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DAquaNut(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:51 pm Post subject: Evening Flight

Kolbers   

 

      Flew my first cross country today to an  airport 17.3 miles away. Not 

much of a cross country but it is a start. The  Firefly burned about 3.2 gal 

and took about 40 minutes ,to make the round  trip. The weather is warm enough 

down here that the mosquitos are  starting to be a pest. I am still glad I 

decided to build a KOLB. I think I saw  80 mph once when I was not keeping an eye 

on the airspeed.  The really good  part is my leading edge did not fail on 

either wing.  I have the fold  up time down to 15 minutes!  Starting to trust Her 

a little more each time  I fly Her!

 

         Ed Diebel  ( In  Houston   Firefly # 62 , 6.5 hrs.)

jdm(at)wideworld.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:58 am Post subject: Evening Flight

I guess we are all paranoid now!  I saw 90 once and mine didn't fail either.

 	  Quote: 	
		   I think I saw  80 mph once when I was not keeping an eye

on the airspeed.  The really good  part is my leading edge did not fail on

 either wing.

rlaird

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 373
Location: Houston

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:31 am Post subject: Evening Flight

Ed --



Where'd ya go... Volk?  or Bailes?



  -- Robert



On 3/7/06, DAquaNut(at)aol.com <DAquaNut(at)aol.com> wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  

 



 Kolbers



       Flew my first cross country today to an  airport 17.3 miles away.

 Not

 much of a cross country but it is a start. The  Firefly burned about 3.2gal

 and took about 40 minutes ,to make the round  trip. The weather is warm

 enough

 down here that the mosquitos are  starting to be a pest. I am still glad I

 decided to build a KOLB. I think I saw  80 mph once when I was not keeping

 an eye

 on the airspeed.  The really good  part is my leading edge did not fail on

 either wing.  I have the fold  up time down to 15 minutes!  Starting to

 trust Her

 a little more each time  I fly Her!



          Ed Diebel  ( In  Houston   Firefly # 62 , 6.5 hrs.)




	


do not archive

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Laird
formerly: MkIIIc w/ 912ULS & Gyrobee
current: Autogyro Cavalon w/ 914ULS
Houston, TX area
http://www.Texas-Flyer.com

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:57 am Post subject: Evening Flight

On Mar 7, 2006, at 6:56 AM, John Murr wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   I guess we are all paranoid now!  I saw 90 once and mine didn't  

 fail either.


	


Hey now,



If you fly 90 mph in that 5 rib I promise I will deny I never knew a  

John Murr.



Please slow down.

jdm(at)wideworld.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:26 am Post subject: Evening Flight

I assure you it was by accident.

---

flht99reh(at)netzero.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 9:37 am Post subject: Evening Flight

Good for you Ed. I envious a little. But soon, perhaps within the early part

of summer, there I will also be. I am also somewhat envious of your mosquito

problem. That means heat and here in the Ohio area, we ain't got none! (my

spell checker hates me).



--

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:09 am Post subject: Evening Flight

On Mar 7, 2006, at 11:25 AM, John Murr wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  

 I assure you it was by accident.


	


Ok,

Think about that last eight letter word.

DAquaNut(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:50 am Post subject: Evening Flight

In a message dated 3/7/2006 5:59:33 A.M. Central Standard Time,  

jdm(at)wideworld.net writes:

I  guess we are all paranoid now!  I saw 90 once and mine didn't fail  either.

 	  Quote: 	
		   I think I saw  80 mph once when I was not keeping  an eye

on the airspeed.  The really good  part is my leading  edge did not fail on

 either wing. 


	




This was  sarcastically!!!!!!!!!

 

            Ed               DO NOT ARCHIEVE

DAquaNut(at)AOL.COM
Guest

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:12 pm Post subject: Evening Flight

In a message dated 3/7/2006 8:32:29 A.M. Central Standard Time,  

rlaird(at)cavediver.com writes:

Ed  --



Where'd ya go... Volk?  or Bailes?



