Getting an old kitfox IV speedster up and running!

[Jono]

My plane needed the following items.
1 Rubber vibration dampners
2 new carb sockets
3 rebuilt carbs
4 inspection for the notorious crack in the engine mount. (new mount is beefier)
5 new fuel pump to replace the now obsolete pump. (if it aint broke don't fix it)
6 a return line to the tank
7 additional leaf spring on the tailwheel as mine only had one and thats bad.
8 inspection of the fuel tanks revealed the old fuel had eaten them up pretty

Wheels has summed it up pretty well. My dad built the Kitfox IV I fly now and the only thing on this list we haven't done is replace the fuel tanks (we're watching closely.. but will have to do them one day) - Main thing is to avoid ethanol fuel which we have been doing.

Jono

[Hockeystud87]

Hey guys,

Sorry for the late response! You all gave great info.

To update I just got my taildragger endorsement in a beautiful Cessna140 yesterday! Awesome experience getting to learn a new appreciation for ground handling and learning the different effects of Wheel and 3 point landings.

So now the next steps I want to take are trying to really focus on my grandfathers kitfox. Were going to tackle it early next week and he's written out a check list to start going over it's "annual". I also discovered that the plane is actually the 80hp version rotax not 100hp.

Some concerns I have after searching the site here is my size. I am a 6'2" 180lbs guy. I have always been slender but when I sat in the plane last it was "tight", The full controls was somewhat of an issue but I was able to get pretty decent throws with out issue, if I moved my legs around I could get full throw easily but with a slight awkward position with my legs.

I was also thinking of removing my shoes and maybe taking out back padding to help make some room.

I'm excited to work on this plane and have a great slow & cheap plane to build some time in.

Any advice?

[jrevens]

...

Some concerns I have after searching the site here is my size. I am a 6'2" 180lbs guy. I have always been slender but when I sat in the plane last it was "tight", The full controls was somewhat of an issue but I was able to get pretty decent throws with out issue, if I moved my legs around I could get full throw easily but with a slight awkward position with my legs.

I was also thinking of removing my shoes and maybe taking out back padding to help make some room.

I'm excited to work on this plane and have a great slow & cheap plane to build some time in.

Any advice?

I'm about the same size as you, and my other airplane has a pretty tight cockpit - smaller than the Kitfox 7 SS I'm building now. I found that flying with some thin-soled moccasins works real well for me. It's amazing what losing an extra 1/2" or so of sole thickness can potentially do for your leg room and knee clearance. If you normally wear tennis shoes, going to some leather moccasins might make a big difference for you.

[Hockeystud87]

I'm about the same size as you, and my other airplane has a pretty tight cockpit - smaller than the Kitfox 7 SS I'm building now. I found that flying with some thin-soled moccasins works real well for me. It's amazing what losing an extra 1/2" or so of sole thickness can potentially do for your leg room and knee clearance. If you normally wear tennis shoes, going to some leather moccasins might make a big difference for you.

This is great advice! I actually learned to fly the Cessan 140 with my shoes off. So that might also be another route to take. I'm starting to get more and more comfortable with the feasibility of my flying the plane. Seems like the biggest things are rudder and elevator.

[kmach]

I would replace all the fuel lines, coolant and oil lines, rubber carb flanges,get the carbs cleaned and rebuilt. basically the rotax 5 year rubber replacement.