discretion of the FAA representative.

That makes good sense to me now. After I made my previous post I spent about 2 hours going through all the Avid accident statistics and comparing the causes to those of Lycoming/Continental driven machines. It seems to make quite a bit of sense, especially with the 2 strokes, to restrict your possibility of harming someone else until the engine has had a time to run in and you have a feel for the aircraft. It does seem that 40 hours is a bit excessive though, but I guess the FAA have no other way of ensuring that you comply with the manufacturer's maintenance handbook etc. at least this way they have given themselves a clean conscience.

Jezz

[C5Engineer 1170]

Ya 40 hours took forever. I felt completely comfortable in the airplane after about 10.

[Jezz 1]

Ya 40 hours took forever. I felt completely comfortable in the airplane after about 10.

I guess I have the feeling comfortable bit to come to me. I flew an Avid spin-off a few weeks ago, called a Eurofox, and it felt comfortable after about 30 mins except I will have to re-learn what my feet are for!!! I stopped flying sailplanes in 1995 and it seems that the sensitivity of balance balls on GA aircraft has been increased since those days!

Damn damn damn!!!!

Is there an option to retrofit the Avid with yaw damper?

OK, off the funnies now - I am going to see her on Friday. For some reason I feel like a nervous lover on a first date.

I fly to the UK on Thursday morning, make out the check for the portion of the payment that I was not able to transfer from my bank in the first hit, then on Friday I am going to see the current owner and make myself broke in a single hit. Cant wait!!!

The current owner has put the wheel spats back on for me and re-installed the OAT probe(it is an Annex 6 (II) requirement that all international flights of GA aircraft have an OAT indication. The wheel spats had been taken off because the current owner is flying from grass, but I think I will only be doing 1 or 2 flights from grass before we leave the UK, but for that I will have to wait until April at least

So, next Saturday I will be back from the UK and will be sure to add some photos - I only wish they could be airborne ones

[Jezz 1]

OK, finally back in Latvia after going to the UK to make myself broke with the 2nd part of the payment for the aircraft.

Went to the hangar to see her and she is looking sexy as hell (the Mrs has some stiff competition). The previous owner had put the wheel spats (pants) back on and now she is looking like she is doing 100 mph while still sitting on the deck with the wings folded!

The previous owner is going to deliver her to my chosen airfield in the UK (will be by road as his field is so soft it is almost impossible to even walk on it).

Also, picked up my new Garmin 196 which I got as a bargain on ebay. Loving it - Joey, you were right, this is a great unit!

Now I need the help of you guys again.

When my plane gets to Latvia I will have to put it on the Latvian register. I am trying to think of something good to register it as. Maybe you guys can come up with something from this:

The national registration is "YL" which will be followed by 3 letters (no numbers).

Originally we were going to have YL-CAT, but that has already gone.

I'm going to throw the floor open to you guys!

Jezz

[akflyer 1427]

YL-FLY (probably taken) YL-AVC or since you have the upgrades YL-AVD

[Jezz 1]

YL-FLY (probably taken) YL-AVC or since you have the upgrades YL-AVD

Thanks for the suggestions Leni. I just did a search on the CAA register list and all are available.

I will check when I get into work though - The list is never 100% current and I thought I had seen YL-FLY somewhere - Or maybe I am imagining things. Perhaps people here are reluctant to have their aircraft associated with little black critters?

Anyways - thanks again!

Also Leni, did you manage to locate a copy of an operating handbook at all? Now I have closed the deal with the guy he has give me all the docs, all build manuals and logs, logbooks, certificates etc, but there is no manual, only operational limitations.

I think I will probably do a full test flight regime anyway, so could write my own, but it would be great if you or any other guys on here have something already that I could base it on.

Many thanks guys!

Jezz

[C5Engineer 1170]

This is the only sort of flight manual I've seen. It's pretty basic and the speeds are just to give you a wag. Mine breaks ground around 40 and climb, approach, and landing all works at around 60 MPH IAS.

