Steve Weston.

Hello Avid Fans ! Even though I havent been on this site lately, I still buzz around the skys in my Avid. Its been a long trail, building my Aerobat in 520 hours and test flying for the FAA. That was back in 1994 and since then I ve made mods to improve the aircrafts dependability. I hope not to just ramble on and on but here is basically how "things" went. After completition of N4045W, I was requested by the FAA to prove the aerobatic capability of the Aerobat... While all watched from the ground I climbed to 3500 AGL and did the required loops, rolls, hammerheads, cuban eights and of course spins. All went well and these manuvers were approved. I had one Avid owner tell me once that Aerobats were not really areobatic. Thats when I first started learning about "expert" aviators. Over the years I ve been in contact with people who bluff their way into having us belive they are knowledgeable in our avocation. Be careful when receiving information from anyone. There was one man who had built his aircraft from parts and wanted to know which bolts to buy at Home Depot. Just that question had me shivering. Then there was the engine expert. He gave a false name and exentually was "busted on the Avid site and also the Kitfox and Jabiru engine websites. Geeze, I hope he hasnt given you advise. This guy was looney! Anyway, my best and most expensive mod was to change out the Rotax 582LC (whole other story as to why) and install a Jabiru 2200A. The Jabiru was a very good thing. It runs like a sewing machine and I trust it 98%.... I extended the wings from the 24 feet to 29'10". Thats a mod I would not do again. I installed Grove landing gear. Excellent but it added 32 pounds to my ship..... I moved from San Diego and after 40 years of flying I got lost on a cross country in Arizona. Fourty years, never lost til I moved to Sun Valley Airpark near BullHead City. Its a long and (happy ending) detailed story. In future posts I ll tell you what I did wrong and how ATC saved my fanny. I will tell you now that my new Garmin 296 GPS is amazing. Costly but I ll never be lost again..... Knock knock on wood.
Steve Weston

In my other post I said that I would not extend the wings if I had to do it over again. I d like to expand on that statement, but first I really need to say something about Joe Huff. AvidJoe has been one man who really does know. He is a for real expert and I suggest that anyone who purchases his Avid will be having the best aircraft available. He actually drove waaay down to San Diego to help and give me suggestions on how to improve my airplane. A gentleman and a very intelligent builder, Joe and his Avid pushed the envelope of speed....... A few years ago I was on the website reading what the "experts" were saying about wing extensions. Remember the "experts"? In order to improve the landing speeds ( slower ) the extensions would slow your Avid down to or in the range of 30 MPH. One person said that he heard that the extensions will also increase the top end speed because the engine works less in level flight.......... So, there it was. Slower landings and faster top speed..... Holy Smoly....What could be better than that ? You would think a guy like me who teaches aerodynamics would know better.... NOT! There seems to be a thing called DRAG. Oh, and dont forget the extra 30 pounds you added to the airplane....... Thats exactly what I got. More weight and Drag. Remember the rule: Double the speed and quadruple the drag. Increase weight and increase drag. Remember parasite AND induced drag...???? Go figure.... I got them both..... However in my own defence, I was above the average builder... Avid, at the time , wanted $845 for the extension kit. I said to myself, "Self, I ll build from scratch" , I can do better... I did need to order ribs and tubing because I couldnt handle making the beautiful ribs like the ones that came from the factory. I couldnt squeez out the aluminum tube either.... Of course I needed the 3M glue, fabric and splices, rivets and steel parts. That was ok because I can do better than the factory..... After I accumulated all that was needed for the project, I had spent a lot of time collecting parts, making long distance phone calls and paying shipping to a grand total of $983. I really out did them, didnt I ? When the big day came, I warmed up the Jabiru and down the runway I went. Lift off at 60, climb at 70.... Things looking good from my seat. RPMs in level flight at 2900. Speed, 85 MPH ?????????. Full throttle 103 MPH ??????.... I thought that there was something wrong. I had 124 MPH before the wing extension project , not 103..???? The landings are as always. I approach at 65, flair and she lands three point, always... Considered a high time tailwheel pilot, I ve learned to always land three point. There is another story in that statement but thats for a different day..... I m actually thinking about removing the extensions and regaining speed.... SO, "yes", I would "not" extend the wings....... Just my own opinions here. I hope you do better....... In the future I want to tell you my thoughts on the aluminum landing gear. Expensive but worth it ???????? Just for a refresher or for someone new, Study induced and parasite drag....... Thats your homework......
Steve Weston