belly radiator

[TJay 1041]

Is it necessary to mount the belly radiator 2 inches off the underside of the plane or can they be tight against when cooling a 582?

[EDMO 1078]

AkFlyer says it works better 2" down. Do you need one? I have one.

EDMO

[TJay 1041]

No sir I have one. I just didn't know if that was a necessary upgrade, you wouldn't think it would take much to cool a little 582.

[EDMO 1078]

Leni says it works better 2" down, and he is in a cold climate.

I know you are striving to make your KF1 a better plane, so I will mention that the elevator pivot tube rear bolt was wearing out too fast, so they changed from a fork on the rear of the tube and went to a rod end - the strap that it connects to was changed to a fork. I can get a photo of the improved version if you need it.

Also, the little short pivoting fulcrum that connects to the elevator tube on the front has a (3/16?) small bolt that it pivots on, and this should be inspected for wear yearly.

EDMO

Edited 16 Mar 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[Dusty 126]

NZ is maybe a bit cooler than US,we run ours tight against the floor.KNZ has an aluminium radiator mounted under the rudder pedals(due to the luggage pod)were the hot air from the muffler spills out ,the only time I see above 65c is on a long taxi with the wind behind

[marshawk 82]

Hi Ed, if its not to much hassel I would like to see  a picture of the upgrade,I always wonder about that  3/16 bolt,its very hard to get at

[EDMO 1078]

Willis and TJay,

I have a busy day today, but will try to get to the shop and post a photo of the elevator fork used on the model 2 and later. It should be easy to put a joggle on the model 1 single strap and bend another and rivet the two together to make the fork, then just swap a rod end for the fork on the push tube.

The good thing about the later model is that the bolt no longer gets any wear.

EDMO

Edited 17 Mar 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[Goldendale-flyer 6]

Should we be having a conversation about boundary layer? Same reason the scoop on a P51 is a way from the fuselage.

[Dusty 126]

Hi ED the 582 532radiator should be the same?I can't find the site at the moment but I recall a 2stroke runs best between 60 to80c.

[FoxDB 17]

Tjay,

 Mine was mounted flush with fuse, I lowered it about an inch and it did improve the cooling.

FWIW

Dave

[C5Engineer 1170]

Murle Williams sells a nice aluminum belly radiator. Mine is flush mounted but I also have the side scoop radiator running in series. Hoping to get rid the side radiator sometime this year. I have been putting it off because of the fiberglass work redoing the cowl.

[EDMO 1078]

Willis and TJay,

I have a busy day today, but will try to get to the shop and post a photo of the elevator fork used on the model 2 and later. It should be easy to put a joggle on the model 1 single strap and bend another and rivet the two together to make the fork, then just swap a rod end for the fork on the push tube.

The good thing about the later model is that the bolt no longer gets any wear.

EDMO

Well, SOL on finding the later model elevator fork to get a photo - This may not have been used on the model 2, but I know by model 4 it was used. Shouldn't be too hard to convert your single strap into a double strap and change to a rod end on the push-pull elevator tube.

My Kitfox 4 manual does not have a very good picture of it.

Maybe someone else can post a photo?

EDMO

Edited 17 Mar 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[marshawk 82]

No worries Ed,i'm sure I can dig it up,

[dholly 718]

Well, found these pics of my KF3 but you will need some kind of super zoom eyesight or ability to blow them up to see the elevator fork.

[EDMO 1078]

Nice paint job Doug - Do you remember if the bolt is still 3/16, or did they change it to 1/4?

Is this the plane you parted out?

Thanks,

EDMO

Edited 17 Mar 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[marshawk 82]

Thanks Doug , I think I will try the upgrade the next time I have  it apart, like the idea of the 1/4" bolt too

[EDMO 1078]

Thanks Doug , I think I will try the upgrade the next time I have  it apart, like the idea of the 1/4" bolt too

The bolt size probably wont make much difference then, because there will be no wear on it, and there are several 3/16 bolts in the front of the elevator controls anyway.

Just whatever rod end size you can come up with.

EDMO

[RDavidson 183]

Doug, I like your paint choices!

[dholly 718]

Ed, I can't recall offhand but will look in the manual next time out in the shop if I don't forget.

Ron - always have been and alway will be a fan of yellow and black! My old KF3 had the black radials on top of the wings too, kinda old school but looked good IMO.

Tjay - so we don't go totally off topic on you, my KF3 belly radiator was dropped about 3/4" using large fender washers and I never had cooling issues.

[dholly 718]

Ok, these pics should help...

- Old style elevator push/pull tube with clevis fork end and single tab elevator weldment

- New style elevator push/pull tube with Heim end and two tab elevator weldment

- Elevator push/pull idler arm bellcrank assembly showing location of bolt in KF Service Bulletin #45

- Elevator control system detail referencing AN23-15A bolt at new elevator push/pull tube Heim end to two tab elevator weldment

[TJay 1041]

I do like that one up front, I was wondering how that bolt could take the leverage of the front bellcrank 

[akflyer 1427]

If you want to tuck the belly radiator up tight against the fuse, then you need to make a shroud or scoop for it if you like to keep the engine below 220 in a climb.  I dropped mine down 2" and did not have anymore overheating issues without the shroud.  My brother had a scoop made for his model II that has a flap in the front controlled by a vernier cable to open and close the flap.  With that, we could dial the temp in to what ever we wanted and I never remember having his get above 150 even in a hard climb in the summer time on floats.

 

I dont have any pics of it on the work computer, but I can get pics of it next time I am home when I head out to work on the 180.. its in the same hangar now as the 180.

 

[Av8r_Sed 82]

I thought minimum for T/O was 150 on a 582. He must not have installed a thermostat.

Mine is currently tucked up against the belly. It gets up to 180 on a climb and usually settles to around 170.

[akflyer 1427]

The difference may be that the kitfox cowling is shaped differently and air may flow to it just fine tucked up tight.  I do know that most guys have ended up putting a shroud around the radiator or dropping it down a bit.  140 is minimum temp to hog the juice to it.

 

[EDMO 1078]

Doug,

If they would modify that Kitfox front pivot arm with a rod end, they could eliminate the wear on that bolt too. I think I will do that.

EDMO

Well, we sure sidetracked the Belly Radiator Post - Guess we should have started a separate post for Kitfox elevator bolts.

EDMO

Edited 18 Mar 2015 by Ed In Missouri