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David.Lehman
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 265
Location: "Lovely" Fresno CA
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 Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 12:09 pm Post subject: Buyer Beware!... |
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It sounds like I wasn't too bright when I bought a Kolb...
I soloed 4 different types of airplanes on my 16th birthday and I'll be 60
this year... I've owned 33 different airplanes and helicopters during that
time... I've had a North American T-6, a couple of BT-13s, a Cessna "Bamboo
Bomber", 4 Cessna 180s, a 185, a couple of Bonanzas, a couple of Republic
Seabees, a Mooney Mite, a 1929 Stearman C3B, a couple of Robertson B1-RDs
and on and on and on... I've flown a Molt Taylor Aerocar (for a Japanese TV
commercial no less, worst airplane I've ever flown) done aerobatics in a
Bucker Jungmeister (the single place, Siemens engine, most delightful
airplane I've ever flown), flown a Ranger powered Great Lakes across the
country East to West and a DeHavilland Chipmunk South to North, etc.,
etc... All this pomp and circumstance to support the fact that I'm not new
to aviation...
Now I've reached a point in my life where I want a strong, non-complex,
fun-to-fly, no-nonsense airplane to enjoy... I did my homework (so I
thought) and bought the Firestar... I originally wanted an Ultrastar (still
do for that matter, naw), but found a reasonably priced early 5-rib Firestar
and I kind of liked the idea of having the first of something (it's the
antique collector in me)... I read every article I could find on Kolbs,
started the Yahoo KolbUltrastar group because some of the Ultrastar guys
wanted their own place to play on the web, read the postings on the
Kolb-List, heard about how pilots were yanking/banking/landing hard/etc.
their Kolbs and they just kept on ticking, saw the pictures of the Ultrastar
doing loops, etc... Apparently my mistake was not going to the Kolb-List
archives and looking for Firestar wing failures... Nobody's fault but my
own...
Which brings me to today... I have a garage full of ready-to fly/crash
early Firestar that probably is about due for recover, has an antiqued
503/belt drive, 850x6 tires, VGs, etc., that I had planned to enjoy for a
year or two before I recovered it (it used to be "her", now it's "it") that
I haven't flown and I don't even want to go in the garage to see... I don't
want to junk it out (hurts my pride), the local Parks Dept. won't want it
for kids to play in and I certainly don't want to sell it to someone because
they'll probably get hurt in "it"...
Not real sure why I wrote this dissertation, maybe looking for pity, maybe
to "get it off my chest", most likely to warn prospective buyers to do their
homework better than I did...
Disillusioned/Discouraged/Disappointed/Depressed/David in "Lovely" Fresno
remembering what P.T. Barnum said...
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_________________
ô¿ô
"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute."
--- George Bernard Shaw |
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planecrazzzy
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| Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:33 pm Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware!... |
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Hey,
Chin up.... We had a guy here....Ken?....He bought a Kolb Firestar from the company that builds them....Light speed or somethin....
Anyway, After he did some research on the subject....he ordered the Wing kit....Built the 7 rib wings, and sold the 5 rib wings cheap ( their are people who can use them )
Maybe you could use a "B" box too...
Gotta Fly...
Mike in MN
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JetPilot
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 1246
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| Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:23 am Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware!... |
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Hi David,
I dont think there is anything wrong with the 5 rib wing, I would fly one if I owned it !!! Its only when the wing gets to be very high time, or used in aerobatics that I would start to worry about it. If your plane is not very high time, or has not been abused, the 5 rib wing should be fine. There are LOTS of 5 rib wings flying without failure. Only the high time high stress wings that start to approach the same history of the wing that failed should be cause for concern.
Having owned general aviation airplanes, you must know that all planes have parts that fatigue and need to be replaced over time... The difference is the FAA tracks and mandates these inspections and part replacement on certified aircraft. On experimental airplanes we have to do this ourselves. One should be aware and properly maintain any airplane, be it certified or a Kolb, but it should not scare us away from flying them.
Michael A. Bigelow
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_________________
"NO FEAR" - If you have no fear you did not go as fast as you could have !!!
Kolb MK-III Xtra, 912-S |
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