Kolb-Archive.digest.vol-de
October 02, 2001 - October 25, 2001
Jimmy and Gang:
That is one reason the gear is bending. You are probably
not level when you touch down, right wheel hits first and is
doing the job of both gear momentarily, which is enough to
bend it. The 1" diameter legs are what used to be stock on
the original Firestar. They are lighter and weaker. Don't
know if there is an aluminum sleeve in the Firefly socket
like the old Firestar. If there is, then you can pull it
out and use 1 1/8" gear legs, originally used for the old
Twinstar.
I have the same problem Jimmy. Usually when I bend or break
something it is because I am not wings level when I hit the
ground, touch down that is.
Take care,
john h
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "H MITCHELL" <mitchmnd(at)msn.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Bent gear leg |
Hello again,
My home address is: Duane Mitchell
6551 Crooked Creek Rd.
Tallahassee, FL 32311
The weather here has been so calm here I went flying two days in a row,
Duane
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Swiderski
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Bent gear leg
k.net>
Duane,
How about an address so we can mail you our SASE?
Thanks!
----- Original Message -----
From: "H MITCHELL" <mitchmnd(at)msn.com>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Bent gear leg
>
> If anyone is interested I have made up a jig for line-drilling the new
le
> gs so that the drill bit will come out dead center on the old hole on the
> other side of the ankle tube. I don't use it much anymore yuk, yuk. Draw
> ings available for a SASE.
>
> Duane the plane in Tallahassee Fl, FireFly SN 007, she loves the sky.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Rogerde5(at)aol.com
> To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
> Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Bent gear leg
>
>
> Betty,
> About your bent gear leg some where I read in one of Homer Kolbs old
> manuals you can straighten them one time. After that if you bend it again
> throw it away. Don't feel bad I bent one a month ago myself on a Mark 2.
> Roger Stiehl
> Mark 2 flyer
>
>
=
=
=
=
=
=
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Stall (mush) Landings |
>
>In a message dated 9/30/01 11:24:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>mitchmnd(at)msn.com writes:
>
>
>> . The conclusion was that I need to approach at 40+ mph (upwind) and stop>>
considering that nose dipping as the stall landing speed. This also appl>> ies
to any time you think you may be approaching a stall because you may
>> be falling well before the wing stops lifting. Most of us who are still h>>
ere to read this post make our approach turns with plenty of speed. I wen>> t
back to the field I did much better by keeping my speed above 40 mph.
>> KEEP YOUR AIRSPEED. True stall landings are way too risky.
>>
>> Duane the plane Mitchell, FireFly SN 007, 447, Ivo, big wheels
>>
>
>You are absolutely right Duane, the Firestar also mushes before the nose
dips
>in what is normally called as stall and the reasoning of the high drag is, I
>think caused by the high angle of incidence between the wing and the
>horizontal stab. Otherwise I'll betcha that plane would wait for the stall
>before it came down. Just my opinion...has anyone greatly moved the leading
>edge of their horizontal stab way up to almost level with the bottom of the
>wing line? Is it necessary to change the CG when you do this and change the
>Center of Lift by adjusting the ailerons? Flame away!!
>GeoR38
>
GeoR38,
I raised my horizontal stabilizer 1.5 inches to get my FireFly to cruise
without forward stick pressure. I recentered the stick so that the
elevator had equal up and down movement relative to the new stabilizer
position. In the neutral position, the ailerons are set so that the bottom
surface is in the plane of the bottom side of the wing. How I did it can
be seen at:
http://www.thirdshift.com/jack/firefly/firefly20.html
My slow speed test is to fly at altitude, at 4500 rpm and to slowly pull
back on the stick. The plane will climb a little at first, and then
finally the rate of climb goes to zero. With out the vortex generators,
the airspeed was 27 mphi, and 37 mph average on the gps. I have done the
same test with vortex generators in place and the airspeed was less than 20
mphi. I did not get a gps speed. If the speed differential is the same
that would make the gps speed some where around 30 mph. If this is so,
then the minimum level flight cruise speed for the FireFly with vortex
generators installed will be some where close to 30 mph true, and 37 mph
true without vortex generators installed.
When ever we get some high overcast clouds here to blank out the sun and
kill the thermals, I will run the test again and get the gps data with
vortex generators.
No one in their right mind would fly a complete final approach at this
speed, but it does indicate that once you get into ground effect, it is
possible to extend the approach and to fly the runway with the throttle set
at 4500 rpm with out mushing or stalling in a FireFly.
Jack B. Hart FF004
Jackson, MO
Jack & Louise Hart
jbhart(at)ldd.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Bent gear leg |
| From: | ul15rhb(at)juno.com |
>
>
> Ralph what are "heavy duty" Firestar legs?
These are the Twinstar gear legs which are probably the same legs on the
new Firestars.
Ralph B.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Monte <n65me(at)peoplepc.com> |
I have a Mark3 for sale if anyone is interested. Please check it out at http://monteevans.com. Send any questions you have off list if you would. It isn't finished but is close. Thanks.
P.S. It is located just west of Atlanta
PeoplePC: It's for people. And it's just smart.
http://www.peoplepc.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Stall (mush) Landings |
In a message dated 10/2/01 9:34:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jbhart(at)ldd.net
writes:
> My slow speed test is to fly at altitude, at 4500 rpm and to slowly pull
> back on the stick. The plane will climb a little at first, and then
> finally the rate of climb goes to zero. With out the vortex generators,
> the airspeed was 27 mphi, and 37 mph average on the gps. I have done the
> same test with vortex generators in place and the airspeed was less than 20
> mphi. I did not get a gps speed. If the speed differential is the same
> that would make the gps speed some where around 30 mph. If this is so,
> then the minimum level flight cruise speed for the FireFly with vortex
> generators installed will be some where close to 30 mph true, and 37 mph
> true without vortex generators installed.
>
> When ever we get some high overcast clouds here to blank out the sun and
> kill the thermals, I will run the test again and get the gps data with
> vortex generators.
>
> No one in their right mind would fly a complete final approach at this
> speed, but it does indicate that once you get into ground effect, it is
> possible to extend the approach and to fly the runway with the throttle set
> at 4500 rpm with out mushing or stalling in a FireFly.
>
> Jack B. Hart FF004
> Jackson, MO
>
>
> Jack & Louise Hart
> jbhart(at)ldd.net
>
Jack, how much do you weigh? or is that too personal? just teasin
GeoR38
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Stall (mush) Landings |
>
>In a message dated 10/2/01 9:34:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jbhart(at)ldd.net
>writes:
>
>
>> My slow speed test is to fly at altitude, at 4500 rpm and to slowly pull
>> back on the stick. The plane will climb a little at first, and then
>> finally the rate of climb goes to zero. With out the vortex generators,
>> the airspeed was 27 mphi, and 37 mph average on the gps. I have done the
>> same test with vortex generators in place and the airspeed was less than 20
>> mphi. I did not get a gps speed. If the speed differential is the same
>> that would make the gps speed some where around 30 mph. If this is so,
>> then the minimum level flight cruise speed for the FireFly with vortex
>> generators installed will be some where close to 30 mph true, and 37 mph
>> true without vortex generators installed.
>>
>> When ever we get some high overcast clouds here to blank out the sun and
>> kill the thermals, I will run the test again and get the gps data with
>> vortex generators.
>>
>> No one in their right mind would fly a complete final approach at this
>> speed, but it does indicate that once you get into ground effect, it is
>> possible to extend the approach and to fly the runway with the throttle set
>> at 4500 rpm with out mushing or stalling in a FireFly.
>>
>> Jack B. Hart FF004
>> Jackson, MO
>>
>>
>> Jack & Louise Hart
>> jbhart(at)ldd.net
>>
>
>Jack, how much do you weigh? or is that too personal? just teasin
>GeoR38
>
Right at 200 pounds.
Jack B. Hart FF004
Jackson, MO
Jack & Louise Hart
jbhart(at)ldd.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net> |
| Subject: | Full Lotus question... |
Hey you guys with Full Lotus floats...
I was rattling things around in my mind the other day, thinking about the
way I'm going to put the Full Lotus mono-float on my Mark 3 when it's done
and wondered , "Does going to altitude have bad effects on the floats? I
know what happens to a balloon when you let it go...it expands until it
pops. Well is there an altitude limit on Full Lotus floats at which they
could over-pressure?
Just thinking out loud...
Jeremy Casey
jrcasey(at)ldl.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Michael Sharp" <mlsharp_1(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Mark3 for sale |
Monte,
Sad to hear you are going to sell... How much are you asking?? I have a
friend who is interested in a Mark III...
Mike
>From: Monte <n65me(at)peoplepc.com>
>Reply-To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
>To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
>Subject: Kolb-List: Mark3 for sale
>Date: 2 Oct 2001 23:23:09 -0700 02 Oct 2001 23:23:09 PDT
>
>
>I have a Mark3 for sale if anyone is interested. Please check it out at
>http://monteevans.com. Send any questions you have off list if you would.
>It isn't finished but is close. Thanks.
>P.S. It is located just west of Atlanta
>
>
>PeoplePC: It's for people. And it's just smart.
>http://www.peoplepc.com
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | RONATNIK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Newbe In Colorado |
Hi, Kolbers:
Newbe in CO here. Just three hours of instruction time in a Quicksilver. I'm already
thinking ahead and am very interested in a FirestarII. However, am I putting
the cart before the horse? Is this not an appropriate place to begin for
a first timer?
Would love some feedback. Any Kolbers in the Denver area? If so, I would love to
hook up over coffee or go out and see your planes.
Bob Blu
Littleton, CO
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Don Prosser <skywrench007(at)yahoo.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Full Lotus question... |
Jeremy...The bad effects are mostly on the pilot.
--- Jeremy Casey wrote:
>
> Hey you guys with Full Lotus floats...
>
"Does going to altitude have bad effects on the floats?
> Just thinking out loud...
> Jeremy Casey
> jrcasey(at)ldl.net
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
http://phone.yahoo.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Herb Gearheart <herbgh(at)nctc.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Newbe In Colorado |
Bob
My 2 cents---any kolb except, possibly the sling shot, are great planes for
all types. Beginners to old timers!!:-) Herb in Ky
RONATNIK(at)aol.com wrote:
>
> Hi, Kolbers:
>
> Newbe in CO here. Just three hours of instruction time in a Quicksilver. I'm
already thinking ahead and am very interested in a FirestarII. However, am I putting
the cart before the horse? Is this not an appropriate place to begin for
a first timer?
>
> Would love some feedback. Any Kolbers in the Denver area? If so, I would love
to hook up over coffee or go out and see your planes.
>
> Bob Blu
> Littleton, CO
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "JOHN M. COOLEY" <johnc(at)datasync.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Newbe In Colorado |
Hi Bob,
Welcome to the list. I too started in a Quicksilver flying with a friend.
I then purchased a used Kolb Twinstar Mark II at a very reasonable price and
got seven hours of dual instruction time and flew it about 30 hrs before I
sold it. Was sorry I did afterward as I spent the next year building a FS II
kit which I now have about 70 hrs on. The Kolb is much more responsive than
the Quick. Not harder to fly but a little faster and glides better. The
Quick is rudder dominant so most of the steering is done with it. The Kolb
can be steered with only the ailerons if you want. Of course coordinated
turns are smoother. The take-off and landing speed will be a little higher
with the Kolb and you have to be careful not to get the nose of the Kolb on
the ground until you get used to it when applying the power for take-off.
They are fine little airplanes and are ok for a first plane, especially if
you can get some dual instruction time. This is the appropriate place to
begin and I'm sure you will get many more opinions as there is much
experience on the list. Sorry, can't help you on the showing of my plane
unless you want to come to south Mississippi or if you would like some pics
I can send them off-line.
Later,
John Cooley
Firestar II
(SNIP)
Subject: Kolb-List: Newbe In Colorado
>
> Hi, Kolbers:
>
> Newbe in CO here. Just three hours of instruction time in a Quicksilver.
I'm already thinking ahead and am very interested in a FirestarII. However,
am I putting the cart before the horse? Is this not an appropriate place to
begin for a first timer?
>
> Would love some feedback. Any Kolbers in the Denver area? If so, I would
love to hook up over coffee or go out and see your planes.
>
> Bob Blu
> Littleton, CO
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Newbe In Colorado |
| From: | "Seitzer, Bettie (TEK Systems)" <Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com> |
Hi Bob! Welcome to the group. My husband Dale and I fly an original
Firestar. What a great plane. Others have already mentioned the
significant differences between a quicksilver and a Kolb so I won't
belabor that. My training was in a Talon trainer and it was an easy
transition to the Kolb. I have also flown a Rans S-12 and that would
make a good trainer for a Kolb. The Kolbs offer a lot of fun at a
reasonable price - well proven planes. Maybe you should build a runway
and host a fly-in then we could all bring our planes to your house and
you could look them over! ;-)
-----Original Message-----
From: RONATNIK(at)aol.com [mailto:RONATNIK(at)aol.com]
Subject: Kolb-List: Newbe In Colorado
Hi, Kolbers:
Newbe in CO here. Just three hours of instruction time in a Quicksilver.
I'm already thinking ahead and am very interested in a FirestarII.
However, am I putting the cart before the horse? Is this not an
appropriate place to begin for a first timer?
Would love some feedback. Any Kolbers in the Denver area? If so, I would
love to hook up over coffee or go out and see your planes.
Bob Blu
Littleton, CO
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Tim Gherkins <rp3420(at)email.sps.mot.com> |
| Subject: | Palm Springs visit |
To Bob the newbie,
Get a Kolb! There is nothing like an airplane that puts you out in
front of the noisy, oily, exhaust and prop blast of an engine. The view
in a Kolb is that of my first love-the Hummer.
Kolbs are simple to build and a clean craft to look at. It folds up for
easy storage and transportation. The price has gone up since I bought
mine two years ago, but what hasn't? When people see my plane in the
garage, the first thing that comes out of their mouth is "That's a
little airplane". And it is! I think a lot of people think of a wire
braced, sail cloth ultra light type when I tell them I am building my
own plane in my garage.
I am currently building a Firestar II w/ Rotax 503. I liked this model
over the others because of its price and is still capable of carrying
two people, or a small load for cross country trips. The other two
place Kolbs where thousands more. Though if I had the thousands I would
get the Mark III or Kolbra (I am partial to the Kolbra, mainly because
it is a Firestar that is mainly redesigned longer for true two place
with dual controls).
Welcome to the list!
Kolbers,
Now fro the Palm Springs visit, Spent the weekend in Los Angeles with
uncle Craig. We went to the Rotor craft association freedom fly-in at
El mirage dry lake bed. lots of gyrocopters and experimental
helicopters. We also hit the Aircraft Spruce sale in Corona CA.
Purchased alot of building supplies and instruments for 10% off. Neat
store and nice helpful people.
On our way back to Phoenix, we stopped and paid Larry Bourne a visit and
saw his very own Mark III named Vamoose. Folks, Larry I think has got
the first Mark four, with all of his engineering improvements and
systems on Vamoose it just isn't a Mark III any more. I met Larry once
before at last years Copperstate fly-in, and I don't think there is a
nicer guy, and sure enjoy his daily comments on this list. Thanks
again Larry for letting us drool on your beautiful ship- Vamoose!
Hey where is Ben Ransom? I miss hearing from him on this list.
Tim Gherkins
Phx,AZ
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Julian Warren <jgw300(at)webolium.com> |
I contacted Linda a KOLB in an attempt to get instructions on the
installation of the seats in my Xtra. She apologized but said that
there were no drawings for this. Those of you who have gotten this far
would you mind sharing what you did to install the seats! Pictures help
bunches.
Julian Warren
Eugene, Oregon
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "BJ Moore" <BJMoore(at)c4farms.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Newbe In Colorado |
Bob, you sure got the right name for a fly guy. Is your middle name Sky? Where
are you flying at in Littleton. I went by Bennet field on a cold, clear day. It
was a new field, nobody there. They growing any or haven't you been there?
>>> RONATNIK(at)aol.com 10/03/01 09:08AM >>>
Hi, Kolbers:
Newbe in CO here. Just three hours of instruction time in a Quicksilver. I'm already
thinking ahead and am very interested in a FirestarII. However, am I putting
the cart before the horse? Is this not an appropriate place to begin for
a first timer?
Would love some feedback. Any Kolbers in the Denver area? If so, I would love to
hook up over coffee or go out and see your planes.
Bob Blu
Littleton, CO
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | RONATNIK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Newbe In Colorado |
Hi, BJ:
I go up to Vance Brand Airport in Longmont, CO. It's about an hours drive north
up I-25 for me...non-rush hour that is.
Front Range in Watkins, Tri-County in Erie and a field in Kersey, CO are the only
other places I'm aware of that are within an hour or less of Denver. Didn't
know about Bennet. That's not too far away either. I'll have to check that out.
Where do you operate out of?
Bob
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Hauck <hawk36(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Palm Springs visit |
(I am partial to the Kolbra, mainly because
> it is a Firestar that is mainly redesigned longer for true two place
> with dual controls).
Tim and Gang:
Let me help you all out a little.
Kolbra is not a stretched Firestar with dual controls. It
evolved from the rear of the Sling Shot and front of the
Firefly, or vice versa. Brother Jim developed and
fabricated the first fuselage in his shop in Woodville, FL.
Major difference is the Kolbra uses Mark III wings and tail
section, heat treated tubular 4130 steel landing gear (long
ones like Cuz'n P'fer's, my old Firestar). With only a
short flight in the second Kolbra built by Lite Speed at
Oshkosh 2000, I was thoroughly impressed with this new Kolb
thorobred. Would seriously consider building a Kolbra
should I ever wear out the old MK III. :-)
Take care,
john h
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Hauck <hawk36(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Evolution of the Kolbra |
Tim and Gang:
Guess I should have changed the subject line on my reply to
your post.
After reading my reply, I have to concede the Kolbra did
evolve from the Firestar because the Sling Shot and Fire Fly
did. However, a much stronger heavy hauler than the
Firestar because of the wings and tail, and the landing
gear.
Take care,
john h
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | charles webster <caw(at)nctc.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Evolution of the Kolbra |
john how do you heat your kolb in winter flying
John Hauck wrote:
>
> Tim and Gang:
>
> Guess I should have changed the subject line on my reply to
> your post.
>
> After reading my reply, I have to concede the Kolbra did
> evolve from the Firestar because the Sling Shot and Fire Fly
> did. However, a much stronger heavy hauler than the
> Firestar because of the wings and tail, and the landing
> gear.
>
> Take care,
>
> john h
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Hauck <hawk36(at)mindspring.com> |
charles webster wrote:
> john how do you heat your kolb in winter flying
Charles and Gang:
There are a lot of posts in the Kolb Archives reference
cabin heat.
To answer your question: I have no cabin heat other than
solar. If the sun doesn't shine, I have no solar heat. If
the sun shines, but not on my windshield and/or windows, I
have no cabin heat. However, John Russell discovered the
Chilly Vest, 12VDC, digital thermostat. I purchased one.
It worked great in Northern Canada and the Alaskan Arctic
region this summer. Was expensive at $185, but worth every
penny because it works well. Uses negligible 12VDC power.
Will not deflect the voltmeter needle when turned full
open. Very light weight, thin construction. Can be
washed. Water will not harm it when in the operational
mode.
Take care,
john h
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | WillUribe(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Fund-raiser for Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation |
Greetings Kolb fans,
I was just looking at the What's new webpage for the New Kolb.
They donated a FireFly to be use for Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation
fund-raiser. But when I clicked on the link it said a Mk III is being
raffle.
Does someone know which is it, a FireFly or a MK III?
http://www.tnkolbaircraft.com/whatsnew.htm
Regards,
Will Uribe
El Paso, TX
FireStar II N4GU
C-172 N2506U
http://home.elp.rr.com/airplane/
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Hauck <hawk36(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Fund-raiser for Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation |
> Does someone know which is it, a FireFly or a MK III?
> http://www.tnkolbaircraft.com/whatsnew.htm
> Regards,
> Will Uribe
Will and Gang:
The ticket I bought last Saturday morning at The New Kolb
Aircraft Company says, "Win a Kolb Mark II" It is ticket
number 0002. I think Steven Green has 0001. Breakfast was
free but we had to buy a raffle ticket to eat. :-) I was
hungry.
I believe that is a typo on the ticket. It should read MARK
III. I will check with Dana Labhart and make sure.
Take care,
john h
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | WillUribe(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Fund-raiser for Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation |
The webpage has been corrected to indicate a MK III.
In a message dated 10/3/01 9:44:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
hawk36(at)mindspring.com writes:
>
>
> > Does someone know which is it, a FireFly or a MK III?
> > http://www.tnkolbaircraft.com/whatsnew.htm
> > Regards,
> > Will Uribe
>
> Will and Gang:
>
> The ticket I bought last Saturday morning at The New Kolb
> Aircraft Company says, "Win a Kolb Mark II" It is ticket
> number 0002. I think Steven Green has 0001. Breakfast was
> free but we had to buy a raffle ticket to eat. :-) I was
> hungry.
>
> I believe that is a typo on the ticket. It should read MARK
> III. I will check with Dana Labhart and make sure.
>
> Take care,
>
Will Uribe
El Paso, TX
FireStar II N4GU
C-172 N2506U
http://home.elp.rr.com/airplane/
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Mark III Xtra |
GoGittum.com, Julian...............one way is right there. Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julian Warren" <jgw300(at)webolium.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Mark III Xtra
>
> I contacted Linda a KOLB in an attempt to get instructions on the
> installation of the seats in my Xtra. She apologized but said that
> there were no drawings for this. Those of you who have gotten this far
> would you mind sharing what you did to install the seats! Pictures help
> bunches.
>
> Julian Warren
> Eugene, Oregon
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Guy Swenson" <guys(at)rrt.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Fund-raiser for Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation |
Will and Gang
It's a Mark III they have donated. I talked to Linda about it last week. It
will be whatever MKIII the factory has at next years Kolb Fly-in.
Guy S.
MK III Xtra
----- Original Message -----
From: <WillUribe(at)aol.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Fund-raiser for Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation
>
> Greetings Kolb fans,
> I was just looking at the What's new webpage for the New Kolb.
> They donated a FireFly to be use for Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation
> fund-raiser. But when I clicked on the link it said a Mk III is being
> raffle.
> Does someone know which is it, a FireFly or a MK III?
> http://www.tnkolbaircraft.com/whatsnew.htm
> Regards,
> Will Uribe
> El Paso, TX
> FireStar II N4GU
> C-172 N2506U
> http://home.elp.rr.com/airplane/
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Cim & Tindy" <townsend(at)webound.com> |
Our Best
Tim & Cindy Townsend
Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation presents . . .
Kolb aircraft has generously donated a completely built Mark III
to Chesnut-Knolls Aviation Foundation, Inc. as a fund-raiser for their
efforts in introducing Sport Aviation to our youth. This raffle will
kick-off at the 2001 Kolb Fly-In and continue until the 2002 Kolb
Fly-In. The aircraft will be whatever Mark III factory demo is at time
of drawing. Chances are $5.00 each. Must be 18-years-old to win. Taxes
are the sole responsibility of the winner. Chances of winning are
determined by number of raffle tickets sold. Need not be present to
win.
Price: $5.00 each, 6 for $25.00, 25 for $100.00
Our Best
Tim & Cindy Townsend
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Full Lotus question... |
Your question is a good one, Jeremy, and needs an answer. I'm very
interested myself, cause I plan on a pair of FL's for Vamoose next year.
It's well proven that, as pressure is reduced, volume of a gas will
increase.............as an ex-scuba diving instructor (NAUI #1410, NASDS
#SDI 160), I'm very familiar with the principle. My understanding is that
the Full Lotus floats have a soft bladder contained in a strong fabric
shell. That being the case, the gas (air) will be contained within the
shell, and can't expand; therefore, the internal pressure will go up. So,
as I see it, the question is really............how much pressure can that
fabric shell withstand ?? If Zodiac and other inflatable boats are any
example, that could be quite a bit. Is there a pressure release valve on
the floats ?? Is one even needed ?? If there is, and it vents excess
pressure at altitude, what happens to the floats when you come back down,
and attempt to land on water ?? Unless someone beats me to it, I'm going to
email FL in the very near future, and ask them. ( ! ! ! ! ! ) Very good
question ! ! ! Concerned Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
> >
> > Hey you guys with Full Lotus floats...
> >
> "Does going to altitude have bad effects on the floats?
> > Just thinking out loud...
> > Jeremy Casey
> > jrcasey(at)ldl.net
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> http://phone.yahoo.com
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Muffer Exhaust Springs - Note for Newies With Feedback |
Folks, I got some very good responses from the UL group list for the post
below, due to that decided maybe I should post it to this list with all the
comments.
You not done installing your Rotax engine until you safety wire the spring
that hold the flex ball joints together and squirt a good stripe of
automotive Red high temp (RTV) silicone gasket sealer down the length of
the spring.
The safety wire must pass thru the center of the spring and at least one of
the loop (both loops preferred to hold things together) on the exhaust
system. (Received a reply that you can use a more ascetic pleasing normal
temp clear, claimed the springs don't get hot but mine look like they get hot.)
The reason for the safety wire is to keep the spring out of the prop should
it break or come unhooked. The RTV keeps the spring from vibrating which
contributes to their breaking.
Using pliers to install the springs causes nicks which contributes to their
breaking later. Use of a spring puller is suggested. It is tool that
looks some thing like a screw driver which has a hook on the blade end used
to grab the hook end of the spring when installing or unhooking the
spring. (They may be straight or L shape - the L gives you more
leverage.) The tool could be fabricated our of some metal banding like
they use to band crates for shipping or a flat blade screw driver by
putting a notch in the side of the flat part.
Depending upon kit manufacturer or engine supplier, the spring fastening
loops may not be installed on the exhaust system or may have to be
moved. As an alterative there now id a available a kit for fastening ball
joints together that has some advantages over the use of spring but may
eliminate need to weld loops on the exhaust pipes. Ask you kit
manufacturer if any modifications are required to standard Rotax exhaust
system.
You may want to have your muffler coated to keep it from rusting. May
people try high temp paints and so forth only to learn it doesn't work and
usually bite the bullet later and have it done. We can recommend High
Performance Coatings - they have several locations, we have experience with
there OK outlet. We suggest the silver or aluminum color. Our 3 -year old
FireFly still looks like new. Contact them at the URL below: When you
request a quote tell them the number of pieces - Rotax exhaust system -
don't say airplane or the cost may go up. State how you want it returned
and what priority or they may send it air.
http://www.hpcoatings.com/
jerryb
Below are additional feedback received.
A hockey skates-lace puller works really well for pulling the spring.
Made my tool out of a pull handle for the emergency brake in the car. Cut
it out of a junker. Leave it about 10" long. Bend a tight crook on the end
of the wire. Done, cheap and simple. The molded plastic handle makes a
great handle for pulling.
I use a short piece of safety wire tied in a four inch end to end
loop. The flexibility of the safety wire allows me to install and
un-install springs with ease. For a handle, I use a medium size phillips
screwdriver. The wire may also be removed easily from springs in difficult
locations too.
BTW, if the springs are stretched more than 1/4 of an inch, they are
placing way too much load on the ball joints, creating wear that is
unnecessary. be careful when welding the tabs on the various parts.
Rather than use safety wire, I use one length of 1/16" flexible cable on
each exhaust joint that I lace through each eyelet and spring, and then
swage with a nico press. I find this much easier, and consider it to be
stronger. I too make sure there is a bead on each spring, and at each
junction of cable and eyelet to prevent chaffing by the cable.
I also made a spring installer/removal out of an old flat blade screwdriver
I cut a short slot at a 45 degree angle into the blade. I used a cutting
blade on my small hand grinder and it took less than a minute to make. This
tool works good, and virtually cost nothing but an old screwdriver that was
only good for opening paint cans!
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Palm Springs visit |
In a message dated 10/3/01 1:23:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
rp3420(at)email.sps.mot.com writes:
>
> Hey where is Ben Ransom? I miss hearing from him on this list.
>
> Tim Gherkins
> Phx,AZ
>
me too....GeoR38
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Shane Smith Memorial Fly-in |
Just a wondering.
How many were thinking of attending the Octoberlite at Ronnie Smith's on Oct
19 -21? This will be my first year given good weather. Was really hoping to
John Hauck there but sounds like he'll be at the crap table. If anyone has
any good details or information on the fly-in, it would be appreciated.
Thanks,
John Bickham
Mark III - 912
St. Francisville, LA
N308JB
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Hauck <hawk36(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Shane Smith Memorial Fly-in |
Morning Gang:
Will be pulling out this morning, heading west. Most likely
will not be home in time to fly down to Lucedale, MS, for
the flying 19-21 Oct. Hate to miss it again this year, but
maybe we will still be around for the flyin next year.
Looking forward to seeing some of the Kolb List gang on my
trip out west.
Take care,
john h
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Artdog1512(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | cabin heat ..... |
charles webster wrote:
>g
i got this one figured out. let me tell ya how do it.... i took a
piece of round gutter and cut it to about 12 inches long, more or less, then
i split it lengthwise. i bent the edges out so i had a lip about 1 inch on
each side, drilled holes in these edges and thru the holes i put screws that
i use to attach the tube to the outlets where the air that blows across the
cylinder head comes out. close up one end of the tube and attach a flexible
dryer exhaust tube to the other end and run it to the cabin. the heat that
comes off your cylinder head might seem hot during the summer but it ain't
hot during the winter. i get enough heat so i can fly without wearing a
jacket. you have to take into account our planes aren't insulated and aren't
exactly air tight so you lose heat just as fast as you get it. this is still
a cheap and easy way of getting heat ............... tim
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Christopher John Armstrong" <Tophera(at)centurytel.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Full Lotus question... |
how much pressure can that
> fabric shell withstand
Same question applies to all types of floats... if they are air tight. My
guess it that the fabric shell is flexible enough to stretch significantly
if the pressure changes much. but an aluminum float could be stiff enough
to get deformed a bit by a very high flight. but since guys do this all the
time I would guess that proves that it is not a problem. Do they use a
pressure relief valve? Don't know.
Topher
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Hauck <hawk36(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Full Lotus question... |
Do they use a
> pressure relief valve? Don't know.
>
> Topher
Topher and Gang:
Not a float guru, but I believe alum floats are vented to
atmospheric pressure, just like the alum logs on pontoon
boats.
Take care,
john h
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Full Lotus question... |
Group,
A friend of mine had Full Lotus floats on a Tierra, and it had an air
pump to maintain pressure. My quess is that they also had a relief valve.
John Jung
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Mike Pierzina" <planecrazzzy(at)lycos.com> |
| Subject: | Full Lotus Floats |
I couldn't find there E-Mail address but I'm sure its somewhere on there web page
,they sent me a Info. pak before.
Here's their Web page:
http://www.ultralightnews.com/lotus1/lotus.html
Your question is a good one, Jeremy, and needs an answer. I'm very
interested myself, cause I plan on a pair of FL's for Vamoose next year.
Make a difference, help support the relief efforts in the U.S.
http://clubs.lycos.com/live/events/september11.asp
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Kolb Cabin Heat |
Dick will sell you a cabin heater for a 532 or larger rotax engine. They
work very well.
Lots of people up here in Minnesota have them.
dickmclaughlin2001(at)yahoo.com
That is Dick's e-mail address. Good luck.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
Howzat for service ?? Emailed Full Lotus this morning, and had an
answer back this afternoon. Here 'tis................
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Brenda Phillips
Subject: Re: pressure
Hello Larry,
There is absolutely no reason to be concerned about the pressure changes
with altitude with our product. The floats are to be filled to only
2.25 lbs of pressure. There are small fluctuatin with air and water
temperatures, for instance on a really hot day, if the plane is sitting
on the beach, the floats will get harder. If the proper air pressure
has been put in at the beginning, 2.25 psi, temperature and altitude
pressure changes are not enough to cause a rupture. There has never
been a rupture caused by this to my knowledge. The urethane bladders
are the "air cell". They are contained inside sewn pockets inside the
floats. We did a burst test on the air cell installed inside a sewn
pocket, and it did not blow unti 30 psi was reached.
You may have heard a story about altitude causing a burst - as far as I
can tell that is an urban myth of sorts. Just not the case.
The only thing you need to check is that the urethane internal bladders
do not have any wrinkles or fold-overs when they are installed. this
can lead to air bubbles which can blow out over time.
hope this helps!
Best regards
Brenda Phillips
Several Kolb builders, including myself, are planning on adding Full
Lotus floats to our aircraft when finished. A question that came up on
the "Kolb List" the other day, is the question of expansion at altitude,
due to decreasing ambient air pressure. Is this a factor with your
floats at higher altitudes, such as 10,000 ft + ?? I would imagine the
cover is strong enuf to contain the pressure, much as a Zodiac boat, but
I (we) would like to know for sure. Thanks. Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Cim & Tindy" <townsend(at)webound.com> |
Larry,
Just went back to your site in hopes of seeing more
of that great web mastering.
I was way behind you in covering a painting and now
wonder where you are with Vamoose.
I have not named mine yet... was thinking about
Murphy's Law but my wife is not to sure about that,,
me either,,, just funnin.
Mine is complete except for the center section
and permanent riveting of the lexan.
I have not seen a progress report from you lately
and was just curious.
