Avid Flyer 1986 This 1986 Avid Flyer was a barn find by Snaps a former Avid Dealer
from whom I.
Item specifics | Condition: | Used | Make: | Avid Flyer |
| Model Year: | 1986 |
This 1986 Avid Flyer was a barn find by "Snaps" a former Avid Dealer
from whom I purchased it about three years ago. It had 4 hours on the
airframe & motor.There is a You tube video of it. The Rotax 532 was sent to Rotax Rick, who inspected it, and overhauled
the motor with new pistons, rings and a new section of the case which he
said had been broken or chipped and then repaired. He said he put it
on his motor stand and got 7000rpm static. I asked him to pickle the motor,
as it was not going to be used right away. He charged $1100 for the overhaul. I sent the prop, a Peery Experimental STOL 71" x 37, to Tennesee Propellors
and they said it was balanced and in good shape and they added the flat black
paint on the back side of the propellor to reduce glare from the pilot"s
sightline. He also said to store it flat and turn over every 3-4 months so
the resin in the wood wouldn"t collect on one side, which I did. The landing gear is Airdale cabane gear by Brett. Brett also got the MATCO guy
on the phone who helped put together the 6" MATCO wheels, hydraulic brakes and
and the Aero Classic tubless 8 x 21 x 6 tire package. The rear wheel & tire is
the Wide MATCO 8" single fork pneumatic with the spring kit as well. (~$350)
As it turns out the tail wheel leaf spring is not angled right to mount the tail
wheel properly, so it will have to be bent or a new one fabricated to get the right
angle for the tailwheel. I taped off the interior & windscreen and hand sanded all the fuselage frame bars
and painted them with several coats of Rustoleum gloss white spray paint. The
fuselage paint was fading a bit and had some tiny spots of rust beginning to form.
The plane has been stored in a hanger or garage since I"ve had it. The blue painters tape stuck to the windscreen, so I purchased a new piece of Lexan
from Aircraft Spruce, used the old one for a template and cut and drilled the new
windscreen. I has not been installed. I have periodically cleaned the fabric which is still quite good, so mold or mildew
would not form. There are a few spots that need paint touch up. Also from Airdale, I purchased a 12 gallon ethanol proof wing tank. There is a sheet of
.020 Aluminum from A Spruce included. I cleaned and painted the exhaust system with high temp (2000 deg) paint and sanded and
painted the exhaust mount, control rods, motor mount and any other thing I took off of it. Another item from Airdale is the new fiberglass seat which sits lower, is more
comfortable when lined with memory foam and vinyl or leather covering, and thus provides
2-3" extra headroom. The control rod that is nessesary with the lower seat, that routes
around the seat instead of beneath it, is provided. As well Brett provided a new dash and
glare shield for the cabin which are fiberglass. Since the old center tank is removed,
the new dash will be farther forward than the original center tank dash which stuck out
into the cabin. Another idea planned but not completed was to move the rudder/brake pedals forward 3"
with extentions made from 4130 steel -- these bars would be drilled and mounted on the
pedal mounts located on the frame. John, an Avid guy with 3500 plus hours on his B Model
is credited with this idea. Pictures of it are on the yahoo Avid Flyers forum. This would
complete the "more room" rebuild, providing more headroom, a dash that is further forward
and rudder pedals 3" forward for more leg room. I sent the rudder pedals in to Brett who
modified them so they will provide the correct mechanical pressure to the hydraulic brake
cylinders. The instuments are the original, I have not done anything with them other than store them
in the house. They look very clean (4hrs flight time). In addition to all the new parts,
there are (if desired) a lot of tools, oils etc. that are included. New rudder pedal
wires, liquid gasket, a fabric covering test/learning kit, original manual, a printed
version of the Rotax repair manual, safety wire, a HVLP paint gun, two sizes of clecos
and pliers, rivets, nuts, bolts, cotter pins, air inlets for the doors and an old style
Whelen power supply for the wing lights (one light frame is slightly bent).
I am moving and sadly do not have room to take this bad boy with me. So I will pass
it along to someone with the time and space to complete it. The original completed weight
was 421 lbs. So the new version, unless more things are added, will come in around
440 lbs. It should be a screamer, and with gap seals, added elevator expensions it
should handle superbly at low speed and before landing. 10 more pictures can be seen at photobucket under username Valerie667 & album "Avid" Monty 832-703-7018 Current date: 2015-06-29
Your sky marketplace