Arizona dreamin on such a winters day.

[DesertFox4]

Beautiful skies, no wind and 70 degrees has to add up to a Kitfox afternoon. Work done early so to the airport for some winter flying. Top off the fuel tanks. $4.54 per gallon. Ouch!! Makes me wonder a little about the logic of the 912S 100 hp. over the extremely frugal 912 80hp. Rotax.

My mission this afternoon: Fly west about 110 miles to an air park community called Indian Hills. Friends from S. Minnesota have places on that air park and reports were that they had arrived from the frozen great North and were thawing slowly in the warmth of the Arizona sunshine. If I kicked it into high gear I could get out there , visit for an hour and get back just as the sun disappeared below the White Tank Mountains on the western edge of Phoenix. For a Tuesday afternoon , that was an ambitious goal. I had smooth air to play in today. GPS showed 3 mph headwind going west at 4,500 feet above sea level. 115 mph was my ground speed so a little less than an hour I would be touching down on runway 26. The desert scenery on the route consists of cactus by the thousands, washes, gullies, small mountains, some with exciting jagged peaks, some tilled cotton fields and lots of abandoned mines . Eight miles east of Indian Hills I call intentions.

A Luscomb reports left downwind for 26 and is doing touch and go's. He is very cordial on the radio and by the tone of his voice and the professional sounding radio call outs, he might could be a retired airline captain living out his post-professional aviation days in the desert S.W. Doing all the fun flying he'd promised himself he'd do once he hung up the uniform. Every touch and go was therapeutic. No schedules to keep. Just flying for the sake of flying.
He turned base to final as I called 4 miles east on a straight in for 26. I felt like I interrupted his therapy session when he taxied full length and cleared the active. Not to worry. He can take another session tomorrow. It sounds like it will be even better flying conditions then.

1960
(Short final 26 Indian Hills.)



A full length roll out and a turn south on the taxi/driveway and then a quick left and 5 hangar/homes and I'm at Tim and Barb's place. They'd just completed an addition to their hanger. They doubled the hangar so he could fit his new Super Cub and his Bonanza in with room for the new fishing boat. This guy has his priorities right.
BTW, the Cub is just about completed except for seat cushions after an eight year build back in Blue Earth, Mn. Tim flew it down a month or two ago. 30 mph plus headwinds most of the way. The cars on the freeway were going faster. Maybe I'll get to fly it this Saturday if I can get back out there.
Well the Sun dictates how long I can stay so the visit while fun, was short. Back in the Kitfox and this time the "wind", 3 mph, was on the tail.

1962
(Departing Indian Hills.)

I chased my shadow all the way back to Phoenix with some deviations from the Direct-To route. There were some mountains, hills really, that just had to be played in and flown around and climbed over and dived down the other side.

1958
(Playing in the hills.)

1961
(Back at Deer Valley just as the Sun sets in the west.)

Nice winter afternoon. You know why I live here and put up with the 100 degree plus days from May to October? It's for this time of year. :D Wish you were here.

P.S. I set my GoPro HD camera on (photo every 5 seconds) for the whole flight instead of on video. I have over 1,600 photos of today's flight. These things are a blast.

[Dorsal]

Nice pics, wish I where there too. Back to reality with another foot of snow forcast for tonight.

[DanB]

Steve, Great write-up ...made me wish I were down there in the desert with...wait, I am here. Just gotta get this dang plane in the air. Soon to move to the airport and stick the wings on. :)

[Bryan]

Nice job. Hearing stories like this is what it is all about. Makes all of us want to get into the air. Hope to have the plane back in the air soon and hopefully the snow will go away. Keep up the good work and I may just need to check into getting one of those cameras.

[DesertFox4]

Hope to have the plane back in the air soon

Bryan, that is very good news. :) You must be missing flying that Kitfox by now. Looking forward to hearing you're back in the air and having fun again. Let us know if you are having a fly in at Emporia again this year. I want to get out there for one of those.

[Av8r3400]

Great pics, Steve and nice trip report. I'm looking forward to a ski plane adventure this weekend. Nothing like lake hoping in the winter on the snow. Maybe add some pics... :D

[wannafly]

boy does this report bring back memories of the day you took me out for a cruise.
I have the go pro camera and it works well. Check out the videos on you tube under "Lethbridge sport flyers".
mine is the orange Kitfox:D

[SkySteve]

DesertFox4 you're killing me, man, just absolutely killing me:p. I want to be there and fly that country soooooo bad, but the snow here . . . . . well, you know.

Love the photos and write up. Thanks for letting us ride along (on your wing none the less). I'm looking forward to spring. (I did get a little mud on the ol' plane the other day somewhere in the Utah desert).

Got a ContourHD video camera and mounted it on the jury strut. I've tried it out a little and looks like it will be capturing many flights.

Gotta love those deserts!!!!

