Classic IV Restoration

453 posts in this topic

Posted

That's in the works, too...

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Posted (edited)

Okay, kids. We're back at it again.

Here's my plane in the new Jig that we helped Brett build this past Saturday.

(Apologies in advance for the crappy cell phone photos.)

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Edited by Av8r3400

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Posted

As of today here she is, mounted in the rotator over at Dave's airplane factory. Let the games begin: Chop - Cut - Rebuild!

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Posted

I hope you are planning on a baggage door to go with that big bag area.

ED in MO

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Posted

Nice to see some movement on this one again! Looks like we are going to be spending some time on Akflyerbobs Mod III when I get back to try and get that one ready for the air so he can send it down river and move the Mod IV back in the garage and get it done... Maybe after that I can get him fired up on the Catalina again... Hint hint Mr. Bob, the Catalina needs to fly this summer :)

:BC:

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Posted

Today's progress: Made a plate to mount the comm and GPS antennas, added a dorsal fin to get rid of the ugly flat-top look of the rear empinage, added two tubes that will be under the horizontal stabilizer as a place to run the fabric to, instead of ugly sheet metal covers.

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Posted

Make sure that dorsal doesnt interfere with flaperon counterbalance weights when folding wings.

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Posted

Folding is not a real priority. I'll make longer prop rods for the tail. Yes it will be wider than 8', but, not a priority.

Wait until you see what I'm planning for the tail...

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Posted (edited)

I don't have any photos to show any progress but there has been some.

There is a 406 Ameriking ELT on the bench about to go into the frame. There's $100 worth of .032 aluminum to build a baggage area, which will extend from behind the seat back to the elevator support bearing bulkhead. There's a custom 3-leaf, 1-1/2 tail spring and mount attached. The moronic design rod-end bearings are all cut off and ready to be replaced by standard hinges.

Since the plane is at a friend's shop there is some pressure to keep this train rolling, so on we go. :)

Edited by Av8r3400

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Posted

never hurts to have a buddy kickin you in the ass to keep you motivated and moving forwards! Sometimes that is all it takes to get er done :lol:

:BC:

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Posted (edited)

Baggage area mock up.

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Edited by Av8r3400

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Posted (edited)

Baggage area mock up.

My fuselage and tailfeathers are all finished being blasted and painted - got to pick it up this week - Cant wait to see it all pretty and white - Looked like shit when it left the weld shop a month ago. Added dorsal too.

How do you intend to attach the baggage area? Got to figure that out for mine - thinking Adels?

Are you putting in a door for the new area? I put mine on the right side, since I fly from that seat - same for battery door farther back.

ED in MO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

Your going to love that baggage area! I can load mine up! I only wish we had a better way to put a larger door in the side. Thanks to an overzealous other half, I have to do a little patch work on the side of the fuse, so I think now will be a good time to cut in a baggage door.

:BC:

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Posted

Your going to love that baggage area! I can load mine up! I only wish we had a better way to put a larger door in the side. Thanks to an overzealous other half, I have to do a little patch work on the side of the fuse, so I think now will be a good time to cut in a baggage door.

:BC:/>

You can look at the Airdale for a pattern, or maybe when I get mine home tomorrow I will post a photo, or 10.

ED in MO

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Posted

The Airdale and Highlander baggage areas are not compatible with an Avid or Kitfox due to the control mixer behind the seat.

I'm planning on adding some tabs to the fuselage and screwing the aluminum to them and to itself to make a semi-self supporting "box" behind the seat. It will be over the mixer causing no conflict there. The entire thing will be made from .032" Aluminum, then upholstered with light carpet.

24" wide in the front, 17" in the rear, 54" deep. Sides as shown in the photo.

I'm not planning on an outside door. Just access from behind the seat. My main design criteria is to fit two "bag" style folding chairs, two 'backpacking' sleeping bags, a tent and other small camping supplies. Nothing heavy (50# limit), just bulky. It is so irritating to me that I can't get a folding chair into my current plane.

I also plan on adding the proper tabs to mount a "bomb" style baggage pod in the future.

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Posted

Larry,

It may be a pain in the ass to get the stuff out of the baggage trying to reach behind the seat to get it. I have to pull the turttle deck on mine to get the larger items in and out of the baggage... But I have put umm.. ALOT more than 50# back there. First time I had to run down trim in the plane and she flew AWESOME! Higher cruise and lower stall. Overall she likes to be load more aft (within some sort of reason) than to be more nose heavy.

Putting a door in the side kind of like they did on the MK IV would be a big bonus (atleast on mine) Just something to mke sure you consider while your doing the mods. I thought about it on mine, but then decided against it and I have kicked myself right square in the ass for not doing it when it was all apart and would have just been a few more hours to have done it right the first time.

:BC:

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Posted (edited)

The Airdale and Highlander baggage areas are not compatible with an Avid or Kitfox due to the control mixer behind the seat.

