Bringing a Kitfox 1 back to life

213 posts in this topic

Posted

I hit the new panel tank I got from Jim with some aluminized PolyTone, to give it some UV protection. I left a couple strips to sight the fuel. 

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Posted

I could have used better technique, thinned the paint, masked the whole thing properly, and sprayed it, but I took my dentist’s advice and brushed the teeth. 

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Posted

Checkout how i fixed my yellowed, faded, cracked stock Qtr windows, did it cheap quick and easy, and now easy replaceable down the road.

Thanks, Bucky. I got caught up on your posts and saw what you did. That was the same idea I had. The Lexan that I bought locally is a bit thicker than I wanted to use, but I’ll probably go ahead and do it. I did buy some plastic to sew in, but I wanted to do something better if I could. I should put it on a scale and see how it shakes out. 

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Posted

Looks good from here. Had a laugh about the brushing the teeth comment as well :-)  JImChuk

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Posted

Ohhh i like it!!! 

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Posted

I checked my N number today, and it is registered to me. !!!! Yes! Now I can quit being disappointed when I check the mail. It would be nice to see that piece of paper, though. 

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Posted

So.... you know how sometimes you’re ready for that condition inspection, then you decide to take care of those elevator weldment gussets, and find a little rust, so pretty soon, you find yourself stripping the fabric off of the whole elevator, and then the horizontal stabilizer, and the rudder, since you’re already at it? That’s me. Then, I start thinking that maybe I should just stretch them now, since I already have them apart, and probably want them bigger, anyway. So close. I was so close. All I had to do was not touch it. The weldment looked fine. The plywood was funky. Hey, we all like bigger control surfaces, right? I wish I had a sandblaster. 

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Posted

I took a different approach to the quarter windows, using .080”  clear acrylic, and stuck them to the fabric with PolyTac. It seems to be working good. I sandwiched them in with finishing tape on the inside. We’ll see how it holds up. Of course I smeared a little cement on the back of one, but it’s not bad enough to make me redo it. Needs just a little paint to finish it off. 

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Posted

For clarification, the weldment didn’t really look fine. It looked fine with the fabric over it. It might be cracked. It wasn’t a great weld. I’m glad I pulled the rest of it apart, too. The rudder wasn’t bad. It had a little surface rust where the fabric wrapped around it. The horizontal was kind of rough, and the elevator, too. Not too much wastage, but some considerable pitting. It looks like they were primed after the plywood was glued in, and it rusted more in those spots. If I can get the steel locally, I’ll give it more of a rudder, and a longer elevator. So much for being ready, already. It will be a couple days, this time of year, just to get those cleaned up, primed, covered, and painted. That’s if I don’t make it a bigger project.

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Posted

Well it may seem like a pain in the neck having to do a bunch more work, but fixing those tailfeathers is the right thing to do.  When it's all over you will be glad you did it.  JImChuk

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Posted

I have been in the same situation a couple times before. Its a pain when you think you're good to go and then find something like this. Which is why I now just strip one to bare bones and start from the beginning. Its a big job, but peace of mind is worth a lot,too. Things have a way of snowballing.

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Posted

I got the tail feathers sandblasted and gave them a good coat of epoxy. A friend let me use his big blast cabinet, but I was only able to do the rudder in it, because the other pieces are too long. I went ahead and rented the “small” sandblaster from Ron’s. That made short work of it. The rudder looked like factory paint, and it was in good shape. The horizontal stabilizer and elevator were evidently spray painted with a green zinc primer, and they were not so good, but still usable. I’m sure glad I got to them when I did. I stuck the reinforcing gussets on with the torch. They look good. I always liked gas welding. I used to weld a lot of exhausts with a torch. It’s seldom seen, now that mig welding has become so everyday, but the torch is still a great tool. Not my best work, but nothing to be ashamed of, either. 

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Posted

You might notice the loose hose on the sandblaster in the previous pics. It was loose like that when I first picked it up, but I was still able to use it. I had to shove the hose into the fitting and hold it with one hand while I worked. Good thing it was a small job. It wouldn’t have been hard to fix, if I was inclined to do so, but I made it work like that. I wish people would take better care of things. I made sure the rental company knew about it so they could fix it.

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Posted (edited)

It’s like Christmas. 

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Edited by Good old number 29
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Posted

It’s been a long while since I posted. I  just realized that I started this thread one year ago, yesterday. Work on the plane got put on hold during the fishing season, and it turned into a pretty long season. Also, I managed to smash up my arm pretty good, getting bucked off a horse. So, where was I? 