[Jezz 1]

This is the only sort of flight manual I've seen. It's pretty basic and the speeds are just to give you a wag. Mine breaks ground around 40 and climb, approach, and landing all works at around 60 MPH IAS.

Thanks for that Joey! Perfect. I will flight test, substitute the figures for my own AC and develop something a bit fuller then post it here. I know I am probably paying a bit more attention to this sort of thing than many Avid owners, but as my job is mostly telling others to be cautious and as safe as possible, I guess I have to lead by example. Also, this is the first aircraft I have ever owned as such (I have had tiny shares in a few established groups, but never started a group from scratch before - loving the experience!).

Jezz

[bushflyer 0]

Hi Jezz,

if you keep up that speed, you will become a real hardcore Avider ;-)

I'll see ya soon, have a nice day

Guenter

[akflyer 1427]

This is the same "POH" I had. Just remember that this is for the model A or B and that our planes are a bit heavier and wont fly quite as slow or get off quite as fast. Still great performers, but not like the really light model A.

Avid checklist?? CIGAR and GUMPS turn the fuel on and fly it.. on mine I have to check mixture and prop, other than that, make sure fuel is on, there is plenty of oil in the tank and fly the heck out of it! The only time I look at the Air Speed is when I am setting up to come in real short, then it is just feel as you dont have time to be looking at instruments. getting out short I glance to see 40 MPH indicated then pull full flaps and ease the stick back.. slowly bleed flaps till you have the climb established that you want.

[Jezz 1]

Hi Guys

Finally back from 3 weeks bloody hard work (trying to change the way an ICAO Doc is implemented). Top of head is sunburned and now back to -7C in Latvia. At least the daytime temps are up so Spring is just around the corner.

My baby was delivered for me while I was away the week before last and she is now sitting in an Ultralight field in the UK. I went to the UK earlier this week, pulled her out and ran her for the first time so be prepared, here the questions start!:

I vented the fuel prior to starting and had the fuel cock set to the right tank at the time. Once she was running I switched to the left tank but got the "Low Fuel" light illuminated so I put the electric pump on - nothing, then I tried venting again now that the left tank was selected and this seemed to cure the problem. I am guessing it is necessary to vent from both lines during pre-flight and that the problem I was having was a vapor lock in the left line, but as I have not had the chance to have a look at the plumbing to date, can one of you guys confirm if this is correct?

Anyway, that's the main question I have at the moment.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to fly her, only did an engine run. She was purring like a kitten and begging to be flown, but the 30kt gusts were not begging me to fly her for our first time together

Question for Joey (or anyone else with a Garmin 196). I have tried to log on to Garmin to update my nav database. I have registered on the site, registered my product, downloaded the software and connected the GPS, but nothing I do will make the computer recognize that the GPS is attached. I don't think it is a problem with the cable (although of course it might be). Just wondering if anyone has experienced a similar problem downloading updates from Garmin and has any advice?

Happy flying!

Jezz

p.s. 5 am and writing this up at home - photos are on works camera so I will try to upload them later today. Didn't take any pics when I had her outside of the hangar because the horizontal rain was none too inviting.

[SuberAvid 617]

Hi Jezz,

I am not familiar with what you refer to as "venting the tanks" I have never done anything like that. Do you have vented caps on your tanks? If not, it is somnething I would recommend that you add. Mine are just made from drilling a hole in the middle of the caps and epoxying (use fuel resistant) a length of 1/8" ID aluminum tubing into the top of the cap. Run it straight up about 3" and then bend it into the wind about 2". Drill a 1/16" hole in the back of the tube just below the bend so that rain water can blow out the hole rather than run down into the tank as you are flying.

My fuel plumbing is very simple; a line from each tank through individual valves and filters into the header tank. The header tank has a sump drain in the bottom and the main fuel line to the fuel pump comes out of he side of the header tank. From the pulse pump there are two lines; one to each carb through another set of in line fuel filters. I can run each tank separately or both, and have never had any fuel feed or venting problems. Hope that helps.

