Wild West Aircraft

[av8rps]

Saying the Highlander and the Kitfox can hold its own against a Carbon Cub (that can cost 3 to 5 times more $$) really says it all.

The day I look forward to is when unless you have some sort of Dean Wilson design or derivative (like the Kitfox or the Highlander) it won't pay to enter the contest

[MN Snowy1]

Add a low boost turbo on that Apex motor for Yee Haw 6 and it'd be "game over" for the Carbon Cub and anyone else who dares!

http://mcxpressturbos.com/turbo-kits/sn ... maha/apex/

[av8rps]

Geez, I can't imagine 290 hp on a Highlander!!!!

Yee Haw!

[FlyerChief]

Can you say... "Folding Wings" !!!

[MN Snowy1]

Whoops, I linked the high boost (290 HP) option.

More reasonable (both monetarily and with respect to VNE) may be the 5-7 psi (220 HP) FPP stage 1 kit. Incredibly reliable in sleds they say:

http://www.fullpowerperformance.com/yam ... t-4499-00/

But seriously, my turbo idea is really rhetorical anyway. The motor may safely do 220+ HP all day long, but considering the available PSRU, clutch and propeller options, I (bieng the self admitted chicken s$#t that I am) would not dare try it until driveline components specifically designed and proven become available.

But now enough of this crazy talk from me. My apologies to the Wild West forum for going astray.

[taildrgfun]

TD1 when you were talking about the stol drag race in Nevada you were right when you said my wheels stopped before Marks did which was all that mattered, it didn’t make any difference what the tail did and they mis-called the winner I think before he even thought about what he was saying. Because I couldn’t see Mark’s plane behind me I didn’t realize that I had actually won until later when several people told me that I had and that we needed to look at the video. The guys that called Mark the winner looked at it and they said clearly I had beat him but they had already made the call and it was all done and over and they weren’t going to change it.
Next year I’m going to have to spank them so badly that it’s not even close enough to wonder who won. I am more motivated than ever now after winning but being awarded second place. It is some good close racing, when I won it last year I only won by 1/2 second that time as well. Both times were in my Yamaha powered Highlander and both times it came down to me against a Carbon Cub for the final and both times the Carbon Cub had a really really good pilot.
I was friends with all these guys involved in this scoring mess up and I am still good friends with them, I’m just a lot more motivated now to win by a big margin next year. I’m building myself a new Highlander now and it should be even better and faster than the one I’m flying now, and this one is fast.

Starting from a dead stop I hit 110 miles an hour before chopping the power and throwing it into a hard side slip at about 10’ agl and landing 3/4 of a mile from where we took off from. Then I whip the airplane around and do the same thing going back the other direction where the race started from. It is incredibly fun and exciting when you are doing it!!


Another one of my friends lived and flew back country in Alaska for over 30 years and he said that this stol drag race was the most fun he’s ever had in his airplane.

[av8rps]

Very interesting to hear the details on the STOL drag Steve. You are the poster child of a good sport.

It will be bad for your competitors to have you so motivated to beat them next year. But it will be good for all of us to learn what you will be doing with your newest Highlander to improve its performance, as every one you build just seems to get better and better. I look forward to hearing more about your newest Highlander.

Paul

[TD1]

Yeah, the tail drop or whatever it was what they called it over on the HSF facebook page. They stated there that was the reason it was awarded to MP. I don't know the minutia of the rules (and at times they seem to make them up as they go...) Makes sense that "to a stop" would mean when your wheels stopped turning. Not how many times your tail bounced.

There is a pretty tight click of carbon cub cultists in that group you run in Steve. Great planes for sure, but pretty much store bought. And a group that worships what can be bought with enough money. Not many that actually do (or can do) any of their own work on the plane they "built".