I was just about ready for the condition inspection, when I realized that the horizontal stabilizer and elevator had been spray painted and had corrosion issues. The rudder and the airframe looked good, with factory paint. I have the fabric and most of the finish tape on the tail feathers, then I’ll be ready to spray them and put them back how they belong. That will be the last of the fabric work until I decide to put the wing tanks in. I want to fly it first.

It weighs in at 440, empty. Those 400 pound planes we read about must have been weighed on a friendly bathroom scale. If I took all the gauges out, removed all the fabric except from the wings and control surfaces, removed the doors, cowling, and engine shroud, and went to a two blade prop, it would still be over 400 pounds. I’m going to leave all that stuff in place and be happy with it. 440 is pretty good. 

Last time I ran it, I had an issue with my tach. One of the connectors came loose, and pushed back inside it. I thought I fixed it, but it wasn’t reading right after that, so I decided to replace it with a Tiny Tach. I also have a new voltage regulator to install. After those two items, I just have to bolt the seatbelts back in, and safety wire everything in place, that needs it. 

I also replaced my CHT sensors. I wasn’t getting a reading on one side, so I replaced both. I figured it would be best to have a matching pair. 

 

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Posted

Glad to see ya back on the project.  If you need 4130 tubing Morgan Steel carries the popular sizes.  Stoddards has about any thing you could ask for in tubing.

Hope your fishing season was a good one.. My brother made enough to make a boat payment but that was about it.  Time to get that bird in the air!

:BC:

 

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Posted

440 is outstanding! I'd be mad if I wasn't so bummed out. I re-weighed mine and still a hundred pounds over my target. Got to go back thru it and remove stuff I thought I needed. Starting with a lighter engine mount and a few other non-essentials.

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Posted

I got the voltage regulator and Tiny Tach set up and working. I put in a circuit breaker, switch, and 12v plug for the dc power. Made an air scoop for the heater manifold. I went ahead and ordered new points and condensers, which I should have done in the first place. I was going to order some jets, but I found the mother lode in the stuff that came with the plane. The plugs were a bit dark, and egt was about 950 at full throttle, so I’m going to drop a size before I readjust the prop. All the new sending units worked great. I might take my altimeter to the shop. It’s a bit off. 

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Posted (edited)

Looking good! We just ordered a couple sets of those tires. One set is on the new Kitfox that my friend bought and the other will go on mine. Had it sold this weekend but it fell thru so no more. Too many tire kickers calling that don't have a clue about Kitfoxes except what they see on youtube.

Edited by Allen Sutphin

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Posted

Looks like I got my work cut out for me. I drew up a cabane gear and picked up a pile of 4130 and a pair of J3 Cub legs. Kind of figured I’d cannibalize the old gear, seeing it was a proven design with 1-1/4” axles all ready to go. With some fairly minor modifications to the legs, and my own cabane V and shock struts, I should have a decent set of wide gear that won’t fold up on me. The gear legs weren’t too pricey, at $150. I bought enough 1-1/4” to fab my own legs, if I need to go that route. Fun times ahead. 

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Posted

I can make that work, God willing. It would gain about four inches in height, and eighteen inches in track width. About nine inches out on each side. I’ve been toying with the idea of using the rear-most attach bracket at the lift strut attach point to hinge the hind leg. It almost reaches it now, without modification. Having a longer stance makes it less likely to twist. I might have to beef up the structure back there, but it should be pretty decent, since the lift strut would put a similar amount of strain on it. Don’t mock my mock-up. I had to work around the tire, you know. I’m not making it knock-kneed, or moving the gear back a foot. 

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Posted

The wider stance worked well for me.  I also installed a new front mount which included a separate mount for the cabane.

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Posted

That is nice. I like those shock struts. The tailwheel, too. 

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Posted

The wider stance worked well for me.  I also installed a new front mount which included a separate mount for the cabane.

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I would like to see some more detail on your suspension. It would be worth its own thread. 

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Posted

That is the Roberts Rage gear, he does offer them for the Kitfox now but they are pricey.  A friend sold me the struts from his S7 when he replaced them with the double shock system of Tony's.  He did say that he could not say that one was better than the other.  If I were building the gear again I would set the legs to 45 degrees.  One thing for sure the gear is well proven.  The Cub style should work well for you. The rear attach point where the wingstrut attaches I s much stronger than the center point   

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