Folding wing/fuel

[jetsrforkids]

Can the Kitfox wing be folded while the wing tanks are full of fuel? Do they leak any more or less while in the folded position? For those of you that fold your wings regularly to put it in a hangar, how long does it take and is there any risk of them not working correctly when put in the flight position?
Like everyone else, I would like to save on future hangar costs, but I don't want to spend lots of time on pre/post flight issues.

[t j]

If the tail is on the floor the tanks need to be less than half full to keep from leaking when folded. If you can keep the fuselage level...tail up...with the wings folded the tanks won't leak when full.

If you can fold the wings in the hanger parking spot and unfold before moving it out you can just set the tail up on a stand. If you need to do the folding/unfolding outside then you will need to build a dolly to set the tail on so you can move it in and out of the hangar. You would be limited in th parking spot options due to the height of the tail.

If you can find a spot where you only need one wing folded it would be easier to plan on that wing tank being no more than half full when you return to the hangar.

[jrevens]

you can do it if the trailer is built to keep the fuse level. I always wondered why they didn't design the tanks to have the fuel caps at the center of the plane not the outside twards the tips of the wings.

I think that possibly this is because of dihedral on many of the models. The tanks can be filled more fully if the caps are outboard (higher).

[kitfox2009]

jetsrforkids
I found if you design your trailer with an easily removable (and length adjustable) tongue along with a height adjustable jack stand,that it is quite easy to move around the garage. Can also lower the tail in order to clear the door way. I always emptied my tanks before hauling. Quite easy to do through the gascolator drain as you are removing the turtle deck, etc.
Loading/unloading/setup would take me about 30 minutes without rushing. It is MUCH easier if you design your trailer so your a/c is level.
My albums have a few pics with how I did the trailer design.
Cheers
Don

[rwaltman]

... if I put only 5 gal in each tank. So I guess folding the wings would not create a problem with this idea.
Not flying yet, but doing a lot of folding/unfolding. I have around 6 galons on each wing, and the fuel weight is already making handling the wings more difficult.
I got used to tie a rope to the strut, the other end on my hand, to stop the wing from "snapping" back when removing the front spar pin.
Will probably build a dolly to keep the tail up, as others have suggested.

Roberto.

[ackselle]

I've got a farm runway at home, so each time I fly, I pull my plane out of our machine shed (door is only 12' wide), unfold the wings, connect flapperon controls, and instal the turtle deck.... that takes about 5 minutes.

Then I add fuel because you can't fold the wings back with full tanks. I agree with the previous comments, you can have approx 5 gallons fuel per side with the wings folded.

When I am done my flight, my routine is:
1) check oil (it's easier to check oil after the flight, with the engine hot, vs before the flight)
2) remove the turtle deck
3) disconnect the flapperons
4) remove pins and fold the wings
5) wrap a bungee cord around the flapperon controls to keep them from contacting the vertical stab.
...total time... about 5 minutes from turning the key to the "off" position