Randy

[Jezz 1]

Hi Guys

Failure to post pics and keep up to date with buying my new Avid will be the downfall of me!

Went to the UK about 3 weeks ago and did some taxi runs on my baby. Wind was 20 with a gust component bringing it to over 30. Decided to do some really slow taxi runs to get a feel for taxiing it. So, at just over 1/4 throttle, that is how I ended up having my first flight, albeit to the height of only an inch or two. Now I see what you guys mean about these things really wanting to fly!

Today I made the flight plan for the ferry flight. I will be routing from the midlands of the UK down to the South Coast (Lydd), then over to the north of France (Le Touquet). Maybe stop on the border of Luxembourg to get some cheap MOGAS then on to Frankfurt (visiting friends). Day 2 will be over to Berlin then on to Inowroklow in Poland. From there up to Kaunas in Lithuania (avoiding that bit of Russia that is in the middle of the EU - Kaliningrad). Maybe spend 1 more night in Poland or Lithuania then on to Riga. Estimated flight time about 17-18 hours. Charts already bought, plates already printed, alternates already selected, price of fuel already compared.

One question to you guys. Has anyone had any problems with mixing MOGAS and AVGAS? There are a couple of these stops where the only available fuel will be AVGAS. Are there any precautions we should take? I am planning on replacing the plugs with new ones each day (we will be flying over half a continent of forest and otherwise unfriendly forced landing sites). The engine is a 582 with oil injection.

Another question for you guys. I have 2 bottles inside my cowling labeled "OIL". One of them contains about 5 quarts (I guess this is the one for the 2 stoke oil). The second one is tiny (smaller than the hydraulic reservoir in my (small) car), containing maybe just a few fluid ounces - anyone able to tell me what goes in that one?

Happy flying!

Jezz

[C5Engineer 1170]

Hi Guys

Failure to post pics and keep up to date with buying my new Avid will be the downfall of me!

Went to the UK about 3 weeks ago and did some taxi runs on my baby. Wind was 20 with a gust component bringing it to over 30. Decided to do some really slow taxi runs to get a feel for taxiing it. So, at just over 1/4 throttle, that is how I ended up having my first flight, albeit to the height of only an inch or two. Now I see what you guys mean about these things really wanting to fly!

Today I made the flight plan for the ferry flight. I will be routing from the midlands of the UK down to the South Coast (Lydd), then over to the north of France (Le Touquet). Maybe stop on the border of Luxembourg to get some cheap MOGAS then on to Frankfurt (visiting friends). Day 2 will be over to Berlin then on to Inowroklow in Poland. From there up to Kaunas in Lithuania (avoiding that bit of Russia that is in the middle of the EU - Kaliningrad). Maybe spend 1 more night in Poland or Lithuania then on to Riga. Estimated flight time about 17-18 hours. Charts already bought, plates already printed, alternates already selected, price of fuel already compared.

One question to you guys. Has anyone had any problems with mixing MOGAS and AVGAS? There are a couple of these stops where the only available fuel will be AVGAS. Are there any precautions we should take? I am planning on replacing the plugs with new ones each day (we will be flying over half a continent of forest and otherwise unfriendly forced landing sites). The engine is a 582 with oil injection.

Another question for you guys. I have 2 bottles inside my cowling labeled "OIL". One of them contains about 5 quarts (I guess this is the one for the 2 stoke oil). The second one is tiny (smaller than the hydraulic reservoir in my (small) car), containing maybe just a few fluid ounces - anyone able to tell me what goes in that one?

Happy flying!

Jezz

Jezz I run a mix of Mogas and Avgas most of the time to try and dilute the ethanol in our fuel. I don't have any issues. You will notice slightly lower EGT's with Avgas. The smaller reservoir is the Rotary Valve reservoir. It keeps the Rotary valve lubricated. It should not need topped off very often. If you find your self topping it off regularly check your coolant for oil that's where it's going. It uses the same two stroke oil that you mix with. Your pretty brave taxiing in 30. My bird will fly at 35..hahaha. Just make sure you position your controls accordingly when you turn 90 degrees to the wind or you might find yourself hanging in your seatbelt.

