Introducing C-FSXT

[AlbertaPilot 5]

Hi guys,

 

Just wanted to post a few pics of my new plane... it's been a long process getting it imported into Canada but I finally received my Certificate of Airworthiness and took her up for the first flight earlier this week.

 

The plane is a 1995 Kitfox Model IV with a Speedster tail powered by an 80 HP Rotax 912. I bought the plane from a Team Kitfox forum member in Massachussetts. I went on a massive road trip across the continent to pick it up in May. Since then I have been going through the import/MDRA inspection process.

 

The previous owner had some nice vinyl "Kitfox" graphics on the side, but I had to remove them to install the Canadian registration letters.

 

Now my goal is to learn to fly it well. I took it up on Tuesday and flew it from Red Deer, AB down to Innisfail to practice some landings on the grass before attempting to land on pavement. The landings were passable but I definitely was a little rusty. It flew great though, and I plan on doing a lot of flying in this little airplane.

 

Thanks,

Randy

(Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada)

 

[dholly 718]

Looks great Randy, Congratulations!

[horsepower 24]

Great looking bird and welcome to the forum.You will get a lot of useful info from this bunch and have a laugh or two.Randy

[akflyer 1427]

good looking bird!  I would be very wary of the landing gear... the majority of people who installed that gear ended up with bent planes and busted gear.. But the plane looks nice and should be a blast to fly!  Congrats on actually getting to fly it! 

 

[AlbertaPilot 5]

Thanks for the heads up on the gear, what is the preferred gear for rough/off-strip operation?

[EDMO 1078]

Thanks for the heads up on the gear, what is the preferred gear for rough/off-strip operation?

I cant answer about the gear - I know that some members are trying to find a better modification for it - Hope you will get some good answers on that, and I'm sure that some of them will tell you to get some bigger tires, Like Joey C5Engineer, or maybe Leni AkFlyer, or Randy SuberAvid, to name a few.

Nice Bird - Congratulations and Welcome.

Got to ask - How did you get the KittyFox decals off?

EDMO

Edited 12 Sep 2013 by Ed In Missouri

[AlbertaPilot 5]

Hi Ed,

 

Yeah some 29" Airstreaks are definitely on my wishlist for some day, but I need to brush up on my piloting skills first.

 

To get the decals off I used this:

 

http://www.schaefferoil.com/citrol-cleaner-degreaser.html

[akflyer 1427]

I have beat the crap out of the Airdale heavy/wide gear with no issues, but it is the old bungee style.  Some swear by the grove gear.. All I know is, there are lots of guys that have folded up the spring gear you have and messed up their planes pretty good.  The geometry of the gear is such that even on a not so hard landing the springs bottom out and then your going metal to metal and something has to give.  It is about 50/50 on what gives, the fuse sides or the gear legs.

 

Av8r (larry) has put up some pics of his buddy that went through a couple of the spring gear that you have before he got tired of doing repairs and went to the Grove gear.

 

Randy Tyler has 31" airstreaks on his and LOVES them... and he was running 26" AK bushwheels for a couple years before he made the swap.  As with most mods to a plane, your intended mission will dictate what your best tires would be.  I am thinking that if you run 26" or 29" tires at 2-2.5 PSI you may get away with the gear legs that you have now.

 

[AlbertaPilot 5]

Thanks for the info, I didn't even know they made 31" airstreaks, the website just shows 26" and 29" versions.

 

For now my typical mission will be flights to nearby grass strips, but as my tailwheel skills improve I am interested in trying some off airport work. By the time I am ready for that I should have saved up enough money to afford some Airstreak tires and a beefy tailwheel.

[saskavid 47]

Well it certanly is a classy lookin bird! Is that ivo prop in flight adjustable?What were you getting for air speeds?

  Mike

[AlbertaPilot 5]

The prop is ground adjustable, from what I understand it has the capability of being converted to an in flight adjustable with the addition of an electric motor, brushes, wiring, switch, circuit breaker, etc.

 

I was seeing about 110 mph indicated, no idea how accurate my airspeed indicator is though.

[EDMO 1078]

Thanks for the info, I didn't even know they made 31" airstreaks, the website just shows 26" and 29" versions.

 

For now my typical mission will be flights to nearby grass strips, but as my tailwheel skills improve I am interested in trying some off airport work. By the time I am ready for that I should have saved up enough money to afford some Airstreak tires and a beefy tailwheel.

You might get sticker shock on the price of those - There are cheaper 26 or 29" ones - A LOT cheaper - Like 10 times cheaper -

EDMO

[akflyer 1427]

The 31" airstreaks were from years ago.. now they just call them 31" AKBW.   The new lighter airstreaks for the experimental market are the 26 and 29" that they show on the website.  The 31" airstreak was out long before the company became AK bushwheels.

 

[Bandit 286]

Lots of guys have landed hard with the bungee gear and bent the truss under your legs also.

[akflyer 1427]

Lots of guys have landed hard with the bungee gear and bent the truss under your legs also.

True!  And some guys with the grove gear have bent up planes.. But there seems to be a difference in ratios too. The guys that went to spring gear seem to be having a lot more issues.  All say that they love them right up till it bites them.  I was a huge fan of them and really want a set, I still do, but I think there is more design work to be done to the cabane vee to lessen the stress put on the fuse.  My engineer buddies think so also.

 

[Mendlerr 4]

looks like a nice, simple aircraft.  congrats

[JustNorm 14]

Congrats Randy Looks real good.  Glad it came together for you.

Norm

[AlbertaPilot 5]

Thanks Norm, did you end up selling your Avid?

[JustNorm 14]

AVid is gone, Buzzard is in the air 15hrs now and you know what is waiting in the shop.  The guy that bought the Avid is super happy with it.  "Woo Hoo is this a fun airplane"  his words.  If you are off this week I can fly to Innisfail or North 40 and look at your plane for further insperation.

Norm

[JustNorm 14]

BTW Randy what do you think of this compared to the Pacer?

[AlbertaPilot 5]

I'm up in Fort McMurray right now but will be home on Wednesday night, hopefully will go flying on Thursday morning, weather permitting. I have to stay within 25 nm of Red Deer for the first 5 hours but will probably be down at Innisfail practicing on the grass again.

 

The Kitfox is WAY more fun than the Pacer, especially for the type of flying I want to get into. It's like comparing a sports car to a pickup truck. The Kitfox accelerates faster, takes off and lands way shorter, has a much faster roll rate, etc. Plus the Kitfox burns a lot less fuel and is cheaper to maintain since I can work on it myself. The Pacer cruised a little faster and could haul quite a bit more but the Kitfox is a lot more fun and suits my type of flying perfectly.

[JustNorm 14]

If it works out I will see you in Innisfail or Red Deer Thursday.  I am really happy the plane worked out for you .

Norm

[SuberAvid 617]

Congrats on a good looking plane Randy!  It sounds like you will really be enjoying it.  Some of the guys that are using that cabane gear have gone to a longer travel spring that will help keep it from bottoming out and stacking metal to metal.  Joey, Paul and Larry may be able to give you some updates on that.  I think it is really a matter of getting the travel long enough that it won't bottom out the spring even on a hard landing.  Bungees tend to be more forgiving in that respect.

 

Keep posting your experiences and pictures.

Edited 5 Oct 2013 by SuberAvid