How to Shorten Classic 4 Wings?

[Ehfox]

Hello Everybody...I purchased a KF 4 @ Oshkosh(BIG THANKS to Av8r3400 for helping us and taking us for a ride in his KF) and am thinking of shortening the wings(easier to store in the garage). What are the pros/cons of this?...How difficult is it to do?...What is the stall speed of the shorter wing? (I'm thinking speedster length). Also thinking of changing the "curved" wingtips to straight...pros/cons to these?
Excellent forum...I learned alot here before I went searching for a Plane....Thanks,Dan

[HighWing]

Hi Dan,

I have never done what you are asking about, but am in the final stages of getting a Model IV project ready so that part of the project is in recent memory. I don't think there will be much of a challenge, my only thoughts would be the braces between the spars and end rib to keep it from collapsing a bit under fabric pressure. These are sectons of aluminum tubing, maybe 3/8 diameter that are flattened on the ends for riveting to the spars and rib. I think there are two on each spar angled to attach just below the rib cap on the rib. The other thought is that you might want to cut the fabric a bit long so it can be wrapped around the outboard edge of the cap strip and glued to the underside for greater security. The rest should be fairly straight forward, especially in you have a manual.

Regarding stall speeds, someone else will have to chime in on that one, but my expereince - eyes and ears only - would sluggest that it will not be an issue unless you plan on being one of these extreme destination type pilots and the wingtips are a non issue as well as they don't seem to affect performance.

Lowell

[cap01]

i removed the droop tips and installed removable short rounded tips , the ones from kitfox . i would guess it shortened the wing span by almost 2 feet .

[HansLab]

I'm building a Classic IV project at the moment, and would love to exchange 'flat-type' wingtips with you?
Let me know.

[Newkid]

We have had two Model IVs, One long wing and one Speedster. Same prop and engine on both, and both were about the same weight. The short wing isn't much faster, maybe 2-3 mph, but the role rate is phenomenal. Very sporty feeling. The higher wing loading gives you a better ride through turbulence. The short wing stalls around 5 mph faster, like 43 or so, and looses a little in climb, still a good STOL plane. With the short tips and short wing, I think the flaperon will stick out past the wing itself. Not sure though. The long wing with the short tips is almost a short as the short wing with curved tips, maybe a foot longer overall???