Here's some good tech info for you to educate yourself on the Rotary Valve.

http://www.800-airwolf.com/pdffiles/ARTICLES/part%2050.PDF

PS changing your plugs everyday is overkill. Your giving yourself more chances for a failure by taking the cowl on and off and pulling plug wires on and off that many times than if you just run them. Rotax recommends 25 hours and unless your Avgas exclusively IMO that's overkill.

[akflyer 1427]

Hi Guys

Failure to post pics and keep up to date with buying my new Avid will be the downfall of me!

Went to the UK about 3 weeks ago and did some taxi runs on my baby. Wind was 20 with a gust component bringing it to over 30. Decided to do some really slow taxi runs to get a feel for taxiing it. So, at just over 1/4 throttle, that is how I ended up having my first flight, albeit to the height of only an inch or two. Now I see what you guys mean about these things really wanting to fly!

Today I made the flight plan for the ferry flight. I will be routing from the midlands of the UK down to the South Coast (Lydd), then over to the north of France (Le Touquet). Maybe stop on the border of Luxembourg to get some cheap MOGAS then on to Frankfurt (visiting friends). Day 2 will be over to Berlin then on to Inowroklow in Poland. From there up to Kaunas in Lithuania (avoiding that bit of Russia that is in the middle of the EU - Kaliningrad). Maybe spend 1 more night in Poland or Lithuania then on to Riga. Estimated flight time about 17-18 hours. Charts already bought, plates already printed, alternates already selected, price of fuel already compared.

One question to you guys. Has anyone had any problems with mixing MOGAS and AVGAS? There are a couple of these stops where the only available fuel will be AVGAS. Are there any precautions we should take? I am planning on replacing the plugs with new ones each day (we will be flying over half a continent of forest and otherwise unfriendly forced landing sites). The engine is a 582 with oil injection.

Another question for you guys. I have 2 bottles inside my cowling labeled "OIL". One of them contains about 5 quarts (I guess this is the one for the 2 stoke oil). The second one is tiny (smaller than the hydraulic reservoir in my (small) car), containing maybe just a few fluid ounces - anyone able to tell me what goes in that one?

Happy flying!

Jezz

The main bottle is for the oil injection, the second bottle (the tiny one) is for the rotary valve oil, it is just an oil bath. Make sure you check the level on the rotary valve bottle as this will tell you alot. If it starts leaking down, you have a seal leaking in the crank case. If it starts gaining fluid, you have a seal on the water pump shaft going out. If you run out of oil in the RV cavity, you have about 10-15 minutes before the gear that turns the water pump shaft and the RV plate shreds and you have a glider on your hands. It will be SUDDEN with no real warning if that brass gear shreds.

No harm in mixing the avgas for the small amount you will be using. Lots of people run straight 100LL without issue, some swear that you must run a lead scavenger but this is more myth than reality. I know my brother and others that have run just 100LL and have not seen any issues with lead plating on the bearings when we tore them down.

As far as changing plugs everyday... OVERKILL.. I fly over some pretty nasty terrain, and while I was real apprehensive like you are, and was doing the same with changing plugs about every 10 hrs I soon learned to relax and if your mixture is correct, you can go 50 or more hrs before you even need to think about changing plugs. Most of the time, you may start to detect a slight miss in the mid range, and that is a good tell tale that you need to check the plugs.

Do you have any prior experience flying behind a 2 stroke? There are things you MUST do differently than the lycomings or conts. that are in most certified planes. If you need a run down, I will list it so you dont burn the engine down the first flight (it can easily happen). That is why 2 strokes got a bad rap for airplanes is guys that dont know or understand them flying the way they always did and low and behold, melt down city. If you just obey a few simple rules, you should never have to be in fear of the thing just quitting. Properly adjusted and operated, the 2 strokes will give you signs they are getting tired long before they fail catastrophically.

