Avid Magnum inquiry

[av8rps]

The latest Magnums can be an issue. There was some welding that was weak after Avid was sold to Jim Tomash. Those are the only gears I know of that failed, and those were very few. And if a guy was concerned about the welded tube gear I believe Grove still makes a spring gear for it.

The airframe is pretty straight forward, so if you damaged something it would not be a big deal to have parts made for it. And frankly, unless you really mess up, I can't imagine having to replace parts for it. My friend that flew his Magnum on floats operated it for years trouble free. And that one was used pretty hard, much harder than most of us would use an airpplane in my opinion. It is a very durable aircraft. The weakest link in my opinion is having the wing ribs sticking out past the fabric to hold the flaperons, just like early Kitfoxes. But as long as the wing rib ends are kept well protected, and/or the airplane is kept well out of the elements, the wing too should be just fine.

Being heavier than a Super Cub? Very litte, but yes. But when you walk up to a Magnum you will see it is much bigger than what you might think. A Kitfox Super Sport next to it will look small. And fwiw, performance-wise it will fly circles around a Super Cub. In their stock forms the Magnum will probably stall slower than the Super Cub. It has that undercambered Avid airfoil, and that airfoil not only makes gobs of lift at slow speeds, but also will fly super slow. Early Avids for those that don't know stalled at 22 mph. A standard Super Cub stalls at 43 mph. The Magnum advertised a 36 mph stall as I recall, and based on what I experienced that is a real number.

Overall the Magnum is a pretty incredible design, and it is too bad someone bought the company only to bankrupt it, as the Highlander is excellent testimony to the design of the Magnum. A 180 hp Lyc 0-360 Magnum climb out is a sight to behold. And yes, it was designed to handle a 180 hp (or even a 200) Lycoming 0-360. So with an empty weight within 35 lbs of a common example Carbon Cub, the Magnum will really rock and roll if you equip it with a similar engine. The only thing the Magnum doesn't have like the Super / Carbon Cub is a 170 sq ft wing. But a friend extended his Magnum wing by another bay and that one really cranks! And personally, I think his Magnum would hold its own against a Carbon Cub. And considering it could be 150k cheaper, that says a lot for the Magnum design.

So again, I think a Magnum can be a great option as long as you aren't concerned about the LSA side of things.

[dynomike]

there is another forum like this one called avidfoxflyers that has a few members with magnums I think .lot of the same people on both and always have great info