Our Best
Tim Townsend
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | SGreenpg(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Full Lotus question... |
Jeremy,
If I remember correctly the pressure drops about 1 inch of mercury per 1000'.
1 inch of mercury is equal to about 1/2 PSI so if you took it to 10,000'
there would be a change in pressure of about 5 PSI .
Steven Green
________________________________________________________________________________
HI Kolb gang
I have been flying a kolb mark 3 for 3 years, It has a rotax 582 with a
66" three blade Warp drive prop.
It is so noise that it is very hard to talk on the radio. The clearance
from the flaps tube is 3" and the
tail boom is 1", I all so have a radiator in front of the prop. From
gear box to the tail boom.
What about motor mount spacers?
Wayne Boyter
MARK 3
Rotax 582
WARP DRIVE THREE BLADE
ROSEBURG, OR
P.S. Any help will be appreeciated.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Cim & Tindy" <townsend(at)webound.com> |
| Subject: | The static port thing again |
Larry,
I left out one thing,,, I still do not have a static
system. I have been through the archives and found
115 posts on the subject. I haven't decided yet but I
want it to work the first time as I am not a very good
pilot. I can fly the wing in a plane I am familiar with,,
but I think I had better get some instruction with a Kolb
pilot that is willing to be a test pilot too. Hummmmmmm.
I have been that for years in PPC's. Now I need help myself. I want to
be
smart about this after 2 years 700 hrs. building time.
If I bend it, it will be much worse than crashing
one of my RC pylon racers......and that would be bad.
I understand the factory will help with the maiden flight.
This must seem petty to the old hands on here.
Our Best
Tim & Cindy Townsend
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Richard Pike <richard(at)BCChapel.org> |
| Subject: | Re: prop. clearance |
This is a tough one.
Inclosing the rear part of the cockpit area below the wing and then
soundproofing it helps a big bunch, but that affects your airflow, and
depending on where the radiator is, may not be an option. Changing to an
Ivo prop quiets things down a little, but that is a big investment for a
small return.
I am using a two blade 66" Ivo, and it is a little quieter than the three
blade was. Maybe invest in a Warp 2 blade hub and experiment?
If it doesn't work, you are not out a big fortune, just a small one.
Richard Pike
MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
>
>HI Kolb gang
>
>I have been flying a kolb mark 3 for 3 years, It has a rotax 582 with a
>66" three blade Warp drive prop.
>It is so noise that it is very hard to talk on the radio. The clearance
>from the flaps tube is 3" and the
>tail boom is 1", I all so have a radiator in front of the prop. From
>gear box to the tail boom.
>What about motor mount spacers?
>
>Wayne Boyter
>MARK 3
>Rotax 582
>WARP DRIVE THREE BLADE
>ROSEBURG, OR
>
>P.S. Any help will be appreeciated.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Roland Lambert" <marotod(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: prop. clearance |
Dear Wayne,
I am putting a Warp drive 2 blade on my Firestar and I don't like the
clearance from the Wing,but I'm having a hard time finding the 8mm bolts the
right length do go through a 3 inch spacer & the hub.
R.Lambert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Boyter" <boyter@pioneer-net.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: prop. clearance
>
> HI Kolb gang
>
> I have been flying a kolb mark 3 for 3 years, It has a rotax 582 with a
> 66" three blade Warp drive prop.
> It is so noise that it is very hard to talk on the radio. The clearance
> from the flaps tube is 3" and the
> tail boom is 1", I all so have a radiator in front of the prop. From
> gear box to the tail boom.
> What about motor mount spacers?
>
> Wayne Boyter
> MARK 3
> Rotax 582
> WARP DRIVE THREE BLADE
> ROSEBURG, OR
>
> P.S. Any help will be appreeciated.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Richard Neilsen" <neilsenr(at)state.mi.us> |
| Subject: | Re: prop. clearance |
I just went through this with my VW reduction drive. The 5/16 bolt are so close
that they are effectively the same size. They are available in lengths up to
8 inches long in grade 5 and 8. I can't seem to put my hands on the tables but
it seems like the metric grade 8.8 is close to a SAE grade 5 and grade 8 is stronger
and less ductile.
Rick Neilsen
VW powered MKIII
>>> marotod(at)mindspring.com 10/05/01 09:56AM >>>
Dear Wayne,
I am putting a Warp drive 2 blade on my Firestar and I don't like the
clearance from the Wing,but I'm having a hard time finding the 8mm bolts the
right length do go through a 3 inch spacer & the hub.
R.Lambert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Boyter" <boyter@pioneer-net.com>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: The static port thing again |
Your thought on extra instruction is a good idea..............nothing petty
about it. It might be a little tough finding someone with a Mk III who is
willing to help. What area do you live in ?? Which static system
do you think you'll end up using ?? You've really done your
homework............115 posts in the archives............wheeee-eeeeww ! ! !
Please let us know. Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cim & Tindy" <townsend(at)webound.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: The static port thing again
>
> Larry,
>
> I left out one thing,,, I still do not have a static
> system. I have been through the archives and found
> 115 posts on the subject. I haven't decided yet but I
> want it to work the first time as I am not a very good
> pilot. I can fly the wing in a plane I am familiar with,,
> but I think I had better get some instruction with a Kolb
> pilot that is willing to be a test pilot too. Hummmmmmm.
> I have been that for years in PPC's. Now I need help myself. I want to
> be
> smart about this after 2 years 700 hrs. building time.
> If I bend it, it will be much worse than crashing
> one of my RC pylon racers......and that would be bad.
>
> I understand the factory will help with the maiden flight.
>
> This must seem petty to the old hands on here.
>
>
> Our Best
>
> Tim & Cindy Townsend
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | bob n <ronoy(at)shentel.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Fall Fly-In Winchester VA 13-14 Oct.01 |
EAA 186 will hold their Annual Fall Fly-In at Winchester Regional
Airport--OKV--N39-08.61 W078-08.66.
FE 727' Rnwys:14-32, 5500X100. UNICOM 122.7, AWOS 124.85
Fly-In gnd 121.75. UL-friendly. Sunday pancake breakfast.
RoachCoach open both days. 100LL on field, mogas 2 miles via Grey Baron's
West Virginia limo (pickup)
Bob N.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Kirby Dennis Contr SMC/TM <Dennis.Kirby(at)kirtland.af.mil> |
| Subject: | Pilot's Operating Handbook |
Dear Fellow Kolbers -
My Mark-III is nearing completion, and I need to gather the right paperwork
to satisfy the FAA (since this plane will be N-numbered). This includes an
airworthiness certificate, aircraft registration and a POH. Or an aircraft
flight manual of some sort - something that tells all about the weights,
speeds, runway requirements, fuel loads, etc.
I don't want to reinvent the wheel here. Has anyone drafted up your own
version of a Mark-III POH whose format you're willing to share?
Any help is appreciated !
Dennis Kirby,
Verner-1400, Powerfin72, getting' close to first taxi in
Cedar Crest, New Mexico
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Kolb Cabin Heat |
>
>Dick will sell you a cabin heater for a 532 or larger rotax engine. They
>work very well.
>Lots of people up here in Minnesota have them.
I wasn't really looking for a heater right now but I will keep it in
mind. How much are they and are they hot water or hot air.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: prop. clearance |
Roland and Group,
It is my understanding that Warp Drive props are too heavy to be used
safely on a 3 inch spacer. At least that is the reason that I switched
from Warp to IVO on my Firestar II. The spacer makes a BIG difference in
noise reduction.
John Jung
Roland Lambert wrote:
>
>Dear Wayne,
> I am putting a Warp drive 2 blade on my Firestar and I don't like the
>clearance from the Wing,but I'm having a hard time finding the 8mm bolts the
>right length do go through a 3 inch spacer & the hub.
> R.Lambert
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | RONATNIK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Cart Before The Horse? |
Hello, Kolbers:
I found what appears to be a very nice Firestar II for sale. Here's the rub
though. I only have three hours in a Quicksilver trainer. The snow is
starting to fly in Colorado, so the completion of my lessons could be 8-10
weeks away or next spring. Then there is the question of transitioning to a
tail dragger and higher performance.
I am prepared to hangar a plane once I get one and living in Colorado means
paying for it through the winter when flying opportunities could be limited.
Actually Colorado is pretty mild in the winter, so I'm sure there is lots of
flying going on. In the meantime, I certainly can make sure that I start the
engine on a weekly basis and let it warm up. Ha, I almost said change the oil
as well-not. And I can practice taxing.
Bottom line group, am I totally out in left field for considering this at
this juncture? My brief experience with this group is that no one is shy and
no one pulls any punches. That's why I'm asking. I'm full of enthusiasm and
short on experience. The quality of the Kolb Firestar, in general, is not the
issue here, it's my safety and the timing of such a decision.
Thanks gang,
Bob Blu
Littleton, CO
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Cart Before The Horse? |
In a message dated 10/6/01 8:37:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time, RONATNIK(at)aol.com
writes:
> Bottom line group, am I totally out in left field for considering this at
> this juncture? My brief experience with this group is that no one is shy
> and
> no one pulls any punches. That's why I'm asking. I'm full of enthusiasm and
> short on experience. The quality of the Kolb Firestar, in general, is not
> the
> issue here, it's my safety and the timing of such a decision.
>
> Thanks gang,
>
> Bob Blu
> Littleton, CO
>
> If its safety and familiarity, I would get it ...if it is extra money for
> hangar fees....I wouldn't....but your idea of starting it every week is a
> good one. It saves the wear and tear on flapping lips....and is good for
> the engine.
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | DCREECH3(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Cart Before The Horse? |
I bought a Firestar II a month ago and faced the same issues. The end of
the flying season is coming up all too fast, but I got the cockpit enclosure
too and am going to install it soon. It will be interesting to see how much
difference it makes.
I managed to get some dual stick time in a 2-seat Kolb, which I would
recommend if you can arrange it. It won't take much. The Kolb is quite benign
as taildraggers go, but still different enough that you will be a lot better
prepared with a bit of taildragger experience.
With respect to "practice taxiing" a Kolb, you will find yourself 30 feet in
the air before you know it, so be forewarned! :)
Lee
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Cart Before The Horse? |
| From: | ul15rhb(at)juno.com |
>
> Hello, Kolbers:
>
> I found what appears to be a very nice Firestar II for sale. Here's
> the rub
> though. I only have three hours in a Quicksilver trainer. The snow
> is
> starting to fly in Colorado, so the completion of my lessons could
> be 8-10
> weeks away or next spring. Then there is the question of
> transitioning to a
> tail dragger and higher performance.
> Thanks gang,
>
> Bob Blu
> Littleton, CO
Bob,
Let me tell you what I did. I took 2-1/2 hours of training in a
Quicksilver 2-seat and this is all the training I could get out of Boris
Popov (founder of BRS) before he let me go on my own. I then bought the
Firestar kit in '86 and built it in 6 months. After completion in
December of that year, I took it out on the frozen lakes here in
Minnesota to learn what I didn't get from Boris. Winter is the very best
time to practice and learn in the northland. There is nothing to hit, no
runways to stay on, no crosswind landings, and almost unlimited amount of
space to use out on these lakes. If I had to land on a runway during the
summer for the first time, after 2.5 hours of training, it would have
been a disaster. Practicing during the winter was the ticket and when
springtime came, I had some experience and landing on a runway came easy
for me.
I highly recommend all new ultralight pilots to take advantage of those
frozen lakes during the winter (for you northern guys). We have two new
pilots in our area who were out there practicing last winter and both of
them are on this list, Bettie Seitzer and Gary Voigt. Both are doing very
well.
Why wait for spring? Just have to make some skis and bundle up.
It's 34 degrees out there right now and I'm heading out to the field for
a fun fly. Mmmmm that cool air will feel good and my Rotax will love it
......
Ralph Burlingame
Original Firestar
14 years flying it
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | WGeorge737(at)aol.com |
Be careful about replacing another type prop with the Warp Drive without
establishing additional clearance from aircraft components.
I decided to try the Warp taper tip so see if I might get better overall
performance compared to the Powerfin "F" model. The airplane had eight test
flights and multiple ground runs, including static WOT, with the Powerfin.
There were no problems.
The Warp was installed, pitched and torqued and the clearances looked about
the same. But, on the very first start the prop contacted the tail cone
fairing, pulled the parachute cable loose ripping the belly fabric, severed
the flap control rod and flung a two foot chuck of blade about fifteen feet.
I don't believe the prop made a complete revolution.
Four strokers will shake on start and shutdown and I think the extra weight
of the Warp drive accentuates the movement, like an eccentric weight on a
shaft. In this case the bottom of the prop arc had to move forward about 2
1/4 inches.
Bottom line is that if you replace another brand of prop with the Warp Drive
you should increase the clearance. There is nothing in Warp literature that
would indicate that this is so. Normally my comments are worth the standard
$.02. This one's worth considerably more. ;-)
Bill George
Mk-3 - Verner 1400
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | DCREECH3(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Cart Before The Horse? |
In a message dated 10/6/2001 9:53:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time, GeoR38(at)aol.com
writes:
<< your idea of starting it every week is a
> good one. It saves the wear and tear on flapping lips....and is good for
> the engine. >>
Interesting. I'm new to 2-strokes but a more experienced motorcyclist, and
the conventional wisdom in bike circles is that unless you're going to run it
for awhile, you're doing more harm than good by starting it occasionally
during the winter. But I suppose this might not be true (or less true) of
2-strokes, due to the absence of oil in the engine. Is that the logic?
Lee
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | today's test flight |
| From: | ul15rhb(at)juno.com |
Guys,
I test flew a used Twinstar for Craig Fordahl this morning and had to
deadstick the plane down when the engine quit on the second flight. We
even tested the engine before flying by tying down the tail and running
it for 2 minutes at full power. It turned out the idle speed was set too
low and when I throttled back, it quit. I pushed that nose over and
picked up some speed on landing for a smooth one. Deadstick practice
(with the engine off) paid off this time.
One other problem noted was the lack of rudder authority. One of the
previous owners added a fiberglass nose pod. The right rudder interferes
with the pod not giving it enough right rudder for turning and keeping it
out of the corn along the runway. There was a pretty good crosswind today
when I needed that rudder.
I have no rudder stops on mine, and there are times I need every bit of
rudder I can muster.
Ralph Burlingame
Original Firestar
14 years flying it
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Tommy & Carolyn" <TommyandCarolyn(at)centurytel.net> |
| Subject: | Ultralight Flyin |
Hello Group,
WHAT: Ultralight Aircraft Fly-in
WHEN: October 13, 2001
WHERE: SLUA Club airstrip (1600') Iowa, LA located on
the NE corner of Hwy 165 & I-10 intersection
N30-14-56, W92-58-18
WHO: Southwest Louisiana Ultralight Aircraft Club
FEATURES: Good food, flea market, flying games (bomb drop,
balloon chase, spot landing) with a "Top Gun"
award & more.
FEES: FREE
FMI: Ed Stephens 337-436-0423 337-475-5509
estephen(at)mail.ncneese.edu
Tommy Dubroc 318-748-6308
cen23370(at)centurytel.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Guy Swenson" <guys(at)rrt.net> |
Kolb Gang,
I have just finished covering my MK III Xtra, and applied finishing
tapes over all of the fabric rivets. On the wings, fuse, vertical stab,
and horizontal stabs. I have not applied any tapes on any of the ribs
from the spar to the leading edge over the ribs or false ribs. My
question is, do I need to put tapes in these areas? I do plan on
registering this aircraft. Also where on the fuselage do the tapes go?
Anywhere the fabric touches the frame?
Thanks for the help
Guy S.
MK III Xtra
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Bob Bean <slyck(at)frontiernet.net> |
Dope sniffers, tape on any surface that is likely to encounter abrasion
or wear, and wherever the fabric is penetrated for attachment , whether
by stitching, pk screws, or rivets. Not legally necessary to tape over
every former, stringer, or rib, however if you deem it cosmetically more
pleasing, goferit. --BB
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Richard Pike <richard(at)BCChapel.org> |
| Subject: | Re: Finishing tapes |
Suggest you put a strip of tape over the diagonal longeron brace that runs
from the landing gear leg area up to the upper rear corner on the right
side of the fuselage cage.
The prop pushes a pulse of air ahead of it, and I have always noticed the
right side of the rear fuselage would get gnats plastered to it, and the
bottom of the left wing also. That pulsing caused the paint to crack over
the fabric outside of where that diagonal brace runs. I had to go back and
apply a tape over it to repair and reinforce it, and naturally the paint
didn't quite match.
I had put 2" wide tape over all the corners of the fuselage where the
fabric overlaps itself, and anywhere I thought it might get any abrasion.
But the prop pulse did me in anyway.
Richard Pike
MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
>
>Kolb Gang,
>I have just finished covering my MK III Xtra, and applied finishing
>tapes over all of the fabric rivets. On the wings, fuse, vertical stab,
>and horizontal stabs. I have not applied any tapes on any of the ribs
>from the spar to the leading edge over the ribs or false ribs. My
>question is, do I need to put tapes in these areas? I do plan on
>registering this aircraft. Also where on the fuselage do the tapes go?
>Anywhere the fabric touches the frame?
>Thanks for the help
>Guy S.
>MK III Xtra
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Cart Before The Horse? |
In a message dated 10/6/01 3:52:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time, DCREECH3(at)aol.com
writes:
> << your idea of starting it every week is a
> > good one. It saves the wear and tear on flapping lips....and is good for
> > the engine. >>
>
> Interesting. I'm new to 2-strokes but a more experienced motorcyclist, and
> the conventional wisdom in bike circles is that unless you're going to run
> it
> for awhile, you're doing more harm than good by starting it occasionally
> during the winter. But I suppose this might not be true (or less true) of
> 2-strokes, due to the absence of oil in the engine. Is that the logic?
>
> Lee
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "rbaker(at)shop4zero.com" <rbaker(at)ccgnv.net> |
| Subject: | Fall Air Fesival |
Kitty Hawke Aviation and the Experimental Aircraft Association chapter
98 invite you to join us for a fun day at:
7th Annual Fall Air Festival
Saturday - October 20, 2001
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
At Flying Ten Airport, Archer, FL OJ8
Located off CR. 241 between Archer and Jonesville from Gainesville take
Newberry Road (Rt 26) west, turn south on CR. 241 (SW 170 Street). Drive
2 1/2 miles. Turn east onto Airport Road (SW 42nd Ave.)
and follow the signs!
Free Airplane Rides for Kids 8-17 (10 - 5 PM)
R/C Airplanes Demos (At Noon)
Helicopters
Classic Airplanes
Ultralights
Custom Built Airplanes
Food and Beverages, Music and much more!!!
Program of events subject to change due to circumstances beyond our
control - Call Kitty Hawke Aviation at 352-495-2559 for last minute
updates.
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Cart Before The Horse? |
In a message dated 10/6/01 3:52:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time, DCREECH3(at)aol.com
writes:
> << your idea of starting it every week is a
> > good one. It saves the wear and tear on flapping lips....and is good for
> > the engine. >>
>
> Interesting. I'm new to 2-strokes but a more experienced motorcyclist, and
> the conventional wisdom in bike circles is that unless you're going to run
> it
> for awhile, you're doing more harm than good by starting it occasionally
> during the winter. But I suppose this might not be true (or less true) of
> 2-strokes, due to the absence of oil in the engine. Is that the logic?
>
> Lee
> Lee, your idea of not starting it is just foreign to me as I always thought
> that since it only gets lubed by the gas, that an occasional lube job by
> running would be good, so I go out in the dead of winter each year a few
> times (not once a week though) and fire up and let it run for awhile while
> slowly changing the throttle.
> Let's see what the flamers say about it though....just teasin about
> "flamers".
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Cruddy Plugs II |
A quick comment - If your still running a 45:1 mix ratio at 30 plus hours,
that's probably where your carbon is coming from. It will take time for
that to blow out of the engine when your switched to 50:1 mix. Our 2 447's
broke in around 20-30 hour mark, we could tell by the RPM creeping up on
takeoff and would have to readjust the prop.
You didn't say which engine or plane you have, I am guessing a FireFly by
the FF on your signature and a 447. You may need to slightly rotate the
carb to balance the EGT's between your cylinders. Not a lot just a little.
Be careful turning the prop with Sea Foam in the cylinders - if you have a
lot in there and the plug installed you can develop a hydraulic lock as you
can't compress a liquid, and with the leverage of the prop through the gear
box, you could bend a connecting rod. Put you piston at TDC, add the sea
foam and leave it there over night, next night or weekend do the same on
the other cylinder.
jerryb
>
>Kolbers:
>My thanks to each of you who responded with advice and information. Some
>excellent points have been made, and much appreciated wisdom dispensed...
>I need it all.
>
>This morning, I started by unloading the prop a little. I pumped out the
>little bit of the 45 to one mix in the tank (thanks, John)... replaced it
>with precisely mixed 50 to one AMOCO Supreme.. Installed two new NGK's...
>went and flew it for half an hour. Noticed that the EGT's and the head
>temps seemed varying more between the two cylinders... During the WOT climb
>at 6400 RPM, the rear cylinder EGT was only 990, while the front EGT was
>1060... Then at 5800 cruise the EGT's were 1080 and 1140.respectively...
>To my surprise, the heads were running just the opposite of the EGT...the
>lowest EGT cylinder had the highest CHT (390), and the other CHT was only
>reading 320.
>
>Made a level WOT run for about 90 seconds to see where they settled out ...
>Stabilized at 6640 on the tach...One EGT went to 1040, the other to 1080.
>CHTs were both around 390.
>
>In the pattern, EGTs punched up through 1240 at partial throttle (about
>4000 RPM in a glide)... Immediately came down to 1000 when throttle was then
>chopped completely while still gliding...
>
>Back on the deck, pulled the new plugs... they were identical... slightly
>wet and black around the barrel rim, gun metal gray and dry everywhere in
>the cathode/anode and insulator area. no tan, no brown.
>
>Popped the plugs back in, strapped the tail down and ran it 4 minutes at
>5500... Hit the kill switch without touching the throttle... pulled the
>plugs, they looked about the same... wet on the edges, dry and gray in the
>center. No tan, no brown.
>
>Looked at the piston tops through the plug holes... moderate carbon overall,
>some small raised areas of heavier carbon, maybe .025" high were visible.
>
>Considered pulling the intake manifold to look at the rings, but decided to
>just go ahead and hit it with the Seafoam... Went through a slightly
>modified form of the Seafoam catharsis procedures as so kindly provided by
>Brother Burlingame and recommended by Brother Swiderski... couple of ounces
>atop the piston at about TDC. reinsert the plug, and gently squeeze it down
>past the rings with slight prop rotation... I couldn't give the back
>cylinder the extended soak, because I must rotate the prop to horizontal to
>fold the wings... But I did leave the S-elixir puddled in the other cylinder
>at TDC when I put the Fly away in the trailer at mid-day.
>
>The day's Rotax events leave me with several observations and questions:
>(Not necessarily in priority)
>-- I don't think a 30 hour engine should have this much carbon in it... I
>think it is clearly running too rich
>-- The EGT /CHTdeltas between the two cylinders is probably significant and
>likely not just sensor inconsistencies... could early ring sticking produce
>such symptoms?
>-- Does the fact that the EGT's immediately cool way down when the throttle
>is completely closed in the glide indicate that the idle jet size is
>probably not a factor?
>-- How much does the setting of the carb's adjustable idle air screw impact
>the mixture at 3500 or 4000 RPM during a glide...? Like, say, if it were
>set to admit too much air...? Tatamount to a vacuum leak isn't it?
>-- How common is it for one of these things to have a narrow RPM band in a
>glide which produces momentary EGT's above 1200...? From a practical
>standpoint, is this a non-problem if you fly approaches in such a way as to
>just stay out of the hot RPM range?
>-- Should I use RTV hi-temp gasket sealant on the intake manifold gaskets?
>The "book" didn't mention it, but it kinda bothers me not to put it on
>there.
>
>Tomorrow, I will withdraw the beast from its lair, run it up... and then
>pull the intake side to look at the rings and see what happened... I know
>overnight isn't long enough for the full effect, Ralph, but I'm borderline
>Obsessive-Compulsive and I can't wait... Besides, I gotta go back to work
>Tuesday, so I can't fool with it later in the week...
>
>Tentative plan:
>--Verify free rings
>-- put the stupid metering rod back down from the #3 to the #2 notch where
>it was
>-- Check the interior of the carb (all the jets) for crud
>-- Re-set/check the idle air screw
>-- Go fly... fool with the prop pitch... watch the plugs/temps
>
>Once again, I am very appreciative of the ideas and assistance you Kolbers
>have provided... If anyone sees me doing anything super-stupid here, please
>sound off...
>
>Until a few months ago, I used to believe that hell was a place where they
>made you drink nothing but tap water while forcing you to continuously watch
>Barbara Streisand movies.... Now I am beginning to suspect hell is gonna
>have some as yet unclear connection with 2-cycle aircraft engines...
>
>Baffled Beauford of Brandon, FL
>FF-076
>
> P.S. The local Advance Auto Parts chain has NGK BR8ES plugs for $2.29...
>The Bosch 4215 platinums were 9 cents less..
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Vic Worthington" <vicw(at)vcn.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Kolb-List Digest: 9 Msgs - 10/05/01 |
I am ready to cover my wings. The instructions are not clear. Should I
cover the root edge of the wing or should I leave it open so I can have a
way to check the interior of the wing?
Vic
Sundance Kid
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Richard Pike <richard(at)BCChapel.org> |
| Subject: | Re: Kolb-List Digest: 9 Msgs - 10/05/01 |
Open = Dirt dauber heaven. (+ bird nests, mouse nests, etc.)
Richard Pike
MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
>
>I am ready to cover my wings. The instructions are not clear. Should I
>cover the root edge of the wing or should I leave it open so I can have a
>way to check the interior of the wing?
>
>
>Vic
>Sundance Kid
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "JOHN M. COOLEY" <johnc(at)datasync.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Kolb-List Digest: 9 Msgs - 10/05/01 |
Vic,
I have looked at pictures of a lot of Kolbs and have owned three
different ones. All had the root end closed. I did install one of the round
inspection hatches that allows you to inspect things or to "air out the
inside" of the wing on the Firestar that I built. There is just enough room
behind the front attachment tab on the Firestar for the 4 3/4" inspection
plate. Can send a pic off list if wanted. I noticed on the factory Firestar
what looks like a slit made with a knife in front of the attachment tab. A
note of interest on this is that it's inside the gap seal area. I would be
very nervous about leaving the area of the root rib open. I could see
putting the plane in a side slip and possibly pressuring up the wing. I
wouldn't do it that way. Just my .02 cents worth and I'm sure it's not worth
that much.
Later,
John Cooley
Firestar II
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vic Worthington" <vicw(at)vcn.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Re: Kolb-List Digest: 9 Msgs - 10/05/01
>
> I am ready to cover my wings. The instructions are not clear. Should I
> cover the root edge of the wing or should I leave it open so I can have a
> way to check the interior of the wing?
>
>
> Vic
> Sundance Kid
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Finishing tapes |
Personally I like to add the tapes anywhere I did not get a straight
edge on the fabric when I cut or glued it. The tapes are great to improve
the cosmetic appearance of your craft. They can hide a multitude of sins.
> Also where on the fuselage do the tapes go?
>Anywhere the fabric touches the frame?
>Thanks for the help
>Guy S.
>MK III Xtra
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Richard Swiderski" <swiderskir(at)earthlink.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Fall Air Fesival |
Ray,
Thanks for the info. I won't be able to make it. We have been looking
for a home & property out in the country where I can also take off & land
on. It has definitely put my engine project on hold. Hopefully we'll find
something soon.
Sure am looking forward to seeing your ship in the air. Take care.
...Richard
----- Original Message -----
From: "rbaker(at)shop4zero.com" <rbaker(at)ccgnv.net>
Subject: Kolb-List: Fall Air Fesival
>
> Kitty Hawke Aviation and the Experimental Aircraft Association chapter
> 98 invite you to join us for a fun day at:
>
> 7th Annual Fall Air Festival
> Saturday - October 20, 2001
> 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
>
> At Flying Ten Airport, Archer, FL OJ8
>
> Located off CR. 241 between Archer and Jonesville from Gainesville take
> Newberry Road (Rt 26) west, turn south on CR. 241 (SW 170 Street). Drive
> 2 1/2 miles. Turn east onto Airport Road (SW 42nd Ave.)
> and follow the signs!
>
> Free Airplane Rides for Kids 8-17 (10 - 5 PM)
> R/C Airplanes Demos (At Noon)
> Helicopters
> Classic Airplanes
> Ultralights
> Custom Built Airplanes
> Food and Beverages, Music and much more!!!
>
> Program of events subject to change due to circumstances beyond our
> control - Call Kitty Hawke Aviation at 352-495-2559 for last minute
> updates.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Kolb-List Digest: 9 Msgs - 10/05/01 |
In a message dated 10/6/01 11:38:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time, vicw(at)vcn.com
writes:
> I am ready to cover my wings. The instructions are not clear. Should I
> cover the root edge of the wing or should I leave it open so I can have a
> way to check the interior of the wing?
>
>
> Vic
> Sundance Kid
>
I covered mine to eliminate varmints and cut removeable panels to be able to
inspect and that is very important, as I have found some broken members in
there that I have fixed.
George Randolph
GeoR38
Akron Oh
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "rbaker(at)shop4zero.com" <rbaker(at)ccgnv.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Fall Air Fesival |
Richard,
Sorry that I will not be seeing you at the fly in. By coincidence we have
our place (6.5) acres up for sale. Too bad we are not in your area. We have
had enough of this "gracious country living"
Ray
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | dale seitzer <dalemseitzer(at)yahoo.com> |
EGT's are not accurate and there almost always is a
difference between them. The plugs are always your
best guage of what's happening. Tilting the carb
does work at evening out the egt's. Grey spark plugs
is definitely lean--change the plugs and reset the
gap.
Make sure you have fresh premium gas and fresh oil. I
now put the Seafoam in, raise the tail and let it seep
down over time (usually 10-15 min). Checking the
rings takes a little time -- push on them with a
wooden stick and make sure they wiggle a little--they
do not move much. You may also need to clean off the
egt probes--if running rich for a long time some
carbon may have been deposited on them. The top side
of the exhaust port also can get coated with carbon.
There are carbon removing chemicals that are to be
used outside of the engine--if used in the engine they
will melt the gaskets and seals.
Dale Seitzer
http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Cart Before The Horse? |
| From: | "Seitzer, Bettie (TEK Systems)" <Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com> |
I definitely have to second what Ralph says about flying off the snow.
The lake was huge - plenty of space to just let it settle softly onto
the snow. Three wonderful landings in a row - first solo. Ask Ralph to
send you his complete instruction for landing - he explained it very
well. After the lake, I "graduated" to a grass strip that was almost as
big as the frozen lake. After some really nice flying there I moved up
to the airpark that we fly out of - a cross between a roller coaster and
a hidden valley with obstructions all over the place.
Do not practice taxiing until you are ready to fly - especially
in cold weather. It takes so little for the Kolb to jump pup into the
air!
Definitely buy the Kolb - they are fantastic. Great to fly, I
have flown the quicksilver and I believe there is quite a bit of
difference, a little transition training is a good idea.
> Hello, Kolbers:
>
> I found what appears to be a very nice Firestar II for sale.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Keith Singer" <kas(at)wckz.com> |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 6 Msgs - 10/07/01 |
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com
[mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com]On Behalf Of Kolb-List
Digest Server
Subject: Kolb-List Digest: 6 Msgs - 10/07/01
*
1998 Kolb Firestar II. Second owner. 503 2 carb. 130 hours TT on engine
and airframe. Excellent condition. Yellow. Tucson, Arizona. Basic
instruments. Jump seat installed and have second seat cover and seat belt.
Not N-numbered. Soft pack chute. $11,000 or best offer. (520) 405-2591.
Keith.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "John Anderson" <janderson3(at)nc.rr.com> |
| Subject: | Floats on a Kolb |
Experts,
Does anyone have any experience with a Kolb on floats? I am especially
interested in a hearing from anyone with experience with an Ultrastar.
In particular:
How to install, I know once upon a time there was a place in Florida
that would fit and sell float setup for the Ultrastar, does anyone have
any pictures or info?
How to takeoff and land on water, or the name of a float instructor that
uses a Kolb ?
John Anderson
*******************
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | For Sale Koln FireFly |
For Sale Kolb FireFly - It's got to go
First flight mid Dec.-97
Color: Stits - solid White with Red trim on the cage and tail feathers
Rotax 447 approx. 140 hours since new (Total Time)
Coated exhaust system - looks like it did when it came back from the
coaters
(do this if you build one)
IVO - 2 blade prop
6 inch wheels - doesn't work the gear as hard compared to the smaller 5 inch
High quality bearings
Mechanical brakes which actually work
Heal brakes - can be easily changed to single hand control if desired
BRS VLS-750 Chute - mounted in wing root area
(750# has higher deployment speed and if ever needed
means you will descend at a slower rate of decent)
Has soft gap seal to allow wing folding
The soft gap seal cover has been modified to accommodate the VLS chute
Short and Full Enclosures - changes in minutes
Easily removable instrument panel
- all instruments on shock mounted sub panel
- sub panel can be totally removed in about 5 minutes
- very professional looking wrinkle finish - ABS plastic - nice stuff
Grand Rapids Technologies EIS Unit - Super Size
Tach - digital
Dual CHT
Dual EGT
OAT
Compass panel mounted
2-1/4" Airspeed
3-1/8" Altimeter - Sensitive
2-1/4" Variometer - electric very sensitive vertical speed
indicator
like used in gliders
2-1/4" G-Meter
Strobe - single streamline head on vertical stab (tail)
Key West Voltage Regular
Additional secondary regulator for radio
Set up for ICOM A22 radio (radio not included)
We have invested over $14K plus our time building it.
