possible new builder

[Pascal 29]

Hi all

I am currently looking at an Avid Heavy Hauler Model C kit purchased in 1990 and almost completely built. however it has been sitting in a basement for the last 20 years in its unfinished state and has been collecting quite some dust over time. So in order to finish it I would probably need to take alot apart just to clean it all out and replace things like 30 year old fuel lines and such.

I have a few questions to thos of you flying these beautiful little aircrafts. but before i start with my questions, here is why I think the Avid Hauler might be a great Aircraft for me:

I live in Switzerland and therefore like flying in our Alps. Especially in the winter when the Glaciers are covered in snow i would like to have an airplane with Ski's that can take me to the glaciers for some touch and go's and some landings. I've been doing this so far with a Jodel (100hp, 750kg MOTM and pretty close to MTOM with the skis attached and 2 people inside with full tanks for a day of joy) which i would consider being at the lower end performance wise as it is neither a real STOL airplane nor is it particularily powerful. I think the Avid Hauler with its slow stall speed and light weight might be more ideal for this kind of flying.

Now here are my questions:

- the Kit is equipped with a silver head rotax 582 which was purchased together with the kit in 1990 and has run a few times in the meantime.. for as much as I konw about engines, this engine can be considered dead and in need of at least an overhaul probably requirign lots of parts due to corrosion damage. Is it even worth overhauling such an engine or am i better of buying a new one? If new, could I at least keep the gearbox, carbs, starter, oil injection and exhaust from the unused but old engine?

- is a 582 powerful enough to get the avid up into the alps and take off from snow covered glaciers (with a downhill slope of course) at about 9 to 10k ft?

- everything except for the later added MK IV cowling is already painted but the paint job is really ugly (looks like a candle, and the color looks more like that of a layer of primer). is it possible to re-paint the aircraft or will I damage the fabric covering for sure when slightly sanding the current paint job for better adhesion? also how much weight would a second paint job add to the airplane?

- are there any pilots in this forum with a similarly equipped (rotax 582) Hauler who live near or actually in switzerland and would take me up for a test ride so i can get a feeling of what the finished airplane would be like?

- i am 6ft (1.83m) tall and when i sat into the airplane down in the cellar i noticed that I had about 2-3cm of air over my head. I have to say that the seat cussion was just laying on the bottom of the fuselage, so this is not going to get better when it is properly mounted.. I thought i could maybe form the acrylic glass of the roof section a bit and create two "dents" to add some headroom for the pilot and passenger.. has anybody done something like that before?

- is there any source to get a set of skis? sadly the current onwer did not order skis with his kit.

that's about it for now.. i am currently trying to estimate the work and more importantly the funds required to get that avid flying finally.

cheers

Pascal

[1avidflyer 1983]

Welcome to our group Pascal!  I think the 582 gray head is a good engine.  It for sure would be a good idea to have it gone through and get new seals and gaskets while it is completely inspected inside for any other issues.  It may not be enough power for what you want to use it for however.  Especially  if you get real high in the mountains.  I believe Fred Stork is also in your country, or close to it.  He occasionly posts pictures of flying his Avid  in the Alps.   He has a more powerful engine in his Avid, a Simonini  92 HP I believe.  Hopefully he will see your message and respond.  As far as your height,   at one time Avid had a skylight that had bubbles in it that gave a bit of more head room.  I think one could also heat form one from plexiglas that would give extra height for taller pilots.   Anyway, keep chiming in, and feel free to post pictures of the plane.   JImChuk

[Matthewtanner 44]

Welcome to the thunder dome, glad to have you. This community is very helpful and amazing and I think you’ll enjoy your journey if you stick with it, remain focused and stay motivated. I’m 5’11” which i feel comfortable in the model c, but couldn’t imagine being much bigger. 

[Pascal 29]

thanks for the warm welcome and your replies.

i was able to contact the onwer of an Avid Flyer Mk IV equipped with a 912 ULS (100hp) here in Switzerland. He agreed to take me up for a test flight so i went to visit him yesterday and we took to the sky in his Avid. WOW, what a machine! i was blown away by the performance of this aircraft.. absolutely amazing! we took of from an airport at 2000 feet right at the foot of the alps. after take-off i was given control and did some shallow turns to get a feel for the aircraft. like probably most avid firsttimers i was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of rudder needed but the feedback of the airplane is really good so i guess i probably can get used to that fairly quick.

then came the amazing part.. i went into a climb at full power with about 70kt IAS. Well, in front of me was an 8000ft mountain and the peak vanised under the cowling as the engine started to pull us up into the blue sky. It really felt as if this airplane was attached to a winch, or actually, it felt like being on a very fast chairlift going up this mountain absoltely amazing, i couldn't stop giggling

even at 10'000 ft altitude on the lee side of a mountain the avid was climbing spectacularly.

the second very impressive thing was the visibility.. this was the first time ever i sat in a high-wing aircraft and i have to say with the big lexan roof i could easily look into a turn. of course the visibility out the completely transparent doors and the big windscreen where just mind blowing. i have attached a picture of what it looked like flying back to the airfield (so the actual mountains where behind us, sorry, i was flying the aircraft on the "way up" )

last but not least i was also amazed by the sound and the feel of that rotax engine. also this was a first for me.. i haven't flown behind a rotax so far (i'm only a ~400hr pilot so far ) so i only konw the feel and sound of Lycoming and mostly continental O-200 engines gurgling along with 2500 rpm. I was always a bit afraid that the rotax running around 5000 rpm would drive me nuts after a certain time but actually this was not the case. With a 3-blad prop and a good muffler all i could hear was the wind and propeller noise. this added up to a feeling similar to flying a turbo prop aircraft. i absolutely loved it. also on the ground during taxi when the engine was audible, it was not annoying at all, it ran so smooth and quiet that i could really feel the about 60 years of development between those old aircooled continentals and the rotax. Admittedly the rotax was equipped with an aftermarked electronic ignition which probably made it somewhat smoother than the carb equipped original.

another very important point was the height of the cabin.. amazingly i could easily sit up right in the hard but comfortable seats (mk iv seat pan with thing cushioning) and even with the headset on i could fit a fist between my hand and the lexan roof. this was mainly due to the bubbles the owner had molded into the lexan for exactly this reason so it seems i'm not the only person with this this idea and it actually works perfectly well

all in all it was one of the most fun flights i've had so far and i immediately fell in love with this avid.

so what's left for me to do is now to convince my wife that i have time to build an aircraft, cut a deal for the unfinished avid, get a new engine and new avionics (mainly ELT, COM and Transponder, they are all outdated and can't be flown anymore due to new regulations), locate a engine mount and cowling for a 912 uls and sell my current airplane.. and of course: actually finish building the avid

cheers

Pascal

[Pascal 29]

I've got great news! i should change the title of this thread to "new builder" .. i just came to an agreement with the seller, i'm buying that Avid Hauler Project.

If anyone has a 912 engine mount for sale, please PM me!

I'll post some pictures when I pick it up.

cheers

Pascal