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff12/KitfoxSteve/ContourHD.jpg

[DesertFox4]

Ahazi, I made a temporary mount out of some scrap aluminum angle I had at the hangar. Mounted on the left jury strut and protruding out enough to be at the proper angle and not see the strut in the picture and not so much of the annoying prop. strobe effect. Used zip ties and safety wire for now along with old oil line tubing slit length wise and wrapped around the jury strut tubing to protect it from scratches. Maybe a permanent better looking mount will magically appear one of these days. For now it works great and is real stable.
Below is about the best photo I could find of the mount. FYI, the old buildings in the photo are part of the Vulture Gold Mine just south of Wickenburg,AZ.

1963

[DesertFox4]

Steve, head on down. No snow and a place to stay when you get here.

Mic, enjoyed the video's . Had me worried when on takeoff your camera got covered with mud.;)

[Paul Z]

DesertFox4 you're killing me, man, just absolutely killing me:p. I want to be there and fly that country soooooo bad, but the snow here . . . . . well, you know.

Love the photos and write up. Thanks for letting us ride along (on your wing none the less). I'm looking forward to spring. (I did get a little mud on the ol' plane the other day somewhere in the Utah desert).

Got a ContourHD video camera and mounted it on the jury strut. I've tried it out a little and looks like it will be capturing many flights.

Gotta love those deserts!!!!

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff12/KitfoxSteve/ContourHD.jpg

You have to understand, Steve is from the frozen tundra up North, and he is just trying to rub it in (AKA Bragging), that they are having BEAUTIFUL Weather. I think what needs done is for the next Flyin, he needs taken out for a good tar and feathering! :eek:

[Paul Z]

Desertfox

I am disappointed, you haven't come back with a retort! I home you are having a wonderful day flying in the Az Sunshine! I'm recovering from a flu bug, congestion, headache, fever! I plan on going out to the airport latter today to work on the plane. Hope you are having a wonderful day flying!!



Paul Z

[Dorsal]

Gee Paul, sorry to hear that, you need to get that plane back in the air, of course you probably know that already.:rolleyes:
Hope you feel better.

[DesertFox4]

Sorry you feel lousy Paul. Lack of Kitfoxing will do that and yes I was flying all day, well most of the day. Had to stop for lunch and fuel. Sorry no gold from the mine for you but I filled my Kitfox fuel tanks with liquid gold today. 100LL fuel cost as much as an ounce of gold now.



Met some of the Desert Fox Squadron at Chandler this morning for a 3 ship flight out to the desert. It's fun to get some of the "gang" together again. Reminicent of days not so long in the past when we'd put 4,5 or 6 Kitfox's in the air on a nice winter morning. We spent an hour or so taking in the sites. Flew by an ultralight roundup on one of our old remote dirt strip haunts. The gaggle checked out several more remote dirt strips then back to Chandler. Some of the chaps had to beg off for something called "work" or the like.

1966
(DesertFox6's beautiful model 4 at Chandler)

After a good lunch with my fellow DFS mates I topped the tanks with the afore mentioned liquid gold and headed out for Indian Hills. Again. Nice one hour flight (approx. 112 miles) northwest from Chandler to I.H. Air Park.

1969
(Scenery on the way to Indian Hills. 30 miles yet to go.)



What a spectacular day. I hated to land. Severe blue skies, 69 degrees and 2 mph light breeze. Landed 26, again, and taxied to Tim and Barbs hangar. 3 people were sitting in lawn chairs reading the paper when I taxied up. I don't know if it's the Kitfox or just my sparkling personality that attracts folks so quickly. My guess is the former but not 15 minutes later we had about 12 folks sitting in chairs drinking lemonade and snacking on homemade brownies. What a fun community. They were all back from the poker run and Tim and Barb's must be the gathering hub. Spent a couple hours talking with some very interesting aviators.

1970
(Indian Hills gathering place.)



5 pm rolled around too quickly and thoughts of flying near mountains after dark don't make for peaceful dreams. Departed runway 8 and put the money handle forward. Indicating 127 mph with GPS ground speed clicking 130 mph. Not sure I got more than 200 feet agl for 40 plus miles except to clear a couple big power lines originating from Palo Verde Nuclear Plant and heading towards Las Vegas. I did divert a little so as not to scare some free range cattle . They barley noticed me when I went by. This is a blast. Lots of uninhabited country side to skim over.

I flew over Thunder Ridge Air Park about 10 minutes before official sunset. After clearing Thunder I pushed the nose over again and got re-aquainted with the cactus between Thunder and the west edge of Phoenix's outermost population. Wide open throttle showed 133mph at 2,300 feet above sea level. Not bad, as long as I didn't look at the fuel flow meter. I was turning that liquid gold into heat at a rapid rate.



I found Deer Valley Airport just as the runway lights came to life. Not another aircraft in the north runway pattern. 25R was all mine. Doesn't happen too often anymore at this airport. I'll log one night landing although it hardly seems sporting. As before I sign off with:
wishing you were here.



P.S. Paul, get well!

[Paul Z]

With the Middle East unrest and the Administrations adversity to drilling, 100LL will be costing more shortly! Looks like you had a good flight!

I am really excited that I got the Carbs to stop sticking without a tear down! I used carb cleaner in every port and then would rotate the carb around to poor it out. Then do it again! Saturday, I got my carbs, fuel lines, air intakes, chokes cables, etc reinstalled and I have manually set the sync.. Now to go fire it up, to see how it runs!