What would you be willing to pay for a nice FireFly ready to go?
Located in North Dallas Texas area
Asking: $11000.00
Contact Information:
Jerry Bidle Email: jbidle(at)airmail.net Tel.: 972-517-0946
Gary Hansen Email: ghansen(at)airmail.net Tel.: 972-242-1620
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Frank Reynen" <frank_reynen(at)ix.netcom.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Floats on a Kolb |
John,
I have a Kolb MKIII on Lotus floats since new in 1991 and have 650 hrs on
it.
For a typical installation see my website:
http://www.webcom.com/reynen
I have a float license and recommend you take some lessons since the
take-off and landings are quite different from
the land version but other than that are very easy.
water taxi can be challenging in windy conditions and water rudders are a
must due to the long tail extension.
Nobody I know of has bolt-on kits available but hardware is easy to make
yourself.
Lotus Floats are the best on the market today.
Regards
Frank Reynen
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Anderson" <janderson3(at)nc.rr.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Floats on a Kolb
>
> Experts,
>
> Does anyone have any experience with a Kolb on floats? I am especially
> interested in a hearing from anyone with experience with an Ultrastar.
>
> In particular:
> How to install, I know once upon a time there was a place in Florida
> that would fit and sell float setup for the Ultrastar, does anyone have
> any pictures or info?
>
> How to takeoff and land on water, or the name of a float instructor that
> uses a Kolb ?
>
>
> John Anderson
> *******************
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Duncan McBride" <duncan.mcbride(at)worldnet.att.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Kolb-List Digest: 6 Msgs - 10/07/01 |
When I covered the bottom of the wing, it was pretty easy to leave enough at
the root to wrap around and cover the inside root rib. The bottom is flat
so the fabric didn't wrinke going around the root rib bottom. That's the
way the Mark III instructions said to do it. The top had to curve around to
overlap by two inches or so, you have to use an iron to get it around the
curve. - I taped all the edges, too.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vic Worthington" <vicw(at)vcn.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Re: Kolb-List Digest: 6 Msgs - 10/07/01
>
> Thanks for all the comments, on and off list, about covering the root
edge.
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Charles Chandler" <chandlerchv(at)home.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Floats on a Kolb |
John,
I am also interested in fitting floats up to a Kolb but don't have
experience.. I just got on this list today. There are some pictures of
Kolbs on floats at www.full-lotus.com. They also have a list of companies
which do mounting kits, I believe there is one company in Reserve, LA who
they show as supplying mounting kits for Kolb. I also found this site has a
lot of good photos: www.webcom.com/reynen/ .
Charlie Chandler
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Anderson" <janderson3(at)nc.rr.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Floats on a Kolb
>
> Experts,
>
> Does anyone have any experience with a Kolb on floats? I am especially
> interested in a hearing from anyone with experience with an Ultrastar.
>
> In particular:
> How to install, I know once upon a time there was a place in Florida
> that would fit and sell float setup for the Ultrastar, does anyone have
> any pictures or info?
>
> How to takeoff and land on water, or the name of a float instructor that
> uses a Kolb ?
>
>
> John Anderson
> *******************
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | RONATNIK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Cart Before The Horse? |
Would you folks please give me a list of questions I should ask the owner
when I talk with him by phone? He is located in another state.
If that phase goes well I will go to CA to visually inspect the plane. At
that point what should I be looking for?
Thanks,
Bob
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Branscomb" <wbrans(at)provide.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Rotax starting |
Our 1986 Twinstar, with starter and battery, unofficially weighs
45. -Warren- SE Mich
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cessna21(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Rotax starting |
Your Twinstar weighs how much ? And what is the maximum allowable takeoff
weight? Would you happen to have a weight and balance sheet you could E-mail
to me?
Thanks,
Tracy
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | MEMATUZAK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Lift strut pin movement |
Mike
I had the same thing and talked to Lite speed @S&F. They said a "slight" amt.
is normal. But I was uncomfortable with the slowly increasing amounts. Lite
Speed suggested to increase the pin size by 1/32 or even 2/32. An AP friend
suggested instead of a pin use a nut and bolt.
The bolt works great. NO play, no noises when lifting the wing. It even feels
different flying in bumps. I fold the wings with each flight and using the
bolts increases ass. time by 1-2 minutes. A good investment in time and
security.
MEM
FSII 100 hrs of GREAT fun
PC FL
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: E Gear Box Slipping? |
In a message dated 10/10/01 1:55:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
vincenicely(at)chartertn.net writes:
> In the last hour of running, the engine will occasionally speed up for a
>
Vince:
This is uncanny. Yesterday afternoon after 2 hours of perfect flying
over central New Jersey I did a take off-- my 582 with an E box usually turns
6400 in a best angle climb-- and the engine pegged the tach for just a
second, then returned to the normal rpm. I knew it wasn't a fluke because I
felt the difference in vibration, heard a different sound, and saw the tach
jump. I was bothered by this enough that I went around and tried another
take off and it did it again.
I was very concerned so I landed and called Phil Lockwood at Lockwood
aviation on my cell phone right from the cockpit. He told me the same thing
that the folks at CPS told you.
So get out your exploded diagram of the E box. There are 2 places
where and E box can slip:
1) Where the flywheel (schwungrad) is bolted onto the tapered end of
the crankshaft by the bolt designated #3 (schraube). Note that the
tightening torque is a very high 530 inch pounds and they want locktite on
it. I fear that if it is slipping here I am really screwed because it may
have buggered the end of the crankshaft (busten der checkbooken).
2) The other possibility is where the split cone sleeve (kegelhuelse)
#37 sets in the gear that turns the prop shaft (zahnradsatz) #23. Note that
the torque on the 12mm nut that presses it all together, #39, is an
incredible 2650 inch pounds.
Slightly complicating this situation is the fact that there have been
2 service instruction amendments to the E box since 96 when I bought mine.
SI-06-98 which changes the torque on the split sleeve cone mentioned above
and requires it to be glued in place with locktite, and 6 UL 96-D/E which
alters a washer next to that same sleeve. I suspect we are not the only
folks who have had this problem.
I am going to talk to Kerry, Lockwood's top repair guy, this morning
and will report. Phil Lockwood did hold out some hope saying that if caught
early it may simply require disassembly and retorquing.
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: E Gear Box Slipping? |
Vince:
I just got off the phone with Kerry at Lockwood and the news is
generally good. He says that the problem is almost certainly with the drive
shaft and not with the flywheel/crankshaft connection. Assuming that is
correct it is not necessary to dismount the entire gear box. He says all I
have to do is remove the 14 socket head bolts that hold the front cover on
and slide that out, the drive shaft comes with it, and ship it off to him.
He can reseat and retorque the shaft and comply with the service bulletins.
His estimate of the cost? 1/2 hour of work-- under $100.00. This is the
best news I've had all week.
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "rbaker(at)shop4zero.com" <rbaker(at)ccgnv.net> |
Will,
That comes next. I have to take some instruction to get current again. I
have not flown during the almost 3 years that I have been building.
Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: <WillUribe(at)aol.com>
>
> Congratulations.
>
> P.S. I looked at your photo album but didn't see any flying pictures.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "info" <info(at)aircrafttechsupport.com> |
| Subject: | IT'S AN AIRPLANE!!!! |
Congratulations!!
Let us know how it's going, you can still call us even though the fabric
is done!!
Thanks,
Jim & Dondi Miller
Aircraft Technical Support, Inc.
Poly-Fiber & Ceconite Distributors
(Toll Free) (877) 877-3334
Web Site: www.aircrafttechsupport.com
E-mail: info(at)aircrafttechsupport.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: camera mount photos |
| From: | erich_weaver(at)urscorp.com |
10/10/2001 05:08:51 PM
Kolbers:
Awhile back I posted a message regarding flying photos I took with an
underwing mounted camera. Several folks complimented me on the pictures
and wanted to see photos of the mounting system. These photos are now
available courtesy George Alexander's web site:
http://gtalexander.home.att.net
The mounting system in the pictures is modified from Kip Laurie's original
design. Many thanks to both Kip and George.
Keep your yaw string straight,
Erich Weaver
erich_weaver(at)urscorp.com
130 Robin Hill Road, Suite 100
Santa Barbara, California 93117
Tel: 805-964-6010
fax: 805-964 0259
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Kirk Smith" <snuffy(at)usol.com> |
Who was the guy that put the Jaburu on the Mark 3?
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "rbaker(at)shop4zero.com" <rbaker(at)ccgnv.net> |
| Subject: | Re: IT'S AN AIRPLANE!!!! |
Jim and Dondi,
Thanks for the offer. I do miss chatting with you.
Now I have to go learn to fly again
I'll call you when I commit aviation.
Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: info <info(at)aircrafttechsupport.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: IT'S AN AIRPLANE!!!!
>
> Congratulations!!
>
> Let us know how it's going, you can still call us even though the fabric
> is done!!
>
> Thanks,
> Jim & Dondi Miller
> Aircraft Technical Support, Inc.
> Poly-Fiber & Ceconite Distributors
> (Toll Free) (877) 877-3334
> Web Site: www.aircrafttechsupport.com
> E-mail: info(at)aircrafttechsupport.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | JIMMY HANKINSON <jhankin(at)planters.net> |
It would be nice if someone would create a list of Kolber's that have
web sites with photos of their Kolbs and other building information.
Kip in Atlanta has done a good job with listing those fliers that have
Kolb's.
Jimmy Hankinson
Firefly #35, 447 Rotax, 185 Hrs.
Rocky Ford, Georgia 30455
Southeast, Georgia
JYL -- Airport
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
>
> I will
>have the 'joy' of covering it.
It really is a joy to cover the airplane. The shrinking still fascinates
me. Peeling polytack off my hands is still acceptable entertainment for an
evening.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "John Williamson" <jawmson(at)dellepro.com> |
I have been playing with how to incorporate pictures of completed Kolb
aircraft and their data and links to their operators.
I am still trying to get better quality in the pictures, so I have some more
work to do.
the url is: http://dellepro.dellhost.com/williamson/
Please send your photos if I don't have one or two already.
John Williamson
Arlington, TX
Kolbra on order
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Richmond <twoschmoops(at)yahoo.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Floats on a Kolb |
Charlie,
Thanks for the info, but I think you have the wrong John.....I'm
Richmond, this mail was from an Anderson (?)
Being in Florida, I probably should have floats. I'm still really
nervous about flying over water. What aircraft do you have?
Thanks again
--- Charles Chandler wrote:
>
>
> John,
> I am also interested in fitting floats up to a Kolb but don't have
> experience.. I just got on this list today. There are some pictures
> of
> Kolbs on floats at www.full-lotus.com. They also have a list of
> companies
> which do mounting kits, I believe there is one company in Reserve, LA
> who
> they show as supplying mounting kits for Kolb. I also found this site
> has a
> lot of good photos: www.webcom.com/reynen/ .
>
> Charlie Chandler
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Anderson" <janderson3(at)nc.rr.com>
> Subject: Kolb-List: Floats on a Kolb
>
>
>
> >
> > Experts,
> >
> > Does anyone have any experience with a Kolb on floats? I am
> especially
> > interested in a hearing from anyone with experience with an
> Ultrastar.
> >
> > In particular:
> > How to install, I know once upon a time there was a place in
> Florida
> > that would fit and sell float setup for the Ultrastar, does anyone
> have
> > any pictures or info?
> >
> > How to takeoff and land on water, or the name of a float instructor
> that
> > uses a Kolb ?
> >
> >
> > John Anderson
> > *******************
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
=====
John & Lynn Richmond :-)
Palm Coast, Fl.
Mk3 269LJ, 582, 41 hrs
1,400 miles, longest=270
http://personals.yahoo.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Keith Singer" <kas(at)wckz.com> |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
I've got a Firestar II for sale, but I'm not writing to advertise again. A
prospective buyer (from this list, I believe) said he had inquired into
several Firestar II's and the sellors almost uniformly said that the reason
they were selling was that the plane was too much for them to handle
comfortably - or too far ahead of their present skill level. I've got 100
hours in ultralights and another 50 in "conventional." I've got a pp
licence. But the above reason is why I'm selling. What are your thoughts
on this. Is it possible that some of these are built less stable or
something? I have never gotten the sense from the list that Kolbs are
particularly hard or unusual to fly.
Keith
1998 Firestar II 130 TT
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
In a message dated 10/11/01 11:36:47 AM Eastern Daylight Time, kas(at)wckz.com
writes:
> ? I have never gotten the sense from the list that Kolbs are
> particularly hard or unusual to fly.
>
> Keith
> 1998 Firestar II 130 TT
> In my humble opinion the only thing that a new person must get used to is
> the mushiness around stall that goes unannounced and can cause bent
> legs...gear legs that is. It forces you to fly by the ASI when near the
> ground, which you would want to do anyway, but that mushiness is probably
> more pronounced on the Kolb dure to the stability bought by the high angle
> of incidence between the wing and the horizontal stab.
>
> Just my opinion....but I have flown others that are differently rigged and
> they do not have the mushiness at low speed, however, their stall would
> probably be much more radical....that seems to be the tradeoff.
>
> GeoR38 Firestar driver
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Possum <possums(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Shane Smith Memorial Fly-in |
--
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Edward Steuber" <esteuber(at)rochester.rr.com> |
| Subject: | Hard to fly Kolbs |
The only UL experience I have is with the Ultrastar......and I can't say
anything bad..... so far. The advice I got from this list was
invaluable.......If a Firestar flys anything like the Ultrastar it's
terrific, although there are some peculiarities that I believe are
common to most UL's versus GA aircraft. My son (20 years old) who is a
low time PP was able to fly the Ultrastar with only 3 takeoffs and
landings in a Challenger 2 with me in the back seat. I wanted to impress
him with the need to keep airspeed up with power down to the ground.
The tailwheel was no problem and he had never flown any tailwheel
before. He flies it more than I do but not much longer......He just
joined the Marine Corps ! ! And I thought he was smarter than
me(VietNam 67/68).My point is , our ability to make good decisions is
questionable and we have had no problem flying the Kolb.....Ed in
Western NY
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
Keith and Group,
I really doubt that some Kolbs are built less stable. Probably the
difference is in pilot preference and skill levels. Kolbs do what they
do well, but they are not everything to everybody.
John Jung
Keith Singer wrote:
> Is it possible that some of these are built less stable or
>something? I have never gotten the sense from the list that Kolbs are
>particularly hard or unusual to fly.
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
In a message dated 10/12/01 8:28:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
jrjung(at)sgmmail.com writes:
> I really doubt that some Kolbs are built less stable. Probably the
>
John:
There are alot of variables out there, and undoubtedly pilot skill is
one of them, but builder competence is another. Keep in mind that all Kolbs
are essentially hand made one of a kind products, and the variation from
example to example is enormous.
I know of one Mark three that was rigged so badly that it was
unflyable. The builder mislocated the attachment point on one wing resulting
in several degrees difference in the incidence of the wings.
My current favorite example is a chucklehead at my local airport who
has a Firestar. He didn't build it, so I can't criticize him for that, but
the original builder had some fairly far out ideas. Apparently the builder
thought trim was a real big problem in kolbs because he built in electric
trim for the ailerons, elevator and rudder, operating off a very elaborate
stick grip that permits control in all three axes with a complicated set of
thumb switches. What is perhaps most interesting about this that the moving
trim tabs are huge and fabricated in aluminum with steel pushrods driving
them that are operated by MAC servo motors buried inside the respective
control surfaces.
(So picture this: here is the owner of this Firestar who has no
pilot's license, no ultralight training, and after 6 hours of instruction in
a 152 he decides he doesn't need any more training and is ready to fly his
plane. The airport hangers on and I gathered at the edge of the runway to
watch him as he wobbled into the air the first time. He was obviously so
wigged out that that he never came back on the throttle-- just kept it wide
open. His first 2 attempts at landing were sort of funny looking, and
apparently his anxiety level was rising, so on final on his third try he
simply turned off the ignition. He bounced and rolled to a stop unhurt.)
He is so proud of his electric trim. When he shows anyone the plane
he flips on the master switch and whizz whizz whizz, the servo motors
whirring away, moves the surfaces around with his thumb switches. When I
asked him if the original builder had done any engineering calculations or
testing relating to aerodynamic flutter as a result of moving the center of
gravity of the control surfaces backward because of the weight of the
aluminum tabs and the electric motors he looked at me like I had rained on
his fantasy parade. He got a little defensive and said, "Hey, I think it's
fine, and I haven't had any trouble with it." Hey, great.
I thought about trying to tell him that the Mark 2 had some elevator
flutter problems with a little itty bitty lightweight fabric covered trim
tab, but decided that he wasn't going to hear me so there wasn't much point.
There is no doubt in my mind that a "stock" Kolb will perform as
designed, but most builders find it hard to resist the urge to fiddle with
them.
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cessna21(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
Does anyone know the maximum allowable weight for the original Kolb Twinstar?
Thanks,
Tracy Briggs
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Christopher John Armstrong" <Tophera(at)centurytel.net> |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
> Keith and Group,
>
> I really doubt that some Kolbs are built less stable. Probably the
> difference is in pilot preference and skill levels. Kolbs do what they
> do well, but they are not everything to everybody.
>
> John Jung
the main thing here is cg position. a lot of fsII are aft cg, and with A
very light pilot become very tricky due to low pitch stability, the
difference to any GA plane is great. up near the forward end of cg range,
with a heavier pilot they become a bit easier to fly. It might be a good
idea for 1st timers to put some weight in the nose till they get use to it.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Dallas Shepherd" <cen23954(at)centurytel.net> |
Hello Kirk:
I have flown the jabiru 2200 for about 60 hours now and I'm very
pleased with it. Plenty of power on the Mark 3. You don't have to tinker
with the engine all the time once you are past the breakin point. Thats
checking valve clearance at 5-10-15 hours and doesn't take long. Using
about 3.3 gallons an hour at 27 to 28 hundred rpms. The 582 I had used 4.5
gallons an hour for 65 hp. Even at these lower rpms compared to the rotax,
you still get plenty of noise in the cockpit. Its a better sounding noise
though.
Dallas Shepherd
Norfork, Arkansas
Mark 3 / 2200 jabiru
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net> |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
My current favorite example is a chucklehead at my local airport who
has a Firestar. He didn't build it, so I can't criticize him for that, but
the original builder had some fairly far out ideas. Apparently the builder
thought trim was a real big problem in kolbs because he built in electric
trim for the ailerons, elevator and rudder, operating off a very elaborate
stick grip that permits control in all three axes with a complicated set of
thumb switches. What is perhaps most interesting about this that the moving
trim tabs are huge and fabricated in aluminum with steel pushrods driving
them that are operated by MAC servo motors buried inside the respective
control surfaces.
This is referred to as the "village idiot", the one guy that every knows has
broke all odds in still being alive and don't like to stand too close to him
for fear that his time could come any second and you don't want to be an
innocent bystander... fear him and unless you enjoy giving statements to the
NTSB DO NOT WATCH HIM FLY!
My $.02 worth...I know it sounds cold, but I have met the same type
guy...giving him advice will just make him mad and him won't listen anyway.
I have one close to me that is flying an airplane that is unbelievably aft
CG, because it has a 912 on an airframe designed for a 503 and even after
several people told him he was going to kill himself he still keeps flying
it and will not do a weight and balance. And he keeps wondering why the
tailwheel hits the ground so hard when he slows below about 50 on
landing...sigh.....
Jeremy Casey
jrcasey(at)ldl.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | RONATNIK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
Hi, Group:
It's me the newbie in Colorado who is responsible for starting this whole discusssion
on the FS II and its suitability for low time pilots.I just want to say
how much I appreciate all that I am learning from this and all the discussions
found at this site.
I am nowhere close to dismissing the FS II, but will need much more thought and
discussion before I decide to get one. I have to admit to being a little unnerved
at the almost uniform response I got from several FS II sellers who were
bailing out of their planes because they felt that it was beyond their skill levels.
For the record, my instructor, who is a BFI/AFI, was surprised to learn of these
experiences as he feels strongly in the Kolb's reputation and flyability.
So thank you group. I am a recovering analytical and determined to make a safe
choice for me. Any and all feedback is always appreciated and welcomed.
Oh, one other thing. I took a Sportair Workshop last weekend. It was a two day
affair in sheet metal. I learned a ton. I can measure, cut, drill and set a pretty
good rivet. I'm glad I did it because what I learned more than anything is
I'm not a builder. I want to fly. Nuts and bolts and maintenance is one thing.
500+ hours construction plus the $1,500-$2,000 in additional tools is another.
If I go Kolb, I go used!
Thanks, all.
Bob Blu
Littleton, CO
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Seitzer, Bettie (TEK Systems)" <Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com> |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
We made the same decision when Dale first decided that he wanted to switch
from GA training to ultralight training. We asked ourselves the critical
question - do we want to build a plane or fly a plane. The answer at that
time was easy - we wanted to fly. Decision made even easier because there
are plenty of used planes on the market.
On buying a used plane. If it is possible to get someone you know
who has experience in the type to test the plane you are considering, then
you would have an objective view of that particular plane as compared to
others. (Each plane does have its own personality) I know that there are
BFIs in this area who have done that for some of their students and friends.
A plane is a big investment and you get to live with it for a while so you
want to "meet" it before you fork over the cash.
Once you own the plane, there are things that can be adjusted and
fine-tuned, as long as you are confident of the basic design and the
construction of that particular plane.
My personal opinion is that the Kolb is easy to learn and easy to
fly. Like any other plane, you need to learn how it handles and practice
maneuvers. Start with basic maneuvers in calm weather and build up
complexity and get more adventurous with the weather. Let others be your
guide to the limits of weather when you are starting out. That is advice
that someone gave me and it has served me well.
That having been said - once you have a plane to fly in the good
weather, what's to stop you from having another one that you are building on
the days when you can't fly (if you are really interested in building your
own so that you know it was all "done right")
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
I can't comment on the FireStar but I can comment on the FireFly. For some
reason I had a harder time making the transition from a Citabria tail
dragger and occasional flights in my hangar mates N3-Pup. After going to a
field with long (3000 ft) wide run way and shooting 20 landing and
takeoffs, I got very very comfortable with it. Prior to that I was just
hanging on so to speak. I think the key is flying frequently and enough to
reach that competence point. Then your OK. My problem after that was
getting out of our FireFly. I'm short legged and each time I came to get
out, I always came close to falling on my face which discouraged me from
flying it. My hangar partner flys it and I fly something else now.
jerryb
>
>I've got a Firestar II for sale, but I'm not writing to advertise again. A
>prospective buyer (from this list, I believe) said he had inquired into
>several Firestar II's and the sellors almost uniformly said that the reason
>they were selling was that the plane was too much for them to handle
>comfortably - or too far ahead of their present skill level. I've got 100
>hours in ultralights and another 50 in "conventional." I've got a pp
>licence. But the above reason is why I'm selling. What are your thoughts
>on this. Is it possible that some of these are built less stable or
>something? I have never gotten the sense from the list that Kolbs are
>particularly hard or unusual to fly.
>
>Keith
>1998 Firestar II 130 TT
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Seitzer, Bettie (TEK Systems)" <Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com> |
| Subject: | Re: FireFly entrance troubles |
I am delighted to hear that I am not the only one who has a little acrobatic
act going just to get into the plane. I am a little short legged and stiff
in the knees and so there is a lifting of one leg, hopping closer and
pulling the other leg in while trying not to scrape all of the paint and
fabric off the frame while I drag the stiff knee in behind the windscreen.
Haven't figured out how to install a "gate" in the side of the plane to make
it easier. My old instructor used to put a milk crate out for me just to
make it easier. Thought about dragging that along behind but ruled it out
as too silly to be executed. Just talked to a guy yesterday who wants to
"fly one of those things". Since he was over 6 feet tall I had a hard time
picturing it - any of you guys that tall?
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Mike Pierzina" <planecrazzzy(at)lycos.com> |
| Subject: | Is this "HOOP" standard equip. ??? |
I was asking a guy about his "Ground Loop Hoop" for a Firestar II and this is what
he told me, does anybody have any more info on this?
SNIP>
Most Kolb owners at one time or another have gunned the engine a little too
much while sitting still on the ground. This quickly results in the nose
tipping down and some unpleasant and embarrasing damage! The steel hoop on
the bottom helps minimize the chance and cost of any such damage. I have
replaced mine once already by ordering from The New Kolb Aircraft Co. in
Kentucky. I think it was around $25.00. Once such incident is typically
enough to stop you from doing it again, but its always possible to hit the
throttle acidentally too. Applying full up elevator when revving tends to
force the tail down and keeps your nose up as well.
I bought my plane used, but always thought the hoop was standard equipment
that came in the kit. Regardless, should be easy to obtain one from TNK.
Make a difference, help support the relief efforts in the U.S.
http://clubs.lycos.com/live/events/september11.asp
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Kirk Smith" <snuffy(at)usol.com> |
Thanks Dallas......That sounds very good.....maybe I can get some more info
on your installation later. Got to head out of town for a couple of days
now.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dallas Shepherd" <cen23954(at)centurytel.net>
Subject: Kolb-List: jabiru
>
> Hello Kirk:
> I have flown the jabiru 2200 for about 60 hours now and I'm very
> pleased with it. Plenty of power on the Mark 3. You don't have to tinker
> with the engine all the time once you are past the breakin point. Thats
> checking valve clearance at 5-10-15 hours and doesn't take long. Using
> about 3.3 gallons an hour at 27 to 28 hundred rpms. The 582 I had used
4.5
> gallons an hour for 65 hp. Even at these lower rpms compared to the
rotax,
> you still get plenty of noise in the cockpit. Its a better sounding noise
> though.
> Dallas Shepherd
> Norfork, Arkansas
> Mark 3 / 2200 jabiru
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Is this "HOOP" standard equip. ??? |
Mike and Group,
The "HOOP" may have been standard on Mark II's ans III's. At least that
is where I have seen them. They were not standard on any versions of
Firestars. But from what the New Kolb tells me, Mark III's are much less
likely to be nosed over than a Firestar.
The original Firestars had a stronger nose cone that could take some
impact. The current nosecones can be damaged be even the easiest nose
over. Don't ask how I know. But now, my nose cone only looks like an
original on the outside. It is steel re-inforced.
John Jung
Mike Pierzina wrote:
>
>I was asking a guy about his "Ground Loop Hoop" for a Firestar II and this is
what he told me, does anybody have any more info on this?
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Twinstar Gross |
Tracy,
I don't know for sure, but it is probably 750 pounds. At least it isn't
more than that. The Mark II Twinstar was 750.
John Jung
Cessna21(at)aol.com wrote:
>
>Does anyone know the maximum allowable weight for the original Kolb Twinstar?
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tracy Briggs
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Richard Pike <richard(at)BCChapel.org> |
| Subject: | Re: Is this "HOOP" standard equip. ??? |
Kolbs are very adept at what we East Tennessee'rs call "rootin."
One of the reasons that Kolbs are easier to manage than most taildraggers
is that the main gear is further back than most. That keeps the center of
mass closer to the gear and helps keep the contraption from wanting to swap
ends, but it does make it susceptable to tipping up on it's nose.
On one of the early flights carring a passenger, my lovely wife and I had
taxied to the top of the hill, turned to line up for takeoff, and I set the
brakes, and eased the engine up into the powerband to make sure it was up
to snuff. Full aft stick, we ought to be OK, right? HAH! At 5300 RPM it
just lifted the tail up into the air and tipped up on it's nose just as
nice as you please. And once it got going up good, snatching the throttle
back to idle didn't help. And once it gets up on it's nose, being at idle
will not get it to come down.
(Did you ever sit in an airplane with your wife, that was perched up on
it's nose, and you both lean forward together, and then sit back real quick
to make it fall back? Looks really odd... And it doesn't work, either)
Until you turn the engine off, then it falls with a real clang.
And then we sat in it and laughed.
And then we looked around to see if any of the neighbors were watching.
Then I checked to see if the airspeed and pitot tube were bent or had grass
in them, (Nope, the Kolb Hoop saved the day) and then we went flying.
Richard Pike
MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
>
>I was asking a guy about his "Ground Loop Hoop" for a Firestar II and this
>is what he told me, does anybody have any more info on this?
>
>
>SNIP>
>
>Most Kolb owners at one time or another have gunned the engine a little too
>much while sitting still on the ground. This quickly results in the nose
>tipping down and some unpleasant and embarrasing damage! The steel hoop on
>the bottom helps minimize the chance and cost of any such damage. I have
>replaced mine once already by ordering from The New Kolb Aircraft Co. in
>Kentucky. I think it was around $25.00. Once such incident is typically
>enough to stop you from doing it again, but its always possible to hit the
>throttle acidentally too. Applying full up elevator when revving tends to
>force the tail down and keeps your nose up as well.
>
>I bought my plane used, but always thought the hoop was standard equipment
>that came in the kit. Regardless, should be easy to obtain one from TNK.
>
>
>Make a difference, help support the relief efforts in the U.S.
>http://clubs.lycos.com/live/events/september11.asp
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Is this "HOOP" standard equip. ??? |
| From: | ul15rhb(at)juno.com |
> Then I checked to see if the airspeed and pitot tube were bent or
> had grass
> in them, (Nope, the Kolb Hoop saved the day) and then we went
> flying.
>
> Richard Pike
> MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
I never installed a hoop underneath my Original Firestar and I've had it
on its nose many times. In the early days, the nose pod got damaged
because it was very thin. Since then, I've laid more fiberglass in there
and have a lot more experience in ground handling. It will go on its nose
when you are stuck in tall grass (or have any resistance under the mains)
when power is applied. With the wind behind you, it makes it even worse
as it gets under the elevator even though it's down.
It's still a little embarrassing to get out of the plane to make the tail
go down, but I have not had to do that for awhile.
Ralph Burlingame
Original Firestar
14 years flying it
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
I couldn't imagine an owner just letting anyone fly his airplane regardless
of how many hours they may claim they have. Furthermore you may not really
know there capability either. I could see the legal wheels rolling on this
now if "your" test pilot, crashed the airplane. If you tried to force me
to let him fly it or you would not buy it, I would tell you to go find some
other fool. When I have the check in hand, you can fly the plane. That
way if he busts the airplane, it yours. That's the real world with single
place airplanes.
I do agree you should have another knowledgeable builder look it over. You
can be looking at the most beautiful plane on the outside but underneath it
may hide the poorest aircraft quality workmanship there is on the other
hand there are those that aren't as shinny, but have excellent aircraft
construction workmanship.
jerryb
>
>
>We made the same decision when Dale first decided that he wanted to switch
>from GA training to ultralight training. We asked ourselves the critical
>question - do we want to build a plane or fly a plane. The answer at that
>time was easy - we wanted to fly. Decision made even easier because there
>are plenty of used planes on the market.
> On buying a used plane. If it is possible to get someone you know
>who has experience in the type to test the plane you are considering, then
>you would have an objective view of that particular plane as compared to
>others. (Each plane does have its own personality) I know that there are
>BFIs in this area who have done that for some of their students and friends.
>A plane is a big investment and you get to live with it for a while so you
>want to "meet" it before you fork over the cash.
> Once you own the plane, there are things that can be adjusted and
>fine-tuned, as long as you are confident of the basic design and the
>construction of that particular plane.
> My personal opinion is that the Kolb is easy to learn and easy to
>fly. Like any other plane, you need to learn how it handles and practice
>maneuvers. Start with basic maneuvers in calm weather and build up
>complexity and get more adventurous with the weather. Let others be your
>guide to the limits of weather when you are starting out. That is advice
>that someone gave me and it has served me well.
>
> That having been said - once you have a plane to fly in the good
>weather, what's to stop you from having another one that you are building on
>the days when you can't fly (if you are really interested in building your
>own so that you know it was all "done right")
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | George Alexander <gtalexander(at)att.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Entrance troubles |
bob n wrote:
>
>
> Jerry,
>
> You say ...........
<<>>
Bettie, Jerry & Grey Baron:
I also have a problem with accessing my Original Firestar.
My problem relates to stiff joints, a 6'3" frame (most of
which is legs), an ample mid-section and Size 13 boats at
the end of those legs.
With the standard wind screen, it was almost impossible to
fold up enough to swing the legs and feet into the cockpit
without doing serious damage on the way in.
My solution was to to take the windscreen off and build a
frame for it using 3/8" brake line. The frame is hoops on
the front and rear and straight pieces on the bottom of both
sides. (Frame follows the outside edge shape of the
windscreen when in place.) Used gussets cut from sheet
aluminum on all four corners. Attached a piano hinge to the
left side bottom of the frame and attached to the points
where the wind screen was originally secured to the cockpit
left side. For securing in the closed position, a 1" high
tab riveted to the right side of the cockpit that slips
between the windscreen and the frame and then a length of
Velcro(don't have one of those Registered TM thingys) to act
as the latch. Everything is done with pop rivets.
