Tool kit for emergency repairs.

[rwaltman]

Summer is coming, and so are weekend excursions, flying away from the home field.

Given the storage space and weight limitations on a Kitfox IV, what is a good but minimalistic set of tools to carry around?

[t j]

A Leatherman makes a good helicopter repair kit.

[Peteohms]

I read somewhere you need only 2 things; duct tape and WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, duct tape it. If it doesn't move and should spray it with WD-40.
Seriously if you go to the Matronics Kitfox list and search "tool" there was a thread about April 2009.

Pete
Kitfox III sn 1000 912
Leander, TX

[akarmy]

I have a small bag with a basic set of tools. basic open end wrenches, allen wrenches, couple of screwdrivers, volt meter, fuses, extra fuel drain, spark plug, plug socket, leatherman, etc... Just think about things you think might go wrong and need some tools for and bring them along!

[Slyfox]

wire ties. duck tape, not the whole roll. I generally put a nice strip on the rear window side about 2ft long. screw driver and plyers. about it. before any long trip I do an anual inspection basically to make sure things are good to go. I never remove anything other than cowls, main things is to not induce a problem, just check it over real good.

[Dave S]

Hi Roberto,

I think Pete and Andy each have good strategy for figuring this out. There are some things on the list and thinking through what you might need works out.

Each of our airplanes is a little different - engine, electrical, etc - so thinking through what you might need for your specific application is important.

1) General tools which do many jobs - a screwdriver with interchangeable bits - some kind of multi purpose pliers, maybe a small sidecutter, a few combination wrenches which fit most bolts on the airplane, something to hit stuff with - not necessarily a heavy hammer that weighs a lot, etc.

2) Specific tools which you need for your aircraft - stuff like a sparkplug wrench, for the rotax 912 series the little crank locking bolt, specific allen wrenches for the radios, battery cable, possibly some metric tools where needed. If you have a different engine - it may have its specific cponstellation of specialty tools.

3) Materials and supplies - this can be a big list to little list - enging oil, brake fluid, coolant; some safety wire (don't need a cotter pin collection then), Any light bulbs, fuses, etc, some tie wraps, duct tape (of course - good for fabric damage and lots of other stuff) maybe some 500 MPH tape (the sticky aluminum stuff). some fasteners of various sorts - I can guarantee if you have exactly one hairpin clip or one nut or one washer that you absolutely need - that will be the one that gets lost in the field....- Try to pick supplies that can serve multiple purposes. A left handed metric hoochiframus for the alphaketacamuskey is not readily available anywhere so good to bring one along - you get the idea......

In any case - take some time to figure out what might go wrong and if it does - can you get what you need anywhere or should you bring it with. I sort of kept track of what I needed during the first 100 hrs and decided be sure to have it on board.

Best to think about where you fly and what your specific plane might need.

Cheers,

Dave S
St Paul MN

I probably have about 5# of stuff on board for this purpose