--  Robert





 	  Quote: 	
		  From Volks To  Bube's in Alvin and back to Volks, Where I hangar. Not a long 

trip, but I just  have a little over 6 hours flying time in her. Slowly 
	


gaining confidence in the  plane and 447. I kept what I thought was a suitable 

landing spot in sight  most of the way. I still have not made a decision  whether 

it would be  better to use flaps If the engine quit. All this talk about wing 

failure seems a  waste of time. Of course I built mine, and I fly within the 

parameters it was  designed. I think the chances of the 447 quitting are far 

more realistic  than the leading edge failing ! I feel more attention should be 

focused  on  the 2- stroke. I think that is the weakest link in any Kolb 

product.

 

 

             Ed         Do Not  Archieve

slyck(at)frontiernet.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:18 pm Post subject: Evening Flight

I filled my whole leading edge with cement.  I can do a 150 mph dive

without a sign of deformation.

-BB, trowel in hand.

do not archive

On 7, Mar 2006, at 2:47 PM, DAquaNut(at)aol.com wrote:

 	  Quote: 	

 In a message dated 3/7/2006 5:59:33 A.M. Central Standard Time,

 jdm(at)wideworld.net writes:

 I  guess we are all paranoid now!  I saw 90 once and mine didn't fail  

 either.

> I think I saw  80 mph once when I was not keeping  an eye

> on the airspeed.  The really good  part is my leading  edge did not 

> fail on

> either wing.

 This was  sarcastically!!!!!!!!!

             Ed               DO NOT ARCHIEVE

rlaird

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 373
Location: Houston

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:32 pm Post subject: Evening Flight

I keep forgetting you're at Volk... I don't know why I keep thinking you're

at Alvin.



Yeah, the Volk to Alvin trek is nice, but unless you go wide around to the

south, you fly over a lot of houses in Alvin.  If you start feeling

comfortable with that, then add in Ray's turf strip and make it a triangle.



Have you done many practice emergency landings yet?  If not, you need to get

busy and practice.  Until you do them, and get the plane down to about 20

feet before powering up and flying away, you won't know how the plane flies

without power (I'm not suggesting you power off, just power down to idle).

If you have a VSI, you can easily find your best-glide speed.  If you don't

have a VSI, it will take you several tries, taking notes on time/altitude.

I'd start at 50mph, then 45mph, etc.



My friend, Rick, kept putting off practicing the engine-out's, and he got

"bit" by that.  When his engine quit, he realized he had no idea how quickly

the plane would descend, and how little time he had.  And he didn't realize

that when you get below 100 feet, you should  have already committed to a

landing spot, because any changes below that altitude could be fatal.  He

was very, very lucky and walked away, but his plane was totaled.



Learning how to slip and lose a lot of altitude fast, but recover quickly

and get to best-glide again, is a very useful skill to have, too.  You could

pick out a landing and realize you're going to over-shoot it, and not be

able to get down fast enough (and yet still retain enough energy to flare at

the end).  Being good at that could save you from running into a fence after

you landed, or worse.



I hope to see your plane in the near future.  I'm still tweaking different

things on my MkIII and not going to far from home, but I hope to make most

of the local fly-in's this spring...



  -- Robert



do not archive



On 3/7/06, DAquaNut(at)aol.com <DAquaNut(at)aol.com> wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  



 >From Volks To  Bube's in Alvin and back to Volks, Where I hangar. Not a

 long

 trip, but I just  have a little over 6 hours flying time in her. Slowly

 gaining confidence in the  plane and 447. I kept what I thought was a

 suitable

 landing spot in sight  most of the way. I still have not made a

 decision  whether

 it would be  better to use flaps If the engine quit. All this talk about

 wing

 failure seems a  waste of time. Of course I built mine, and I fly within

 the

 parameters it was  designed. I think the chances of the 447 quitting are

 far

 more realistic  than the leading edge failing ! I feel more attention

 should be

 focused  on  the 2- stroke. I think that is the weakest link in any Kolb

 product.

              Ed         Do Not  Archieve

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Laird
formerly: MkIIIc w/ 912ULS & Gyrobee
current: Autogyro Cavalon w/ 914ULS
Houston, TX area
http://www.Texas-Flyer.com

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:51 pm Post subject: Evening Flight

On Mar 7, 2006, at 3:10 PM, DAquaNut(at)aol.com wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		    I think the chances of the 447 quitting are far

 more realistic  than the leading edge failing ! I feel more  

 attention should be

 focused  on  the 2- stroke. I think that is the weakest link in any  

 Kolb

 product.