Once I get that done, I'll come home and pack for a trip to sunny Calif, I'll get a free TSA groping and get to spend the week in El Segundo for work.

Hopefully Steve Quinones will be available Saturday to help me Sync the Carbs, and inspect my work.

Paul Zimm

[Paul Z]

Well, I went out an Mechanically Sync'ed 703KA. I originally had the idle running WAY too slow so I turned it off, to adjusted the idle and when I tried to restart it, it didn't want to start. I got out and did the Mechanical Sync all over. Got back in the plane and it did not want to start again. I got out and checked the settings, and I had noticed a drop of Blue fuel on the nose wheel pivot wheel mount . . . D _ _ _ ed I had flooded it! I got in cut off the fuel, applied full throttle to clear the gas supply, cranked it over a few times, turned the fuel back on, it cranked it over, and she started and she was running fine. I let it fast idle 2200 RPM until it hit 120 Degrees, then I went taxing around. It is Running NUCH Better! I could apply the throttle, and it would rev up without kicking! Now to Sync / Balance the Carbs it to perfection, and put it all back together, do some tax testing and then go FLYING!

[wannafly]

Speaking of the "carbmate". I have had mine for a year or so. It is very easy to use and I found it to make a big differance. I thought they were good before but after using the carbmate to sync it really improved. I can idle down to 1100 rpm (I don't in normal ops) without it shaking to pieces. I would recommend it...for what its worth.

[Paul Z]

I am glad to hear the Carb Mate works well. I made an adapter for the hose, it cost all of about $2.00. I sure hope the adapter works, if it does, I will post some photo's, Extremely easy to make! I also got 6 feet of hose so I can sit in the plane to run it up and read the gauge. We will know more next Saturday!

[Dorsal]

I will cast another vote of confidence for the CabMate, I have one and like it, easy to use and very effective.

[SkySteve]

OK, I'm going to admit to my ignorance. Some of us, ME, are not mechanical at all. I have the CarbMate but have not been able to use it 'cause I cannot figure out how to hook it up (Sad, but true). So, if one or more of you mechanic types would be kind enough to explain it to me (with plenty of photos) in VERY simple terms I will give it a try.

I do have many other useful skills other than mechanics, such as, well, er, ... OK I give.

[Paul Z]

I'll take a bunch of photos and I'll try to do my best to explain it. However, it will be a couple of weeks until I get it posted!.

[cap01]

between the carbmate and the throttle link , it takes longer to warm the engine up than to sync the carbs . and the best thing is that it all can be done while sitting in the airplane with the engine running , once the carbmate is hooked up . will be interesting to see what you made up for an adapter , always looking for something better .

[Paul Z]

If you want a good explanation of how to use a CarbMate go to the following web page. They have a product review that tells you how to balance the carbs with a carb mate and how to hook it up.

http://rotax-owner.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62:carbmate&catid=6:product-review&Itemid=35

[SkySteve]

Thanks Paul. That should do it.

[Paul Z]

OK, I have a question. I just completed Balancing the Carbs "The best I can get" I am using a CarbMate. I got them Balance Green in the Center at Idle 2200RPM, at the .5 setting or ½ cm/Mg. However, as I advance the throttle to 3500RPM, the gage will readout +1.0 cm/Hg on the 1 / 3 Cylinder (Passengers side). Is this acceptable. I spent about 2 hours trying to get it better! :confused: Other than that it idles better then it ever has!!!!!!!

[Dorsal]

Paul, glad to hear it is running well. Mine drifted about 1 LED when I advanced the throttle, seems to work fine. When you adjust for idle are you against the stops or advanced slightly, preferred, as this will make sure both cables are in tension. I balanced the carbs then set the idle, good luck and go fly:D

[DesertFox4]

Paul. When we sync mine we shoot for perfect at about 2500 rpms. It seems to run fine all through the power range if we accomplish that. Go give it a try as Dorsal said and see if it runs as it should. It is a joy to fly when the carbs are in sync. Start and shutdown are nicer too. Good luck.

[Paul Z]

I definitely concur! I'm going to go check one last time. Then I will put it back together, cowling, seats, wheel pants etc. Hopefully next weekend, If Weather Permits, I'm going to go flying!

Also, here is the adapter I maids, I chucked the reducer up in the Drill Press and turned the large diameter down to about .475 to fit the hose, then cut it in half with a drimel tool cut off. Man for $50 the custom kit for a Rotax versus, $2 for the adapter and $8 for longer hoses, and it fits and works well!

Man that GPS labeling is weird, at one point in the Hanger I am in Sunnyvale, the other Garland 10 miles away!

[jrthomas]

One more question on the Carbmate. I see them from under $82 up to $128.95 at Spruce. It seems like a no brainer but is there something I'm missing? Is Spruce higher because it comes with accessories or is it just a higher profit margin? I might pay the extra $45 plus if it comes with all the accessories shown on the RotaxOwners website otherwise cheaper is better. I can always give Spruce a call but have any of you found a best buy? James Thomas

[Paul Z]

The extra hose and fitting I bought cost me less than $5. I like the extra $40, I could apply to new spark plugs or some 100LL