[Jezz 1]

The main bottle is for the oil injection, the second bottle (the tiny one) is for the rotary valve oil, it is just an oil bath. Make sure you check the level on the rotary valve bottle as this will tell you alot. If it starts leaking down, you have a seal leaking in the crank case. If it starts gaining fluid, you have a seal on the water pump shaft going out. If you run out of oil in the RV cavity, you have about 10-15 minutes before the gear that turns the water pump shaft and the RV plate shreds and you have a glider on your hands. It will be SUDDEN with no real warning if that brass gear shreds.

No harm in mixing the avgas for the small amount you will be using. Lots of people run straight 100LL without issue, some swear that you must run a lead scavenger but this is more myth than reality. I know my brother and others that have run just 100LL and have not seen any issues with lead plating on the bearings when we tore them down.

As far as changing plugs everyday... OVERKILL.. I fly over some pretty nasty terrain, and while I was real apprehensive like you are, and was doing the same with changing plugs about every 10 hrs I soon learned to relax and if your mixture is correct, you can go 50 or more hrs before you even need to think about changing plugs. Most of the time, you may start to detect a slight miss in the mid range, and that is a good tell tale that you need to check the plugs.

Do you have any prior experience flying behind a 2 stroke? There are things you MUST do differently than the lycomings or conts. that are in most certified planes. If you need a run down, I will list it so you dont burn the engine down the first flight (it can easily happen). That is why 2 strokes got a bad rap for airplanes is guys that dont know or understand them flying the way they always did and low and behold, melt down city. If you just obey a few simple rules, you should never have to be in fear of the thing just quitting. Properly adjusted and operated, the 2 strokes will give you signs they are getting tired long before they fail catastrophically.

Sorry guys, I am doing a really bad job of keeping this thread going. I have just started a new project at work and so I have a new set of standard ops to learn for a different type, and all this on top of my regular desk job (oh the joy of flying a desk )

Leni (and anyone else), YES PLEASE - any info you can give me on keeping the two stroke going would be great. Out of pistons, I have only flown behind Lycomings, Continentals and 912s so I am a bit of a virgin.

The ferry flight is planned, leaving Latvia this Thursday afternoon. Spending some time with the baby on Friday am (getting to know her), and having a damn hard look at the met to decide if we set off on Friday pm or Sat am. At the moment, the long range forecast is looking REALLY good until Wednesday this week, and looking like it will get better again on Tuesday NEXT WEEK (the time frame we have is until next Monday afternoon when Vadim (co-owner) has to be back for a night flight). Really not looking forward to having to do that trip in marginal VFR, but thats the way it is looking at the moment

Anyways, I have the 196 programmed with the route. Vadim has the flight planning program on his mini laptop. I have got all the clearances and permissions. Also, I have bought an ICOM A22 from a friend because neither Vadim nor myself would be completely at home without being able to fall back on VORs for reference (the airspace in Europe is about 1000 times more messy than in the US - best time of my life was flying over there).

OK, will keep you guys posted (PROMISE)!

Jezz

[akflyer 1427]

Sorry guys, I am doing a really bad job of keeping this thread going. I have just started a new project at work and so I have a new set of standard ops to learn for a different type, and all this on top of my regular desk job (oh the joy of flying a desk )

Leni (and anyone else), YES PLEASE - any info you can give me on keeping the two stroke going would be great. Out of pistons, I have only flown behind Lycomings, Continentals and 912s so I am a bit of a virgin.

The ferry flight is planned, leaving Latvia this Thursday afternoon. Spending some time with the baby on Friday am (getting to know her), and having a damn hard look at the met to decide if we set off on Friday pm or Sat am. At the moment, the long range forecast is looking REALLY good until Wednesday this week, and looking like it will get better again on Tuesday NEXT WEEK (the time frame we have is until next Monday afternoon when Vadim (co-owner) has to be back for a night flight). Really not looking forward to having to do that trip in marginal VFR, but thats the way it is looking at the moment

Anyways, I have the 196 programmed with the route. Vadim has the flight planning program on his mini laptop. I have got all the clearances and permissions. Also, I have bought an ICOM A22 from a friend because neither Vadim nor myself would be completely at home without being able to fall back on VORs for reference (the airspace in Europe is about 1000 times more messy than in the US - best time of my life was flying over there).