	




I've never had a leading edge fail or a 2-stroke Rotax quit.

Ah but I think the weakest link in any Kolb product is always the  

critter in the seat.

ElleryWeld(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:22 pm Post subject: Evening Flight

I have been over 95 indicated many times I wont say how much over it might 

scare you But in my 5 rib wings and it doesn't bother me of coarse I have been 

told I am a bit crazy anyway and not by just one person Fly it like you built 

it and enjoy it  You only have one chance to do your life's missions before the 

Great gods remove you from this place and, That I do!  they will be talking 

about the things I have done a long time after I am gone and I dont think a 

Kolb will be the reason I will go. Face it when its your time thats it .   There 

are many  inferior kits  out there flying compared to what we are all flying 

and you don't hear anything scary about them well at least I haven't heard 

anything 

 



Ellery in a 5 Rib wing and lovin it



do not archive

DAquaNut(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:13 pm Post subject: Evening Flight

In a message dated 3/7/2006 3:52:10 P.M. Central Standard Time,  

etzim62(at)earthlink.net writes:



I've  never had a leading edge fail or a 2-stroke Rotax quit.

Ah but I think the  weakest link in any Kolb product is always the  

critter in the  seat.







How many hours do  you have with a 447?   I only have 6 hours on mine! I 

think it would  be interesting to poll everyone on the list and get an hours flown 

to rotax  quitting ratio along with the cause of quitting. Anyone ever done 

anything like  that???

 

             Ed

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 5:16 am Post subject: Evening Flight

On Mar 7, 2006, at 11:12 PM, DAquaNut(at)aol.com wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   

 In a message dated 3/7/2006 3:52:10 P.M. Central Standard Time,

 etzim62(at)earthlink.net writes:



 I've  never had a leading edge fail or a 2-stroke Rotax quit.

 Ah but I think the  weakest link in any Kolb product is always the

 critter in the  seat.

 





 How many hours do  you have with a 447?   I only have 6 hours on  

 mine! I

 think it would  be interesting to poll everyone on the list and get  

 an hours flown

 to rotax  quitting ratio along with the cause of quitting. Anyone  

 ever done

 anything like  that???



              Ed


	


Hey Ed,

As soon as I hit send on that post I realized I missed one key three  

letter word.

" Y-E-T "



I have been flying ultralights since 1980 and have sons and now a  

grandson flying 2-stroke Kolbs.

Ironically I personally have no actual experience with a 447 but have  

had hundreds of hours with the 377, 503, and 582 Rotax engines and  

have never had one unexpectedly quit. Oh yeah, I forgot son Earl did  

have a 447 in a Minimax also.



It is no doubt a significant advantage that my sons and I have  

experience as professional engine mechanics with a good sense what  

can be expected of things mechanical and what is at the root of  

mechanical failures.



It is my opinion that the Rotax engines used on Kolb planes today are  

well made mechanical devices  providing excellent performance  

designed to last hundreds, yes , and in some cases even thousands of  

hours, if operated within their unique design parameters.

In my opinion most engine failures are due to the software, not the  

hardware.

In other words, as I said, the weakest link is not the mechanical  

part, but the operator.



Having said that,,,,,,,,,,,

A good operator always knows that everything mechanical is subject to  

failure and is prepared to deal with it.

ulflyer(at)verizon.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:09 am Post subject: Evening Flight

Ed,

How much do you weigh and what's the empty weight of your 

FireFly?  What wheels are you using?

jerb

do not archive



At 02:10 PM 3/7/2006, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  

In a message dated 3/7/2006 8:32:29 A.M. Central Standard Time,

rlaird(at)cavediver.com writes:

Ed  --



Where'd ya go... Volk?  or Bailes?



--  Robert





 >From Volks To  Bube's in Alvin and back to Volks, Where I hangar. 