I was blown away they allow CC's a 51% build by having the new owner come to the factory and run some stamping presses and some CNC machines for a week to make a few parts for "his" plane.... then tell him to come back in 6 months to pick up your finished "homebuilt" plane after they assemble, cover, paint, mount engine, avionics, etc...... Seems a bit chicken guano that works around the spirit of the rules.

That the highlanders and kitfoxes will stand toe to toe and more with with their quarter million dollar babies..... you can hear the frustration in their voices.....=D

Keep up the good fight! Hee Haw 6!

[Tralika]

For those of you thinking about the RX1 engine, I happened across this ad for and engine for sale in Arizona. $1600 sounds like a pretty good deal rather than buying a whole snowmachine. The ad is only a couple of days old. Someone should jump on it. What a snowmachine is doing in Gilbert Arizona I have no idea!

http://www.sledfinds.com/yamaha-rx-1-for-sale

[taildrgfun]

I got started covering my new Highlander with Oratex! I think I like working with it pretty well. I love the fact that I don’t have to paint it all, just my cowling and things like that. I’ve never done this system before and my friend Ross Parton is showing me how to do it which is so nice of him. This should be my best Highlander yet, everyone is better than the one before. This one is getting another Yamaha, the fuel injected 150 hp one this time.

I have about 335 hours now on my current Highlander with the 140 horse carbureted Yamaha and I just love it! I gave a guy a demo flight about a week ago who had just gone for a flight in a normal Highlander and he couldn’t even believe they were the same model of airplane! My Highlander with the suspension, the wing cuffs, the longer flaps, slightly extended wings etc. performs so much better than a standard Highlander it’s just wild!! If any of you reading this are thinking about getting a Highlander don’t make that decision just based on flying a regular Highlander, come and see me and go for a flight in mine and you will be amazed!!

[Av8r3400]

Steve,

First, thanks for the post on AvidFoxFlyers. Much appreciated.

Second, can you share with those of us who don't know, your story of why you have chosen to move to Yamaha power? I'm excited to follow your progress and learn of the strides you are making in this power option. If you have told this story already let us know where, so that you don't have to replicate it.


Again, thanks for your time and efforts.

[taildrgfun]

A friend first pointed out these Yamaha engines to me as a good motor for an airplane about 10 years ago. Then several years later at a time when I was pretty frustrated with Rotax engines another friend pointed them out to me again. By this time I had blown up two, 30 some thousand dollar turbo Rotax engines and I was ready for a change. I have to take the blame for one of them but the other one I don’t know why it blew up. I know for what it cost me to fix each one I could have two complete Yamaha‘s. While I was working on getting my Yamaha dialed in and before I was really flying it much I had another Rotax blow up on me.
I put 1500 hrs. on my first stock Rotax 912 but they just don’t make enough horsepower for me. My main reasons for going to the Yamaha were for more reliability and more performance than I was getting from a Rotax. The much lower price was really just a bonus. So far I sure have not been disappointed in the Yamaha. About 250 hours back I did lose a bearing in the Rotax gearbox on my Yamaha, and aside from that it has been the sweetest most trouble free engine I’ve ever had in any of my airplanes. I have 335 hours on it now and I’ve never even had to balance the carburetors since I first set it up.

[TD1]

Steve, you looking at maybe Teal's new integrated gearbox for your Apex? Looks very clean and strong on paper anyway. Will it be ready by the time you need it?

[Clark in AZ]

Hey Steve,

What cowl will fit the APEX on the SuperSTOL? Any modifications required?

Thanks,
Clark

[MN Snowy1]

The Apex is the virtually same motor as the rx-1, but with EFI. Mount points are the same I am told. Should cowl out very much the same.

The big advantage is all that goes with EFI, biggest obstacles include the gearbox and adapter, a more complicated wire harness, and ECU limp modes.

Steve has posted that he solved the harness, Teal is on track with the gearbox and adapter (see pic), and it appears that the limp modes can be deleted through an ECU reflash (programming change to the factory settings).

It sure will be cool to see someone get the apex flying!