vixen question

[vixenrookie]

hi all, new to the sight so slap me if my question seem retarded!

i recently inhereted a vixen , it is almost complete except fot the few items that i have questions about:

this has the suburu motor what cowelling is used to enclose the motor ? does it need to be custom fit or is there a place that will sell me one?

the wings have not been painted yet and are sealed only should i recover the wings since they have been sitting for about 10 or 15 years in dry clean garage? or can i just paint them and the fabric will last? the fabric looks great ,no dry cracking or anything.

[jtpitkin06]

There may be a supplier for a Subaru cowling, but none is currently listed in the Kitfox catalog. You might call Kitfox and ask if they have a source. You might find the Subaru motor mount was designed to work with a specific cowl.

Failing that, you may need to modify one of the available cowlings. The Continental cowling from Kitfox is pretty versatile for use with other engines. It has lots of room inside. You'll find it in the parts catalog on page 29.



When fitting a cowling designed for a different engine, you are doing things in reverse. Because the cowling must fit against the windshield you must design your motor mount to align the spinner with the nose bowl. With some surgery you can adjust the fore and aft position of the motor, but the nose bowl of the cowl determines the vertical position. when you determine the vertical and fore/aft position of the spinner you can construct a motor mount.

It's not an impossible task, but it is easier than starting from scratch.

John Pitkin
Greenville, TX

[vixenrookie]

thanks for the suggestions, i think i will go with the continental cowl, i have called kitfox and they do not support or build cowls for subaru's. at this point i am between a rock and hard spot, i need to get it certified before my father-in-law takes a plane to the holy ski. i know absolutely nothing about this craft and pretty much shooting from the hip.so i will keep digging and hopefully get this thing off the ground.

thanks all

[Av8r_Sed]

Hi VixenRookie,
Your focus and determination to complete the project are admirable. I would suggest though, that you try to find someone with success with a Subaru powered KF before you get too far. I haven't seen any encouraging posts and have seen several where the builders have removed the Subaru and gone a different direction. It's not that the powerplant is necessarily bad, but they might not be a good match for the airframe and there isn't much ongoing support.

Can any other list members vouch for their Subaru installation?

-- Paul S

[MotReklaw]

rookie (ain't we all),

Try contacting Larry at http://www.macsmachine.com/
He has lots of experience with the subaru engine. He is an honest guy and has been a lot of help to a lot of builders. I bet he has more subaru time than most home builders.
Tommy Walker in Alabama

[vixenrookie]

good news on the cowling, remember i inhererted this project, i took the cowling and sized in over the motor, did a little trimming and got the bottom to fit,placed the top on and sure enough its about 4 inch from the windsheild. look up underneath and noticed the firewall was holding it up, trim the fire wall half inch and fits tighter that a a prom date.it was the correct cowling after all.

only had one question ,will the exhaust melt the fiber glass? its about 1/8" from the pipe.