OK, will keep you guys posted (PROMISE)!

Jezz

#1 allow the engine to warm up good before flying! with the water cooled engine, you should see the temp start to come up, then it will drop back down as the thermostat opens, then it will start coming back up. I let mine get to atleast 130 on the second swing before I take off or apply lots of power for taxi.

#2 If the nose is pointed down hill, pull power! if you let the prop turn the engine it will go lean, you will get high EGT's and you can burn it down.

#3 Use full power for take off even if you have lots of runway in front of you. Pulling the power on take off or climb out early will let the engine go leaner. Make sure you use that main jet on take off and climb out as the extra fuel will help cool and will keep your engine happy.

#4 Make sure the prop is adjusted right or you will be chasing EGT's. With mine set for 6200 static it gives me about 6500 WOT straight and level and keeps the EGT's around 1150. I have in flight adjustable mixture but that never really comes into play until I hit around 3500' then I can start to lean it out. Anything under 3500 and I dont mess with it.

#5 Make sure you keep an eye on the rotary valve oil reservoir. if it starts filling up, it means the seal on the rotary shaft is leaking and water is getting in. If it is going down, it means the inner seal is leaking and it is going into the crank case. Either way, the rotary valve is easy to replace and alot cheaper than letting the oil level run out. If it runs out, you will have about 15 minutes before the brass gear shreds and the engine stops running.... I learned that the hard way when I rebuilt mine and did not get it bled right.

Other than these items to keep an eye on, I have no reservations flying my 2 stroke over open water, and over extreme mountain terrain with no areas to "land".

Keep us posted on the progress of the trip and what you think of the new bird!

[Jezz 1]

#1 allow the engine to warm up good before flying! with the water cooled engine, you should see the temp start to come up, then it will drop back down as the thermostat opens, then it will start coming back up. I let mine get to atleast 130 on the second swing before I take off or apply lots of power for taxi.

#2 If the nose is pointed down hill, pull power! if you let the prop turn the engine it will go lean, you will get high EGT's and you can burn it down.

#3 Use full power for take off even if you have lots of runway in front of you. Pulling the power on take off or climb out early will let the engine go leaner. Make sure you use that main jet on take off and climb out as the extra fuel will help cool and will keep your engine happy.

#4 Make sure the prop is adjusted right or you will be chasing EGT's. With mine set for 6200 static it gives me about 6500 WOT straight and level and keeps the EGT's around 1150. I have in flight adjustable mixture but that never really comes into play until I hit around 3500' then I can start to lean it out. Anything under 3500 and I dont mess with it.

#5 Make sure you keep an eye on the rotary valve oil reservoir. if it starts filling up, it means the seal on the rotary shaft is leaking and water is getting in. If it is going down, it means the inner seal is leaking and it is going into the crank case. Either way, the rotary valve is easy to replace and alot cheaper than letting the oil level run out. If it runs out, you will have about 15 minutes before the brass gear shreds and the engine stops running.... I learned that the hard way when I rebuilt mine and did not get it bled right.

Other than these items to keep an eye on, I have no reservations flying my 2 stroke over open water, and over extreme mountain terrain with no areas to "land".

Keep us posted on the progress of the trip and what you think of the new bird!

Leni

Many thanks for all the info!

I am really not too bothered about the over water section, it is only about 20nm so hardly out of gliding range of the shore, and its the busiest shipping lane in the world (so they tell me).

The weather is still looking shitty as hell. At least the airspace is back open after being closed for nearly a week due the Icelandic volcano.

I will be taking some pics en route and promise to post them here when i get back to Latvia.

Really cant wait - I feel like a kid does the night before Christmas.

Many thanks again ... and watch this space!

Jezz

[horsepower 24]

#1 allow the engine to warm up good before flying! with the water cooled engine, you should see the temp start to come up, then it will drop back down as the thermostat opens, then it will start coming back up. I let mine get to atleast 130 on the second swing before I take off or apply lots of power for taxi.

