S7 builder logs

[Flienlow]

Is anyone here actively building a S7? I will admit I am a little surprised at this forum. I thought there would be more folks blogging about building their planes, engaging in technique conversations, and sharing build experiences along with status of their builds. Perhaps that is not the scope of this forum. I belong to Jeep forum and I believe just about every part on them has been blogged about (several times ) , and don't get me going about ADVRIDER.Com.


Airplane people not as chatty?

[jrevens]

I'm actively building one, but to be honest, I don't want to devote the time to a lot of "blogging". I'm more of a "lurker", enjoying monitoring this forum very much. There has actually been a lot of good technical advice, links to builders websites, blogs, etc. Check a little closer... I think you'll find it chock full of useful information for a builder like me.

[enyaw]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/N517WD/132606786269

[jtpitkin06]

Flien...
.......LOW

Try using the search tab. I think you will find as many threads on the S7 as any other model. Go to the Kitfox LLC site, too. You'll find they are only producing the model 7 with the model 4 as special order only. So almost all of the kits sold now are model 7s.

Yes lots of us are actively building S7's.

On this forum you'll find comments on almost every part, nut, bolt and rivet in the kit, along with opinions on what, where and how to install everything from axles to zip ties. Just do a little homework.

There's no shortage of yakkers like me with over 400 posts. But don't expect enthusiastic replies to "Has anyone ever thought of a putting a radial in a Kitfox" for the umpteenth time. Boooooorrring....

You're welcome to contribute your techniques to the Building Tips thread which is in the General Section on a sticky note. There are 100 posts to that thread and it makes for an interesting read.

If you need help building or have a serious question, someone will chime in and answer. If you just want to blog, blob or glob, there's this Jeep forum I heard about somewhere.

John Pitkin
Greenville, TX

[Dorsal]

Also if you search the photo albums you will find lots of great construction pictures and builders comments.

[MotReklaw]

Also if you search the photo albums you will find lots of great construction pictures and builders comments.

Tis true. I've gotten a lot of problems solved by looking at how other builders are doing it and by using the search feature.

This forum would be a deal at even 10 times the annual fee.

;-)

[szicree]

With a two year old kid and a full time job, the small amount of free time I have is spent in the garage, not on blogging.

[Flienlow]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/n517wd/132606786269

already subscribed!! :d

[HighWing]

I think I can suggest a reason for the scarcity of building posts - at least as it compares to other forums. When I built my first airplane - a model IV in 1993, the factory shipped 40 kits the month I received mine. I have been told that there had been months that as many as 75 were shipped. That lead to a lot of list activity as not everyone likes the internet, but one or two wouldl sign on. And over the course of a year there would be a dozen or more new guys chatting about their projects. My guess in its heyday, the lists had probably two or three hundred members and probably thirty to fifty who actively participated and this was of about three or four thousand Kitfoxes sold. Think of the number of Jeeps out there, probably many thousands. As I write this, I understand the factory is able to ship three or four a month. Probably about three of those three or four will be purchased by guys that are not much interested in chatting about the holes they reamed today or the ones they accidentally punched in the belly of their newly covered fuselage.

That being said, I think the quality of the information on the forum is very good with some real passionate builders with a wealth of knowledge that are a click away from being heard. I think the notes on builder's time constraints are factors as well.
Lowell

[Flienlow]

Flien...
.......LOW

Try using the search tab. I think you will find as many threads on the S7 as any other model.
John Pitkin
Greenville, TX


Thanks John and by the way YOU DO get around, I have been following you on the Corvair list as well. :)

anyway, I would like to find more chronological blogs (soup to nuts if you like) on building one of these. I seem to find a lot for Zenith and Vans aircraft, and I have also found enyaw's on facebook, but would love to see more that's all.

[DanB]

anyway, I would like to find more chronological blogs (soup to nuts if you like) on building one of these. I seem to find a lot for Zenith and Vans aircraft, and I have also found enyaw's on facebook, but would love to see more that's all.
Flienlow,
I hear ya on not being able to find many Kitfoxers doing a Build Blog...When I started my Fox, I had been following many many Van's builders. I think I could have built most of an RV-7 without looking at the plans :rolleyes: Glad to see Enyaw doing his on FB. That seems to be the easy way to go now and wish I had that when I started my IV.
I did a Build Log on a KF IV, here http://azshowersolutions.com/Build1.html

I know it's not a SS, but it may help a bit on common things like covering, etc... Best wishes.

[jtpitkin06]

As for a soup to nuts type log I think the assembly manual is about as good as one needs. The drawings are excellent and the text is clear. Construction is pretty straight forward.

For those wishing to see the steps prior to buying a kit, you can purchase an assembly manual from Kitfox LLC. If you have a Kit on order, have Deb send you the manual in advance of delivery.

Follow the steps and sign off each page as you complete it on the line provided. A few steps require completion of an different section before the page is complete. Just flag the page with sticky tab to sign it off later. I added a line above the completion date to log how many hours I spent on each step.

I had a few requests to post a picture log on my website but decided it has been done plenty of times. If I find an easier way to do something than what is shown in the manual, I post it here with a specific thread so builders can find it.

Maybe those other airplanes are more difficult to build. The Kitfox is pretty much a drill, ream, bolt, Hysol and pull rivet kind of airplane. Honestly, if you can put together a desk from Ikea, you can build a Kitfox.

John Pitkin
Greenville, TX

[DanB]

As for a soup to nuts type log I think the assembly manual is about as good as one needs. The drawings are excellent and the text is clear. Construction is pretty straight forward.

For those wishing to see the steps prior to buying a kit, you can purchase an assembly manual from Kitfox LLC. If you have a Kit on order, have Deb send you the manual in advance of delivery.

Follow the steps and sign off each page as you complete it on the line provided. A few steps require completion of an different section before the page is complete. Just flag the page with sticky tab to sign it off later. I added a line above the completion date to log how many hours I spent on each step.

I had a few requests to post a picture log on my website but decided it has been done plenty of times. If I find an easier way to do something than what is shown in the manual, I post it here with a specific thread so builders can find it.

Maybe those other airplanes are more difficult to build. The Kitfox is pretty much a drill, ream, bolt, Hysol and pull rivet kind of airplane. Honestly, if you can put together a desk from Ikea, you can build a Kitfox.

John Pitkin
Greenville, TX

John, I wouldn't argue with anything you said here...I haven't seen the SS plans, but I have heard they are much better than Skystar had them. I know McBean and the gang have put many hours into making them the cat's meow when it comes to ease of following.
Kitfoxes are quite an easy build and I would venture to say that the RV series may be a tad more difficult, but more than that...just different skill sets. There are many guys on this list that have built both birds and actually know the difference.

As for build sites, personally I enjoy following folks on their build. There is not just one way to skin a cat and it is informative to see the different techniques others employ (just like you do here) ;)
As I was bulding, my friends and family living in other states enjoyed the follow as well. You might notice I quit the build page a few years ago but I did pick up where I left off on Face Book... So I think that is a great resource to those who would like to do so. One other thing I knew a build site (with pictures) would help with was when it came time to get that AW Cert. it made it a snap to grab several pictures along with the date references and print them off. I gave the DAR my website address a month b-4 he came out and he liked having it as well. FWIW

[Flienlow]

I did a Build Log on a KF IV, here http://azshowersolutions.com/Build1.html

.


This is exactly what I am talking about. I love seeing even the simpliest of things like how you organized your garage. It gives me ideas. Thank you.