While it would never pass NASA QC inspections, I believe it
to be safe and functional. Works great for me.
If anyone wants, I'll take some pictures.
Fun, Safe Flying!
George Alexander
Original Firestar
http://gtalexander.home.att.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: FireFly entrance troubles |
In previous post back to Bob I forgot to mention the reason for this is I'm
short legged which means when exiting I can't quite touch the ground with
my first leg while straddling the side. It's kind of like trying to
straddle a motor cross bike that's on an upgrade or across a valley. I
then have to lean over and go for it at which point if I don't land perfect
on that, I go on my face. So far I have been lucky but I came close a few
times.
As for the 6 foot guy interested in a FireFly, I don't recommend it unless
he wants his head up between the wings pushing on the wing root cover. My
partner is 5'10" and approaching the limit. My partner being taller can
get in and out easier, he can just step over the side. Nothing to it for
him. He used to laugh watch me. I still like the airplane though.
jerryb
>
>
>I am delighted to hear that I am not the only one who has a little acrobatic
>act going just to get into the plane. I am a little short legged and stiff
>in the knees and so there is a lifting of one leg, hopping closer and
>pulling the other leg in while trying not to scrape all of the paint and
>fabric off the frame while I drag the stiff knee in behind the windscreen.
>Haven't figured out how to install a "gate" in the side of the plane to make
>it easier. My old instructor used to put a milk crate out for me just to
>make it easier. Thought about dragging that along behind but ruled it out
>as too silly to be executed. Just talked to a guy yesterday who wants to
>"fly one of those things". Since he was over 6 feet tall I had a hard time
>picturing it - any of you guys that tall?
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Twinstar Gross |
>
I weigh 185 lbs. I do not like to take up a passenger over 230 lbs. I
did take a 300 pounder up once and called myself stupid the whole flight.
Over the 230 passenger weight I have trouble keeping the nose from digging
into the ground as I accelerate. Those head stands are embarrasing.
Been flying the Twinstar since 1992
> >Does anyone know the maximum allowable weight for the original Kolb
> Twinstar?
> >
> >
>
> > Thanks,
> >
>
> > Tracy Briggs
> >
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Terra Transponder Now Trimble |
Got looking back at some messages I hadn't had time to read. I came across
this one that indicates Terra is out of business. That's not totally
correct, they were bought out by Trimble and are now doing business under
that name.
http://www.trimble.com/PRODUCTS/PDF/trt250d.pdf
jerryb
>
>
> > Also I would like to hear from Kolbers that have installed
> >transponders.
> >What kind they have and the opinion of all on both of these subjects.
> > Contact me on or off list. Thanks
> > Bill Futrell
>I have a Terra Transponder, and it works great. Flip flop LED display,
>easy to install, very compact. But they are out of business now, so
>probably not a good choice.
>Richard Pike
>MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Randy Berry" <sc_bassman(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Entry Abrasion Solution? |
Yes, although I am almost 6', I have experience some minor problems with
entry and exit from my Kolb Firestar KXP also. It's already showing some signs
of wear, and I am concerned that I might eventually wear the fabric sufficiently
to cause problems. One of my friends took a piece of black rubber hose (the
kind you find at Lowe's), slit it lengthwise, wrapped
it over the entry side member and glued it in place (over the original fabric).
It fit and holds nicely and seems to work well for the intended purpose. I
have been thinking about doing the same thing, except with a piece of clear plastic
vinyl type tubing (to allow the original paint color to show through) ...
perhaps without any glue, since that is where my arms naturally rest anyway.
Comments?
Randy
Firestar KXP
SC
----- Original Message -----
From: jerryb
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Re: FireFly entrance troubles
This may not be humorous to others Bob but I broke out laughing while
reading your message. I could swear you were describing my typical entry.
One thing we did do was put some material on the side bar to reduce
abrasion or damage to the fabric as you enter or exit the aircraft.Get mo
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
Randy,
How about using some of the clear book binding tape that is used for gap
seals. It seems to be pretty wear resistant and has a strong adhesive.
Other wise they would not use it on books. Also, it would add very little
weight to the plane.
I have been using an air brush to keep mine looking decent but I believe
the clear tape may be the way to go.
Jack B. Hart FF004
Jackson, MO
>
>Yes, although I am almost 6', I have experience some minor problems with
>entry and exit from my Kolb Firestar KXP also. It's already showing some> signs
of wear, and I am concerned that I might eventually wear the fabri>c sufficiently
to cause problems. One of my friends took a piece of blac>k rubber hose
(the kind you find at Lowe's), slit it lengthwise, wrapped
>it over the entry side member and glued it in place (over the original fa>bric).
It fit and holds nicely and seems to work well for the intended p>urpose.
I have been thinking about doing the same thing, except with a p>iece of clear
plastic vinyl type tubing (to allow the original paint colo>r to show through)
... perhaps without any glue, since that is where my a>rms naturally rest anyway.
Comments?
>
>Randy
>Firestar KXP
>SC
>----- Original Message -----
>From: jerryb
>To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
>Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Re: FireFly entrance troubles
>
>
>This may not be humorous to others Bob but I broke out laughing while
>reading your message. I could swear you were describing my typical entry>.
>One thing we did do was put some material on the side bar to reduce
>abrasion or damage to the fabric as you enter or exit the aircraft.Get mo>
>
Jack & Louise Hart
jbhart(at)ldd.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cessna21(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Twinstar Gross |
Thanks,
I would like to find someone with the original weight and balance sheet!
Thanks Again,
Tracy
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Possum <possums(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
>
>Randy,
>
>How about using some of the clear book binding tape that is used for gap
>seals. It seems to be pretty wear resistant and has a strong adhesive.
>Other wise they would not use it on books. Also, it would add very little
>weight to the plane.
I have been using a strip of black stair step "anti-slip" material from
Home Depot or Lowes. It is very wear resistant and has a very strong adhesive
backing. It will also not interfere with the windshield like some other
things might.
It will however wear a hole in your pants where your wallet is
if you get in and out a lot. You can cut it to wrap around the top half tube
or down the side of the fabric as far as you want to go. Been on the
"Possumobile"
for 2 1/2 years, and on my old Firestar for years before that.
On right side tube in picture below
http://www.mindspring.com/~possums/Instpanel-brakes.jpg
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
You might be able to use clear silicon sealer to hold it.
jerryb
>
>Yes, although I am almost 6', I have experience some minor problems with
>entry and exit from my Kolb Firestar KXP also. It's already showing some> signs
of wear, and I am concerned that I might eventually wear the fabri>c sufficiently
to cause problems. One of my friends took a piece of blac>k rubber hose
(the kind you find at Lowe's), slit it lengthwise, wrapped
>it over the entry side member and glued it in place (over the original fa>bric).
It fit and holds nicely and seems to work well for the intended p>urpose.
I have been thinking about doing the same thing, except with a p>iece of clear
plastic vinyl type tubing (to allow the original paint colo>r to show through)
... perhaps without any glue, since that is where my a>rms naturally rest anyway.
Comments?
>
>Randy
>Firestar KXP
>SC
>----- Original Message -----
>From: jerryb
>To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
>Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Re: FireFly entrance troubles
>
>
>This may not be humorous to others Bob but I broke out laughing while
>reading your message. I could swear you were describing my typical entry>.
>One thing we did do was put some material on the side bar to reduce
>abrasion or damage to the fabric as you enter or exit the aircraft.Get mo>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | DMe5430944(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | FF entry and exit |
If you want real acrobatics try the FF with full enclosure. I'm 5' 11" 174
lbs, pretty flexible but the first time I got in my FF with full enclosure I
thought I was going to have to call 911 for help. Now I have the full
enclosure in storage, with a short windshield, no problem getting in or out.
Don Mekeel FF 002
El Paso, Texas
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
Hmmmm.............black knob for gas, red knob must be the bomb release, red
button for machine guns...........????
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Possum" <possums(at)mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Entry Abrasion Solution?
>
> >
> >Randy,
> >
> >How about using some of the clear book binding tape that is used for gap
> >seals. It seems to be pretty wear resistant and has a strong adhesive.
> >Other wise they would not use it on books. Also, it would add very
little
> >weight to the plane.
>
>
> I have been using a strip of black stair step "anti-slip" material from
> Home Depot or Lowes. It is very wear resistant and has a very strong
adhesive
> backing. It will also not interfere with the windshield like some other
> things might.
> It will however wear a hole in your pants where your wallet is
> if you get in and out a lot. You can cut it to wrap around the top half
tube
> or down the side of the fabric as far as you want to go. Been on the
> "Possumobile"
> for 2 1/2 years, and on my old Firestar for years before that.
>
> On right side tube in picture below
>
> http://www.mindspring.com/~possums/Instpanel-brakes.jpg
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Thumb" <Bill-Jo(at)prodigy.net> |
Hello Kolbers
I would like to hear from anyone that has installed a fuel gauge and
sending unit using the standard Kolb fuel tanks.I need to know what
brand and how they installed the sending unit in one of the tanks.
Thanks and contact me off list.
BF
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Ron or Mary" <ronormar(at)apex.net> |
I am getting close to putting all my pieces together. Finished painting
yesterday. On a FireStar, do you have to install the gap seal all the way
from the wing root or just between the aileron and the trailing edge of the
wing? No flaps on these. I guess I am asking if this seal is needed
between the aileron torque tube and the trailing edge of the wing?
Ron Payne
Gilbertsville. Ky.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Guy Swenson" <guys(at)rrt.net> |
Ron and List,
While I was in Oshkosh I asked Ray, (TNK shop Mgr.) that same question. He
said the only place gap seals are needed is on the control surface itself
not on the bare tube from the wing root to the aileron, and that was how all
the factory aircraft were set up. Hope this helps.
Guy S.
Mark III Xtra (Getting ready to paint)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron or Mary" <ronormar(at)apex.net>
Subject: Kolb-List: Gap Seal
>
> I am getting close to putting all my pieces together. Finished painting
> yesterday. On a FireStar, do you have to install the gap seal all the way
> from the wing root or just between the aileron and the trailing edge of
the
> wing? No flaps on these. I guess I am asking if this seal is needed
> between the aileron torque tube and the trailing edge of the wing?
>
> Ron Payne
> Gilbertsville. Ky.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Richard Swiderski" <swiderskir(at)earthlink.net> |
Ron,
My SlingShot's gap seal also is only over the aileron. I a am going to
continue it the entire legnth of the tube as there has to be a large
disturbance of air moving between the wing & the tube, since the high
pressure air is trying to make its way to the low pressure on top, its not
going to wait & go all the way to the end of the tube if it can find a
shortcut & that shortcut,between the wing & the tube, is going to show
itself as induced drag. It may not be as signficant as the aileron area,
but I believe it is still worth the little trouble it takes to do the whole
length. ...Richard Swiderski
----- Original Message -----
From: "Guy Swenson" <guys(at)rrt.net>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Gap Seal
>
> Ron and List,
> While I was in Oshkosh I asked Ray, (TNK shop Mgr.) that same question.
He
> said the only place gap seals are needed is on the control surface itself
> not on the bare tube from the wing root to the aileron, and that was how
all
> the factory aircraft were set up. Hope this helps.
> Guy S.
> Mark III Xtra (Getting ready to paint)
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ron or Mary" <ronormar(at)apex.net>
> To: "Kolb"
> Subject: Kolb-List: Gap Seal
>
>
> >
> > I am getting close to putting all my pieces together. Finished painting
> > yesterday. On a FireStar, do you have to install the gap seal all the
way
> > from the wing root or just between the aileron and the trailing edge of
> the
> > wing? No flaps on these. I guess I am asking if this seal is needed
> > between the aileron torque tube and the trailing edge of the wing?
> >
> > Ron Payne
> > Gilbertsville. Ky.
> >
> >
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
Come on guys. We are talking ultralights here. Ultralights need a piece
of duct tape on it some where or it just won't fly. How about putting a
piece on the cockpit side member.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Randy Berry" <sc_bassman(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
Well ........ maybe white (i.e. matching) duct tape :-)
Randy
Firestar KXP
SC
----- Original Message -----
From: Woody
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Entry Abrasion Solution?
Come on guys. We are talking ultralights here. Ultralights need a piece
of duct tape on it some where or it just won't fly. How about putting a
r download : http://explorer.msn.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Rayfield, Bill" <brayfield(at)kcc.com> |
| Subject: | Entry Abrasion Solution? |
Yesterday, while at the TNK factory, I noticed that all the demo planes use
a piece of aluminum tubing on the entrance/exit tube. The tube is not very
thick, and the ID just fits over the OD of the steel fuse tube. The AL tube
is cut in half lengthwise, so that it caps the top of the steel tube, over
the favbric. It can be polished to look good.
While there, we (my father Don, and I) got a ride in the factory Kolbra
(awesome) and bought the remains of the original prototype Kolbra (with the
original nose) which is basically just the cockpit, along with a new
wing/tail kit. We are very happy. Now we have two Kolbs that haven't
flown!
-----Original Message-----
From: Randy Berry
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Entry Abrasion Solution?
Well ........ maybe white (i.e. matching) duct tape :-)
Randy
Firestar KXP
SC
----- Original Message -----
From: Woody
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Entry Abrasion Solution?
Come on guys. We are talking ultralights here. Ultralights need a
piece
of duct tape on it some where or it just won't fly. How about putting a
r download : http://explorer.msn.com
This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only and may contain privileged,
confidential, or proprietary information that is exempt from disclosure
under law. If you have received this message in error, please inform us promptly
by reply e-mail, then delete the e-mail and destroy any printed copy.
Thank you.
==============================================================================
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
Group,
One of the changes that I noticed to the factory demo planes, after The
New Kolb purchase, was that the gas tanks had new vents. They were
vented through a gas line that went down to below the bottom of the
tanks. It reminded me of the vents on acid batteries, so that acid
doesn't run out if it should be turned up-side-down. I assumed that was
the reason and decided that I should make the change to my Firestar.
Well, I finally did the change this last summer, but never mentioned it
to the list. All it took to make the change was to add an elbow and
rubber gromet to the handle section of the tank, and put a screw in the
vent hole in the cap. Then, some fuel line needed to be routed to
bottom. Now, if I ever find myself up-side-down in my plane, fuel will
not be running out the vents. Just something to consider.
John Jung
Firestar II N6163J
http://jrjung.0catch.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
| From: | ul15rhb(at)juno.com |
> Come on guys. We are talking ultralights here. Ultralights need a
> piece of duct tape on it some where or it just won't fly. How about
> putting a piece on the cockpit side member.
The tubing to my ASI was duct taped for years to the underside of the
nose pod until these neat little adhesive cable tie things came on the
market.
Ralph Burlingame
Original Firestar
14 years flying it
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Mike Pierzina" <planecrazzzy(at)lycos.com> |
| Subject: | GOOD NEWS but monitor 121.5 while inside class B |
AOPA ePilot Special Edition October 14, 2001
==> MOST VFR FLIGHTS TO RESUME IN 15 OF 30 ENHANCED CLASS B AREAS <==
Late Saturday night the FAA issued a notam permitting most VFR flight
operations in 15 of 30 enhanced Class B (ECB) airspace areas. The full
text of the notam is provided below. It is less restrictive than
originally thought, and permits VFR operations subject to the
following conditions:
--Aircraft flying inside ECB airspace must have an operating
transponder and squawk VFR code (1200).
--Aircraft without a transponder must obtain a waiver for each
flight from the air traffic control facility responsible for the
ECB airspace.
--Aircraft must monitor the "guard" frequency of 121.5 MHz
(if equipped) while flying within ECB airspace.
The notam will become effective at 1100Z (7 a.m. Eastern time) on
Monday, October 15, for Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri;
Memphis, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; and St. Louis, Missouri.
On Tuesday, October 16, the following ECB airspaces will be opened
at 1100Z (7 a.m. Eastern time): Cleveland, Ohio; Dallas-Ft. Worth,
Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Phoenix, Arizona.
And on Wednesday, October 17, at 1100Z (7 a.m. Eastern time) the
following airspace will be opened to VFR operations: Charlotte,
North Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio/Covington, Kentucky; Salt Lake City,
Utah; Seattle, Washington; and Tampa, Florida.
The notam will also ask pilots to operate their aircraft in a "normal"
manner, avoiding circling or loitering. The FAA continues to prohibit
news and traffic reporting flights, sightseeing operations, banner
towing, and airship/blimp operations inside enhanced Class B airspace.
AOPA is continuing to push for the restoration of these flight
operations.
Plans to open the remaining 15 ECB areas are under way, but no
timelines have been established yet. AOPA understands that security
at the airports inside these ECB areas will be key to the return of
VFR operations. Friday afternoon, senior AOPA staff attended a
meeting on groundside security that may eventually play a role in
the release of the second group of ECB areas. Andrew V. Cebula, AOPA
senior vice president of Government and Technical Affairs, discussed
with FAA security officials possible changes that would enable VFR
operations in those areas.
"We won't rest until the last VFR aircraft is flying," said AOPA
President Phil Boyer. "We know some things will change, but our goal
is to restore all general aviation operations to where we were before
the attack while maintaining reasonable levels of security."
The full text of Saturday night's notam is below. While this is an
official FDC notam, AOPA reminds pilots to check the latest notams
prior to any flight operations. In recent weeks, some notams have
been modified repeatedly or rescinded. AOPA will continue to post
updates promptly on AOPA Online ( http://www.aopa.org/ ).
FDC 1/1225 SPECIAL NOTICE
NEW NOTAM RE VFR INSIDE ECB
FOR REASONS OF NATIONAL SECURITY, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 15, 2001,
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, PURSUANT TO TITLE 14 CFR PART 91.139 THE
FOLLOWING EMERGENCY AIR TRAFFIC RULES ARE IN EFFECT:
U.S. REGISTERED AIRCRAFT CONDUCTING PART 91 AND PART 137 VFR
OPERATIONS ARE AUTHORIZED TO OPERATE INSIDE "ENHANCED CLASS B
AIRSPACE" AS SPECIFIED IN THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS:
1) DEFINITION REPEATED: "ENHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE" REFERS TO
THE CLASS B AIRSPACE AND THAT AIRSPACE UNDERLYING AND
OVERLYING THE CLASS B AIRSPACE FROM THE SURFACE TO FL180.
THIS DEFINITION DOES NOT CHANGE THE ASSOCIATED RULES AND/OR
SERVICES PRESCRIBED FOR CLASS B AIRSPACE. ADDITIONALLY,
THIS DEFINITION DOES NOT CHANGE THE ASSOCIATED RULES AND/OR
SERVICES PRESCRIBED FOR THE UNDERLYING/OVERLYING AIRSPACE.
2) THE FOLLOWING OPERATIONS ARE NOT AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS
PROVISION AND REMAIN PROHIBITED FROM OPERATING VFR IN
"ENHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE": NEWS REPORTING, TRAFFIC WATCH,
CIVIL AIRCRAFT BANNER TOWING, SIGHTSEEING (IN ROTORCRAFT
AND AIRPLANES) CONDUCTED FOR COMPENSATION OR HIRE (UNDER
PART 91, PURSUANT TO THE EXCEPTION IN 119.1(E)(2)), AND
AIRSHIP/BLIMP OPERATIONS.
3) AIRCRAFT MUST OPERATE USING A CODED RADAR BEACON TRANSPONDER
AT ALL TIMES WITHIN THE "ENHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE", USING
NORMAL VFR CODES, I.E. 1200.
4) CAPABLE AIRCRAFT MUST MONITOR THE GUARD FREQUENCY ON 121.5/
243.0 AT ALL TIMES WITHIN THE "ENHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE".
5) APPROVAL/WAIVER TO OPERATE WITHOUT A CODED RADAR BEACON
TRANSPONDER MUST BE OBTAINED PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT, AND ON A
FLIGHT-BY-FLIGHT BASIS, FROM THE LOCAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
FACILITY CONTROLLING THE AFFECTED "ENHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE".
6) EFFECTIVE MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2001, AT 1100 UTC, OPERATIONS
ARE APPROVED AS DESCRIBED ABOVE IN THE FOLLOWING "ENHANCED
CLASS B AIRSPACE": HOUSTON, TX; KANSAS CITY, MO; MEMPHIS, TN;
NEW ORLEANS, LA, AND; ST. LOUIS, MO.
7) EFFECTIVE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2001, AT 1100 UTC, OPERATIONS
ARE APPROVED AS DESCRIBED ABOVE IN THE FOLLOWING
"ENHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE": CLEVELAND, OH; DALLAS-FORT WORTH,
TX; HONOLULU, HI; MINNEAPOLIS, MN, AND; PHOENIX, AZ.
8) EFFECTIVE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2001, AT 1100 UTC, OPERAT-
IONS ARE APPROVED AS DESCRIBED ABOVE IN THE FOLLOWING
"ENHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE": CHARLOTTE, NC; CINCINNATI, OH/
COVINGTON, KY; SALT LAKE CITY, UT; SEATTLE, WA, AND;
TAMPA, FL.
VFR PILOTS IN "ENCHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE" ARE ENCOURAGED TO
OPERATE THEIR AIRCRAFT IN A NORMAL MANNER, AVOIDING AEROBATICS,
LOITERING OR CIRCLING, AND UNPREDICTABLE FLIGHT PATHS. PILOTS
ARE URGED TO CHECK NOTICES TO AIRMEN (NOTAMS) AND CALL THE LOCAL
FLIGHT SERVICE STATION AT 1-800-WX-BRIEF PRIOR TO EACH FLIGHT.
END
---
Sometimes you just have to take the leap
and build your wings on the way down...
Gotta Fly...
Make a difference, help support the relief efforts in the U.S.
http://clubs.lycos.com/live/events/september11.asp
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "John Anderson" <janderson3(at)nc.rr.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Stall Characteristics |
Recently installed Votex Generators on my UltraStar and just got a chance to
try them out my results are:
Prior to Vortex generators:
Take off and stall both 35 mph according to my ASI. No power stall very
little or no warning, nose just drops through ease off the stick and starts
to fly again. Cruise power a LOT of warning, accelerated sink and a lot of
buffeting of the wing, nose falls through at 35 mph.
WITH vortex generators: My plane now flys untill 31 mph, the nose does not
drop, it just goes into mush with rapid sink, the plane still responds to
aleron input. This is true both with power off and at cruise throttle. I
was excited. My stick was full back and noticed that it was pegged - I have
never had my stick pegged full back. Readjusted my stick may be able to
another degree or two of deflection from the elevator now....
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
Hey Bill
Andy used the skysports senders and the EIS display. We just dropped
it through the top of the tank.
Dick
> Hello Kolbers
>
> I would like to hear from anyone that has installed a fuel gauge and
>sending unit using the standard Kolb fuel tanks.I need to know what
>brand and how they installed the sending unit in one of the tanks.
> Thanks and contact me off list.
> BF
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | WillUribe(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Check out A Sunday at West Texas Airport |
Click here: A Sunday at West Texas Airport
http://home.elp.rr.com/airplane/Sunday/Page1.html
Enjoy
Will Uribe
El Paso, TX
FireStar II N4GU
C-172 N2506U
http://home.elp.rr.com/airplane/
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Randy Berry" <sc_bassman(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
That's another good idea. However, I did try the clear vinyl tubing idea... without
glue. Used one of those little razor knives to slit it down
the middle. It seems to fit the tube just right and form fitting the tube. Tucked
the front end just under the edge of the nosecone. And if I ever want to
replace it, just peel it off and put on a new one. Cost me about $1.20 for 4
feet.
----- Original Message -----
From: Rayfield, Bill
Subject: RE: Kolb-List: Entry Abrasion Solution?
Yesterday, while at the TNK factory, I noticed that all the demo planes use
a piece of aluminum tubing on the entrance/exit tube. The tube is not very
thick, and the ID just fits over the OD of the steel fuse tube. The AL tube
is cut in half lengthwise, so that it caps the top of the steel tube, over
the favbric. It can be polished to look good.Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
I just seen some white in store some where.
I found some red that matched our Citabria perfect (GA airplane)
Drove our AI nuts when he seen that it matched perfect. Just knowing we
had it made him give it a through look over to relieve his fears.
jerryb
>
>Well ........ maybe white (i.e. matching) duct tape :-)
>
>Randy
>Firestar KXP
>SC
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Woody
>To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
>Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Entry Abrasion Solution?
>
>
> Come on guys. We are talking ultralights here. Ultralights need a piec>e
>of duct tape on it some where or it just won't fly. How about putting a
>r download : http://explorer.msn.com
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Check out A Sunday at West Texas Airport |
Will,
Looked at your pictures and noticed that you were holding in the battery
with a few cable ties. That's a lot of weight for them to hold back under
high G-forces such as during a crash. You might have survived if it
weren't for the battery in the back of your head. I would suggest you go
to the hardware store and get enough 1" web strap and buckle for at lease
one if not two straps for going around the battery and the tray. A couple
of tie wrap be sides for an added measure of comfort. The straps would
also allow you to remove and reinstall the battery at some later date.
jerryb
>
> Click here:
> A Sunday at West Texas Airport
>
>http://home.elp.rr.com/airplane/Sunday/Page1.html
>
>Enjoy
>Will Uribe
>El Paso, TX
>FireStar II N4GU
>C-172 N2506U
>http://home.elp.rr.com/airplane/
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Gas tank vents |
Fuel Tank Vent - I got tired of having fuel fumes in the cockpit so took
action. I purchased a metal valve stem assembly for a wheel at a NAPA auto
parts or any large tire industrial/truck tire center. (There used on metal
wheels like farm wagons.) While the typical rubber auto stem might work,
stay with the metal one.) This assembly includes a threaded metal valve
stem having a large flat washer at it's base the size of a nickel or
quarter, a washer which goes on the outside of the tank, a nut to secure
it, and 2 different size rubber bushings which seal the hole. They range
from $3-$4 per kit.
Remove the valve core from the stem. Install the value stem at top most
part of the tank. Attach 1/4" tubing to it and route the vent line down
side of the tank. It must be lower than the bottom to prevent leakage
should the tank become inverted such as if the airplane were to over
turn. Works like a champ. If interested see suggested installation steps
below.
Stop here unless your interested in suggested installation steps:
A. Using a valve core removal tool, remove the valve core. The stem
should have about an 1/8" dia. hole thru the flat washer at the stem
base. You might have to drill it a little. You don't want a huge hole in
case if the tank were to become inverted, you wouldn't want fuel rushing
out but being the vent it needs to be of adequate size to allow air in at
the rate the fuel is being consumed so as not to create a vacuum on the
fuel pump.
B. Locate the point for the hole - read this entire step first: See if
you can find a high point on your tank you can reach thru the tank lid
opening. (Keep in mind where air spaces would be if the tank were full
when sitting on the ground and in the air.) You will need to insert the
stem from the inside the tank, and then put on the bushing, washer and
retaining nut. If you would be unable to reach thru the lid opening to
insert the valve, try this untested method that should work. It's similar
to the method used to install fuel probes in tanks. Of course this
shouldn't be much problem on the Hawks 5 gallon tanks since they have Chuck
size openings. Note, if necessary the valve stem can be tighten from
outside the tank. A step drill works best for making the hole.
C. Take a piece of strong string, past one end thru the hole you drilled
and fish it out of the tank lid opening while keeping the other end from
slipping inside. On the end you just fished out, thread on the valve stem
(valve cap end first) and then tie something like a small screw to the
string while keeping adequate length outside to allow it being pulled out
thru the lid opening later. On the other end coming outside thru the
drilled hole, thread on the rubber bushing small dia. towards the tank,
followed by the washer and then the nut. Tighten the nut to produce a
seal, don't over tighten. (My thought is to put as much of the rubber on
the outside to protect it from fuel exposure.)
D. Connect 1/4" tubing to the valve stem and route out board. I routed
mine parallel to my fuel lines and down and out the rear lower bulk head
between the fabric and the cage tubing. At the exit point I used a short
3" piece of 1/4" OD aluminum tubing to prevent being pinched closed. It is
import that the vent line routed to past the lowest part of the tank
(bottom) in the event it should become inverted such as if the airplane
were to over turn.so fuel would not leak out. Works like a champ.
* * * Warning * * *
Exercise extreme caution while working on any fuel tank which is empty and
has recently contained fuel. The right combination of fuel vapor and air
make them potential bombs. If your going to be doing much work with a tank
that has recently had fuel in it, fill it full of water to force out the
air containing fumes. Take static prevention precautions.
>
>Group,
>
>One of the changes that I noticed to the factory demo planes, after The
>New Kolb purchase, was that the gas tanks had new vents. They were
>vented through a gas line that went down to below the bottom of the
>tanks. It reminded me of the vents on acid batteries, so that acid
>doesn't run out if it should be turned up-side-down. I assumed that was
>the reason and decided that I should make the change to my Firestar.
>Well, I finally did the change this last summer, but never mentioned it
>to the list. All it took to make the change was to add an elbow and
>rubber gromet to the handle section of the tank, and put a screw in the
>vent hole in the cap. Then, some fuel line needed to be routed to
>bottom. Now, if I ever find myself up-side-down in my plane, fuel will
>not be running out the vents. Just something to consider.
>
>John Jung
>Firestar II N6163J
>http://jrjung.0catch.com
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Peter Volum" <PVolum(at)etsmiami.com> |
I went through the same thought process when I "upgraded" the tanks on my Mk
III, but not before first making a mistake.
The older tanks had hollow handles into which one was supposed to drill a
hole to connect the vent plug that the fuel line connects to. (The Xtra demo
plane has this set-up).
Trouble is, the tanks I received from Kolb had SOLID handles. When I
drilled, the bit went all the way through without stopping in the middle.
No serious harm, but... if you change tanks, save yourself the trouble of
trying to drill through the handles and put the vent attachment hole
somewhere elsewhere on the top of the tank.
Peter Volum
Group,
One of the changes that I noticed to the factory demo planes, after The
New Kolb purchase, was that the gas tanks had new vents. They were
vented through a gas line that went down to below the bottom of the
tanks. It reminded me of the vents on acid batteries, so that acid
doesn't run out if it should be turned up-side-down. I assumed that was
the reason and decided that I should make the change to my Firestar.
Well, I finally did the change this last summer, but never mentioned it
to the list. All it took to make the change was to add an elbow and
rubber gromet to the handle section of the tank, and put a screw in the
vent hole in the cap. Then, some fuel line needed to be routed to
bottom. Now, if I ever find myself up-side-down in my plane, fuel will
not be running out the vents. Just something to consider.
John Jung
Firestar II N6163J
http://jrjung.0catch.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | dale seitzer <dalemseitzer(at)yahoo.com> |
We have found a Mark II for sale and wonder if anyone
out there has seen the plane or has additional
information. Built in 1993 by William "Pete" Swan
from Michigan. He flew it for 200 hours, it was N
numbered --but then took it apart, removed the fabric
and donated it to the local EAA chapter. It was
bought by John Sherlock from Gladwin Michigan who
removed the brushed paint on the frame, had it
powdercoated and recovered and repainted it. (It was
originally hand painted and looked good from a
distance only). The former owner would give very
little info about the plane only to say he liked the
plane and it flew well and he went on to build a
Kitfox Lite which he currently flies. It currently
has a newer 582 with a B box and GSC prop. It is
built sparsely and John Sherlock says it weighs 469
empty. It has the center stick, no trim and a
modified full encloseure. The pictures look good but
I would like more info. John said he has rebuilt or
built 14 planes--anyone know another plane fixed up
buy him?
The real big news is I sold my original Firestar on
Sat. and now we are looking for another plane to
provide instruction in. David Rothen from the Cherry
Grove Airport in Wannamingo Minnesota is the proud
owner--I encouraged him to check out the Kolb list
archives and join the group. Dave flew a Starflight
for 5 years and then a T Bird II for 2 years. It
was sad to see the plane go -- we had been through
alot together but it is time to move on--Bettie and I
had flown it 95 hours since April when I put the newer
engine on--we had a great summer.
Any info on the builder or plane is welcomed.
Dale Seitzer, no plane for the moment.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Seitzer, Bettie (TEK Systems)" <Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com> |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
I guess I wasn't clear on the testing thing. I agree that I would not let
someone test my single place plane until they had paid for it. However, I
would want to fly the most similar two place plane with an instructor in the
plane. We test flew a Rans this way and it was very informative. We are
hoping to buy a Mark III and will have the luxury of being able to fly with
the current owner for a demo ride. Single place buyers are at a significant
disadvantage in having to buy a plane before they test it. Cost of doing
business. Transitioning into a new plane is a good thing to talk over with
other pilots. I have received excellent advice from two of the instructors
that I have worked with (Bruce Borg and Nick at Wings) and ask other people
about that when I get the chance.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Christopher John Armstrong" <Tophera(at)centurytel.net> |
| Subject: | Entry Abrasion Solution? Engine mount stack up and the evil |
toe in problem
Several places sell a wing walk material that is not the sand paper textured
stuff of old but a sort of rubbery slip resistant mat. I think if t might
be a great solution.
I have put my engine up on the plane and am fiddling around with the height
and tail boom clearance issue, and the large washers that supposedly hold
the engine if you have a rubber mount failure. On a fsII what is considered
the correct sequence of parts. Rubber mount long side up or down? From the
engine down how do you stack it? I currently have rubber long side up
because the tail boom to prop clearance with it down looks way to tight (1/2
inch or so), and something like: little washer, big washer, rubber mount,
little washer, big washer, little washer and nut? What have other people
done?