I'm planning on adding some tabs to the fuselage and screwing the aluminum to them and to itself to make a semi-self supporting "box" behind the seat. It will be over the mixer causing no conflict there. The entire thing will be made from .032" Aluminum, then upholstered with light carpet.

24" wide in the front, 17" in the rear, 54" deep. Sides as shown in the photo.

I'm not planning on an outside door. Just access from behind the seat. My main design criteria is to fit two "bag" style folding chairs, two 'backpacking' sleeping bags, a tent and other small camping supplies. Nothing heavy (50# limit), just bulky. It is so irritating to me that I can't get a folding chair into my current plane.

I also plan on adding the proper tabs to mount a "bomb" style baggage pod in the future.

Yes, I forgot about all the complexity of the mixers - mine dont have them - I still have rods on each side for flaps and ailerons, so my "boxes" have to be isolated from them as well as the elevator push-pull in the center.

I will use adels with rivetnuts in place of the tabs since mine is already finish painted. My cabin is isolated from the baggage, as best I can, to keep the heat inside where I need it. I will try to post some photos in the next few days. I replaced the wood stringer partly on one side with some steel tubes to frame the doors.

ED in MO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

Yes, I forgot about all the complexity of the mixers - mine dont have them - I still have rods on each side for flaps and ailerons, so my "boxes" have to be isolated from them as well as the elevator push-pull in the center.

I will use adels with rivetnuts in place of the tabs since mine is already finish painted. My cabin is isolated from the baggage, as best I can, to keep the heat inside where I need it.

ED in MO

Ed / Larry. I have a "curtain" that goes behind the seat to the turttle deck roof I made from some insulation I got at the harware store. It is like bubble wrap with foil on each side and weighs next to nothing. I also used it on the inside of the firewall, the side pannels the floor and around the bungies and truss to keep the heat from my heat muff in just the forward part of the cabin. For under a pound of insulation I can fly at -20 with just a jacket and no gloves and be totaly comfortable. The curtain just velcros to the seat back and the turttle deck like the original upholstery did, but is lighter and insulates better.

It also insures that the rum and whiskey is nice and cold when I get to the lodge or the cabin so I dont need ice cubes that get in the way of drinking :lol:

:BC:

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Posted (edited)

Ed / Larry. I have a "curtain" that goes behind the seat to the turttle deck roof I made from some insulation I got at the harware store. It is like bubble wrap with foil on each side and weighs next to nothing. I also used it on the inside of the firewall, the side pannels the floor and around the bungies and truss to keep the heat from my heat muff in just the forward part of the cabin. For under a pound of insulation I can fly at -20 with just a jacket and no gloves and be totaly comfortable. The curtain just velcros to the seat back and the turttle deck like the original upholstery did, but is lighter and insulates better.

It also insures that the rum and whiskey is nice and cold when I get to the lodge or the cabin so I dont need ice cubes that get in the way of drinking :lol:/>/>/>

:BC:/>/>/>

Good idea - to keep you and sweetie warm and the booze cold - The ice could have germs in it - I have thought about the aluminum covered windsheild protectors to use for that - cheap and effective. The hot-water heater I have is supposed to cook you in a rag-top jeep.

ED in MO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted (edited)

Here's today's update: We fabricated aluminum forward and aft bulkheads over the last few days, along with an aluminum brace for the middle of the floor. (After attempting, several times to install the cardboard sides and floor, the only solutions was to split the floor in half, hence the brace.) Today we welded in tabs and mounted the aluminum parts.

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Edited by Av8r3400
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Posted

We completed the major aluminum fabricating today on the baggage locker. I still have to fab up some tabs, weld them in place and attach the aluminum. Then we're all set.

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Posted

Got some more done on the 'ol Mangy Fox.

Welded on lots of threaded tabs: for the strobe box, the new 406 ELT, for the headder tank (rather than those damn adel clamps), fabbed and mounted a tray for the dry cell Odyssey battery, Master solenoid, fuel cut off valves and finally for panals to hold the quarter windows (rather than sewn into the fabric).

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Posted (edited)

Finished trimming out the baggage area and building quarter window frames...

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Edited by Av8r3400

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Posted

So, raise you hand if you like the Avid/Kitfox design rudder peddle brake assembly... <<crickets chirping>>

Me neither. Junked the whole thing. With the help of my master welder/fabricator friend, Dave, we built a set of Wag-Abond (Wag Aero's Vagabond clone) peddles, modified to fit my Kitfox. (He built the same for his hybrid plane and they work awesome!)

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Posted

So, raise you hand if you like the Avid/Kitfox design rudder peddle brake assembly... <<crickets chirping>>

Me neither. Junked the whole thing. With the help of my master welder/fabricator friend, Dave, we built a set of Wag-Abond (Wag Aero's Vagabond clone) peddles, modified to fit my Kitfox. (He built the same for his hybrid plane and they work awesome!)

LOOKING GOOOOD!!! Russ.

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