 Not a long

trip, but I just  have a little over 6 hours flying time in her. Slowly

gaining confidence in the  plane and 447. I kept what I thought was 

a suitable

landing spot in sight  most of the way. I still have not made a 

decision  whether

it would be  better to use flaps If the engine quit. All this talk about wing

failure seems a  waste of time. Of course I built mine, and I fly within the

parameters it was  designed. I think the chances of the 447 quitting are far

more realistic  than the leading edge failing ! I feel more 

attention should be

focused  on  the 2- stroke. I think that is the weakest link in any Kolb

product.

              Ed         Do Not  Archieve

DAquaNut(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:45 am Post subject: Evening Flight

In a message dated 3/8/2006 7:17:08 A.M. Central Standard Time,  

etzim62(at)earthlink.net writes:



Having  said that,,,,,,,,,,,

A good operator always knows that everything  mechanical is subject to  

failure and is prepared to deal with  it.





Eugene,

 

    Are you suggesting that a majority of Rotax failures  come as a result of 

improper maintenance, Not paying attention to warning signs  or sounds, 

improper oil mix ratio, which would fall into the category of pilot  ERROR? I had a 

Kawasaki 440 that served me well for 117 hours till I sold the  plane. Never 

quit once. I never heard of one quitting! I heard of Cayunas  quitting a few 

times.  There were not many Rotaxes around in 82 so I didn't  hear  much about 

them!     I understand without proper  care and maintenance no engine will 

last long, but I do know 2-cycles are less  forgiving and  more prone to seizure 

than a 4-stroke. Maybe this list has  made me paranoid. I know I was worried 

about bending an axle because of all the  talk on the list. So far I have made 

28 landings and have not bent a gear yet.  Im sure my time will come , but I 

hope my fear of the Rotax is like my fear was  of bending a leg. 

 

 

                Ed (Firefly # 62)

 

 

                 do not archieve

DAquaNut(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 10:04 am Post subject: Evening Flight

In a message dated 3/8/2006 11:10:41 A.M. Central Standard Time,  

ulflyer(at)verizon.net writes:



How much  do you weigh and what's the empty weight of your 

FireFly?  What  wheels are you using?

jerb



Jerb,

 

  My Firefly weighed 252 when I weighed it with small  wheels.   The way she 

sits with BRS ,and 6" auzusa plastic  wheels, with disc brakes made from table 

saw blade discs is 286 lbs. According  to the scales I used I am over weight 

by 8 lbs., but I feel safer with brakes. I  weigh 185lbs.  Am I exceeding 

gross? What is gross weight for the Firefly.  I cannot find it in the Kolb Manual 

or the Plans.

 

           Ed

jbhart(at)onlyinternet.ne
Guest

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:26 am Post subject: Evening Flight

At 01:03 PM 3/8/06 EST, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  



by 8 lbs., but I feel safer with brakes. I  weigh 185lbs.  Am I exceeding 

gross? What is gross weight for the Firefly.  I cannot find it in the Kolb Manual 

or the Plans.

 


	


Ed 



500 pound gross weight.



Jack B. Hart FF004

Winchester, IN



do not archive

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 4:38 pm Post subject: Evening Flight

On Mar 8, 2006, at 12:44 PM, DAquaNut(at)aol.com wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		    Are you suggesting that a majority of Rotax failures  come as a  

 result of

 improper maintenance, Not paying attention to warning signs  or  

 sounds,

 improper oil mix ratio, which would fall into the category of  

 pilot  ERROR?


	




  Yep, that IS what I am saying.



Let me give you an example of a very common problem Ive seen over  

the years.



I've seen guys who think they have an exhaust temp problem, so they  

start changing needles and jets and chase the temp gauge all over the  

place because they are sure the standard Rotax setup is all wrong.   

They put more faith in the reliability and accuracy of a little cheap  

temp gauge and sensor than they do in the experience and  

recommendations of the company that designed and manufactured the  

engine.



Just because the pilot really likes the numbers he see on a gauge  

does not mean the engine does.



Because the 2-stroke engine has a much higher output of horsepower  

per displacement than the average 4-stroke engine, the 2-stroke also  

has much less tolerance and margin for error in its operational  

requirements.



If a Rotax engine is running too lean with a stock setup, changing  

the needles and jets is almost always merely camouflaging and  

temporarily covering up another often more serious problem.

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