With the engine on and me in the cockpit I did find that my toe in was way
off as I feared, probably 5 degrees toe in! ( the method suggested for
aligning the wheels in the plans just does not work!) My solution is
different than what I have heard other people do. I cut one inch off the
gear leg, just enough to include the hole. the axle holding piece still
slips all the way on the gear since the taper does not start for around 3
inches. Now with the weight on I am aligning the gear using the long boards
clamped to the outside of the wheels idea. amazing how obvious toe angle is
at the end of an 8 foot board! so I will have a bit shorter gear, but I had
already planned on shortening my tail gear leg by 4 to 6 inches, to help
aft cg just a bit and increase ground angle, so I think my ground angle will
now be almost a breakeven. lose a bit of spring on all the gear legs, so I
will just have to fly that much better!
On the plus side I just keep finding stupid ways to make my plane lighter!!
Topher
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | ZepRep251(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Entry Abrasion Solution? |
Available from Aircraft Spruce is 2" wide leading edge protective tape.Looks
like electrical tape but about 4 times as thick.I trailer so it guards the
leading edge when loading up the ramp.It is self adheasive and carefully
removable.G.Aman FS2
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | MEMATUZAK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Kolb pin play |
AN all the way!!
As for that pin. When I flew gyros we called it a JESUS pin. If it failed,
oh well.
MEM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Tommy & Carolyn" <TommyandCarolyn(at)centurytel.net> |
| Subject: | Ultralight Fly-in |
Hey Group,
Last weekend's storms forced us to cancel and invoke the raindate. It's on
again and this weekend will be glorious.
Come on, lets fly.
Tommy
WHAT: Ultralight Aircraft Fly-in
WHEN: October 20, 2001
WHERE: SLUA Club airstrip (1600') Iowa, LA located on
the NE corner of Hwy 165 & I-10 intersection
N30-14-56, W92-58-18
WHO: Southwest Louisiana Ultralight Aircraft Club
FEATURES: Good food, flea market, flying games (bomb drop,
balloon chase, spot landing) with a "Top Gun"
award & more.
FEES: FREE
FMI: Ed Stephens 337-436-0423 337-475-5509
estephen(at)mail.ncneese.edu
Tommy Dubroc 318-748-6308
cen23370(at)centurytel.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | TCowan1917(at)aol.com |
Just wanted to say that Bev and I are going to be on our way to Mississippi
Lite fly in at Lucedale, Miss. on Thursday. Hope to see a bunch of you
there. It is one of the greatest events in the South all year. If you dont
know, go to www.flysmla.com and have a look. Lots of every different kind
there. Got a kolb man just a couple of miles from the airport to visit with.
Take care. p.s. I have a beautiful Kolb Ultrastar complete without engine
to sell. Good price to the right person. email for info. Ted Cowan Alabama.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 15 Msgs - 10/10/01 |
>snip...Transitioning into a new plane is a good thing to talk over with
>other pilots. I have received excellent advice from two of the instructors
>that I have worked with (Bruce Borg and Nick at Wings) and ask other
>people about that when I get the chance. snip...
For new builders when reaching that point of being ready for the first
flight I encourage you to call the Kolb factory and talk to their
instructor. They will brief you on what to expect better prepare you for
that big day. They were very help preparing my partner for the first
flight in our FireFly.
jerryb
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
| From: | "Jim Gerken" <gerken(at)us.ibm.com> |
10/16/2001 07:34:06 AM
I have decided to sell my Mkiii airframe only, no engine. This is an
attempt to limit liability. It forces the new owner to install an engine,
which I believe is the one component which will eventually cause trouble
with forced landing, etc. My airframe is built to plans, and has a few
extra items. The cabin has hot water heat, is completely enclosed for cold
weather flying, the fuel system is stock but there is a 8.5 gallon aux tank
which can be filled (or not) and thru two valves will gravity flow into two
main tanks, giving 19 gallon useable total for over 200 mile range. The
aux tank is at the CG, and is enclosed by a custom aluminum gap seal which
is also an engine fairing, beautifully finished. The jury struts are also
faired. It has the Matco hyd. brakes. I installed the Kolb aileron
counterbalances, and the ailerons have an additional stainless-leaf hinge
(like the one the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer uses) near the
counterbalance. Full Stits process, color is Polytone Insignia white, with
Red leading edge, and black accent stripes. Has map pockets, storage packs
and upholstery, comes wired with an aircraft antenna and 12 volt plug, and
a mount for your handheld radio, no radio included. Full conventional
instrument panel, shock mounted, plus coolant pressure hardline gauge.
More info available if interested. The plane is very clean, never damaged,
always hangared or garaged, is on its second set of aluminum gear legs.
Currently it is flying perfectly with a 582, and will continue to do so
until it sells. Comes with an open trailer built with neat options to
remove all the weight off the tailspring automagically as you load the
folded plane, with a winch arrangement, very slick, stress free. Price is
$13500 without engine. Bob has first option.
Legal feedback welcomed.
Jim Gerken
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Don Boll" <sfs(at)utma.com> |
| Subject: | Firestar for sale |
For sale Firstar 11
flying very well now but I need the engine and interments for my latest
project , A Fisher Youngster. I love building and I need to stretch my
recourses so this way I can have a different plane and not have to buy
everything over.
$4500 will buy the plane. Covered with butyrate dope and ceconite.Black
and white . Flies Like a dream.
Don
Call 701-2436392 days
701-2726353 eve.
North Dakota location
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Eugene Zimmerman <eugenezimmerman(at)dejazzd.com> |
John Williamson wrote:
>
>
> I have been playing with how to incorporate pictures of completed Kolb
> aircraft and their data and links to their operators.
>
> I am still trying to get better quality in the pictures, so I have some more
> work to do.
>
> the url is: http://dellepro.dellhost.com/williamson/
>
> Please send your photos if I don't have one or two already.
>
> John Williamson
> Arlington, TX
> Kolbra on order
Hello John,
Here is a coupla picts of my Firestar with a 377 Rotax, modified by
splitting the full span ailerons to include flaps.
Here is a link to my web site,
http://home.dejazzd.com/eugenezimmerman/My%20Fun.html
Eugene Zimmerman,
Elizabethtown, PA
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | DAquaNut(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Check out A Sunday at West Texas Airport |
Will,
Enjoyed your pictures and narrating. Just curious. Are the gear legs
on Dons Firefly off of a sling shot or are they stock. Also, what axle
wheel combo is he using. I like the way it sits.
Ed Diebel (firefly waiting to finnish trailer before
ordering engine kit)
DNA
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: MKIII trailer |
| From: | "Jim Gerken" <gerken(at)us.ibm.com> |
10/17/2001 12:08:23 PM
No, sorry, i can't sell it individually, unless someone buys the plane and
does not want the trailer (although that wouldn't make any sense). It is
currently used inside the hangar, as a storage rack for the plane. I back
the plane up to it, winch it into postion on the trailer, pull up the
ramps, and so the plane is stored 1 - 4 feet off the ground all the time
for corrosion reduction and rodent resistance.
I have no pictures, and in fact you'd need a video to really grasp the
concepts. I may get that ambitious if demoing the process to a prospective
buyer.
Basically, there are two boat rollers, located to accept the wing leading
edges, at the front of the trailer, the rollers are on shafts so they roll
of course, but the shafts are extra long between the brackets, and there is
a light spring to push the rollers to the inside (toward each other). As
the wings roll into the rollers, they roll for a total distance of about
18", and if you can visuallize the folded Kolb you know the wings are at an
angle (wider appart at the fuselage end compared to the wingtip end at the
tail, on the Mkiii) , so the rollers are able to roll and slide on their
shafts to follow the wing leading edge tubes. As the plane reaches it
final position, the channel track that the tailwheel follows has a big dip
in it about 3 inches deep, actually bends down thru the trailer bed to form
a pothole, so the tailwheel rolls along the track and rolls right down into
this low spot, but the wings are already contacting the rollers so the
effect is the tailspring decompresses. In effect, all the weight of the
wings and tailgroup is removed from the tailspring for transport, if the
plane is folded.
The trailer is a tilt-frame, accomplished by unhooking from the towing
vehicle, and running a long-throw jack to raise the tongue a couple feet.
There are ramps for the main wheels, which fold down to the ground, about 3
feet long. once the main wheels roll into their final position, there are
wheel chocks for them attached to the trailer bed, and the ramps swing up
and sort of clamp the mains into the chocks, requiring a single Ancra
tie-down strap to hold each ramp up and this locks the mains in position.
The plane is pulled up the hill of the tilted trailer by a boat winch with
rope, mounted at the back side of the trailer, rope routed from the winch
to a pulley at the very front of the trailer, and routed back to the back
to hook it onto the tailwheel. Once it is cranked all the way up, the
tailwheel almost contacts the pulley, and of course it has just dropped
into the pothole in the channel track, so the tail is secured, no other
tiedown is used.
There is a large air deflector on the front, about six feet tall, to break
the wind going down the highway, only as wide as needed to enclose the
folded tailgroup and wings. It is formed of tubular steel frame, fully
braced, bolted thru the tubular steel trailer bed, and sheeted with that
1/8" fiberglass panel you can buy at the home store. It is flat on the
front for a width of about a foot, then each side gently curves around the
side and comes back about a foot on each side. This structure is braced
back by two tubular elements, also bolted thru the bed.
The bed itself is sort of a triangle, about 2 feet wide at the front end
(hitch end), and about three feet of 2.5" square tube hitch in front of
that, with a 2" coupler. The bed then expands all the way to the back to
form about a 7 foot wide flatbed at the back. The back 9 feet have 3/4"
plywood covering, and the wheels are centered under this area. the front
12 feet or so are covered with 1/2" plywood. Under the bed the structure
is like a trussed fuselage for structural stiffness, although somewhat
compressed vertically to save depth. It is a complicated assembly of very
small tubes diagonally bracing three large (2" and 2.5") tubes, an
interesting experiment to say the least. The tailwheel channel track is
steel and runs the entire length, with an extra pc which acts as the
removable ramp.
Wheels are small to lower the ride height and make tilting less extreme.
There are only about 100 miles on this set of tires. There are fenders
with mud flaps.
The whole thing was painted flat black, but some of it is rusting now,
three years old. It has spent its whole life stored indoors, but the paint
wasn't good enough I guess.
This took me a month to build and maybe $700 in materials.
If you are really interested, read this a couple times, I realize it is a
little out of order.
BTW, I live near Rochester Minnesota, sorry I forgot to mention that
yesterday. It kinda matters.
Jim Gerken
MKiii airframe only for sale,
near Rochester MN
507-753-2619 evenings
"J. Bernard Parham" on 10/16/2001 04:16:33 PM
cc:
Subject: MKIII
Jim, I'm interested in the trailer only. Would you sell it individually?
Would very much like to see pictures even if you won't sell it alone.
Bernard Parham
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Kolb MkIII airframe only |
| From: | "Jim Gerken" <gerken(at)us.ibm.com> |
10/17/2001 12:46:15 PM
I have decided to sell my Mkiii airframe only, no engine. This is an
attempt to limit liability. It forces the new owner to install an engine,
which I believe is the one component which will eventually cause trouble
with forced landing, etc. My airframe is built to plans, and has a few
extra items. The cabin has hot water heat, is completely enclosed for cold
weather flying, the fuel system is stock but there is a 8.5 gallon aux tank
which can be filled (or not) and thru two valves will gravity flow into two
main tanks, giving 19 gallon useable total for over 200 mile range. The
aux tank is at the CG, and is enclosed by a custom aluminum gap seal which
is also an engine fairing, beautifully finished. The jury struts are also
faired. It has the Matco hyd. brakes. I installed the Kolb aileron
counterbalances, and the ailerons have an additional stainless-leaf hinge
(like the one the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer uses) near the
counterbalance. Full Stits process, color is Polytone Insignia white, with
Red leading edge, and black accent stripes. Has map pockets, storage packs
and upholstery, comes wired with an aircraft antenna and 12 volt plug, and
a mount for your handheld radio, no radio included. Full conventional
instrument panel, shock mounted, plus coolant pressure hardline gauge.
More info available if interested. The plane is very clean, never damaged,
always hangared or garaged, is on its second set of aluminum gear legs.
Currently it is flying perfectly with a 582, and will continue to do so
until it sells. Comes with an open trailer built with neat options to
remove all the weight off the tailspring automagically as you load the
folded plane, with a winch arrangement, very slick, stress free. Price is
$13500 without engine. Bob has first option.
Legal feedback welcomed.
ADDITION: Sorry I forgot to mention, this plane is located near Rochester
Minnesota.
Jim Gerken
507-753-2619
evenings
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | GOOCHMAC(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Kolb-List Digest: 4 Msgs - 10/17/01 |
Please unsubscribe me
Thank you.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | dixieshack(at)webtv.net (Mike and Dixie Shackelford) |
| Subject: | Re: Kolb-List Digest: 4 Msgs - 10/17/01 |
Last time that gibberish was sent to us, the List was down for
weeks!!!! What the heck is it?
Mike in WV
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | WillUribe(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: FireFly's gear legs |
I believe he has the same setup as my FireStar.
Will Uribe
El Paso, TX
FireStar II N4GU
C-172 N2506U
http://home.elp.rr.com/airplane/
In a message dated 10/17/01 12:10:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
DAquaNut(at)aol.com writes:
> Will,
> Enjoyed your pictures and narrating. Just curious. Are the gear legs
> on Dons Firefly off of a sling shot or are they stock. Also, what axle
> wheel combo is he using. I like the way it sits.
>
> Ed Diebel (firefly waiting to finnish trailer before
> ordering engine kit)
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "CW Suddreth" <cwsuddreth(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Make a choice!!!!!! |
THIS SAYS IT ALL!
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma School officials remove "God
Bless America" signs from schools in fear that someone
might be offended.
Channel 12 News in Long Island, New York, orders flags
removed from the newsroom and red, white, and blue ribbons
removed from the lapels of reporters. Why? Management did
not want to appear biased and felt that our nations flag
might give the appearance that "they lean one way or another".
Berkeley, California bans U.S. Flags from being displayed on
city fire trucks because they didn't want to offend anyone
in the community.
In an "act of tolerance" the head of the public library at
Florida Gulf Coast University ordered all "Proud to be an
American" signs removed so as to not offend international
students.
I, for one, am quite disturbed by these actions of so-called
American citizens; and I am tired of this nation worrying
about whether or not we are offending some individual or
their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on September 11,
we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of
Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely
settled in New York and Washington D.C. when the "politically
correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that
our patriotism was offending others.
I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against
anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. In
fact, our country's population is almost entirely comprised of
descendants of immigrants; however, there are a few things that
those who have recently come to our country, and apparently
some native Americans, need to understand.
First of all, it is not our responsibility to continually try
not to offend you in any way. This idea of America being a
multi-cultural community has served only to dilute our
sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have
our own culture, our own society, our own language, and our
own lifestyle. This culture, called the "American Way" has been
developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by
millions of men and women who have sought freedom. Our
forefathers fought, bled, and died at places such as Bunker
Hill, Antietam, San Juan, Iwo Jima, Normandy, Korea, Vietnam,
We speak English, not Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese,
Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to
become part of our society - learn our language!
"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some
off-the-wall, Christian, Right Wing, political slogan - it
is our national motto. It is engraved in stone in the House
of Representatives in our Capitol and it is printed on our
currency. We adopted this motto because Christian men and
women, on Christian principles, founded this nation; and
this is clearly documented throughout our history. If it is
appropriate for our motto to be inscribed in the halls of our
highest level of Government, then it is certainly appropriate
to display it on the walls of our schools.
God is in our pledge, our National Anthem, nearly every
patriotic song, and in our founding documents. We honor His
birth, death, and resurrection as holidays, and we turn to
Him in prayer in times of crisis. If God offends you, then
I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new
home, because God is part of our culture and we are proud
to have Him.
We are proud of our heritage and those who have so honorably
defended our freedoms. We celebrate Independence Day,
Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Flag Day. We have parades,
picnics, and barbecues where we proudly wave our flag. As
an American, I have the right to wave my flag, sing my national
anthem, quote my national motto, and cite my pledge whenever
and wherever I choose. If the Stars and Stripes offend you, or
you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a
move to another part of this planet.
The American culture is our way of life, our heritage, and we
are proud of it. We are happy with our culture and have no
desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things
where you came from. We are Americans, like it or not, this
is our country, our land, and our lifestyle.
Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express
his opinion about our government, culture, or society, and we
will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are
done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our
pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly
encourage you take advantage of one other great American
freedom, the right to leave.
If you agree, pass this on to other Americans!
If you don't, Get out of my country!
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "CW Suddreth" <cwsuddreth(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Keep you Arms, Keep your freedom |
From: Ed Chenel, a police officer in Australia.
Hi Yanks,
I thought you all would like to see the real figures from Down Under.
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced
by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed
by our own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more
than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in: Australia-
wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent, Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6
percent; Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44
percent!) In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are
now up 300 percent. (Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned
them in, the criminals did not and criminals still possess their guns!)
While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in
armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in
the past 12 months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their
prey is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins
and assaults of the elderly. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain
how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and
expense was expended in "successfully ridding Australian society
of guns." You won't see this data on the American evening news or
hear your governor or members of the state Assembly disseminating
this information. The Australian experience proves it. Guns in the hands
of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws
affect only the law-abiding citizens. Take note Americans, before it's
to late!
PLEASE FORWARD TO EVERYONE ON YOUR EMAIL LIST!
DON'T BE A MEMBER OF THE SILENT MAJORITY AND LET
THE VOCAL MINORITY LET THIS HAPPEN IN THE U.S.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | ALLENB007(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Make a choice!!!!!! |
I agree completely,
Allen Bellamy
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | JIMMY HANKINSON <jhankin(at)planters.net> |
| Subject: | Radio Interference |
I have an Icon A22 radio with a Flightcom Blackhawk DPS Model 5DX
headset that I plan to use in my FireFly. the engine is the 447 Rotax.
I have a remote transmitter switch.
Without the engine on the unit works and receives very good, with the
engine running there is a lot of ignition noise.
Those of you that have radios installed, what do you do about the
interference? Would resistor plugs help, is there any information that
has been posted before listed in the archives?
How and where do you mount the radio? What type of antenna to use, one
on the radio or an external type?
Would appreciate any help.
Jimmy Hankinson
Firefly #35, 447 Rotax, 185 Hrs., BRS 750 chute, brakes, full
enclosure.
Rocky Ford, Georgia 30455
Southeast, Georgia
Plantation Air Park-JYL
Pegasis Field, (local 1800' strip)
Phegis
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
In a message dated 10/18/01 10:02:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jhankin(at)planters.net writes:
>
They are supposed to, but they didn't do much good for me. Try keeping your
radio away from the tach wire.
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "George E. Thompson" <eagle1(at)commspeed.net> |
All interested parties are invited to the Fall Fly-In- Open House to be
held at the Paulden Az.airport on Saturday Oct 20th. It is hosted by USUA
chapter 555 and EAA chapter 658. It will run from sun up till? Food and
drinks (soft only, Sorry) will be served. Paulden Az. is near Prescott Az.
The coordinates for the field are 34.55.92N 112.30.80W.
While enjoying the fellowship with other flyers you can inspect my TWO
Firestars I have for sale. For further information E Mail me or call me at
(928) 776 9543.
Come by and enjoy a day of fun and hanger flying.
George Thompson. eagle1(at)commspeed.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Randy Berry" <sc_bassman(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Wisdom of Changing Oil Types? |
I have a Firestar KXP with Rotax 503 DCDI. I have been using AV-2 (part
synthetic, part mineral) oil in it (mixed 50:1 in the tank). The engine runs great
on it, but I am running out of my 5 gallon supply. I am thinking seriously
about switching to Pennzoil 2-cycle air cooled oil. It's readily available locally
and the price is right ... and I recently won a half case. On the other
hand, AV-2 is fairly expensive and must be shipped all the way across the country
(CPS is the only source of which I am aware). Also, most of my buddies use
a Pennzoil mixture, so I can not "share" gas with them on cross countries
Now, I don't mean to start up a whole new "oil war" (BTW, I never did figure out
who won :-), but my question is .... what are your opinions and/or experiences
regarding the wisdom of changing from one type of oil to another ... namely
AV-2 to Pennzoil? Anyone done it?? Naturally, I realize that I need to drain
any remainder of the AV-2 mixture before using the Pennzoil mixture.
Randy
Firestar KXP
sn.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
>
>Those of you that have radios installed, what do you do about the
>interference? Would resistor plugs help, is there any information that
>has been posted before listed in the archives?
I use resistor plugs and resistor caps and they helped.
>
>How and where do you mount the radio?
I mount the radio to my left leg with an elastic band and velcro.
>What type of antenna to use, one on the radio or an external type?
I use an ELT antenna. It can be seen at:
http://www.thirdshift.com/jack/firefly/firefly30.html
and
http://www.thirdshift.com/jack/firefly/firefly31.html
>Would appreciate any help.
>
> Jimmy Hankinson
Jack B. Hart FF004
Jackson, MO
Jack & Louise Hart
jbhart(at)ldd.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | RONATNIK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Make a choice!!!!!! |
Yes, Ed, you are entirely correct. Let's show respect for each and everyone
and stick to Kolb discussions.
Bob
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Wisdom of Changing Oil Types? |
We broke both our Rotax 447's in on Pennzoil for the first 20 hours then
switched to AV2. Also also run Pennzoil as our back up oil should we run
out of AV2. I've run both back and forth and mixed them with no
problems. I try to minimize the mixing but have done so occasionally with
no problems. To me mixing is the bigger issue than changing brands. They
seems to be very compatible.
We have about 140 hours on one engine and around 46 on the other. Myself I
feel you get a little more carbon from the Pennzoil but really don't have
enough data to truly support that claim. I'll run either one and fact
thinking about changing from AV2. Shipping cost is getting to be a major
cost of using it. We can get the Pennzoil from a local distributor at a
fair price.
jerryb
>
>I have a Firestar KXP with Rotax 503 DCDI. I have been using AV-2 (part
>synthetic, part mineral) oil in it (mixed 50:1 in the tank). The engine r>uns
great on it, but I am running out of my 5 gallon supply. I am thinkin>g seriously
about switching to Pennzoil 2-cycle air cooled oil. It's rea>dily available
locally and the price is right ... and I recently won a ha>lf case. On the
other hand, AV-2 is fairly expensive and must be shipped> all the way across
the country (CPS is the only source of which I am awa>re). Also, most of my buddies
use a Pennzoil mixture, so I can not "share>" gas with them on cross countries
>
>Now, I don't mean to start up a whole new "oil war" (BTW, I never did fig>ure
out who won :-), but my question is .... what are your opinions and/o>r experiences
regarding the wisdom of changing from one type of oil to an>other ... namely
AV-2 to Pennzoil? Anyone done it?? Naturally, I reali>ze that I need to
drain any remainder of the AV-2 mixture before using th>e Pennzoil mixture.
>
>Randy
>Firestar KXP
>sn.com
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | RONATNIK(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Make a choice!!!!!! |
One man's little faux pas is another man's great insult.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
Go into the archives, and look up Boyd Young's dipole antenna setup that he
made from a piece of co-ax. Cost next to nothing, and is completely hidden
inside the nose pod. Talks and listens wonderfully well, too. I saw it a
year ago, when I came down thru Utah on vacation. I also did a lot of
testing on a 'regular' dipole, and one like Boyd's that I made up. The SWR
meter don't lie............and both types worked VERY well. You can
guess what Vamoose is getting. Uh..............I do happen to have a
brand spanking new Cessna style antenna, still in the box, that I bought
before seeing his. Somebody could sure get a good deal.................??
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "JIMMY HANKINSON" <jhankin(at)planters.net>
Subject: Kolb-List: Radio Interference
>
> I have an Icon A22 radio with a Flightcom Blackhawk DPS Model 5DX
> headset that I plan to use in my FireFly. the engine is the 447 Rotax.
>
> I have a remote transmitter switch.
>
> Without the engine on the unit works and receives very good, with the
> engine running there is a lot of ignition noise.
>
> Those of you that have radios installed, what do you do about the
> interference? Would resistor plugs help, is there any information that
> has been posted before listed in the archives?
>
> How and where do you mount the radio? What type of antenna to use, one
> on the radio or an external type?
>
> Would appreciate any help.
>
> Jimmy Hankinson
> Firefly #35, 447 Rotax, 185 Hrs., BRS 750 chute, brakes, full
> enclosure.
> Rocky Ford, Georgia 30455
> Southeast, Georgia
> Plantation Air Park-JYL
> Pegasis Field, (local 1800' strip)
>
>
> Phegis
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
Weather has finally moderated in Palm Springs, and now, with temps
around 90, instead of 105+, and cut back to 4 days a week at the
ex-Ritz-Carlton, I've been hitting it pretty hard. 6 hours out there
today, and got the re-drive completely final assembled, torqued, safety
wired, and ready to final install tomorrow. What a nightmare job ! ! !
A couple of oil lines to hook up, calibrate the gas tank "gauge", flush
the fuel lines, wire up about 20 wires to 2 connector plugs, and she
should be ready to roar. Hopefully, This Week End ! ! ! Ailerons and
flaps are partly done, with wings next.................and then a
problem. Young A&P doing the covering says that I HAVE to remove the
engine, so he can cover and paint the fuselage...............and I don't
wanna ! ! ! If you could see the tangle of wiring, you'd know why.
(interim pics pretty soon, now - there's something like 40 circuits in
Vamoose, plus the ignition & fuel injection electronics) Even tho' I
kept easy removal in mind while wiring it, these things are relative,
and even with quick disconnects, not every thing can be routed to them,
and engine removal will be a real bitch of a job, not to mention an
engine full of oil, and a tank and lines full of gazzoline. Anybody out
there cover theirs without turning it on its' back ?? Any special
tricks or techniques that might help me ?? Please ?? Whine, snivel ??
Gogittum Lar. Do not
Archive...........almost forgot.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
Jack,
It looks like you ignition wires run nearly underneath your antenna. They
can contribute a lot of noise. Did you use shielded wire, only one end
should be grounded at the engine (source) end. We used some good Ethernet
coax. Has worked good. No noise.
Also how does your antenna receive and get out. You don't have much ground
plane. We installed aluminum floor pan in front of the stick, mounted a
bulkhead type connector thur it, the antenna (bent at around 3" from the
connector to 60 degree angle to clear the ground ) plugs on to it on the
bottom and cable to the top side going to the radio. Works well.
I noticed you don't have bypass around your fuel line squeeze bulb. I
strongly urge you to add a "Tee" connector in line on each side of it and
interconnect them with another piece of fuel line. The check valves are
notorious to stick on those things and then you land. Had it happen to a
friend - he was lucky and made the field.
Interesting I have developed a lot of interference in my ICOM A22 radio
also. When I first put the plane in service it was fine. Later on it
appeared and I can't seem to determine what's causing it. The noise ramps
up as engine RPM goes up - some noise on the ground but it barks at cruise
and takeoff climb RPM. The audio seems to ride on the noise so you can't
understand much of anything. The A22's noise immunity has always appeared
weak, even in the beginning. I tried it with the external and rubber
duckie antenna, battery powered or powered from the plane, no
difference. Got fed up and put my King KX-99 radio in for a trial. Total
difference, quiet, very little noise or squelch required. I need to try
our other A22 from the other plane, but I tried this once before and I
don't recall that it made much difference.
jerryb
>
> >
> >Those of you that have radios installed, what do you do about the
> >interference? Would resistor plugs help, is there any information that
> >has been posted before listed in the archives?
>
>I use resistor plugs and resistor caps and they helped.
> >
> >How and where do you mount the radio?
>
>I mount the radio to my left leg with an elastic band and velcro.
>
> >What type of antenna to use, one on the radio or an external type?
>
>I use an ELT antenna. It can be seen at:
>
>http://www.thirdshift.com/jack/firefly/firefly30.html
>
>and
>
>http://www.thirdshift.com/jack/firefly/firefly31.html
>
> >Would appreciate any help.
> >
> > Jimmy Hankinson
>
>Jack B. Hart FF004
>Jackson, MO
>
>
>Jack & Louise Hart
>jbhart(at)ldd.net
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Richard Pike <richard(at)BCChapel.org> |
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
The biggest source of ignition noise is usually the tach wire and the
ignition switch wire. The grounding wire from the mags to the switch is
carrying AC at the engine rpm, and the tach wire is too, they act like a
big radio transmitter antenna, broadcasting mag noise like crazy. Try using
shielded wire from the mags to your tach and also to your ignition
grounding switch. I have used Radio Shack microphone wire, it is shielded
and sems to work OK. Resistor plugs make little apparent difference once
you eliminate the noise from your wiring harness.
Richard Pike
MKIII N420P (420ldPoops)
>
>I have an Icon A22 radio with a Flightcom Blackhawk DPS Model 5DX
>headset that I plan to use in my FireFly. the engine is the 447 Rotax.
>
>I have a remote transmitter switch.
>
>Without the engine on the unit works and receives very good, with the
>engine running there is a lot of ignition noise.
>
>Those of you that have radios installed, what do you do about the
>interference? Would resistor plugs help, is there any information that
>has been posted before listed in the archives?
>
>How and where do you mount the radio? What type of antenna to use, one
>on the radio or an external type?
>
>Would appreciate any help.
>
> Jimmy Hankinson
> Firefly #35, 447 Rotax, 185 Hrs., BRS 750 chute, brakes, full
>enclosure.
> Rocky Ford, Georgia 30455
> Southeast, Georgia
> Plantation Air Park-JYL
> Pegasis Field, (local 1800' strip)
>
>
> Phegis
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Fw: Progress ! ! ! |
Not sure if I sent this to you guys, or to
TNK..........??.............so, we'll make another stab at it. Gonna
hafta get back onto the Ginkgo Biloba. Ran out of that stuff a month or
so ago, and can barely remember
my...............uh.............name...........??
CRAFTy Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Larry Bourne
Subject: Progress ! ! !
Weather has finally moderated in Palm Springs, and now, with temps
around 90, instead of 105+, and cut back to 4 days a week at the
ex-Ritz-Carlton, I've been hitting it pretty hard. 6 hours out there
today, and got the re-drive completely final assembled, torqued, safety
wired, and ready to final install tomorrow. What a nightmare job ! ! !
A couple of oil lines to hook up, calibrate the gas tank "gauge", flush
the fuel lines, wire up about 20 wires to 2 connector plugs, and she
should be ready to roar. Hopefully, This Week End ! ! ! Ailerons and
flaps are partly done, with wings next.................and then a
problem. Young A&P doing the covering says that I HAVE to remove the
engine, so he can cover and paint the fuselage...............and I don't
wanna ! ! ! If you could see the tangle of wiring, you'd know why.
(interim pics pretty soon, now - there's something like 40 circuits in
Vamoose, plus the ignition & fuel injection electronics) Even tho' I
kept easy removal in mind while wiring it, these things are relative,
and even with quick disconnects, not every thing can be routed to them,
and engine removal will be a real bitch of a job, not to mention an
engine full of oil, and a tank and lines full of gazzoline. Anybody out
there cover theirs without turning it on its' back ?? Any special
tricks or techniques that might help me ?? Please ?? Whine, snivel ??
Gogittum Lar. Do not
Archive...........almost forgot.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
In a message dated 10/19/01 12:00:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ulflyer(at)airmail.net writes:
> It looks like you ignition wires run nearly underneath your antenna. They
> can contribute a lot of noise. Did you use shielded wire, only one end
> should be grounded at the engine (source) end. We used some good Ethernet
> coax. Has worked good. No noise.
>
> Also how does your antenna receive and get out. You don't have much ground
>
> plane. We installed aluminum floor pan in front of the stick, mounted a
> bulkhead type connector thur it, the antenna (bent at around 3" from the
> connector to 60 degree angle to clear the ground ) plugs on to it on the
>
I always heard you only ground the antenna coax at one end, but if you ground
it at the engine and have the BNC mounted to the floor pan, then it's
grounded at both ends, isn't it?
Shack
FS I
SC
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "CW Suddreth" <cwsuddreth(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Posting in Error |
Recently I posted 2 articles in error to the Kolb list. I have several
address folders in
my address book and blind carbon copied the wrong folder. I also
believe that only
group subjects should be posted. My apologies to anyone one that may
have been
offended and thanks to those that brought it to my attention. CW
Suddreth
PS I know this posting is also not Kolb related but I sure would love
to own one!
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
>
>Jack,
>
>It looks like you ignition wires run nearly underneath your antenna. They
>can contribute a lot of noise. Did you use shielded wire, only one end
>should be grounded at the engine (source) end. We used some good Ethernet
>coax. Has worked good. No noise.
>
>Also how does your antenna receive and get out. You don't have much ground
>plane.
Jerryb,
The antenna is attached to the radio by a short piece of coax to the radio
on my left leg. The antenna mount is grounded to the cage, and I assume
this is the ground plane. It seems to work very well. I am using just a
plain wire to the engine grounding switch and I had not thought of using
coax. I will try it to see if it has a favorable effect.
The largest interference problem I have is my GPS. I wear it on my right
leg, and so the radio and GPS antennas are very close to each other. The
radio picks up the clock frequency noise from the gps. To get around this,
I keep the GPS turned off when I am leaving, arriving or passing by close
to airports.
