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Thread: Landing on the beach

  1. #11
    Senior Member cap01's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    i guess i didnt think of the sand bars . im up for trying the beach landing the next time i get out to the ocean but im still not sure if i want to scare the crap out of myself with a sandbar landing . have to work up to that
    thanks
    chuck
    kitfox IV 1050
    912ul warpdrive
    flying B , yelm, wa

  2. #12
    Senior Member Rodney's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    Cap01

    There are several sandbars I've seen on the river that are easily 1500 ft long, with clear approaches on both ends, but it's not anything like the beautiful beaches you guys have up there in Washington.

    We'd have to go down to Galveston or some place like that to play on the beeches. Now that would be a fun trip.

    I just got the CD building manual in from Kitfox last night and one of the things I want to find out about is the ability to change from a tri-gear to a conventional gear - seems to me I've read somewhere that it is possible to switch back and forth. That may be more trouble than it's worth, but I want to determine how it's done and how much work it would be.

    I guess what we are saying is that we a jealous that you guys have such a fun place to play - wish we had your sandbox -

  3. #13
    Senior Member cap01's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    the airplane in the picture on the beach was origionally a tri gear and andy changed it over to a tail dragger soon after he acquired it . andy is the one with all the poop on converting .
    i should make a trip to souteastern oklahoma , ive got a few relatives buried along the red river from the War of Northern Agression
    chuck
    kitfox IV 1050
    912ul warpdrive
    flying B , yelm, wa

  4. #14
    Senior Member Rodney's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    Well - keep your confederate dollars man - the SOUTH may yet have to rise again. If Texas secedes from the Union - I may have to move

    If you get down this way - you have a place to stay - just give me a call.

  5. #15
    Senior Member SkyPirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    ha ha I see I'm not the only one thinking this way hence why I'm looking at property in Texas

  6. #16
    Senior Member SkyPirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    As for changing the gear from tail dragger to nose wheel ,..it would depend on the type of flying/landing you plan on doing the majority of the time,..nothing against nose wheels,..but you "can" land a tail dragger anywhere that you can land a nose wheel ,..but you "cannot" land a nose wheel anywhere you that you can land a tail dragger .
    I've tried ..and been pulled out of a muddy field more then once with a nose wheel plane because the front tire sank into the abyss,..luckily never once have I flipped the plane doing this or had a prop strike ..knocking on wood

    my personal feelings about the diferences,.The only advantage a nose wheel gives you aside from taxiing visibility,. is possibly better control on the ground in a cross wind ,..but this is so on heavier planes,..not so much on lighter planes

    Chase

  7. #17
    Senior Member cap01's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    rodney , thanks for the offer . i do make several trips a year to oklahoma , my mother is still alive ,93 , in vinita , ok . so i visit her and i have kin in vinita and fairland , ok . sadly i dont fly the kitfox down , but may sometime . there were several relatives that rode with the cherokee mounted rifles so they must have spent some time down in your neck of the woods at one time or another .
    just cause i live on the left coast dont mean i agree with them out here . although the country is beautiful and when the weather is good the flying is great . mountain flying is a whole nother kind of flying ,may not be for everyone .
    chuck
    kitfox IV 1050
    912ul warpdrive
    flying B , yelm, wa

  8. #18
    Senior Member Rodney's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    That's my problem Skypirate - about 1/2 the time I want a taildragger and the other 1/2 I want a tri-gear

    Maybe two kitfoxes

    I'd like to teach my wife to fly - or at least be able to land the airplane - and that would be so much easier in the tri-gear - but for playing around in the sand - we need the taildragger.

    And then like Cap01 said - I've always wanted to make a trip up to Idaho (and the whole northwest) and fly into some of those mountain strips. When I ordered my CD assembly manual - Debra told me that most of those strips can be used by a tri-gear airplane - in fact the videos and pictures you see on the internet usually have lots of cessnas and the occasional cherokee on those strips.

    I'm sure I'll start with the tri-gear, but at some point - after I get comfortable with the airplane and the hours flown off - it may get converted to a taildragger. Don't you just love the fact that with an experimental airplane we can do what we want. So nice to have the freedom to work on your airplane.

    RW

  9. #19
    Senior Member SkyPirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    Sounds like the plan for a kitfox has been on your plate for a while Rodney,..good for you that your at the stage your at to get a kitfox,..
    with another accident with a zenith CH701 (2nd one in 3 months in Eldon MO),..topic is that FAA needs to be more stiff with experimental aircraft inspections and may require home builders to be certified soon.
    I need to get my plane done before that come's into effect.
    seems the Zeniths are having troubles with their models 601's and 701's. and the response is that all experimental aircraft are in question concerning the investigation of this most recent accident.
    Kitfox has one of if not the best safety records in the experimental class, I don't think it's too fair that the whole experimental class is being judged because of one manufacturer's design.

    Chase

  10. #20
    Senior Member Rodney's Avatar
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    Default Re: Landing on the beach

    http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/ne...aspx?id=433875

    I saw that report too - heaven forbid that the FAA get anymore involved with experimental aviation than they all ready are. Just check the NTSB records and see how many certified airplanes crash everyday.

    Everyone of us wants to be as safe as possible, but the reason I'm selling a certified airplane and going to the Kitfox is so I can put state of the art avionics in the Kitfox or add an electric wire to power up a GPS system or put in a new lightbulb in cabin.

    I love my little C150 - but ya can't do anything to it. Besides - the Kitfox has a wider fuselage and so much better performance.

    AND ITS GOT A STICK - no more control wheel.

    My dad flew P-51's in the war and I've always wanted an airplane with
    a real stick - don't laugh - this is as close as I'll ever get to a P-51.

    Actually - if I ever get three grand I don't need - there is an outfit in Florida called Stallion 51 - you can get an hour in a P-51 for about 3 grand. Would that be fun???

    I've been looking for the past two years trying to decide what to do and I just keep coming back to the Kitfox as the best solution for me. - and I like the SS7 best of all the models available. I talked to PaulZ who just bought the first SLSA - he lives just south of me in McKinney Tx, and he just raved about how much better a Kitfox handles than a 150. He said it's just a delight to fly. I'm going to try to go down and see him later this summer (if summer ever gets here).

    I bought 40 acres of land and I can put a 1200 ft strip on it. The Kitfox should easily be able to operate from 1200 ft - and I can keep the plane at home in my own shop. I like hanging at the airport as much as anyone, but I can buy a lot of fuel for what a hanger costs.

    I'm watching the new Dynon Skyview system. Maybe by next year it will be a more mature system with all their navigation and Nexrad features installed. I plan on doing some x-country flying when I retire and have the time. Lots of neat places to go. How about those beautiful beaches in Washington??? Would LOVE to get a caravan of Kitfoxes and head to Alaska.

    I plan on ordering my 7 - probably after the first part of next year. Still building the house and a 40x60ft shop - for some reason, my wife made me promise to finish the house before I can get started on a new airplane.
    Can't believe she's so narrow minded - but she knows if I get an airplane in the shop - the house will never get done.

    For now - will continue to study the manual and get ready to start building.

    Regards
    RW

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