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Introduction... Hello from Fargo

21 posts in this topic

Posted

Hello all, New member here... SP CFI in Fargo ND

Though I do not own a Kitfox/Avid... I am a fan

I recently picked up a student with a KF model 3 and am here to learn as much as I can about them, we have logged about 3 hours of Dual so far and this plane is really growing on me

Looking forward to sponging as much knowledge off you guys as I can

Thanks
John

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Posted

Welcome.  There are lots of real knowledgeable folks here that have helped me out immensely since I was new. 

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Posted

Welcome.  There are lots of real knowledgeable folks here that have helped me out immensely since I was new. 

thanks, so far i have noticed the plane seems more at home on grass, a little twitchy on paved runways

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Posted

Yes.  Especially with the original gear setup.  A Grove spring gear conversion will tame it a bit.  Everyone told me to learn on the grass first and it was much easier for me to handle.  I'm still very low time in these but there are a lot of guys here that have flown them for a long time and can give great advice.

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Posted

Yes.  Especially with the original gear setup.  A Grove spring gear conversion will tame it a bit.  Everyone told me to learn on the grass first and it was much easier for me to handle.  I'm still very low time in these but there are a lot of guys here that have flown them for a long time and can give great advice.

not sure of the gear set-up

the mains track well and provide adequate damping, once the tail comes down it gets exciting on pavement 

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Posted (edited)

Some tailwheels will give you a fit on pavement - especially if the setup or alignment or cam or spring isn't correct.   The Matco large pneumatic is recommended by several.   I wont have that problem with the latest - a nose dragger!    EDMO

Edited by EDMO

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Posted

Some tailwheels will give you a fit on pavement - especially if the setup or alignment or cam or spring isn't correct.   The Matco large pneumatic is recommended by several.   I wont have that problem with the latest - a nose dragger!    EDMO

is this the one you are referring to?

http://www.matcomfg.com/TAILWHEEL6PNEUMATIC-idv-3373-13.html

its a 6 inch, a bit bigger than the current small solid rubber TW

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Posted

The original Maule tailwheel that came with these was known to cause handling problems.  I never experienced one but everyone told me that if I had one to remove the cam in them.  I had an API tailwheel on mine and I thought the handling on pavement wasn't too bad.

Is the existing gear setup a bungee-type gear?

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Posted

Some tailwheels will give you a fit on pavement - especially if the setup or alignment or cam or spring isn't correct.   The Matco large pneumatic is recommended by several.   I wont have that problem with the latest - a nose dragger!    EDMO

is this the one you are referring to?

http://www.matcomfg.com/TAILWHEEL6PNEUMATIC-idv-3373-13.html

its a 6 inch, a bit bigger than the current small solid rubber TW

I think most bushflyers are going with the 8 inch Matco, either single or double fork - But you need to talk to the guys who are using them.   EDMO

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Posted (edited)

The original Maule tailwheel that came with these was known to cause handling problems.  I never experienced one but everyone told me that if I had one to remove the cam in them.  I had an API tailwheel on mine and I thought the handling on pavement wasn't too bad.

Is the existing gear setup a bungee-type gear?

yes, the main gear is damped with bungee cords, seems to work ok if you set it down gently, but when that tail comes down it swerves requiring a lot of rudder pedal dancing 

not sure if the TW is Maule... solid non-inflatable and small.... not sure how to remove the "Cam" nor do i know if this has already been done

Edited by azsportpilot

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Posted (edited)

Here is a link to the Files and Forms section of this list that tells about the Maul TW. The cam is seen in figure 10 just above the grease zerk held in place by two screws.  Removing it may help.

Edited by wypaul

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Posted

Welcome John, we sure could benefit from more SP CFI's. That and Rotax iRMT's are as rare as hen's teeth in my area. 

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Posted (edited)

Welcome John, we sure could benefit from more SP CFI's. That and Rotax iRMT's are as rare as hen's teeth in my area. 

thanks for the welcome, Rotax iRMT's are extremely rare up here in the Dakotas also, as are LSRM's..... I am contemplating a trip to California to obtain both

Edited by azsportpilot

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Posted

A Matco 6" tail wheel will work much better than the Maule. Switching from the standard factory gear to a wide gear will make it a completely different airplane on pavement. After those Two mods it will be a great airplane to fly.

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Posted

If your interested,I have a set of factory heavy wide gear I would sell.  750 plus shipping

 

:BC:

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Posted

If your interested,I have a set of factory heavy wide gear I would sell.  750 plus shipping

 

:BC:

Is this what they refer to as "Grove Gear" Conversion?

or would it still be damped by use of bungees?

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Posted

The wide or bush gear is still bungee gear, just wider and taller. 

Grove gear is Grove aluminum spring gear. 

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Posted

If I remember right, Leni had a set of Avid WIB (wider is better) bungee gear.  They are 14" wider than the standard bungee gear.  My guess is these are the ones he's referring to.  Jim Chuk

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Posted

The wide or bush gear is still bungee gear, just wider and taller. 

Grove gear is Grove aluminum spring gear. 

The Airdale W.I.B. is bungee style (like the oem Kitfox 1-4 and oem Avid A - Mk4 gear).

The 'bush' gear by Airdale, Kitfox and a few other makers are cabane style spring gear.

Grove gear is a single one-pc aluminum spring gear.

i do believe Leni has a set of Airdale W.I.B. gear which should bolt right on John's student's KF3. The only question in my mind is whether the gear's bungee arms might need to be shortened slightly due to the different seat truss design.

 

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Posted

So this part of discussion will be very interesting for me as well, due to my plans to make conversion form standard fiberglass tri-gear version to tail-dragger for bush flying rather then paved RWY I am using now :) for my STYLUS X3

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Posted (edited)

Joey "C5Engineer" is using another kind of taildragger gear, but I think it is more expensive than the one above.  He has posted some photos.  And some members have changed the springs and extended the travel on the Cabane gear shown above.  The yellow "Checkered Past" Kitfox 4 shown above has the Grove aluminum spring gear which can be used for taildragger or nosedragger.  EDMO

Edited by EDMO

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