Jack B. Hart FF004
Jackson, MO
Jack & Louise Hart
jbhart(at)ldd.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Richard Neilsen" <neilsenr(at)state.mi.us> |
| Subject: | Re: Progress ! ! ! |
It's good to hear you are working on the bird again. Seems like tipping the fuselage
should work I just spent a solid week installing my new engine on my MKIII,
this takes time and it needs to be done right. I wouldn't remove it. Dig out
the news paper and masking tape and cover everything.
An update on my redrive VW is, its close! The engine is installed and break in
runs will start this weekend if I can find the correct starter. It seems that
my old engine had a 6 volt flywheel and the new engine does have the 12 volt
flywheel so the old starter will not fit. I will be doing the break in runs with
out the prop. I was told that its best to run 1500-2000 RPMs for early break
in. I can do this with much less load on the engine (heat) without the prop.
I figure I really didn't get that much cooling from the prop any way and its
MUCH easer to tune the engine (timing, carb adjustments etc.) without the prop.
I have a box fan that I'm planning on blowing on the engine but cooling
is much less of a problem when the high temp of the day is in the 50s.
Rick Neilsen
Reduction Drive VW Powered MKIII
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net> |
Just to state the obvious...Be GENTLE with the throttle with the prop off
and a lightened flywheel it will spool up pretty quick...don't want to have
to pull it back off to rebuild it... :-)
Jeremy Casey
jrcasey(at)ldl.net
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com
[mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com]On Behalf Of Richard
Neilsen
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Progress ! ! !
It's good to hear you are working on the bird again. Seems like tipping the
fuselage should work I just spent a solid week installing my new engine on
my MKIII, this takes time and it needs to be done right. I wouldn't remove
it. Dig out the news paper and masking tape and cover everything.
An update on my redrive VW is, its close! The engine is installed and break
in runs will start this weekend if I can find the correct starter. It seems
that my old engine had a 6 volt flywheel and the new engine does have the
12 volt flywheel so the old starter will not fit. I will be doing the break
in runs with out the prop. I was told that its best to run 1500-2000 RPMs
for early break in. I can do this with much less load on the engine (heat)
without the prop. I figure I really didn't get that much cooling from the
prop any way and its MUCH easer to tune the engine (timing, carb adjustments
etc.) without the prop. I have a box fan that I'm planning on blowing on the
engine but cooling is much less of a problem when the high temp of the day
is in the 50s.
Rick Neilsen
Reduction Drive VW Powered MKIII
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
So it's not engine noise your experiencing. Then leave your ignition wire
alone. Yes there's something about the radio and GPS and internal
frequencies they use there can be interference between them if in close
proximity. I remember reading this but can't recall where it was. It got
into the detail on it.
jerryb
>
>
> >
> >Jack,
> >
> >It looks like you ignition wires run nearly underneath your antenna. They
> >can contribute a lot of noise. Did you use shielded wire, only one end
> >should be grounded at the engine (source) end. We used some good Ethernet
> >coax. Has worked good. No noise.
> >
> >Also how does your antenna receive and get out. You don't have much ground
> >plane.
>
>Jerryb,
>
>The antenna is attached to the radio by a short piece of coax to the radio
>on my left leg. The antenna mount is grounded to the cage, and I assume
>this is the ground plane. It seems to work very well. I am using just a
>plain wire to the engine grounding switch and I had not thought of using
>coax. I will try it to see if it has a favorable effect.
>
>The largest interference problem I have is my GPS. I wear it on my right
>leg, and so the radio and GPS antennas are very close to each other. The
>radio picks up the clock frequency noise from the gps. To get around this,
>I keep the GPS turned off when I am leaving, arriving or passing by close
>to airports.
>
>Jack B. Hart FF004
>Jackson, MO
>
>
>Jack & Louise Hart
>jbhart(at)ldd.net
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Stall (mush) Landings |
>Date: Wed, 03 Oct 2001 05:49:58 -0500
>To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
>From: Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net>
>Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Stall (mush) Landings
>In-Reply-To: <200110031130.f93BUBS11032(at)matronics.com>
>
>>
>>In a message dated 10/2/01 9:34:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jbhart(at)ldd.net
>>writes:
>>
>>
>>> My slow speed test is to fly at altitude, at 4500 rpm and to slowly pull
>>> back on the stick. The plane will climb a little at first, and then
>>> finally the rate of climb goes to zero. With out the vortex generators,
>>> the airspeed was 27 mphi, and 37 mph average on the gps. I have done the
>>> same test with vortex generators in place and the airspeed was less
than 20
>>> mphi. I did not get a gps speed. If the speed differential is the same
>>> that would make the gps speed some where around 30 mph. If this is so,
>>> then the minimum level flight cruise speed for the FireFly with vortex
>>> generators installed will be some where close to 30 mph true, and 37 mph
>>> true without vortex generators installed.
>>>
>>> When ever we get some high overcast clouds here to blank out the sun and
>>> kill the thermals, I will run the test again and get the gps data with
>>> vortex generators.
I got a chance to take data today. With the vortex generators in place it
is possible to fly a FireFly at 35 mph (gps average of up and down winds)
with out loosing altitude, so my above assumption of 30 mph true was not
valid. The vortex generators reduced the minimum cruise speed by two mph
true.
Jack B. Hart FF004
Jackson, MO
Jack & Louise Hart
jbhart(at)ldd.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Radio Interference |
Sorry if my comment may have confused you. Please go back and reread my
post. It was the shield of the ignition wire I was taking about only be
grounded at one end (engine end) not the antenna cable. When using coax
the center conductor goes to NO (normally open) terminal of the ignition
switch, the coax braid would be connected to the common terminal. When the
switch if in the OFF position, the braid supplies the ground from the
engine thru the switch to the hot ignition wire thus shorting it to ground
killing the ignition. When the switch is in the on position, the braid by
being connected to the engine functions as a shield for electrical noise
appearing on the floating hot ignition wire. In this application the coax
braid functions either as a ground or as a shield for noise.
In antenna application the braid of the coax cable functions as both the
signal ground path and shield function for noise reduction. The coax braid
would connect to the outer shell of the BNC connector at radio and antenna
end, representing the ground plane of the antenna. The coax center
conductor would connect to the center contact of the BNC connector at the
radio and antenna end, or terminal representing the antennas active
element. Think of the antenna active element as a the wire sticking out of
a metal plate. The wire is insulated from the metal plate which forms the
ground plane for the antenna. The two RF wise work together. The coax
carries signal from the wire and the ground plane to the radios input.
I hope this very basic level explanation adequately answers your
question. The application and theory of antennas is major subject in its
self and quite complex to discuss in great detail here on this the list
nor is it really necessary.
jerryb
>
>In a message dated 10/19/01 12:00:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>ulflyer(at)airmail.net writes:
>
>
> > It looks like you ignition wires run nearly underneath your antenna. They
> > can contribute a lot of noise. Did you use shielded wire, only one end
> > should be grounded at the engine (source) end. We used some good Ethernet
> > coax. Has worked good. No noise.
> >
> > Also how does your antenna receive and get out. You don't have much
> ground
> >
> > plane. We installed aluminum floor pan in front of the stick, mounted a
> > bulkhead type connector thur it, the antenna (bent at around 3" from the
> > connector to 60 degree angle to clear the ground ) plugs on to it on the
> >
>
>I always heard you only ground the antenna coax at one end, but if you ground
>it at the engine and have the BNC mounted to the floor pan, then it's
>grounded at both ends, isn't it?
>
>Shack
>FS I
>SC
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "jim minewiser" <flykolb(at)carolina.rr.com> |
| Subject: | Firefly or FireStar |
I have someone in my area would like to buy a Kolb Firefly or Firestar.
If you know of a good one, please email me at flykolb(at)carolina.rr.com.
Also would like to hear about the pros and cons of each.
Thanks
Jim
Mark III
Charlotte, NC
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Stall (mush) Landings |
Jack and Group,
Two mph is about the reduction that I observed with vortex generators on
my Firestar last year. I took them off because it wasn't enough
reduction to put up with the inconsistant stall characteristic that they
seemed to cause.
John Jung
Firestar II N6163J
Jack & Louise Hart wrote:
>
>
>I got a chance to take data today. With the vortex generators in place it
>is possible to fly a FireFly at 35 mph (gps average of up and down winds)
>with out loosing altitude, so my above assumption of 30 mph true was not
>valid. The vortex generators reduced the minimum cruise speed by two mph
>true.
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Progress ! ! ! |
Good luck, Rick. Seems like these things take 5 times longer than you
expect. Nothing fits, nothing goes right, can never find just the right
widget for the thingamajobber, etc., etc. Final assembly and mounting of
the re-drive took 2 full days, and I expected 3 or 4 hours. Phooey ! ! !
Tomorrow morning's our EAA chapter meeting, and we generally schedule a
group fly-out afterwards, (to Apple Valley - a good one ! ! ! ) but I think
I'll skip this one ( the fly out ) to get after that monster of mine. Been
working on it all along, but the furnace heat of summer here tends to slow
things down. Man, I can't wait to hear how that thing does for
you.............should be a Rotax eater. Keep me posted.
Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Neilsen" <neilsenr(at)state.mi.us>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Progress ! ! !
>
> It's good to hear you are working on the bird again. Seems like tipping
the fuselage should work I just spent a solid week installing my new engine
on my MKIII, this takes time and it needs to be done right. I wouldn't
remove it. Dig out the news paper and masking tape and cover everything.
>
> An update on my redrive VW is, its close! The engine is installed and
break in runs will start this weekend if I can find the correct starter. It
seems that my old engine had a 6 volt flywheel and the new engine does have
the 12 volt flywheel so the old starter will not fit. I will be doing the
break in runs with out the prop. I was told that its best to run 1500-2000
RPMs for early break in. I can do this with much less load on the engine
(heat) without the prop. I figure I really didn't get that much cooling
from the prop any way and its MUCH easer to tune the engine (timing, carb
adjustments etc.) without the prop. I have a box fan that I'm planning on
blowing on the engine but cooling is much less of a problem when the high
temp of the day is in the 50s.
>
> Rick Neilsen
> Reduction Drive VW Powered MKIII
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Fw: Prop adjusting |
Tim sent this to me, and I wish I knew who wrote it...............over a
year ago, I sent a message to the List, detailing how I planned to use
my little laser to pitch the prop. Finally, this weekend, it's gonna
get done..............nice to know the theory works so well. The old
fella who led me to the idea would've loved to have read
this.............unfortunately, he passed away about 6 months ago. Too
bad - he was a cranky old fart, but a very good friend.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Artdog1512(at)aol.com
Subject: Prop adjusting
I don't know Lar, i guess this could work ...... tim
I don't remember who it was who posted about using a laser to
adjust the
prop but it works great. I didn't really understand the post about how
you
did it, but I went and bought a laser pointer and a cosmetic mirror. I
taped the mirror to the flat side of the prop right at the end and
then
taped the laser on the back wall and aimed it at the mirror. I set one
blade for the pitch I wanted and marked the reflection on the wall,
then
rotated the prop to the next blade and put the reflection in the same
place
on the wall. I calculated it out and I think the blades are accurate
now
within less than 0.1 degree. I didn't even have to worry about getting
the
prop in the same place, I just rotated it until the red spot was in
the
middle of the mirror. The difference in smoothness is phenomenal.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | noise, mikes, headsets, intercoms (long) |
Response to your questions:
Are you flying a model that is fairly open where you may incur wind noise
in the mike. If so you may need to add the small foam mike cuffs. They
proud of them things, around $4-$5 a piece. Use a small ty-wrap and
ty-wrap them on or you loose them in no time. That will be $5 again,and
again, and.... See comments below about mikes on headsets, push to talk
switches, and intercoms.
Switch headsets and see if there is any difference. Does the symptom
remain the same or does it follow the head set. What make and model
headset do you have then I should be able to look them up on the web to
determine what type of mikes there using. See comments on mikes
below. Part of the problem may be how the headsets are wired, the type of
mikes the headsets have, or the intercom system if one is used.
As for the antenna, it is thought that you should place it away from the
engine. I have seem them mounted right above the engine with no noticeable
noise problem. On the other hand I seem them far away with a fight trying
to determine why the noise is so high. A single wire element antenna
normally operates best with a ground plane under it. The two work together
in for best reception and transmission. The ideal ground plane is a large
sheet metal surface to which the whip part is mounted. I found that
mounting the antenna off of the metal cage most of the time works
well. Each plane is different - how tight are your rivets.
We have two planes, a Kolb FireFly and a CGS Hawk.
The FireFly works great. The Hawk I am now getting noise. The antennas on
both planes were constructed in similar manner. When building them we
installed extra floor pan which functions as the antenna ground
plane. (Note see my other post to the list for more detail.) A hole is
drilled in the floor pan and mounted a female-female BNC bulk head
connector in it. This is located in front of the stick. The bulk head
connector has a connector much like that on your radio but has that on each
end. It also has a flange and threaded area in the middle section of the
connector to permit its mounting in a hole of a panel and being tighten in
place.
The antenna for both planes are home made. I made the antenna for the Kolb
out of a piece of hobby store music wire. The wire is soldered to the
center contact of a male BNC connector (like that is on an end of a
cable). It is cut to a specific length which I don't recall right now and
is bent about 3-1/2" form the connector to a 30-45 degree angle.
-------+---- front of plane
!
/
/
This is so it clears the ground. The connector will also allow the antenna
to pivot should it catch on some thing when the plane is pushed
backwards. I can measure the length the next time out if your
interested. One note about the music wire, it is steel so it rust which
isn't so nice. A BNC-Male to BNC-M coax cable is used to interconnect the
antenna to the BNC RF input connector on the radio. A small push to talk
switch is mounted in a hole plug inserted into the top of the stick. Wires
run from the stick to a small miniature connector that mates with PTT
connector on the ICOM headset adapter. Note some radio do not break out
the PTT function to a separate connector then you have to use an accessory
PTT switch which inserts between the headset and the headset adapter. It
provides a PTT switch for keying the radio.
The Hawk is done about the same way. This is the plane which I am
getting lots of noise that seems to be related to the engine. A friend
made this antenna for me. It's basically the same scheme. Instead of the
music wire he used a stainless steel whip from Radio Shack. He can get
them from the store in his area, I can't get them from the stores in my
area. All he gets is just the long wire whip which has the ball on the end
of it. Cost is very moderate $5 area. The other stores if they have
anything will try to sell you a whole antenna assembly that cost over
$15. That's not needed.
He cut it close to length required and then used a SWR meter to trim the
end opposite the one with the ball on it for the least SWR at 121.5 MHz
frequency. That's about mid band of what we may normally use.
The Hawk worked well and then noise surfaced and I haven't been able to
determine the cause. It appears to be engine related because it tracks
with RPM changes but gets really bad when I go to cruise or Climb RPM. So
to debug and test it I have to fly which has been restricted by either
weather, wind, or FAA.
I running a ICOM A22 hand held thru a headset adapter with a stick mounted
push to talk (PTT) switch. Seemed to work OK in the beginning then noise
appeared and I'm in the process of trying to figure out what is causing
it. I put my King KX-99 hand held in place of it and I hardly have to turn
up the squelch. Tried rubber duckie and external antenna on both, the King
works and the A22 has high noise level.
The reason I got the ICOM was that since my partner had his ICOM in the
Kolb, it would also be useful to keep all connectors the same.
You didn't describe your configuration much so here a few things you might
not be aware of.
1. Do not use the radio PTT (transmit) button with a headset. Most radios
will turn on both the radios mike and the headsets. The mike on the radio
does not attenuate noise much so its hard to understand someone when doing
this. Solution is to get an accessory PTT switch which connects between
the headset mike connector and the headset adapter mike connector. It has
a coiled cord with a large push button that you Velcro to your
stick. There about $15.
2. Headsets - there not all the same and not all of them are the
best. There are two mikes types used, one is a dynamic which has little
noise cancelling and the other is electret differential microphone which it
actual two mikes in one with a preamp. On the boom mouth piece are two
mikes. One faces the user lips and another on the opposite side facing
away from the user. They electrically add the output together 180 degrees
out of phase so as in effect to cancel out noise. The dynamic mike will
pick up a lot of background thus your voice is competing with that
noise. Not good. The electret mike cancels much of the noise thus makes
the spoken speech clearer. In cases of using two different brand headsets,
it may be necessary to adjust the mike preamp gain to balance them where
there output levels are equal. This is accomplished by adjusting a tiny
screw on the mike element. If your not sure what your doing don't mess
with it. You can make things worst so seek the a person help that has the
knowledge you need.
3. If two headsets are used and connected in parallel, each mike is
activated when the PTT is activated. This in effect doubles the amount of
background noise the speech has to compete with making the user less clear
to others.
4. Intercom - boy each one of these are different. One type produces the
same problem above - both mikes are activated with the PTT switch is
activated. The VOX (voice operated switch) used for communicating between
each other may also activate both mikes making it more difficult to
understand what each other is saying.
5. The best intercom will have separate VOX and volume level adjustments -
each headset will have it own VOX and only one mike will be turned on at a
time in the VOX or PTT mode. Headsets also play an important part.
6. Which headsets are the best - boy this is opening a can of worms.
I myself prefer David Clarks - there tuff, durable, and reliable, and have
good sound qualities which is important to me since I am hearing
challenged. My partner likes the Peltor because there light and sound
quality is also good. Both provide good noise attenuation and have ear
cuff mounted volume control which I like. Connector on both provide good
solid connections, no intermittent operation due to tarnished
connectors. Also they use a good quality of cable which does not break
easily and cause intermittent operation. Both have been very
reliable. Neither squeezes your head like a vice. Stay away from Softcom
headsets. I got 3 of them I would be happy to sell you. We have to buy an
extra one because we constantly have one back in there shop for
repair. Intermittent operation due to cable breaks and poor quality
connectors.
I have a friend that converts headsets to active noise reduction (ANR)
capability if your interested. (His business is headset repair.) Only
thing is remember it takes power either battery or from the plane to power
them. I'm not sure if there a fail safe mode on them. I think when there
out, there out. One thing I noticed trying a out few different vendors
products is that while they reduce background noise, they slightly muffle
speech - it not as sharp and clear. So try them out before you buy.
Well I've rambled on long enough for this message, let me know if there any
other questions. I'm not a avionics expert but I learned a lot on our
Citabria.
jerryb
.
.
>Jerry,
>
>I have lots of noise too, actually cannot hear the passenger talk while
>in full throttle!
>
>I have a 6' coax from my radio to the antenna which is mounted under my
>nose cone, pointing down. thought the best reception would be this
>way, but maybe making too much noise introduction.
>
>Please tell me about yours, and where the ground is, etc. I'd
>appreciate it.
>
>
>=====
>John & Lynn Richmond :-)
>Palm Coast, Fl.
>Mk3 269LJ, 582, 41 hrs
>1,400 miles, longest=270
>
>__________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
Stumbled into this by accident, while looking for something else. Not
strictly Kolb, but I think you'll all be
interested........................uh..................some of you ????
Maybe you guys can help.............I was looking for a
URL for Warp Drive Propellers. I'm not sure what pitch to set my prop
to for 1st start. It's a 3 blade, 72" Warp Drive prop, and I figure
100+ horsepower for now. Lar. Do not
Archive.
http://www.gtoracing.com/airboat/propellers/reports/powershift-test.asp
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
Larry and Group,
I my memory is correct, Warp doesn't have a web page. The phone number
is in "UltraLight Flying" and probably in the archives somewhere. The
question of how to contact them has come up before.
John Jung
Larry Bourne wrote:
>
>Stumbled into this by accident, while looking for something else. Not
>strictly Kolb, but I think you'll all be
>interested........................uh..................some of you ????
> Maybe you guys can help.............I was looking for a
>URL for Warp Drive Propellers. I'm not sure what pitch to set my prop
>to for 1st start. It's a 3 blade, 72" Warp Drive prop, and I figure
>100+ horsepower for now. Lar. Do not
>Archive.
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Davis" <ldavis(at)indy.rr.com> |
Warp has no website:
Warp Drive
1207 Hwy 18 E
Ventura, IA 50482
(641) 357-6000
Attn: Daryl Heinemann
Larry Davis
http://home.indy.rr.com/challengerul/airplane.html
-------
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Jung" <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Prop Thrust
>
> Larry and Group,
>
> I my memory is correct, Warp doesn't have a web page. The phone number
> is in "UltraLight Flying" and probably in the archives somewhere. The
> question of how to contact them has come up before.
>
> John Jung
>
> Larry Bourne wrote:
>
> >
> >Stumbled into this by accident, while looking for something else. Not
> >strictly Kolb, but I think you'll all be
> >interested........................uh..................some of you ????
> > Maybe you guys can help.............I was looking for a
> >URL for Warp Drive Propellers. I'm not sure what pitch to set my prop
> >to for 1st start. It's a 3 blade, 72" Warp Drive prop, and I figure
> >100+ horsepower for now. Lar. Do not
> >Archive.
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | WGeorge737(at)aol.com |
<>
There is no web site for Warp Drive. As one who has screwed up the pitch
process to a fair thee well, allow me to share some of my hard earned scoop.
John Hauck was very helpful in getting me on the right track.
1. A fixed pitch prop only has about a 300 prop rpm efficiency range between
climb and cruise.
2. There is about a 300 engine rpm difference between static and climb rpm.
3. If you determine what rpm your engine will use for normal cruise you
convert that to prop rpm. Increase that by 300 prop rpm. Multiply by redrive
ratio to get engine rpm in climb.
4. Subtract 300 engine rpm from the climb to get static.
Example:
My Verner will cruise at 3800. With a 2:1 redrive the prop is turning 1400.
For climb, the prop should turn 1700, engine 4400. Since I know that the
static engine rpm will increase 300 in the climb I would look for a static of
4100. This worked out to about 12 degrees pitch for a 72 inch Powerfin.
Once you are close you can adjust for redline, or near redline, at WOT in
level flight as John H. suggests. Your results may vary.
Contact me off list if you need more info.
Bill George
Mk-3 - Verner 1400
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Guy Swenson" <guys(at)rrt.net> |
Lar and Kolbers
Try this site. They are a dealer for Warp Drive Propellers.
http://www.warpdriveprops.com/
Guy S.
MK III Xtra
----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Prop Thrust
>
> Stumbled into this by accident, while looking for something else. Not
> strictly Kolb, but I think you'll all be
> interested........................uh..................some of you ????
> Maybe you guys can help.............I was looking for a
> URL for Warp Drive Propellers. I'm not sure what pitch to set my prop
> to for 1st start. It's a 3 blade, 72" Warp Drive prop, and I figure
> 100+ horsepower for now. Lar. Do not
> Archive.
>
> http://www.gtoracing.com/airboat/propellers/reports/powershift-test.asp
>
> Larry Bourne
> Palm Springs, Ca.
> Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
> http://www.gogittum.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
Thanks for the input, everyone. I need to know what pitch to set the
blades to. Prob'ly the best thing will be to call Warp Drive in the
morning. I have in mind to set initial pitch to 13 deg. at the tips.
Should give some load without killing a new engine. We'll see. Thanks
again.....................was just out there soldering pins for the quick
disconnects, and what a pain. About 6 or 7 pins done, and back and neck are
on fire. Snivel, snivel. Long Sufferin' Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Guy Swenson" <guys(at)rrt.net>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Prop Thrust
>
> Lar and Kolbers
> Try this site. They are a dealer for Warp Drive Propellers.
>
> http://www.warpdriveprops.com/
>
> Guy S.
> MK III Xtra
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com>
> To: "Kolb"
> Subject: Kolb-List: Prop Thrust
>
>
> >
> > Stumbled into this by accident, while looking for something else. Not
> > strictly Kolb, but I think you'll all be
> > interested........................uh..................some of you ????
> > Maybe you guys can help.............I was looking for a
> > URL for Warp Drive Propellers. I'm not sure what pitch to set my prop
> > to for 1st start. It's a 3 blade, 72" Warp Drive prop, and I figure
> > 100+ horsepower for now. Lar. Do not
> > Archive.
> >
> > http://www.gtoracing.com/airboat/propellers/reports/powershift-test.asp
> >
> > Larry Bourne
> > Palm Springs, Ca.
> > Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
> > http://www.gogittum.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "CW Suddreth" <cwsuddreth(at)hotmail.com> |
| Subject: | Four (4) Cycle engines |
For some time now, I have been very interested in flying UL Aircraft.
I have been monitoring several groups to gather as much information
as possible. Information about different types of ULs and engines.
What really strikes my fancy is the Kolb Mark III but may end up with
a Firefly. (SMILE). Really I don't have any experience in flying but
have always wanted to fly. Now I am retired and have all the time in
the
world to play. When I buy a kit, I want it to be one that I will like
and want
to keep. (Whow, What a statement.)
Now, I have some questions about the engines: I hear, no facts, there
is a world wide agreement in the mill that will stop the production
of 2 stroke engines. If this is the case. How will a legal UL be
possible if
they require a 4 cycle engine to power it. Does anyone know or heard of
this restriction on engines? Should I just go ahead and get a kit with
a 4
cycle engine, and if so what would be recommended for an engine. I feel
the
engine might be the key to what I should purchase. Is it more
reasonable to
put a UL around an engine or purchase an engine for an ultralight?.
Money is not a major problem, if I can get my money's worth for what I
purchase.
I am located in North Carolina on the Inter-coast-waterway, near the
town of
Swansboro and Camp Lejeune Marine Base.
If anyone knows a url on the proposed rules of future engine, Please
advise.
Iwannafly CW
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net> |
| Subject: | Four (4) Cycle engines |
I hear, no facts, there
is a world wide agreement in the mill that will stop the production
of 2 stroke engines. CW
News to me!!! I would suspect that to be a bunch of bologna...someone
pulling your chain so to speak...but heck, I have heard of worse...
For what it's worth, the Mark 3 can handle several 4 stroke weight class
engines. Most notably the Rotax 912, which has proven itself to be one of
the best aircraft engines ever made...bar none. (I know of one fellow
personally who has put 1700+ hours on one, with next to zero maintenance
besides the normal preventative stuff (oil changes, spark plug changes))
Jeremy Casey
jrcasey(at)ldl.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Marc McNaughton" <marcmcn(at)home.com> |
| Subject: | Soon-to-be-Kolb-owner? |
Hello all,
Since taking an introductory flight lesson a couple of weeks ago, I've been
bitten with the UL bug in a great big way. :) I've got some GA hours (C-150
& Tomahawk), but frankly it's just too darned expensive for me right now.
I've arranged to get my UL lessons, but now it's time to start looking at
airplanes.
There's a Kolb Firestar for sale at the airfield. Seriously nice little
ship! I believe it's a Firestar I - listed as a '1989 Kolb.' Everything
appears to be in great shape and the current owner says the engine (Rotax
377) has about 60h on it. Apparently the original builder finished it, then
became sick and the airplane sat in a hangar for several years until he
passed on, then it's been outside for the last couple of years. The current
owner bought it 'cause he couldn't stand seeing it just sit - he did some
minor repairs and put it up for sale. He's already got a Firestar II of his
own.
So, to my questions to you experts are:
Is there anything in particular I should be looking at on this bird? Is
there any particular weakness that might not be apparent on a first
inspection? As I mentioned, overall the thing looks quite good structurally,
as does the fabric. I'm just not knowledgeable enough about Kolb aircraft in
specific.
Thanks very much in advance!
Sincerely,
Marc McNaughton
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "John Anderson" <janderson3(at)nc.rr.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Stall (mush) Landings |
John,
How did you have your vortex generators installed ? The result I got using
them:
Prior to Vortex generators:
Take off and stall both 35 mph according to my ASI. No power stall very
little or no warning, nose just drops through ease off the stick and starts
to fly again. Cruise power a LOT of warning, accelerated sink and a lot of
buffeting of the wing, nose falls through at 35 mph.
WITH vortex generators: My plane now flies until 31 mph, the nose does not
drop, it just goes into mush with rapid sink, the plane still responds to
aileron input. This is true both with power off and at cruise throttle. I
can now do full stall three point landings, I never could before.
I fly an Ultrastar it has five full span ribs with three false ribs between.
I installed the VG's in the scallops and did not put them on the first
(inside) bay. My logic was that with a wing with washout, you want the
inboard to stall first and the tip last. Well I thought it would apply to
VG's also.
John Anderson
UltraStar in NC
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Jung" <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Stall (mush) Landings
>
> Jack and Group,
>
> Two mph is about the reduction that I observed with vortex generators on
> my Firestar last year. I took them off because it wasn't enough
> reduction to put up with the inconsistant stall characteristic that they
> seemed to cause.
>
> John Jung
> Firestar II N6163J
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Four (4) Cycle engines |
I have nothing factual but I do recall reading something about EPA looking
at emissions of 2-strokes. This is one of the reasons the motor cycles
have moved towards 4-strokes on their small bikes. Also the outboard
marine companies. They were even looking at lawn mowers.
I think your worrying to much looking for a problem that yet doesn't
exist. Unless your going to take years and years I don't think it going to
be much of a concern, our country has some bigger fish to catch for the
time being.
Figure out what kind of plane you want and go for it. The MK-III is a
light airplane not an ultralight. It requires a pilots license to fly
it. An ultralight has a weight limit of 254# and single place. A few
other things also. Look up FAA Part 103 regulation on google.com.
If your heart is set for a MK-III, there are several 4-stroke
choices. (Rotax, Jabiru, VW, Subaru, and Suzuki.) I would think if they
were to clamp down on emissions output for 2-strokes on airplanes, they'll
catch 4-strokes too. So far small piston aircraft engines have been
exempt. Note, one the vehicle side there has been some 2-stroke
developments that more that exceed the emissions requirements. See Orbital
Engines - USA & Australia.
http://www.isr.gov.au/resources/netenergy/aen/aen10/10orbital.html
jerryb
>
>For some time now, I have been very interested in flying UL Aircraft.
>I have been monitoring several groups to gather as much information
>as possible. Information about different types of ULs and engines.
>What really strikes my fancy is the Kolb Mark III but may end up with
>a Firefly. (SMILE). Really I don't have any experience in flying but
>have always wanted to fly. Now I am retired and have all the time in
>the
>world to play. When I buy a kit, I want it to be one that I will like
>and want
>to keep. (Whow, What a statement.)
>Now, I have some questions about the engines: I hear, no facts, there
>is a world wide agreement in the mill that will stop the production
>of 2 stroke engines. If this is the case. How will a legal UL be
>possible if
>they require a 4 cycle engine to power it. Does anyone know or heard of
>this restriction on engines? Should I just go ahead and get a kit with
>a 4
>cycle engine, and if so what would be recommended for an engine. I feel
>the
>engine might be the key to what I should purchase. Is it more
>reasonable to
>put a UL around an engine or purchase an engine for an ultralight?.
>Money is not a major problem, if I can get my money's worth for what I
>purchase.
>I am located in North Carolina on the Inter-coast-waterway, near the
>town of
>Swansboro and Camp Lejeune Marine Base.
>If anyone knows a url on the proposed rules of future engine, Please
>advise.
>
>
>Iwannafly CW
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Soon-to-be-Kolb-owner? |
| From: | ul15rhb(at)juno.com |
> Seriously nice little ship! I believe it's a Firestar I - listed as a
'1989 Kolb.
> Everything appears to be in great shape and the current owner says the
engine
> (Rotax 377) has about 60h on it. Apparently the original builder
finished
> it, then became sick and the airplane sat in a hangar for several years
until
> he passed on, then it's been outside for the last couple of years.
> Marc McNaughton
Marc, if it's been sitting outside for the last couple of years, you may
want to take a second look at the fabric. If a fabric covered plane sits
outside for any length of time, it takes its toll on the fabric. The
outside elements will also corrode bolts and rivets. With folding wings,
there is almost no excuse to find a garage to store it.
It may not be a good deal at all. Every builder has his own talents as a
craftsman, and there are well built planes and not so well built ones.
When it come to amateur built, it pays to do some thorough checking
before you buy. I've seen some Kolbs that I would not want to fly.
Buyer beware.
Ralph Burlingame
Original Firestar
14 years flying it
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Ed Chmielewski" <edchmiel(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Four (4) Cycle engines |
Seems I read about the new CARB (California Air Resources Board) proposal
that deals with 2-strokes, and how their days are numbered if all the rest
of the states follow their lead (as has been in the past). Will include
weed whackers, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc. There might even be a threat
to my small radio-control engines. The EPA is probably a good source for
more info at this point. I believe Yamaha and Sea-Doo have new 4-stroke
PWC's (jet-skis) inspired partly by the new regs. I'm not sellin' my 503
just yet, I think the engines in use are grandfathered in, but who knows
what will happen in 5 years or more?
Ed in JXN
MkII/503
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net>
Subject: RE: Kolb-List: Four (4) Cycle engines
>
>
> I hear, no facts, there
> is a world wide agreement in the mill that will stop the production
> of 2 stroke engines. CW
>
> News to me!!! I would suspect that to be a bunch of bologna...someone
> pulling your chain so to speak...but heck, I have heard of worse...