#2 If the nose is pointed down hill, pull power! if you let the prop turn the engine it will go lean, you will get high EGT's and you can burn it down.

#3 Use full power for take off even if you have lots of runway in front of you. Pulling the power on take off or climb out early will let the engine go leaner. Make sure you use that main jet on take off and climb out as the extra fuel will help cool and will keep your engine happy.

#4 Make sure the prop is adjusted right or you will be chasing EGT's. With mine set for 6200 static it gives me about 6500 WOT straight and level and keeps the EGT's around 1150. I have in flight adjustable mixture but that never really comes into play until I hit around 3500' then I can start to lean it out. Anything under 3500 and I dont mess with it.

#5 Make sure you keep an eye on the rotary valve oil reservoir. if it starts filling up, it means the seal on the rotary shaft is leaking and water is getting in. If it is going down, it means the inner seal is leaking and it is going into the crank case. Either way, the rotary valve is easy to replace and alot cheaper than letting the oil level run out. If it runs out, you will have about 15 minutes before the brass gear shreds and the engine stops running.... I learned that the hard way when I rebuilt mine and did not get it bled right.

Other than these items to keep an eye on, I have no reservations flying my 2 stroke over open water, and over extreme mountain terrain with no areas to "land".

Keep us posted on the progress of the trip and what you think of the new bird!

Leni, I see you use a in flight carb mixture control.Is it the one that Green Sky Adventures sell? I was wondering about getting it for my 582 but didnt know anyone that has it.We are at 2200 feet here but Lewiston is an hour away and it is about 900 feet so didnt know if jetting was going to be a problem if I go back and forth once in awhile.Im hoping to have mine in the air by Fall if all works out.Thanks Randy

[akflyer 1427]

Leni, I see you use a in flight carb mixture control.Is it the one that Green Sky Adventures sell? I was wondering about getting it for my 582 but didnt know anyone that has it.We are at 2200 feet here but Lewiston is an hour away and it is about 900 feet so didnt know if jetting was going to be a problem if I go back and forth once in awhile.Im hoping to have mine in the air by Fall if all works out.Thanks Randy

I have the Arctic Sparrow Mixture for mine, but Mike is gone now so they are not available anymore... I would not think you will have any issues where you are talking about flying. kind of a toss up on the jetting, but if in doubt, run one size bigger if you have any issues with EGT's.

[Jezz 1]

Update on the ferry:

Now as far as Berlin ...

We had to fly back to Riga on a scheduled flight because Vadim has had his work roster changed and so we had to use an exit strategy. Aircraft is sitting tight and snug in a hangar in Schonhagen/Berlin.

Journey so far:

Left Otherton (UK base where I had been storing her), at around lunchtime on Friday. Because I had not had a full checkout on the aircraft, we decided to fly to a nearby field with 3 long tarmac runways and to fly a few ccts before heading off into the unknown.

Before leaving Otherton I did a few taxi runs to get a feel for her at something close to flying speed - no problems.

The strip is short(ish) so I decided on the 2nd fast taxi that I would take-off. Not pretty!!!

Got the aircraft stabilized in the climbout and all good.

Got to the nearby airfield and flew the first cct and finished it off with a really nice landing (not quite a greaser but not bad either).

Rolled off that to do another couple of ccts (also nice landings) and then Vadim had a go - also not bad

We played around with the speeds and found it to be best at about 80 on final reducing to 65 at the fence. I know we can get it to go a lot slower, but as we had not experimented with the slow speed handling, we though it best to keep a good buffer.

We re-fueled (we had not loaded much fuel previously because of the short strip, had a cup of coffee and set off again for Lydd on the S Coast of England.

We were about 1h 45 into the flight and just west of London when we had a conversation about the fact we had no idea of exactly what the fuel burn is, and that we couldn't see much in the sight gauges (those things are really really shitty - any ideas for a better system?). Anyway, we decided to divert into Blackbushe, and airfield about 30nm west of London Heathrow. Divert was normal but there was about 15kts G20 about 30 degrees off the runway. Landing was purposeful but safe. The nice people at EGLK do not charge for safety related diverts, so we weighed up the options.

