Final Assembly - Wings ON

[henrysamson]

I had some friends over yesterday and we put the wings on. Hope to take it to the airport in a couple of weeks. The only big job left is to paint the flaperons. I have attached some pictures. The three taken outside have the wing extensions on. I built it this way so I can fit it in my garage. The one taken inside the garage has the extensions off and it fits! I could probably put the right wingtip on but it is a bit too close to the garage door for comfort.

Thanks for all the help!

[GWright6970]

outstanding!!!

[DesertFox4]

It looks great Henry. Looks ready to fly. Best of luck with first flight and phase 2. I haven't seen many building with wing extensions. Maybe they'll make a come back. Have fun.

P.S. - I'm sure I speak for many. More photos.;) :)

[Dorsal]

Looks beautiful, nice work!

[AirFox]

Nice work Henry! Can't wait until I get to that stage.

[cubtractor]

Looks Great!

[jamesmil]

very nice.:)

[cap01]

Henry , nice job . A little curious about your door on the pax side , appears that a section of the lexan may open ?

[henrysamson]

Henry , nice job . A little curious about your door on the pax side , appears that a section of the lexan may open ?

It's just a reflection. The doors are the 'standard' Model IV doors with a lexan top, aluminum bottom and a fiberglass strip in between.

[cap01]

Henry , just wondering if anyone has come up with a way to get a window open . It's difficult to get descent pictures from the Kitfox with all the glare and reflection from skylight, windshield , and side windows .
Where do you plan to fly out of when you get flying ? We were just in Jewett last fall visiting friends , probably another trip in the spring . Sadly not with the Kitfox

[HansLab]

Henry, great job!!
I'm into that stage the nextcoming months, so it looks if I'm looking at the future, here!
And.. you make me happy with your pics of the folded wings: yours aren't even either, as I look at it, when folded. Mine neither (see pic), as I discovered when rigging before the covering process. I asked along here and there, but it seems to be happening due to rigging the struts.

Looking at your pictures I am curious, though, if your flaperon (SB side) will fit between the elevator - but we'll se.
Again: beautiful pics, very helpful!!

Hans

[henrysamson]

Looking at your pictures I am curious, though, if your flaperon (SB side) will fit between the elevator - but we'll se.
Again: beautiful pics, very helpful!!

Hans

Thanks for the kind words. Since I was building both a long wing and short wing airplane I chose a dihedral that is between what was in the manual for the two versions. So my wings may look close to the horizontal stabilizer if you used the measurement for a long wing. It all worked with the flaperons on before covering. I guess I'll find out in a week or two! I did have to move one of the flaperon weights since the manual instructions put them in a location where they contacted each other when the wings folded. I am very pleased with the how the rigging worked out when the wings are folded. The height of the inboard corners of the wing tips are within 1/8 inch of each other.

Just keep building. I would get so discouraged when I felt something was not just right that I would stop. Then it is hard to get back into it. I bought my kit in 1997 and it is now . . . 2013. Enough said?



Where do you plan to fly out of when you get flying ? We were just in Jewett last fall visiting friends , probably another trip in the spring . Sadly not with the Kitfox

I'll be flying out of the College Station, TX area. If all goes well my plans are to be flying all this summer and into the fall. East coast first to visit family and friends. Then back through Texas and I hope to make it to the Pacific Northwest by fall so I may be in you area then!

[rjkulesa]

Looks fantastic. Did you build entirely in the 2 car garage? I'm curious how doable that is....

[HighWing]

Henry , just wondering if anyone has come up with a way to get a window open . It's difficult to get descent pictures from the Kitfox with all the glare and reflection from skylight, windshield , and side windows .


The airplane flies fine with the doors open. I took weekly progress shots for a couple of years of a building under construction near Sacramento. Closing the door in flight was the challenge. Finally, I rigged a pully over the passenger door that I put a cord through that I could attach to the door strap on my side. I could clip the cord before opening the door and a T handle on the other end made closing the door relatively easy. A hinged top section would be the ideal solution, though.
Lowell

[cap01]

thanks Lowell , I have flown with the doors open / off . in our part of the country I wouldn't care to do it for very long . tired the door off thing in the middle of summer one time and after takeoff couldn't get back on the ground fast enough it got so chilly . possibly if a person dressed more for cooler weather it would work better . as for doors open , I'll have to try that again . I have interior door panels with pockets so ill remove them to try that plus remove any thing that's not tied down in the cockpit .
as for closing the pax door . if flew skydivers a couple of summers in a c180 with the pax door hinged at the top and a latch at the bottom . to get that door closed was pretty simple , skid the plane to the right and the door woud come down where the latch could be reached . I'll have try that sometime in the Kitfox when the weather gets nicer .

[henrysamson]

Looks fantastic. Did you build entirely in the 2 car garage? I'm curious how doable that is....

It's doable and I will have some suggestions regarding this in a day or two. I have been rather distracted as I was involved in a mid-air collision yesterday morning while flying with a student. Still trying to get my mind around what happened and how we survived. Got hit from behind at about 3000 feet.

Here is some info from the paper:

http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/article_e02225e9-1e54-5a7f-97bf-b517e11b905b.html

[Av8r3400]

Holy crap, Henry!! Glad you were able to walk away!!

Someday you'll have to tell us the story. But not here and not now.

[cap01]

the wheel just fell off and went thru my windshield ? what are the odds for that to happen ?
happy every one made it out ok . had to have been a couple of interesting landings .

[rjkulesa]

Holy cow! So glad all are ok.

[Dorsal]

Frightening to read, so glad you OK.

[henrysamson]

Just a follow up regarding myself and my student. We both got back up in the air yesterday and she seems even more determined to become a pilot. I am looking forward to helping her make that happen. Friday's flight was her second lesson and needless to say she has a very unusual log book entry for that training flight.

I was making great progress on my airplane until Friday and I now have to get myself out to the garage and get back to work. Not easy to do.

[GWright6970]

Fully understandable..... Yes, I can understand what you are going through, having had to suck it up myself a few times after flying in combat and getting a Cobra blown out from under me... it NEVER got routine!

May I suggest just going out to your fuselage and if possible just sitting in it for awhile imagining the takeoff, the flight, and the landings while listening to some relaxing music. Pick up where you left off and just do one task each night. This is your baby, and she will serve you extremely well.

The fact is, you did VERY well, your training worked, and now YOU have something very special to pass on.... the experience and the know-how. Yes it was close, but obviously God is giving you the experience you need in the right sequence, for a purpose.

Please, ENJOY THE JOURNEY!