I'm an OFFICIAL KITFOX OWNER!

[WWhunter]

Well, it has been delivered...MY Kitfox. I am excited, well sort of. I purchased an uncompleted 1993 KF IV-1200 from a super nice guy that had it advertised on here. He delivered it all the way up here to northern MN from IL last night. Can't say how much I appreciated dealing with Mike. We unloaded it into my hangar during heavy snowfall and in the dark. Bitter cold this morning so about all I was able to do is look at it and think of the job ahead of me to get it finished and flying.
So, who has an abbreviated list of everything that needs to be updated to a 1993 vintage Kitfox IV with a Rotax 912? Lemme see, first thing, ship the otor off to Hal for the 16xxcc upgrade...

[Av8r3400]

Congrats on the acquisition!

Suggestion List:

1. Grove Gear, wheels and brakes
2. Trim tab in the elevator
3. Molded windshield and bubble doors
4. Matco tailwheel

(I'd wait on the motor upgrade until you are ready to install it…)

[WWhunter]

Motor is already installed. It has 4 hrs. test running on it.

I do know of another Kitfox for sale that I was thinking of buying but to be honest it is really only good for parts. It has the Grove gear so maybe I could buy the whole thing and break even if I parted it out. Most of the other parts though are either dented (flapperons) or so shoddily constructed I am wondering if they would have any salvage value. The construction on it is some of the worst I have ever seen. Seriously!! I wonder who ever dared fly it.

I do have a tailwheel I removed from an S-7 RANS. WOuld it be a better TW than the Maule? It looks like a plastic wheel off a shopping cart. I removed it from the RANS due to the noise it resonated through the fuselage when landing. Darn thing made it sound like the plane was being bombarded with marbles!!

Plane is already covered so would this make it difficult to install the elevator trim?

Doors are already done and installed as is the windshield but Mike gave me another sheet of Lexan for a new windshield since the original is cracking in the upper corners. I am thinking the suggestion of a premolded might be a much better fix. Are the bubble doors something different? The doors on it already are bowed outward. Guess I need to check into that a little more.
Thanks!!

[Av8r3400]

I didn't know it was that far along…

IMO, any tailwheel is better than the Maul. A new Matco is less than $250 for a 8" pneumatic tired wheel.

Yes some covering work would be needed to add the tab to the elevator. I would still consider it… (But that's just me.)

The bubble doors add another ~2-3" of elbow room. The W/S and Doors are available through Kitfox

[DesertFox4]

Congrats WWhunter.

[Dave S]

Keith,

Any idea what kind of heater you will be using? I know the IV's have a few more open spaces; but, I found on our later model (S7) that giving some attention to blocking off as many pneumonia holes as possible for winter operation made the craft quite comfortable in cold weather flying....I ended up instaling a couple SCAT tubes to direct some warm air to the windshield from the heat exchanger.

Congratulations on your purchase....let the fun begin!

Sincerely,

Dave S
KF7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive
St Paul, Minnesnowta

[WWhunter]

Dave,
I will have to double check but I think there are 2 'heater core' type heaters already installed. I may be thinking of another KF I had looked at but it seems that there is one on each side of the plane installed under the panel. If they are there I had planned on cutting a couple of vents for defrosting of the windshield also. This from a previous experience of freezing my face everytime I flew.

It was single digits here yesterday morning so I know your concern about getting heat into the cabin.

I remember my Champ being rather cold in the winter, I stuffed rags into places I didn't even know existed!!! That old plane was DRAFTY!!! Besides the fact that the very front/bottom of the winshield was not sealed so I always had an arctic blast on my face.

[WWhunter]

It's dirty but I think it has potential. Thanks Av8r3400 for the info on how to attach pictures.

[HighWing]

Congratulations on the find. I feel a strong connection on the vintage as my first IV was a 1993. I purchased from Denney and received delivery from Skystar. SN334008

Thoughts on upgrades: It will depend on what your plans are for the airplane. I concur with the elevator trim tab. It will add a pound or two to the aft end. Not hard to do, takes some time, but once done it will yield benefits forever - no looking back! I would go with the Home Builders Special tailwheel - light weight and quiet. I would consider very carefully window glass and landing gear. The acrylic is probably three times the weight of the Polycarbonate and the Grove Gear will weigh almost three times the weight of your stock gear legs. No real opinion on wheels or brakes except I have had near perfect experience with the original Matco and the 8 inch wheels. The near perfect has to do with the original vintage pads on the Matco. They will fail for sure in the first few hours. They just crack, "brake" up and fall out. I felt rather stupid when the pads failed on the 1992 IV I recently finished on a flight to Arizona after having the same experience on the 1993 IV. On the flight to Arizona it was Hal that saved the day. Now I refer to him as MacGyver. If you decide to stay with the Matco's replacing the brake pads is a MUST do. For me then it was smooth sailing for nine years on those brakes.

One of Hal's buddies, Mark, built an early IV that weighed 604 lbs. Mine at the time with the Grove gear plus lots of creature comforts weighed exactly 100 pounds more - 704 lbs. That's a lot of ounces here and there - Just saying....

[Paul Z]

Remember when you clean the plea use a non ammonia cleaner, Sam's & Costco's both sell an aerosol spray cleaner that works well. I use it to clean the leading edges, doors, turtle deck cover, and windscreen. It works really great!