Spins in Vixen

[FoxBob]

I found only one thread where someone had spun a Vixen. There was a disturbing article in the November 2011 issue of Kitplanes by aerodynamicist Barnaby Wainfan regarding spin characteristics of planes with swept tails. The initial design of the Cessna Skycatcher had inadequate rudder outside the tail wake and unsatisfactory spin recovery. The empennage was redesigned with a ventral fin and the rudder extending below the horizontal stabilizer and the spin characterics are now acceptable. There is only one model of Kitfox with swept tail (from the factory) and that is the series 5 Vixen. I would like to know how many have spun Vixens and lived to tell the tale. Any aircraft that is to be flown low and slow has the potential to spin.

[kitfox2009]

Hi Bob
I have never spun mine. Took my licence on a C 140 49 years ago and spun it every time I went flying! Not sure about the swept tail thing. C150,152`s and 172 all have swept tails and they are OK to spin,no?
Cheers
Don

[rogerh12]

"rudder extending below the horizontal stabilizer"

There was a tread recently on this topic . Trainers have this feature typically, as does the kitfox, but because the kitfox has a high wing the airstream won’t get blocked to the tail the way some low wing plane can (in a deep stall). So I think the conclusion was (on the original thread) that the kitfox is a plane you don’t have to worry much about when it comes to entering or getting out of a spin, as currently designed.

However, having said that, it is not spin proof and most folks that die in a kitfox do so after a spin (in my informal review of the NTSB database), so in my opinion, anything you can do to keep as spin from happening or lessen its voracity is a plus. I myself am adding a lower shark fin on my model-4,-1200. It will be about the same size as the Cessna 162 uses, but will be removable as well (and adjustable, so I can try different sizes). I can do this on my plane as it’s a Tri-gear, whereas a tail dragger would likely damage the lower fin.

Hope this helps


Roger

[sdemeyer]

I have spun my model 4 several times and I am still alive, and the plane is still in one piece. Was it scary?; yes. Would I do it again?; maybe.