Avid Cowl?

[Judoka5051]

Hey guys,

I have a Kitfox IV 1050 with a 2180 VW in it. It has the "Great Plains" cowl that was made to fit the VW. It's probably the ugliest cowl I've ever seen. Anyway, will an Avid cowl fit on a Kitfox?

BTW, it flies just fine with that engine. It climbed out at about 400 FPM on a hot day at 1116 lbs. Yeah, I know,,, somebody lied about their weight. I later busted him. The plane weighs 583 lbs empty.

Thanks, Lance

[Av8r3400]

Good job keeping it light, Lance.

I have seen Avid cowls on Kitfoxes. It will fit, but you may need to do some "tweaking" on it to get everything to line up. Do you have a cowl now or are you looking for one?

[Judoka5051]

Looking for one, unfortunately. I'd really like to get rid of the wart that's on it now, but not enough to fab one from scratch!

Lance

[WurlyBird]

The Avid MK IV cowl will certainly fit on a KF. I am in the process of mounting one that I believe I bought from Airdale. The big differences are that the thrust line is much higher, the windshield profile will be different so you will need to make a new windshield and glare shield as well as a new instrument panel if you want the cowl/glareshield/panel transition to flow smoothly. You will also need to replace or modify the fire wall. It is not a perfect fit so plan on doing a little glassing to get it to fit nicely. You can see in the picture that the top cowl does not fill in all the way to the door. I am pretty much at the beginning of this swap but plan on hitting it hard when I get home.

It is by no means a small task. I was not a fan of the bump cowl and the HKS looks even worse in a bump cowl so it will be worth it. Planes that are aesthetically pleasing always fly better.

[avidflyer]

If I ever get back to workiing on it, I'm going to use an Avid MK IV cowl on my Kitfox 4 classic. This cowl was mounted on an Avid that had a 912, as my Kitfox will have. It will need some work to get it to fit, but I like the idea of being better able to see over the nose of the plane, and the cowl cost me about 1/4 what the streamlined cowl would have cost from Kitfox. Take care, Jim Chuk

[WurlyBird]

Hey Jim, I have a question for you about your cowl. What is this spot in the picture? I am guessing it is a way to fasten the front of the cowl's upper and lower portion. If so, how is it set up and could you post a picture or two of it from the inside? I have been trying to figure out a good way to fasten that part, as well as if it even really needs to be secure. I was thinking it wouldn't be too hard to put a couple camlocks there. I was going to put the whole thing together with camlocks as you can see in my pictures but the upper cowl scalloped too much so it will be going together with piano hinge like yours is. Thanks.

[Geowitz]

The parts behind the spinner are not connected in any way on mine and I have no problems. Just think of the round cowling... It has nothing in the center either. Sounds like nothing but extra work to me.

[avidflyer]

Those are camlocks to hold things togeather. Every Avid MK IV cowl I've seen has them. Maybe you don't need them, but it feels flimsy without them connected togeather. The lower piece has an aluminum piece with a camlock socket in it. The upper part has the camlock. The fiberglass parts butt togeather, and the aluminum goes behind them. I'll get a pic next time I'm in the hangar. Take care, Jim Chuk

[Judoka5051]

Wow! It sounds like it'd be easier to buy an off the shelf nose bowl and build the rest out of aluminum. I can get that done in a couple of long days. I don't want to have to modify the plane to fit the cowl. I was hoping the go the other way around.

Thanks, Lance

[Geowitz]

Wow! It sounds like it'd be easier to buy an off the shelf nose bowl and build the rest out of aluminum. I can get that done in a couple of long days. I don't want to have to modify the plane to fit the cowl. I was hoping the go the other way around.

Thanks, Lance

LOL, yeah. You can just get the Kitfox flat cowl and be a lot closer, but I'm not sure how a VW would fit. I could measure and get back to you if you like. Won't be for a couple of days as I won't get out to the airport till Friday.

[Av8r3400]

The VW is pretty wide motor. The Kitfox "smooth" cowl tapers quite a bit in the front. If you use that cowl, you may have to bump out or cut out the sides for the rocker boxes.

[WurlyBird]

Wow! It sounds like it'd be easier to buy an off the shelf nose bowl and build the rest out of aluminum. I can get that done in a couple of long days. I don't want to have to modify the plane to fit the cowl. I was hoping the go the other way around.

Thanks, Lance

You are correct, I did not actually know how much trouble I was getting myself into when I decided to go to the Avid cowl. But I cannot say that I would do it differently if I could go back. The only part I regret is the time I spent making a new panel before I realized that it was not going to fit. He he, anyone need a carbon panel?

[avidflyer]

Couple of days ago, I said I would get some pics of where the front of the cowl comes togeather on the Avid cowl. Here they are. Take care, Jim Chuk