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View Full Version : Dec '08 KOTM - Bryan Fisher



RandyL
11-30-2008, 01:53 PM
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Bryan Lee Fisher (Bryan (http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/member.php?u=195))
Model IV Speedster
Rotax 912UL, Warp Drive (started with a GSC)
Signed off: Aug. 8, 2000
First Flight: Aug, 11 2000
Cruise: 105-110 mph

I bought the Model 4 kit from a fellow in Maryland in 96 and he had done very little work on the kit. I finished it in 2000 yielding a 4 1/2 year build time. It was originally shipped as a long wing and was going to be put on floats. When I purchased the kit the first thing I did was to cut the wings down and start purchasing all the speedster mods I could get my hands on, and then made the rest. I have several mods that I built into the plane and most of them I believe were worth the extra time. I will gladly visit with anybody that wants to contact me about them.

I really should be shot for not getting out and flying to more shows, but I just don't. I did fly it to OSHKOSH in 2001 which was shortly after I finished her, and I was blessed to have recieved the OUTSTANDING WORKMANSHIP AWARD in the kitbuilt class, as well as the BUILDERS CHOICE AWARD from Skystar. I must say it was and still is one of the highlights of my life.

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SkySteve
11-30-2008, 02:11 PM
Brian,
What a great looking airplane! You mentioned you purchased all the mods you could get, and then added several of your own ideas. Can you elaborate on the mods that are on your plane, and the benefit you have experienced from them? Thanks.

Joepthepilot
11-30-2008, 06:49 PM
All I can say is Wow. I really love the tinted windows. Bryan did you tint them yourself? Or did you buy them? Joe

Bryan
12-01-2008, 08:23 PM
First I will try and answer Mikes question and really it boils down to the fact that back when I was building, the factory was advertising more speed with the speed options as well as the better role rate. Along with this is the fact that I like the looks of the shorter wing much better. This is just a personal preference. If you look close many of you will notice that I have the dihedral built into the wing instead of the flater speedster wing, as I wanted the stability that this provides. So I have the short wing with the stability. Mike I can not really answer much about how mine compares to others as I have only flown two other foxes. A IV without the speed mods, and a true model IV speedster. By this I mean that it had the speedster tail and mine does not have the better vertical as my kit was built prior to this being available. Mine is a little faster in cruise and the true speedster with the better tail was better with the yaw. All three have the 912UL.

Bryan
12-01-2008, 08:30 PM
Joe I purchased a tinted windshield from LP, and I purchased the rest of the material from a local plastics shop. The turtle deck is much darker than the rest as I did not want a lot of sunlight getting in. Thanks for thanks for the nice response.;)

Bryan
12-01-2008, 09:47 PM
Steve, WOW, since the build its been a long time for an old fart like me but I will see if I can remember some of the changes I made. First I would like to say that there are many changes that I would still like to do and have just not taken the time to do, so really I will just share my opinion on some that I did and ones I feel would possibly help. Just remember that I am no engineer and these are MY opinions. So please do not throw things at your computers because of the idiot talking. :cool::eek::confused: First off a friend of mine and I experimented with the wing strut fairings. I can honestly say there is a major difference between streamlining and round when it comes to this. I believe the ratio is something like 10/1. Just knowing this ratio I tried to get as many antennas out of the slip stream as possible. The wheel pants were fit as close as possible and as low as possible to try and save on some drag. Don't really know if this helped much and I would not have done it if I thought I would be flying off of a lot of rough areas. I fly off of my own grass strip but I try and keep it rolled well.
Another area that I feel really helped was I fiberglassed in some foam on the inlet side of the cowl. By this I simply tried to create a smooth, non turbulent area as the air comes into the cowl. I spent some time on the jury struts and the tail supports as mine came from the factory and were round, so I converted them to an airfoiled shape. This was done just like the wing struts by glueing wood to the aft side of the piece and sanding it to an airfoiled shape and then covering with fabric and painting. I did this same thing to the landing gear as it goes up into the middle of the fuselage. Many of you were supplied airfoiled shaped ones from the factory. You are so lucky. :D
Another area on my kit that was lacking is the area around the horizontal tail where it mates to the fuselage. I made my own fairings and attach points to allow this to be an area of less drag. A cosmetic area that I did not like was the fact that the earlier kits when built the way the manual tells you is that the prop center line was not in the center of the cowl opening. I simply hung the engine and changed the cowl allignment to look better. Since I live in Kansas and it gets very cold here in the winter and hot in the summers, I built a cowl door that I can shut to cut down air to the radiator when needed. I was not the first to do this as I took the idea from a fellow builder. Because of the temperature changes here I designed a sliding door system to cut airflow down on the oil cooler. With these two devices it really allows me to adjust the engine temps while inflight. Not really speed mods but they are nice.
I know I have forgot to mention some of the mods but really many of your kits were shipped to you with these already done. Mine was just an early kit that needed the changes as the speedster was just coming of age. Sorry I know I am rambling on and on, so I will shut up and listen to any comments others have about these great airplanes. And thanks to all for the nice comments about 912KS.

Bryan
12-08-2008, 10:20 AM
Thanks for the kind remarks. The paint is Imron.

DesertFox4
12-08-2008, 10:30 PM
Bryan, your Speedster is outstanding. The Speedster in my opinion has the most beautiful lines and strikes me as an aircraft design from the 1930's era of big radial engines and luxurious cabins.

Bryan
12-10-2008, 06:07 PM
Steve thanks for the great remarks. Yes I believe that it flies well. Sometimes the original narrow gear can be a chanllenge but I like the looks so I deal with it. Again thanks. :) Bryan