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Ed Chmielewski" <edchmiel(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Soon-to-be-Kolb-owner? |
Good advice. I bought a MkII that had been left out also, needs restoring
but the price was right. Hire an A&P mechanic who knows rag-and-tube
aircraft (a vanishing breed) and ply him with enough beer to do a good
inspection. Mine was an ex-off road biker and knew his way around
2-strokes, found the engine was sound but the bird needed paint and fabric.
If it's a good buy, give it a go. It will teach you much about your bird.
But by no means buy it if it has serious deficiencies.
Good luck, Marc.
Ed in JXN
MkII/503
----- Original Message -----
From: <ul15rhb(at)juno.com>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Soon-to-be-Kolb-owner?
>
>
> > Seriously nice little ship! I believe it's a Firestar I - listed as a
> '1989 Kolb.
> > Marc McNaughton
>
> Marc, if it's been sitting outside for the last couple of years, you may
> want to take a second look at the fabric. If a fabric covered plane sits
> outside for any length of time, it takes its toll on the fabric. The
> outside elements will also corrode bolts and rivets. With folding wings,
> there is almost no excuse to find a garage to store it.
>
> It may not be a good deal at all. Every builder has his own talents as a
> craftsman, and there are well built planes and not so well built ones.
> When it come to amateur built, it pays to do some thorough checking
> before you buy. I've seen some Kolbs that I would not want to fly.
>
> Buyer beware.
>
> Ralph Burlingame
> Original Firestar
> 14 years flying it
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | John Jung <jrjung(at)sgmmail.com> |
John A,
My VG's were installed only in front of the ailerons, 10 on each side. I
probably would have obtained more reduction in stall speed if I
installed them inboard. That would have been my next step, but I didn't
like the way the plane flew with them on, so I didn't proceed with
testing. The problem that I experienced was that the "fast sink" started
at about the same speed as the stall without the VG's, but if more
angle-of-attack was added, the sink would be delayed for a few more mph.
I found this to make short field landings much more difficult.
John Jung
Firestar II N6163J
UP of Michigan
John Anderson wrote:
>
>John,
>
>How did you have your vortex generators installed
>
________________________________________________________________________________
In a message dated 10/22/01 4:48:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
jrjung(at)sgmmail.com writes:
> My VG's were installed only in front of the ailerons, 10 on each side. I
> probably would have obtained more reduction in stall speed if I
> installed them inboard. That would have been my next step, but I didn't
> like the way the plane flew with them on, so I didn't proceed with
> testing. The problem that I experienced was that the "fast sink" started
> at about the same speed as the stall without the VG's, but if more
> angle-of-attack was added, the sink would be delayed for a few more mph.
> I found this to make short field landings much more difficult.
>
>
John, if you had put one on each main rib [7 on each wing] I think you would
have had better results [assuming you used my design and put them on where my
plan showed].
When I installed them per the plan on my plane I got very good results, ie.
lowered stall by 5 mph and very predictable and gentle stall characteristics.
I then added a VG to each false rib [maybe a total of 20 each wing] and
lowered the stall by another 3 mph, but when the Firestar did stall, it was
real scary. I went back to the original plan and remain happy with my
results.
Howard Shackleford
FS I
SC
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Mike Curreri <mike(at)curreri.net> |
| Subject: | New to UL and looking at a MKIII |
I am new to the sport (although I flew in the military several decades ago,
I never pursued my private license) and am just now completing my UL
training and looking around for a plane. I just found a reasonably local
Mark III with the following description:
Newly finished in Poly fiber fabric, water cooled Rotax 582 with 150hrs,
airframe is zero time, with full instruments, EIS with altimeter, strobe
light, landing lights, 3-blade powerfin prop on C-box reduction drive, drum
brakes, painted white, easy fold wings, Plane is 99% complete, will let her
go for cost of materials!! Asking $15K, which is what I've got invested!!
This is what you would pay for just the materials, not including the labor!!
Other than asking for more pictures before driving two hours to look at it
in person, do you have any other ideas about questions that I should ask?
It is likely, by the way, that the price is negotiable. I am also wondering
if I should try to buy it without the engine to allow me to put a new 912
on it?
Mike Curreri
________________________________________________________________________________
In a message dated 10/21/01 1:20:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
WGeorge737(at)aol.com writes:
> Example:
> My Verner will cruise at 3800. With a 2:1 redrive the prop is turning 1400.
> For climb, the prop should turn 1700, engine 4400. Since I know that the
> static engine rpm will increase 300 in the climb I would look for a static
> of
> 4100. This worked out to about 12 degrees pitch for a 72 inch Powerfin.
>
> 3800/2 = 1900
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Rayfield, Bill" <brayfield(at)kcc.com> |
| Subject: | Georgia Kolbs (or similar) |
Hey Group,
I'm trying to find some instruction in the Atlanta metro area. I live in
Newnan (south of Atlanta) and am looking for any Kolbs around to get some
stick time in before going for the gusto in our Ultrastar. I would
appreciate the list's help on this....
Bill Rayfield
Kimberly-Clark, Corp.
Global Nonwovens Engineering
Phone: (770) 587-8371
Fax: (770) 587-7240
Email: brayfield(at)kcc.com
This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only and may contain privileged,
confidential, or proprietary information that is exempt from disclosure
under law. If you have received this message in error, please inform us promptly
by reply e-mail, then delete the e-mail and destroy any printed copy.
Thank you.
==============================================================================
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | b young <byoung(at)brigham.net> |
| Subject: | antenna grounding |
i keep hearing that people are grounding the antenna to the
frame of the plane..... although it is electrically ok to
do so and it makes the tuning of the swr easier you can
eliminate some of the electrical noise from the radio in
both the receive and transmit mode by installing a ground
plane that is not directly or electrically connected to the
cage or engine. with my first try i did that and it
worked (ok) but always had a lot of static on both rx
and tx.... when i installed the dipole the response i got
from the fbo where i hangered the plane was " what ever you
did to the radio,,, it is the best that it has ever been"
check out the photo
http://www.brigham.net/~byoung/antenna.html
if anyone would like more info please feel free to ask on
or off the list.
experience in antenns has been gained from my hoby in ham
radio
boyd N7WFM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
In a message dated 10/16/01 8:37:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
gerken(at)us.ibm.com writes:
> Legal feedback welcomed.
>
Jim:
A while back you posted your thoughts on selling your airplane and
indicated you were selling it without the engine as a limitation of
liability. If you are serious about that you should give me a call. (Did I
mention I'm an attorney practicing in this area?) There is no way to
completely shield yourself, other than burying you plane in your back yard.
There are only ways that are better than others. 215-888-8128
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: antenna grounding |
Hey, welcome back, Boyd ! ! ! Where have you been ?? How are you coming
with the repairs on your plane ?? Fancy this.............I was just
bragging on you last week, and here you come crawling out of the woodwork.
Good Deal ! ! !
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "b young" <byoung(at)brigham.net>
Subject: Kolb-List: antenna grounding
>
> i keep hearing that people are grounding the antenna to the
> frame of the plane..... although it is electrically ok to
> do so and it makes the tuning of the swr easier you can
> eliminate some of the electrical noise from the radio in
> both the receive and transmit mode by installing a ground
> plane that is not directly or electrically connected to the
> cage or engine. with my first try i did that and it
> worked (ok) but always had a lot of static on both rx
> and tx.... when i installed the dipole the response i got
> from the fbo where i hangered the plane was " what ever you
> did to the radio,,, it is the best that it has ever been"
>
> check out the photo
>
> http://www.brigham.net/~byoung/antenna.html
>
> if anyone would like more info please feel free to ask on
> or off the list.
>
> experience in antenns has been gained from my hoby in ham
> radio
>
> boyd N7WFM
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Met nice folks/passed a good time @ Lucedale |
Just wanted to let everyone know what a good time I had at the Octoberlight
Fly-in. Got to meet John Cooley. John has a real nice Firestar and looks
like he has the feel of flying it down pretty good. He is a super nice guy.
He even fueled me up Sunday morning.
Bill Woods came in Saturday morning and put on a show with his award winning
Slingshot. That is a plane that is impressive both static and flying. Bill
can fly that thing too. Supernice guy too.
The weather was beautiful till the ride home (1200' foot ceilings and bumpy).
If any of you get a chance to go next year, I highly recommend it.
Thanks to John Cooley for his hospitality.
John Bickham
St. Francisville, LA
Mark III - 912
N308JB
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Richard Neilsen" <neilsenr(at)state.mi.us> |
| Subject: | Re: Progress ! ! ! |
Major setback on the reduction drive VW.
As it turns out they only make starters for 6 volt flywheels that fit the Diehl
accessory case. It seem the Diehl case has a real odd ball mount. Bottom line
is I ordered a new 6 volt flywheel machined for the Diehl alternator. Then I
will need to remove the engine and install the new flywheel. Two to three more
weeks for first engine run $#%$#
%#%#.
Rick Neilsen
Sometime Reduction Drive VW powered MKIII
>>> biglar(at)gogittum.com 10/20/01 02:10AM >>>
Good luck, Rick. Seems like these things take 5 times longer than you
expect. Nothing fits, nothing goes right, can never find just the right
widget for the thingamajobber, etc., etc.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Seitzer, Bettie (TEK Systems)" <Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com> |
| Subject: | For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
On the subject of liability. Dale and I are looking for a MarkIII to buy,
and just recently sold the firestar (I am still in mourning). The whole
issue of liability is new to me since I have always considered flying to be
an "at your own risk" activity. We fly by the rules and are very safety
conscious. However, my naivete may be showing here. Obviously this is an
issue that we need to know more about. Mark, I would appreciate your
thoughts on how a buyer and a seller can come to an agreement which makes it
possible for a plane to change hands without undue hardship on either party.
I am sure that this will affect many Kolb owners at one time or another so
maybe others would like to hear this, too. Or maybe everyone else already
knows this. I am of course interested in returning to plane ownership as
quickly as possible and I am not a builder.
-----Original Message-----
From: Cavuontop(at)aol.com [mailto:Cavuontop(at)aol.com]
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only
In a message dated 10/16/01 8:37:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
gerken(at)us.ibm.com writes:
> Legal feedback welcomed.
>
Jim:
A while back you posted your thoughts on selling your airplane and
indicated you were selling it without the engine as a limitation of
liability. If you are serious about that you should give me a call. (Did I
mention I'm an attorney practicing in this area?) There is no way to
completely shield yourself, other than burying you plane in your back yard.
There are only ways that are better than others. 215-888-8128
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Robert Kearbey" <kearbey(at)jps.net> |
| Subject: | Re: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
Dear Bettie,
First of all, I have a MKIII for sale and am in California.
Secondly, you can acquire or I could fax you a copy of an Aircraft
Purchase/Sales agreement I got from AOPA.
Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: Seitzer, Bettie (TEK Systems) <Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com>
Subject: RE: Kolb-List: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only
>
> On the subject of liability. Dale and I are looking for a MarkIII to buy,
> and just recently sold the firestar (I am still in mourning). The whole
> issue of liability is new to me since I have always considered flying to
be
> an "at your own risk" activity. We fly by the rules and are very safety
> conscious. However, my naivete may be showing here. Obviously this is an
> issue that we need to know more about. Mark, I would appreciate your
> thoughts on how a buyer and a seller can come to an agreement which makes
it
> possible for a plane to change hands without undue hardship on either
party.
> I am sure that this will affect many Kolb owners at one time or another so
> maybe others would like to hear this, too. Or maybe everyone else already
> knows this. I am of course interested in returning to plane ownership as
> quickly as possible and I am not a builder.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cavuontop(at)aol.com [mailto:Cavuontop(at)aol.com]
> To: kolb-list(at)matronics.com
> Subject: Re: Kolb-List: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only
>
>
> In a message dated 10/16/01 8:37:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> gerken(at)us.ibm.com writes:
>
>
> > Legal feedback welcomed.
> >
>
> Jim:
>
> A while back you posted your thoughts on selling your airplane and
> indicated you were selling it without the engine as a limitation of
> liability. If you are serious about that you should give me a call. (Did
I
>
> mention I'm an attorney practicing in this area?) There is no way to
> completely shield yourself, other than burying you plane in your back
yard.
>
> There are only ways that are better than others. 215-888-8128
>
>
> Mark R. Sellers
> Kolb Twinstar Mark III
> N496BM
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Richard Neilsen" <neilsenr(at)state.mi.us> |
| Subject: | For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
Someone on the list suggested a wile back that you write a guarantee that the buyer
signs, that guaranties that the plane will kill them and if it doesn't it
can be returned. I'm sure that some lawyer might argue that the seller is still
at fault but it would be more difficult. Bottom line is if you have enough
money some money grubbing lawyer will try to take it from you no matter what you
do, ask Cessna and Piper.
My $.01 worth
Rick Neilsen
Sometime reduction drive VW powered MKIII
>>> Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com 10/23/01 10:02AM >>>
On the subject of liability. Dale and I are looking for a MarkIII to buy,
and just recently sold the firestar (I am still in mourning). The whole
issue of liability is new to me since I have always considered flying to be
an "at your own risk" activity. We fly by the rules and are very safety
conscious. However, my naivete may be showing here. Obviously this is an
issue that we need to know more about. Mark, I would appreciate your
thoughts on how a buyer and a seller can come to an agreement which makes it
possible for a plane to change hands without undue hardship on either party.
I am sure that this will affect many Kolb owners at one time or another so
maybe others would like to hear this, too. Or maybe everyone else already
knows this. I am of course interested in returning to plane ownership as
quickly as possible and I am not a builder.
-----Original Message-----
From: Cavuontop(at)aol.com [mailto:Cavuontop(at)aol.com]
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only
In a message dated 10/16/01 8:37:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
gerken(at)us.ibm.com writes:
> Legal feedback welcomed.
>
Jim:
A while back you posted your thoughts on selling your airplane and
indicated you were selling it without the engine as a limitation of
liability. If you are serious about that you should give me a call. (Did I
mention I'm an attorney practicing in this area?) There is no way to
completely shield yourself, other than burying you plane in your back yard.
There are only ways that are better than others. 215-888-8128
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Seitzer, Bettie (TEK Systems)" <Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com> |
| Subject: | For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
The "money-grubbing" lawyers wouldn't exist if there weren't people who felt
they had a right to get rich off any bad thing that happens to them. The
way I see it, you are born, you get banged around as much as you can
tolerate and then you die. If you're lucky, you get to fly a Kolb a lot of
times; if you are smart, you realize that you have been truly blessed.
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Neilsen [mailto:neilsenr(at)state.mi.us]
Subject: RE: Kolb-List: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only
Someone on the list suggested a wile back that you write a guarantee that
the buyer signs, that guaranties that the plane will kill them and if it
doesn't it can be returned. I'm sure that some lawyer might argue that the
seller is still at fault but it would be more difficult. Bottom line is if
you have enough money some money grubbing lawyer will try to take it from
you no matter what you do, ask Cessna and Piper.
My $.01 worth
Rick Neilsen
Sometime reduction drive VW powered MKIII
>>> Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com 10/23/01 10:02AM >>>
On the subject of liability. Dale and I are looking for a MarkIII to buy,
and just recently sold the firestar (I am still in mourning). The whole
issue of liability is new to me since I have always considered flying to be
an "at your own risk" activity. We fly by the rules and are very safety
conscious. However, my naivete may be showing here. Obviously this is an
issue that we need to know more about. Mark, I would appreciate your
thoughts on how a buyer and a seller can come to an agreement which makes it
possible for a plane to change hands without undue hardship on either party.
I am sure that this will affect many Kolb owners at one time or another so
maybe others would like to hear this, too. Or maybe everyone else already
knows this. I am of course interested in returning to plane ownership as
quickly as possible and I am not a builder.
-----Original Message-----
From: Cavuontop(at)aol.com [mailto:Cavuontop(at)aol.com]
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only
In a message dated 10/16/01 8:37:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
gerken(at)us.ibm.com writes:
> Legal feedback welcomed.
>
Jim:
A while back you posted your thoughts on selling your airplane and
indicated you were selling it without the engine as a limitation of
liability. If you are serious about that you should give me a call. (Did I
mention I'm an attorney practicing in this area?) There is no way to
completely shield yourself, other than burying you plane in your back yard.
There are only ways that are better than others. 215-888-8128
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Progress ! ! ! |
Rick,
If you have a starter it may be able to be converted to 12 V
operation. Find call a few good automotive electrical/motor rebuild shop,
see if they can convert it for 12V operation. I'm sure this can be done.
I know back in early 70's of some older large engine GM's cars that
hesitated when starting to crank, they could make the starter more powerful
which actually reduced battery load since it quickly got the engine up to
cranking speed. They also never had any more starter problems and would
start after that in the winter.
jerryb
>
>Major setback on the reduction drive VW.
>
>As it turns out they only make starters for 6 volt flywheels that fit the
>Diehl accessory case. It seem the Diehl case has a real odd ball mount.
>Bottom line is I ordered a new 6 volt flywheel machined for the Diehl
>alternator. Then I will need to remove the engine and install the new
>flywheel. Two to three more weeks for first engine run $#%$#
%#%#.
>
>Rick Neilsen
>Sometime Reduction Drive VW powered MKIII
>
>
> >>> biglar(at)gogittum.com 10/20/01 02:10AM >>>
>
>Good luck, Rick. Seems like these things take 5 times longer than you
>expect. Nothing fits, nothing goes right, can never find just the right
>widget for the thingamajobber, etc., etc.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Richard Neilsen" <neilsenr(at)state.mi.us> |
| Subject: | Re: Progress ! ! ! |
Thanks but.
The starter I have is a 12 volt starter but has the drive gear for a 6 volt type
of VW flywheel. The Diehl accessory case and my current starter has a non VW
type of mount. The problem is that VW starters will not fit the mounting system
and my current 12 volt type flywheel is larger diameter and more teeth with
a smaller pitch than the 6 volt type. And.... no one makes the Diehl mount with
the 12 volt type of drive gear.
Rick Neilsen
Want to fly so bad I can taste it... VW powered MKIII
>>> ulflyer(at)airmail.net 10/23/01 02:27PM >>>
Rick,
If you have a starter it may be able to be converted to 12 V
operation. Find call a few good automotive electrical/motor rebuild shop,
see if they can convert it for 12V operation. I'm sure this can be done.
I know back in early 70's of some older large engine GM's cars that
hesitated when starting to crank, they could make the starter more powerful
which actually reduced battery load since it quickly got the engine up to
cranking speed. They also never had any more starter problems and would
start after that in the winter.
jerryb
>
>Major setback on the reduction drive VW.
>
>As it turns out they only make starters for 6 volt flywheels that fit the
>Diehl accessory case. It seem the Diehl case has a real odd ball mount.
>Bottom line is I ordered a new 6 volt flywheel machined for the Diehl
>alternator. Then I will need to remove the engine and install the new
>flywheel. Two to three more weeks for first engine run $#%$#
%#%#.
>
>Rick Neilsen
>Sometime Reduction Drive VW powered MKIII
>
>
> >>> biglar(at)gogittum.com 10/20/01 02:10AM >>>
>
>Good luck, Rick. Seems like these things take 5 times longer than you
>expect. Nothing fits, nothing goes right, can never find just the right
>widget for the thingamajobber, etc., etc.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | bob n <ronoy(at)shentel.net> |
It's been almost three weeks since I put about an inch of pure Clorox
in a very thin (0.0055 aluminum) well cleaned frozen potpie container
to test the so-called corrosive action on aluminum surfaces. Outside of
a faint discoloration of the dish, nothing happened. Still mics at
0.0055. I had suggested to John Hauck that perhaps putting some bleach
in the pan below the tailwheel might keep the rats/mice from swimming
up into his Kolb. Further in the thread someone stated that Clorox
contains hydochloric acid; not true. It contains hypochlorous acid, a
very different and weak, acid.
Bob N.
http://www.angelfire.com/rpg/ronoy
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
In a message dated 10/23/01 10:05:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com writes:
> Mark, I would appreciate your
> thoughts on how a buyer and a seller can come to an agreement which makes it
> possible for a plane to change hands without undue hardship on either party.
>
Bettie:
Its not the changing hands that presents the problems that you really
need to worry about that much. We buy and sell houses, cars and other
similar stuff without much trouble. As mentioned in an earlier post the AOPA
has a nice form contract you could use if you wanted to. But from the
perspective of the purchaser there is not much reason to treat it any
differently than you would treat the purchase of a similarly priced used car
or boat.
The real problem with the sale of experimental airplanes is with the
builder who sells it. When the experimental plane that you built crashes and
kills the father of eight school age children you have a problem under our
law. And as a general proposition I don't think that is such a bad thing.
Its what most of the world just buys insurance for. Unfortunately, guys like
me who build airplanes generally can't afford to buy the same sort of
insurance Cessna Piper and Boeing have, so you have to be a little careful.
I also don't think that is such a bad thing.
Similarly, you and Dale maintained your firestar for a few years. If
you concealed some murderous defect in it when you sold it, and your buyer
subsequently crashed into the home for widows and orphans, incinerating all
concerned, you would probably have a problem.
You simply cannot stop a motivated person from suing you under
American law. There are a few legitimate things you can do to make that
project a little more difficult. The seller could request from the buyer a
waiver/release of claim type document that might be helpful, but that
wouldn't protect against suit from a hurt passenger who didn't sign it, nor
would it do any good against suit from a subsequent buyer.
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "check6" <check6(at)alltel.net> |
| Subject: | Carburetor Tilting and Needle Tuning. |
I am subscribed to the Kolb list digest and am a lurker. A while back
someone mentioned that you could tilt the carb. one way or another to
even out the fuel mixture to each cylinder. Could someone explain this
to me. Also I beleive the same person used thin brass shims to fine tune
the needle. I will watching the digest for the answer. Thanks in
advance. John Todd Firestar #30 447.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net> |
| Subject: | Re: Carburetor Tilting and Needle Tuning. |
>
>I am subscribed to the Kolb list digest and am a lurker. A while back
>someone mentioned that you could tilt the carb. one way or another to
>even out the fuel mixture to each cylinder. Could someone explain this
>to me. Also I beleive the same person used thin brass shims to fine tune
>the needle. I will watching the digest for the answer. Thanks in
>advance. John Todd Firestar #30 447.
>
If your rear cylinder EGT is running higher that the front cylinder, rotate
the carburetor so that the bowl of the carburetor moves to the rear. This
will move the needle and jet to favor the rear passage in the intake
manifold. Make small moves, start the engine and fly to determine the effect.
Jack B. Hart FF004
Jackson, MO
Jack & Louise Hart
jbhart(at)ldd.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
Someone suggested he put down some antifreeze. After reading that I said
yes, that will take care of the pests. I know dogs and cats love it. I
never understood they would just lap it right down but would never come
back for more? (sic-joke)
jerryb
>
>It's been almost three weeks since I put about an inch of pure Clorox
>in a very thin (0.0055 aluminum) well cleaned frozen potpie container
>to test the so-called corrosive action on aluminum surfaces. Outside of
>a faint discoloration of the dish, nothing happened. Still mics at
>0.0055. I had suggested to John Hauck that perhaps putting some bleach
>in the pan below the tailwheel might keep the rats/mice from swimming
>up into his Kolb. Further in the thread someone stated that Clorox
>contains hydochloric acid; not true. It contains hypochlorous acid, a
>very different and weak, acid.
>
>Bob N.
>
>http://www.angelfire.com/rpg/ronoy
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Alan Lay" <rv6builder(at)earthlink.net> |
| Subject: | BRS attach point |
Hello fellow Kolbers,
I have a Firestar II with a Rotax 503 DCDI and a BRS 750 VLS. The BRS is
mounted on top in front of the engine. Where do you guys and gals attach
the bridle? Mine is currently attached to the large round tube that
supports the engine and the main spar carry thru, between the braces for
the spar carry thru and the down tubes to the cage. (Does that make
sense?) This is per the instructions provided by BRS. However, I am
concerned that mine is attached too far aft and will cause the plane to
descend in a nose low attitude. When executing a silk landing, don't you
want the tail to be down and hit first? Any thoughts?
Alan
Jupiter, FL
Firestar II
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
Makes it kind of tough, doesn't it.........and open ended too. I've often
wondered if you partly dis-assemble the thing, and stipulate in the sales
contract that it's a non flying machine, for parts only..............would
that get you off the hook?? If the buyer re-assembled it and flew
it.................?? The idea of buying hefty insurance for the rest of my
life for something I no longer own doesn't have much appeal. What's our
best course ?? Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <Cavuontop(at)aol.com>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only
>
> In a message dated 10/23/01 10:05:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com writes:
>
>
> > Mark, I would appreciate your
> > thoughts on how a buyer and a seller can come to an agreement which
makes it
> > possible for a plane to change hands without undue hardship on either
party.
> >
>
> Bettie:
>
> Its not the changing hands that presents the problems that you
really
> need to worry about that much. We buy and sell houses, cars and other
> similar stuff without much trouble. As mentioned in an earlier post the
AOPA
> has a nice form contract you could use if you wanted to. But from the
> perspective of the purchaser there is not much reason to treat it any
> differently than you would treat the purchase of a similarly priced used
car
> or boat.
>
> The real problem with the sale of experimental airplanes is with
the
> builder who sells it. When the experimental plane that you built crashes
and
> kills the father of eight school age children you have a problem under our
> law. And as a general proposition I don't think that is such a bad thing.
> Its what most of the world just buys insurance for. Unfortunately, guys
like
> me who build airplanes generally can't afford to buy the same sort of
> insurance Cessna Piper and Boeing have, so you have to be a little
careful.
> I also don't think that is such a bad thing.
>
> Similarly, you and Dale maintained your firestar for a few years.
If
> you concealed some murderous defect in it when you sold it, and your buyer
> subsequently crashed into the home for widows and orphans, incinerating
all
> concerned, you would probably have a problem.
>
> You simply cannot stop a motivated person from suing you under
> American law. There are a few legitimate things you can do to make that
> project a little more difficult. The seller could request from the buyer
a
> waiver/release of claim type document that might be helpful, but that
> wouldn't protect against suit from a hurt passenger who didn't sign it,
nor
> would it do any good against suit from a subsequent buyer.
>
> Mark R. Sellers
> Kolb Twinstar Mark III
> N496BM
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Progress ! ! ! |
If the case was designed for a 6 v starter then run it on 12. I have
been running my old John Deere 6 v starter for 10 years on 12v.
>
>Thanks but.
>
>The starter I have is a 12 volt starter but has the drive gear for a 6
>volt type of VW flywheel. The Diehl accessory case and my current starter
>has a non VW type of mount.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
| Subject: | For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
>
>Someone on the list suggested a wile back that you write a guarantee that
>the buyer signs, that guaranties that the plane will kill them and if it
>doesn't it can be returned.
That was a quote from Molt Taylor. He did not promise to take it back
but if hadn't killed or crippled you. You had just not given it enough time.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Christopher John Armstrong" <Tophera(at)centurytel.net> |
| Subject: | Re: BRS attach point |
When executing a silk landing, don't you
> want the tail to be down and hit first? Any thoughts?
buy landing nose low you minimize the damage done to the plane, on average.
you also have some ability to aim the plane using the control surfaces as
there is still some wind going by them, not much but some. if you landed
tail first you would not be able to see what was coming, not sure that is an
advantage or disadvantage.
Topher
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Possum <possums(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: BRS attach point |
>
>Hello fellow Kolbers,
>
>I have a Firestar II with a Rotax 503 DCDI and a BRS 750 VLS. The BRS is
>mounted on top in front of the engine. Where do you guys and gals attach
>the bridle? Mine is currently attached to the large round tube that
>supports the engine and the main spar carry thru, between the braces for
>the spar carry thru and the down tubes to the cage. (Does that make
>sense?) This is per the instructions provided by BRS. However, I am
>concerned that mine is attached too far aft and will cause the plane to
>descend in a nose low attitude. When executing a silk landing, don't you
>want the tail to be down and hit first? Any thoughts?
>
>Alan
>Jupiter, FL
>Firestar II
Some thoughts - @ it would be nice to not bend anything. But....
1. When and "if" you ever deploy the chute, you no longer care about the
"plane".
2. Make sure you "NEVER" care about the plane - that includes you
"Larry"-you can buy a new plane!
3. If you deploy the chute, you're number ONE task is to make sure the
chute is deployed.
4. I'm sure you know to "cut" your throttle and "turn off" you engine ASAP.
5. You are no longer in control of the plane.
6. You have just delegated your fate to the chute manufacturer.
BTW : This is how it is designed .."Cest la vie"
I've bent a few kolbs.
Now I'm one of the "Old Guys" Geeeesh... It seems like just yesterday that I
was one of young smart asses. Excuse my "french".
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | jerryb <ulflyer(at)airmail.net> |
| Subject: | For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
Don't you think if that defense worked Firestone would be using it right
now. Again it the heirs that get you not the buyer, he's dead.
>
> >
> >Someone on the list suggested a wile back that you write a guarantee that
> >the buyer signs, that guaranties that the plane will kill them and if it
> >doesn't it can be returned.
>
>
> That was a quote from Molt Taylor. He did not promise to take it back
>but if hadn't killed or crippled you. You had just not given it enough time.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Possum <possums(at)mindspring.com> |
| Subject: | Re: BRS attach point |
>
>Yah, I tried to tell ya that Kolbs can't swim, but ya wouldn't believe me,
>would ya ?? And look what happened to that "Kolb-marine."
Geees! Larry, It floated for about 10 minutes!
http://www.mindspring.com/~possums/Submarine.jpg
>Vamoose doesn'teven carry a chute - my choice
Well you "Old guys" don't have that much to lose, what? 10 or 20 years?.
Seems to me that the older you get the braver you should get?
Or maybe I got it backwards - the older you get the "Smarter you get"?
Maybe that's why the Military only takes the young & invincible.
BTW: look what I bought: Neat Huh?
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1016521563
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Peter Volum" <PVolum(at)etsmiami.com> |
| Subject: | For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
I bought Fat Albert from Kolb under an invoice that read "Aircraft Parts
Non-Airworthy".
Stupid simple and to the point I thought
Peter Volum
> Bettie.Seitzer(at)AndersenCorp.com writes:
>
> > I would appreciate your
> > thoughts on how a buyer and a seller can come to an agreement which
makes it
> > possible for a plane to change hands without undue hardship on either
party.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | erich_weaver(at)urscorp.com |
10/24/2001 12:31:15 PM
I know one sure-fire way to avoid liability in selling your plane: Do not
give the buyer enough information to ever find you again. Im passing this
on tongue-in-cheek, but I personally know of one individual who actually
succeeded in pulling this off.
Regards,
Erich Weaver
erich_weaver(at)urscorp.com
130 Robin Hill Road, Suite 100
Santa Barbara, California 93117
Tel: 805-964-6010
fax: 805-964 0259
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | DCREECH3(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: static air source |
Cold weather being on the way, I would like to install the cockpit enclosure on
my Firestar II that I bought earlier this year. The previous owner-builder had
a problem with this installation causing the airspeed indicator, which is not
connected to a remote static air source, to be unreliable due to vacuum effects.
He experimented with a homemade static intake port at the front of the nose
bowl, but never really solved the problem. I doubt that location will work,
but I could use some advice from other people who have dealt with this issue.
Any ideas on the design/location of a static air source will be appreciated.
Lee
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Peter Volum" <PVolum(at)etsmiami.com> |
| Subject: | Re: static air source |
Check the Archives.
Somebody has a post in there that recommended running a hose to just inside
the clamshell opening(s) on one or both sides of the nosecone where it
overlaps the side of the cage. That's what I ended up doing on mine with a
successful end result. Best of all, it required no drilling or an elaborate
installation.
Peter Volum
Miami, FL
Mk III - N710KA
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com
[mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com]On Behalf Of DCREECH3(at)aol.com
Subject: Kolb-List: Re: static air source
Cold weather being on the way, I would like to install the cockpit enclosure
on my Firestar II that I bought earlier this year. The previous
owner-builder had a problem with this installation causing the airspeed
indicator, which is not connected to a remote static air source, to be
unreliable due to vacuum effects. He experimented with a homemade static
intake port at the front of the nose bowl, but never really solved the
problem. I doubt that location will work, but I could use some advice from
other people who have dealt with this issue. Any ideas on the
design/location of a static air source will be appreciated.
Lee
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
| Subject: | For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
>
>Don't you think if that defense worked Firestone would be using it right
>now. Again it the heirs that get you not the buyer, he's dead.
Firestone did not ask people to sign an agreement stating their
products would cause serious injury. If they did they might have a good
argument.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Kenneth Glen Aubrey" <kgaubrey(at)hotmail.com> |
Guys
A friend of mine has a ivo 3 bladed prop (old type) that he willing to part with,
but I know I need a prop spacer to put it on my firestar, not sure how big.
Does any one have a prop spacer laying around that they would be willing to part
with?
Another thing it is the old type ivo prop is the one that used spacers to adjust
the pitch, does anyone have any of the spacers that they are not using and would
be willing to part with?
Curious
Glen
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | cajwoods(at)mindspring.com |
| Subject: | Re: Georgia Kolbs (or similar) |
Bill,
Brother's got a MkIII with 912S and is a BFI in Cartersville Ga. 40 mi.
north of Atlanta. Could probably talk him out of a little stick time if we
tried real hard.
Bill Woods
912S Slingshot
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rayfield, Bill" <brayfield(at)kcc.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Georgia Kolbs (or similar)
>
> Hey Group,
> I'm trying to find some instruction in the Atlanta metro area. I live in
> Newnan (south of Atlanta) and am looking for any Kolbs around to get some
> stick time in before going for the gusto in our Ultrastar. I would
> appreciate the list's help on this....