After a good rest we reached the decision to go direct from Blackbushe to Le Touquet on the north shore of France. The flight out from Blackbushe was uneventful, the clouds were down to about 1200 AGL over the area, so we had to request to route through the zone of the adjacent Farnborough airport (of Farnborough airshow fame). It was nice to be routing over all the BBJs ACJs G IV and Vs that are based there. We continued on towards Lydd where we should have already landed and continued to coast straight out over the sea. By this stage the cloudbase had risen and we were up at about 2500. It was at this point that Vadim (who was pilot flying at the time) started to get nervous about the EGTs. He started chasing the throttle around and of course the EGTs continued to climb. I took the aircraft from him and settled everything back down and continued on course.

Sea Crossing:

This was my first time going to France as pilot in command but I was pretty relaxed about it as I have done the journey many times in the right hand seat. Because the cloudbase had forced to keep us down, and then we had lost about 500' thanks to Vadim playing with the throttle, we were down to about 1500' for the crossing - no problem except it kept the French shore out of view from the English side. As we approached France I could see the shore rising ahead and but didn't have a clear view of the landmarks - I just put this down to the decreasing visibility (which had not been forecast). Then, there was a light mist layer below me, so I decided to stay on top of it. Within seconds, the shore had disappeared and I was in cloud.I descended through it on partial panel (I HATE having to do that), while still over the sea, and broke out at about 700'. I continued to go down to 500' to stay below the cloud and then, when i finally got to the shore, hugged the beach all the way in, flying the approach to the pattern just with the GPS.

Landing at Le Touquet

Not pretty. 90 degree crosswind and gusting to 18. On rollout, I thought the shimmy would rip the noseleg off. While on the ground in Le Touquet, had a really good look at the nosewheel and I thought the tyre seemed a bit underinflated, but Vadim was convinced that all was OK.

Departing Le Touquet

When the time came to depart Le Touquet, the cloudbase was still really low and the wind was still not nice, but the wind speed at least had reduced. Originally we had decided to go direct from Le Touquet to Aschafenburg (near Frankfurt, Germany), however, while at Le Touquet we had re-filled the tanks so that we could get a better idea of fuelburn. We were getting fuel consumption we expected, but not the cruise speed so we decided on an intermediate stop at Cherleville close to the French Belgian border.

Exactly 2 hours later we were at Charleville, with a completely uneventful landing after I held the nosewheel off as much as possible. This was probably the most friendly airfield I have ever visited. We filled a flight plan for the next leg which would cross into Germany, and went out to preflight the aircraft. It was at this point that Vadim had to admit that the nosewheel was going flat - the chocks (which were tied together), would no longer fit around the wheel. Thankfully, there was a really friendly ultralight club based there and within an hour they had fitted a new tube, cleaned the assembly, straightened the nosewheel bolt, re-packed the bearings and refitted the wheel. If you guys read this, a HUGE thanks for your help and support.

We took off from Charleville an hour behind schedule and got to Aschafenburg exactly at closing time. The nosewheel was almost perfect (shimmy wise) now that it was properly inflated and was properly held off. Taxi to hotel, drink, meal and sleep.

The leg to Berlin will follow, along with the pics (they are on Vadim's camera, I didn't take mine), and once we get the aircraft back to Riga, a breakdown of the times costs and consumptions. Right now though, I have to work.

Jezz

[akflyer 1427]

Sounds like an interesting trip so far. You are a bit more ballsy than me dropping down that low over the open water on wheels. I have done it once in a PA12 but vowed to never do it again (unless I am maneuvering for a landing on the beach, then I am within swimming distance of the beach ). Hope you make it home without too much excitement.

What are your initial thoughts on the Avid? Does she fly about how you expected? I really have a blast in mine, but cant wait to get the new engine in it and see how she is with double the power for take off!