>
> Bill Rayfield
> Kimberly-Clark, Corp.
> Global Nonwovens Engineering
> Phone: (770) 587-8371
> Fax: (770) 587-7240
> Email: brayfield(at)kcc.com
>
>
> This e-mail is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only and may
contain privileged, confidential, or proprietary information that is exempt
from disclosure under law. If you have received this message in error,
please inform us promptly by reply e-mail, then delete the e-mail and
destroy any printed copy. Thank you.
>
>
============================================================================
==
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
Gotta question................... I have the 15 (16 ??) gal aluminum
tank, with the channel in the bottom that sits over the aileron rod.
Fuel outlet on each side with a finger screen in each one; down pipe
from each one with a Cessna style fuel sampler at the bottom; 5/16"
fittings and hose up to a manifold under the seat, that sits several
inches below the bottom of the tank. I put the plastic tube up the
front of the tank for a fuel gauge. Now..............today I put in 1
gal of gas, and let it sit for 1/2 hour with both outlet valves open.
Figured that would let the fuel equalize from the fill side of the tank,
thru the hoses to the other side with the gauge. Nothing showed in the
gauge, so figured 1 gal wasn't enuf, and added 1 more gal - total of 2.
Walked away for another 1/2 hour, and still nothing in there. There is
clear tubing from the manifold to the pre-filters, and nothing showing
in there, either. Fuel samplers have good, solid flow. Pushed down on
the pre-filters, and saw just a dribble of fuel run down into the
pre-filters. OK, leave it till morning, impatient
Lar....................so that's what I'm doing...............but it's
bugging hell out of me. Valves are definitely
open.....................so why aren't I getting any flow ?? Haven't
hooked up the battery yet, to try the pumps, but if there's no fuel down
there, doesn't seem like they'd have anything to push. Anyone ???
There's good pictures on my website in the fuel system page.
Baffled Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only |
In a message dated 10/24/01 9:41:16 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
PVolum(at)etsmiami.com writes:
bought Fat Albert from Kolb under an invoice that read "Aircraft Parts
Non-Airworthy".
Stupid simple and to the point I thought
Just like me. I like it when my clients take my advice.
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
I guess the obvious question that will come up is: why did I just put in 1
or 2 gallons ?? The answer is that I want to calibrate the sight gauge as I
fill the tank.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com>
Subject: Kolb-List: Fuel
>
> Gotta question................... I have the 15 (16 ??) gal aluminum
> tank, with the channel in the bottom that sits over the aileron rod.
> Fuel outlet on each side with a finger screen in each one; down pipe
> from each one with a Cessna style fuel sampler at the bottom; 5/16"
> fittings and hose up to a manifold under the seat, that sits several>
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Cavuontop legal stuff |
| From: | "Jim Gerken" <gerken(at)us.ibm.com> |
10/25/2001 07:00:19 AM
>From: Cavuontop(at)aol.com
>Subject: Re: Kolb-List: For sale: Kolb MkIII airframe only
>In a message dated 10/24/01 9:41:16 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>PVolum(at)etsmiami.com writes:
> bought Fat Albert from Kolb under an invoice that read "Aircraft Parts
>Non-Airworthy".
>Stupid simple and to the point I thought
> Just like me. I like it when my clients take my advice.
>Mark R. Sellers
>Kolb Twinstar Mark III
>N496BM
I thought I had a handle on this after our conversation, but maybe you
should clarify the above statement. Clarify it for my benefit, for the
benefit of the other Listers who may misunderstand what is being said, and
also for the sake of your own liability Mark, in case anyone reads the
above as legal advice.
But seriously, your response reads as if to imply this is "the answer".
I understood that nothing is a complete "answer" to the liabilty issue.
Did I miss the hidden meaning? Sorry, I know this is a tough question.
Jim Gerken
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Cavuontop legal stuff |
In a message dated 10/25/01 8:03:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
gerken(at)us.ibm.com writes:
> But seriously, your response reads as if to imply this is "the answer".
> I understood that nothing is a complete "answer" to the liabilty issue.
> Did I miss the hidden meaning? Sorry, I know this is a tough question.
>
Jim:
You are quite right that there is no magic bullet that will protect an
individual from being hailed into court in the event someone decides you
might be responsible for an airplane crash. But keep in mind that everything
is context sensitive. Fat Albert, the old Kolb demonstrator, was owned,
operated and maintained by a corporation that has since been dissolved (by
me). Its a drastic solution for an individual, but if you want to make
absolutely sure you never get sued by the folks who buy your experimental
plane you could always drop dead. Put another way, Kolb aircraft company
cannot be sued because it no longer exists, which is not an attractive option
for most of us.
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Richard Neilsen" <neilsenr(at)state.mi.us> |
Larry
Would it do any good to purge the air out of the fuel system? I can't see your
link to the fuel system page from the address below. The system from memory seems
complex is there anything else that would create resistance to the flow of
fuel? You may want to make sure the fuel will flows to the other side of the
tank. I would hate to find out that you would suck air if one side of your tank
runs dry. I'm surprised at how wide your tank is. Are there sumps or a recess
were the fuel outlet is on each side of your tank? Sometimes people put hopper
tanks below these tanks to make sure there is fuel to get when the fuel runs
away from the outlet.
My 2 cents worth.
Rick Neilsenr
stuck on the ground VW powered MKIII
<<< Haven't
hooked up the battery yet, to try the pumps, but if there's no fuel down
there, doesn't seem like they'd have anything to push. Anyone ???
There's good pictures on my website in the fuel system page.
Baffled Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com >>>>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net> |
"FlyChallenger"
For those who haven't heard, Ken Brock was killed Oct. 19 after a tailwheel
linkage broke on landing in his T18. Plane swerved and hit a pole sheering
a wing and flipping the plane. Ken died instantly of a broke neck, while
his wife only received minor injuries. "UNOFFICAL" (and I stress UNoffical)
report says that he was hit in the back of the neck by a small tool
pouch/box...
Everybody might want to have a look around your plane to see if there's
anything in there you wouldn't want flying at you in an emergency
situation...
And certainly everyone will want to remember his widow.
Jeremy Casey
jrcasey(at)ldl.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net> |
"FlyChallenger"
And for those who don't know who Ken Brock is, he flew Gyro plane
demonstrations for years at Sun-n-Fun and Oshkosh and ran a business that
made all kinds of parts for the experimental/homebuilt world. WWW.eaa.org
has more info about his death.
Jeremy Casey
jrcasey(at)ldl.net
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Peter Volum" <PVolum(at)etsmiami.com> |
| Subject: | Cavuontop legal stuff |
Mark, How about this for a possible solution then?
1: Form a corporation (which you can do for about $50.00)
2: Sell an airplane under the corporation name.
3: Dissolve the company.
Would that do the trick?
Peter
Fat Albert, the old Kolb demonstrator, was owned,
operated and maintained by a corporation that has since been dissolved (by
me). Its a drastic solution for an individual, but if you want to make
absolutely sure you never get sued by the folks who buy your experimental
plane you could always drop dead. Put another way, Kolb aircraft company
cannot be sued because it no longer exists, which is not an attractive
option
for most of us.
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Richard Carlisle <rrcarl(at)concentric.net> |
Hi All...
Im new here and just picked up an plder Twinstar. The variety with no
cockpit enclosure (built in 1986). The problem in that Im getting mixed
opinions on the specs of this plane.
The previous owner has it placarded as a gross weight of 720lbs and empty
weight of 322lbs. He said he had flown it numerous times at close to 800lbs
(pilot-180, passenger-260, baggage-20 or so) but had to add some weight to
the tail to keep the CG in line. Some other owners have told me that they
have flown the Twinstar heavy and some have said that flying this plane over
680lbs is like signing your own death certificate. The specs on this plane
seem to be largely opinion based.
Whats the real story? Kolb wont give me any data on this plane. At what
point do you risk folding up the wings? For any older Twinstar owners...How
heavy have you flown safely? I'm 250, I'd like to be able to carry a 200lb
passenger...and I'd like to build a lightweight enclosure or atleast full
coverage windscreen.
Im inclined to use the numbers for a Mark 3 but knock 100 lbs off the max
payload. In otherwords...Use 450lbs as a max payload figure for the older
Twinstar.
Also...Any W&B info would be much appreciated. IE: What is the allowable CG
envelope...Fore and aft...In relation to the leading edge. I can do the
weight and balance, but I have no idea if my results are within tolerance.
Thanks...Ross
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
When you open Gogittum.com, scroll down, and click where it says, "Click
Here." That'll open my old website, then open "Building Vamoose," then
"Seats & Fuel System." I haven't looked at it this morning, yet, but I
think I'm going to tear it apart from the shutoff valves down. I'm not even
a little bit happy right now.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Neilsen" <neilsenr(at)state.mi.us>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Fuel
>
> Larry
>
> Would it do any good to purge the air out of the fuel system? I can't see
your link to the fuel system page from the address below. The system from
memory seems complex is there anything else that would create resistance to
the flow of fuel? You may want to make sure the fuel will flows to the other
side of the tank. I would hate to find out that you would suck air if one
side of your tank runs dry. I'm surprised at how wide your tank is. Are
there sumps or a recess were the fuel outlet is on each side of your tank?
Sometimes people put hopper tanks below these tanks to make sure there is
fuel to get when the fuel runs away from the outlet.
>
> My 2 cents worth.
>
> Rick Neilsenr
> stuck on the ground VW powered MKIII
>
>
> <<< Haven't
> hooked up the battery yet, to try the pumps, but if there's no fuel down
> there, doesn't seem like they'd have anything to push. Anyone ???
> There's good pictures on my website in the fuel system page.
> Baffled Lar.
>
> Larry Bourne
> Palm Springs, Ca.
> Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
> http://www.gogittum.com >>>>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Christopher John Armstrong" <Tophera(at)centurytel.net> |
Now..............today I put in 1
> >gal of gas, and let it sit for 1/2 hour with both outlet valves open.
> >Figured that would let the fuel equalize from the fill side of the tank,
> >thru the hoses to the other side with the gauge. Nothing showed in the
> >gauge, so figured 1 gal wasn't enuf, and added 1 more gal - total of 2.
> >Walked away for another 1/2 hour, and still nothing in there. There is
> >clear tubing from the manifold to the pre-filters, and nothing showing
> >in there, either. Fuel samplers have good, solid flow. Pushed down on
> >the pre-filters, and saw just a dribble of fuel run down into the
> >pre-filters.
You have anti reverse valves in your system that prevent back flow, and they
would also prevent flow from one side to the other... it I'm followiing you
system right.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Twinstar Specs |
You don't specify which engine you have. I can't help with the weight &
balance info, but I can give an opinion on power & handling. I flew for 1
1/2 hours in an older, Rotax 503 powered, Twinstar Mk II several years ago
at El Mirage dry lake, and the flight was spooky. At the time I had a
moderate amount of experience in both g.a. aircraft, and ultralights. With
a 220# instructor, and 210# me on board, I'm glad we were at El Mirage,
which is several miles long, and, I think, around 3000' msl. Took a long
time to get airborne, then climb rate was very low - only about 200 - 300
fpm, and the instructor was very specific about getting below 50 mph. When
I started a gentle, co-ordinated turn at about 400 or 500 ft agl, and 55
mph, he tensed right up, but kept quiet. I don't remember the exact speeds,
so, you guys, don't jump all over me for this, but seems like the stall
speed was close to 50 mph, top speed was under 65 mph, and cruise around 57
mph. I wouldn't want to go thru much of that................you've got no
reserves at all. I believe the plane needs at least a 582 for power.
Big Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Carlisle" <rrcarl(at)concentric.net>
Subject: Kolb-List: Twinstar Specs
>
> Hi All...
>
> Im new here and just picked up an plder Twinstar. The variety with no
> cockpit enclosure (built in 1986). The problem in that Im getting mixed
> opinions on the specs of this plane.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
I'll answer Mike here, too. I put a level on line with the bottom of the
fuel tank, and with tailwheel on the ground, the "manifold" is about 2"
below the bottom of the tank. But you raise a good point...........in the
air - where I'll be looking at this thing, the tail will be higher, so today
I'll put the tail up on blocks. The anti-reverse valves are on the outlet
ends of the fuel pumps. If you look at the pics, you'll see where the fuel
lines come from each shutoff valve, and come to the front of the plate
holding the pumps & filters. To my eyes, seems like the fuel should flow
from either tank valve, to the manifold, to either pump, since there's just
a double "Tee" there. BTW, all those temporary lines have been replaced
with proper hose. With 2 gallons in the left side of the tank, seems like
fuel should flow thru this, and up to the right side of the tank, until
levels are equalized, pushing the air in the lines ahead of it. In any
case, like it or not, that system is coming apart today. I'm not real
interested in flying something with so little fuel flow. Thank you all.
Disgusted Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher John Armstrong" <Tophera(at)centurytel.net>
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Fuel
>
> Now..............today I put in 1
> > >gal of gas, and let it sit for 1/2 hour with both outlet valves open.
> > >Figured that would let the fuel equalize from the fill side of the
tank,
> > >thru the hoses to the other side with the gauge. Nothing showed in
the
> > >gauge, so figured 1 gal wasn't enuf, and added 1 more gal - total of 2.
> > >Walked away for another 1/2 hour, and still nothing in there. There is
> > >clear tubing from the manifold to the pre-filters, and nothing showing
> > >in there, either. Fuel samplers have good, solid flow. Pushed down on
> > >the pre-filters, and saw just a dribble of fuel run down into the
> > >pre-filters.
>
> You have anti reverse valves in your system that prevent back flow, and
they
> would also prevent flow from one side to the other... it I'm followiing
you
> system right.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Keith Singer" <kas(at)wckz.com> |
| Subject: | RE: Kolb-List Digest: 17 Msgs - 10/24/01 |
Fellow Kolb owners/pilots:
I am writing regarding the liability questions surrounding sale of home
build aircraft. I am a trial lawyer and I work with "lawsuits" almost
exclusively. It is my humble opinion (Disclaimer: This email is not to be
used as legal advice.) that no release, no matter how artfully crafted, can
effectively prevent someone from suing us if a loved one dies or is
seriously injured in a plane which we owned/built and then sold. A release
may be useful once litigation has commenced, but is rather well established
in United States law that a citizen may not sign away her right to sue. The
previous owner has duties of due care to the subsequent owner no matter what
the release says. If those duties of due care are breached and damage
results therefrom, a lawsuit may rightly be filed. Whether or not a jury
will make an award is another matter. Will it be expensive to defend, yes.
But somebody's family member died. A lawsuit allows one to conduct
discovery, which is one of the best methods to find out if the previous
owner did in fact breach a duty of due care. A reasonable release is better
than no release but there are no magic words. If the family of a dead pilot
feels wronged by you, it is better that they sue you then kill you back. My
experience is that we are not as sue happy a society as one would think.
Full fledged litigation is way too expensive and involved. And ultralight
pilots are not major corporations with deep pockets to pay for such
lawsuits. Yes, our system is the worst in world, except all others.
Keith A. Singer
Tucson, Arizona (where it is still relatively warm and sunny)
1998 Firestar II 130 TT
For sale, but I'm beginning to reconsider.
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Twinstar Specs |
| From: | Richard Carlisle <rrcarl(at)concentric.net> |
Its a new 503. I flew it solo for a bit last weekend and that was spooky.
Im used to very responsive planes. It felt like I was going to have to
climb out on the wing of this thing to get it to turn. Stop to stop on the
ailerons made it wallow around a bit, but thats about it. A move like that
in my Phantom get you inverted. At times I had to wonder whether the
aileron linkage had come loose.
I practiced some stalls. It stalls at about 35 and...BTW...spins nicely.
It tends to always break left in a stall. Rudder has little effect at stall
speeds unless you get some air moving over the tail with the prop. Like
you, I found minimum safe manuevering speed to be about 50.
I think the max engine for this plane is the 503 because of weight. I could
make a high perf single place out of it, but that defeats the purpose of a 2
place. In all the years Ive been flying light planes, Ive always had
problems with small 2 seaters because of my size. Maybe its time to start
thinking about that diet :) We have one advantage in that we are at 500 ASL
and in cool, dense air most of the time.
I say the max engine is a 503, but that doesnt mean the max power is 50HP.
A tuned pipe will get 65HP out of the 503. I run one on my Phantom with
excellent results. The engine runs cooler with the tuned pipe.
I can add more power if that will help. I dont want to overstress it and
fold up a wing in flight though. The plane has a BRS, but Im not interested
in trying it out.
Thanks for the comments, Larry...Keep em' coming.
on 10/25/01 10:55 AM, Larry Bourne at biglar(at)gogittum.com wrote:
>
> You don't specify which engine you have. I can't help with the weight &
> balance info, but I can give an opinion on power & handling. I flew for 1
> 1/2 hours in an older, Rotax 503 powered, Twinstar Mk II several years ago
> at El Mirage dry lake, and the flight was spooky. At the time I had a
> moderate amount of experience in both g.a. aircraft, and ultralights. With
> a 220# instructor, and 210# me on board, I'm glad we were at El Mirage,
> which is several miles long, and, I think, around 3000' msl. Took a long
> time to get airborne, then climb rate was very low - only about 200 - 300
> fpm, and the instructor was very specific about getting below 50 mph. When
> I started a gentle, co-ordinated turn at about 400 or 500 ft agl, and 55
> mph, he tensed right up, but kept quiet. I don't remember the exact speeds,
> so, you guys, don't jump all over me for this, but seems like the stall
> speed was close to 50 mph, top speed was under 65 mph, and cruise around 57
> mph. I wouldn't want to go thru much of that................you've got no
> reserves at all. I believe the plane needs at least a 582 for power.
> Big Lar.
>
> Larry Bourne
> Palm Springs, Ca.
> Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
> http://www.gogittum.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard Carlisle" <rrcarl(at)concentric.net>
> To: "Kolb List"
> Subject: Kolb-List: Twinstar Specs
>
>
>>
>> Hi All...
>>
>> Im new here and just picked up an plder Twinstar. The variety with no
>> cockpit enclosure (built in 1986). The problem in that Im getting mixed
>> opinions on the specs of this plane.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Rogerde5(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Twinstar Specs |
I read your letter about looking for specs on your older twinstar. I wrote
you the other day and remeber you. IM the guy with a 1989 or 1990 twinstar
what ever year it does not matter. Yes your former owner is exactly right
about the weights on a older twinstar. 720 lbs gross weight!!!! Mine is 750
according to my manual. And your empty weight is about right also.
Who ever told you about not carrying over 680 lbs doesn't know his head
from a hole in the ground. Probably never even owned one or he would not have
said that.
Your useful load is about 400 lbs with fuel and passengers. At your size you
better figure it at a single place aircraft if you carry ten gallons of fuel
in it. Or you and a very small adult.
If you carry two big guys in it on a hot day you are going to be in a
world of trouble big time.
Roger
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Matt Dralle <dralle(at)matronics.com> |
| Subject: | NEW Matronics Email List Feature! Browse Current List |
Messages!
Dear Listers,
I have just finished building an all new Email List Web Browsing feature
for the Matronics Email Lists. The new system allows you to use your web
browser to view all of the current Email List messages. The system's
indexes display all of the current List messages sorted by Subject, Author,
Date, or Thread. Clicking on the URL links on these index pages will open
another "Viewing Window" where the messages will be displayed.
The format of the index pages and message viewing window are consistent
with the existing Matronics Archive Search Engine and should be familiar to
everyone. The messages available on this new List Browsing Feature span
the previous 7 days of email for the given List. Each day the oldest day's
messages are replaced with the current day's messages. The web pages are
updated every 30 minutes with any new messages that are posted to the List
during that time frame.
Please have a look at the new Utility and let me know what you think! For
ease of use, I've added a link to the new system on each of the List
trailers that are appended to each List email message.
I hope you will find the new system useful and also find it to be a handy
companion to the Archive Search Engine.
The new Email Browsing Utility can be found at the following URL:
http://www.matronics.com/listbrowse
From here, you can select any of the available Email Lists.
Best regards,
Matt Dralle
Matronics Email List Admin.
Matt G Dralle | Matronics | PO Box 347 | Livermore | CA | 94551
925-606-1001 V | 925-606-6281 F | dralle(at)matronics.com Email
http://www.matronics.com/ WWW | Featuring Products For Aircraft
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Tim Gherkins <rp3420(at)email.sps.mot.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Ken Brock... |
Kolbers,
The EAA site had a article about Ken Brocks incident on monday, the accident
was last friday. It floored my uncle as well as myself to hear of this tragic
and sad news.
Ken brock is synonymous with Gyrocopter. He set a worlds record of flying a
gyro from one coast to another in record time. He hosts the west coast
largest gyro fly-in on the last weekend of september (just a few weeks ago,
the same weekend as the Kolb hosted fly-in). We were at El Mirage during that
fly-in to meet Ken and especially see him and many others fly their gyros.
Ken has flown at many other EAA Fly-ins as Jeremy Casey acknowledges,
including Copperstate here in Mesa Arizona. At El Mirage dry lake bed, Ken
can fly that gyro to the deck and start making a large radius turn with the
inside wheel rolling on the ground, then pull up and entertain with many other
stunts that only a gyro with Ken at the controls can do. I still have Ken
Brock catalogs, leaflets, pamplets and articles dating clear back in the
seventies. Like Jeremy C. said, Ken's company makes many parts and components
for the aviation industry as well as a leader and pioneer in Gyro flights,
sales and service.
Sorry about the gyro talk on the Kolb list, but we owned two gyros and sold
them to help us get into our KOLBs!!!! But the loss to our
industry/hobby/love is large with the death of Ken Brock.
Here is some information on Ken's services:
Services will be held
Friday, 10-26-01 at 1:00pm
Forest Lawn
4471 Lincoln Ave
Cypress, Calif.
Viewing of body will be:
Thursday, 10-25-01 from 4-10pm
at the Hope Chapel ( Forest Lawn).
Ken's wifes address is:
Marie Brock
11852 Western Ave
Stanton, Ca 90680
Regards,
Tim Gherkins
Phx,AZ
Jeremy Casey wrote:
>
> And for those who don't know who Ken Brock is, he flew Gyro plane
> demonstrations for years at Sun-n-Fun and Oshkosh and ran a business that
> made all kinds of parts for the experimental/homebuilt world. WWW.eaa.org
> has more info about his death.
>
> Jeremy Casey
> jrcasey(at)ldl.net
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Twinstar Specs |
| From: | Richard Carlisle <rrcarl(at)concentric.net> |
on 10/25/01 12:29 PM, Rogerde5(at)aol.com at Rogerde5(at)aol.com wrote:
> Your useful load is about 400 lbs with fuel and passengers. At your size you
> better figure it at a single place aircraft if you carry ten gallons of fuel
> in it. Or you and a very small adult.
> If you carry two big guys in it on a hot day you are going to be in a
> world of trouble big time.
Whats the limiting factor? Is the wing not capable of lifting more or is it
a power issue. Bringing the 503 up to 65 HP is easy. All it takes is a
tuned pipe. Do you think that would help? In other words...assuming I were
pushing 65HP, would the plane be safe with say...500 lbs on board? Or is
that pushing the structural limits of the plane past the breaking point?
Ross
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Johann G. Johannsson" <johann-g(at)tal.is> |
| Subject: | BRS attach point |
Hi Alan.
I own a Firestar II with a Rotax 503 DCDI and am also using the VLS 750
I think we are both doing the same thing here. You may get some pictures
of
my installation here: http://www.gi.is/fis/brs.htm
I was told that you would be better of going down with the nose down,
because otherwise the aircraft is falling like a leaf, stalling back and
forth. With the nose pointing down you may have some control of the
plane.
If you can get the demo tape for BRS, you will see that the Cessna 150
has
the nose down.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Johann G.
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net> |
I am speaking from what I have read and seen, because I have never owned a
Mark 2...but my $.02 worth.
It is my understanding that the Mark 2 wing was essentially a Firestar wing.
(5" spar and lighter drag strut.) I don't know the number of ribs, false
ribs etc. But as such I would be comparing it more to the Firestar than to
the Mark 3. The M3 has a 6" spar and a 4 layered sleeved drag strut. I
also think the power loading of the M2 is more in line with the Firestar
while obviously being more draggy.
Jeremy Casey
jrcasey(at)ldl.net
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com
[mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com]On Behalf Of Richard
Carlisle
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Twinstar Specs
on 10/25/01 12:29 PM, Rogerde5(at)aol.com at Rogerde5(at)aol.com wrote:
> Your useful load is about 400 lbs with fuel and passengers. At your size
you
> better figure it at a single place aircraft if you carry ten gallons of
fuel
> in it. Or you and a very small adult.
> If you carry two big guys in it on a hot day you are going to be in a
> world of trouble big time.
Whats the limiting factor? Is the wing not capable of lifting more or is it
a power issue. Bringing the 503 up to 65 HP is easy. All it takes is a
tuned pipe. Do you think that would help? In other words...assuming I were
pushing 65HP, would the plane be safe with say...500 lbs on board? Or is
that pushing the structural limits of the plane past the breaking point?
Ross
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cessna21(at)aol.com |
| Subject: | Re: Twinstar Specs |
I have a twinstar also and I was trying to get ahold of a wieght and balance
sheet for it!
Tracy
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Herb Gearheart <herbgh(at)nctc.com> |
| Subject: | Re: RE: Kolb-List Digest: 17 Msgs - 10/24/01 |
Keith
Question? If I , as the previous owner, go in front of the judge and or Jury
and prove that I flew the airplane just prior to sale and had probably flown it
frequently; is the jury to conclude that I am suicidal?? Herb
Keith Singer wrote:
>
> Fellow Kolb owners/pilots:
>
> I am writing regarding the liability questions surrounding sale of home
> build aircraft. I am a trial lawyer and I work with "lawsuits" almost
> exclusively. It is my humble opinion (Disclaimer: This email is not to be
> used as legal advice.) that no release, no matter how artfully crafted, can
> effectively prevent someone from suing us if a loved one dies or is
> seriously injured in a plane which we owned/built and then sold. A release
> may be useful once litigation has commenced, but is rather well established
> in United States law that a citizen may not sign away her right to sue. The
> previous owner has duties of due care to the subsequent owner no matter what
> the release says. If those duties of due care are breached and damage
> results therefrom, a lawsuit may rightly be filed. Whether or not a jury
> will make an award is another matter. Will it be expensive to defend, yes.
> But somebody's family member died. A lawsuit allows one to conduct
> discovery, which is one of the best methods to find out if the previous
> owner did in fact breach a duty of due care. A reasonable release is better
> than no release but there are no magic words. If the family of a dead pilot
> feels wronged by you, it is better that they sue you then kill you back. My
> experience is that we are not as sue happy a society as one would think.
> Full fledged litigation is way too expensive and involved. And ultralight
> pilots are not major corporations with deep pockets to pay for such
> lawsuits. Yes, our system is the worst in world, except all others.
>
> Keith A. Singer
> Tucson, Arizona (where it is still relatively warm and sunny)
> 1998 Firestar II 130 TT
> For sale, but I'm beginning to reconsider.
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Richard Carlisle <rrcarl(at)concentric.net> |
Has anyone ever tried drooped wingtips on a Twinstar? Might be something
cool to try. They should vastly improve the STOL characteristics and help
with lift when you are flying a bit on the heavy side.
Ross
________________________________________________________________________________
| Subject: | Re: Twinstar Specs |
| From: | Richard Carlisle <rrcarl(at)concentric.net> |
on 10/25/01 5:02 PM, Cessna21(at)aol.com at Cessna21(at)aol.com wrote:
> I have a twinstar also and I was trying to get ahold of a wieght and balance
> sheet for it!
> Tracy
Im going on the presumtion that the CG should fall at or around 30% of the
wing chord. My Phantom's envelope is 22% - 38%. So far Ive had no luck
coming up with CG data.
Ross
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Larry Bourne" <biglar(at)gogittum.com> |
This afternoon, I took the hoses off the fuel manifold, and tried each
one.................lots of flow, from both sides. Put the hoses back
in place, and added another gallon of gas, and it slooooowwwly came up
in the tube - about 10 - 15 minutes. Still slow, but better than
yesterday. ( ??? ) Gallon 4 brought it up to the top of the divider, so
that's the end of that experiment. All this with the tail up on blocks.
Thanks to those who gave thought and assistance. Now, there's
another one................but it's ol' boneheaded Lar's
fault...............guess which brilliant, intelligent, not so young,
never egotistical, self taught, aircraft designer/engineer decided when
wiring his mighty effort, to run the power lead to the master switch
from the 'Output Side' of the master relay ???????? Hooked up the
battery, hit the master
switch..............nothing........nada.........zip ! ! ! Neighbor
watching and grinning at ol' Lars' red face. Ayyyy-yyyyiiii-yiiiiii
! ! ! Gogittum Lar.
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, Ca.
Kolb Mk III - " Vamoose"
http://www.gogittum.com
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Woody <duesouth(at)iname.com> |
| Subject: | Re: Twinstar Specs |
Here is my experience with the Twinstar
I weight 190. I do not fly more than 230 lbs. It is powered by a Hirth
2703 rated at 55 hp. The main problem with increasing the passenger weight
is that it is harder to keep the nose from digging a furrow in the ground
as you try and take off. I did fly a 300 lb guy once. I needed a practice
run down the runway to get the hang of balancing the throttle and
acceleration. Once up it flew fine but only had a climb of 400 fpm. These
are just my experiences and others may differ. I do wonder about the guy
that made the death wish statement.
>
>Hi All...
>
>Im new here and just picked up an plder Twinstar. The variety with no
>cockpit enclosure (built in 1986). The problem in that Im getting mixed
>opinions on the specs of this plane.
>
>The previous owner has it placarded as a gross weight of 720lbs and empty
>weight of 322lbs. He said he had flown it numerous times at close to 800lbs
>(pilot-180, passenger-260, baggage-20 or so) but had to add some weight to
>the tail to keep the CG in line. Some other owners have told me that they
>have flown the Twinstar heavy and some have said that flying this plane over
>680lbs is like signing your own death certificate. The specs on this plane
>seem to be largely opinion based.
>
>Whats the real story? Kolb wont give me any data on this plane. At what
>point do you risk folding up the wings? For any older Twinstar owners...How
>heavy have you flown safely? I'm 250, I'd like to be able to carry a 200lb
>passenger...and I'd like to build a lightweight enclosure or atleast full
>coverage windscreen.
>
>Im inclined to use the numbers for a Mark 3 but knock 100 lbs off the max
>payload. In otherwords...Use 450lbs as a max payload figure for the older
>Twinstar.
>
>Also...Any W&B info would be much appreciated. IE: What is the allowable CG
>envelope...Fore and aft...In relation to the leading edge. I can do the
>weight and balance, but I have no idea if my results are within tolerance.
>
>Thanks...Ross
>
>
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | "Jeremy Casey" <jrcasey(at)ldl.net> |
Richard...
It just hit me. You NEED to get in touch with Dennis Souder (or Homer
Kolb...but he's probably harder to get...) Dennis used to monitor this
list, even after the sale to New Kolb. I have his email address at home (if
its still good I don't know) or maybe someone else might have it. But if
TNK isn't/can't support the M2 then you at least better get some info from
Dennis. You don't want to reinvent the wheel, if it's avoidable. In case
you don't know who Dennis is, he was the co-designer of almost all of the
Kolbs...he is an engineer who worked with Homer for years...
Jeremy Casey
jrcasey(at)ldl.net
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com
[mailto:owner-kolb-list-server(at)matronics.com]On Behalf Of Richard
Carlisle
Subject: Re: Kolb-List: Twinstar Specs
on 10/25/01 5:02 PM, Cessna21(at)aol.com at Cessna21(at)aol.com wrote:
> I have a twinstar also and I was trying to get ahold of a wieght and
balance
> sheet for it!
> Tracy
Im going on the presumtion that the CG should fall at or around 30% of the
wing chord. My Phantom's envelope is 22% - 38%. So far Ive had no luck
coming up with CG data.
Ross
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Cavuontop(at)aol.com |
In a message dated 10/25/01 5:19:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
rrcarl(at)concentric.net writes:
Has anyone ever tried drooped wingtips on a Twinstar? Might be something
cool to try. They should vastly improve the STOL characteristics and help
with lift when you are flying a bit on the heavy side.
Wrong. The claims for improved performance on drooped tips all come
from the manufacturers and are WAY overstated. I've flown both a 152 and a
Tomahawk with Demmers tips and they did squat. Their advertising claims are
total hot air. What is your problems with the stock tips?
Mark R. Sellers
Kolb Twinstar Mark III
N496BM
________________________________________________________________________________
| From: | Jack & Louise Hart <jbhart(at)ldd.net> |
>
>Has anyone ever tried drooped wingtips on a Twinstar? Might be something
>cool to try. They should vastly improve the STOL characteristics and help
>with lift when you are flying a bit on the heavy side.
>
>Ross
>
They might not be as "cool", but vortex generators will give you a lot more
lift for the added weight that will droop tips.
Jack B. Hart FF004
Jackson, MO
Jack & Louise Hart
jbhart(at)ldd.net
October 02, 2001 - October 25, 2001
Kolb-Archive.digest.vol-de