Checking In!

[Rmendler]

Hey guy/gals, just joined the forum. I purchased my first airplane last night, just so happens to be a Kitfox IV-1200. N94JE in Warrenton, VA.

I will be trailering it home Saturday and hopefully have it in the air shortly after.

I'm sure I'm going to have some questions about it and kitfox's in general.

Thanks Everyone!

[Av8r_Sed]

Hi Richard,

Congrats on your new purchase and welcome to the forum! We'll need you to post some pics and specs on your plane real soon.

Take extra time and care when prepping your bird for trailer travel. You have a much higher risk for damage when moving it. Hopefully the seller will help you with the wing folding the first time. From my experience it's much easier if you have it in level flight attitude when you do the fold so gravity doesn't take over. I usually get the tail up on the trailer first with the wheels chocked and then proceed.

Good luck and good weather for the move.

[Dorsal]

Welcome aboard, fun plane fun crowd :D

[GWright6970]

Richard,
Welcome to the "obsession group!!" Not sure if I have heard of a cure yet!!! Please post some pictures when you can.:)

Enjoy the journey!!
Grover

[Rmendler]

Well I was in Atlanta when the aircraft was delivered and drama unfolded.
Apparently when the aircraft was coming off the trailer the winch strap snapped, which sent the aircraft off the trailer sideways and the tail swung out and hit the previous owner of the aircraft, knocked him off the trailer and hurt him.

So then the aircraft would not fit in the space i had rented (even though I was told the door was 10ft wide and 7 ft tall, it was really 7ft 8 inches and 6 ft tall) go figure.

Now the aircraft is wrapped up in a tarp, OUTSIDE, in this wicked winter blizzard we are having in the mountains of North Carolina. I'm home from Atlanta and I can't even get down my driveway. It's a solid 2ft of snow outside right now.

When this storm lifts I'm going to trailer it to Virginia Highlands airport and have the local A&P and a good friend of mine (also A&P) go over the entire aircraft and replace the carburetor intake rubbers with silicone. (dryrot got'em).

So that has been my incredibly stressful past 2 days. I really hope the aircraft is undamaged

[Grady]

Welcome to the forums and hope you have as much fun with your kitfox as I do.
:D

[Geowitz]

Wow, that really sucks. :mad: Hopefully it's not damaged, but if it needs repair I'm sure you can get all the info you need here.

[Rmendler]

After a long teardown and finding a few small discrepancies the N94JE is almost ready to fly. The last part should show up today and I think I may have found an instructor willing to take it up.

Here's my next question. When I bought the airplane, literally 2 months ago, the paint was perfect! Not my style, but paint scheme was low on the priority list.

I am now noticing some paint chipping, mostly on the front 4 piece cowling.

Do I need to refabric to repaint? I've been told yes and no, does anyone have any experience with this?

*edit*

the airplane is currently white and red. I am looking to repaint it grey and dark grey. possibly a blue

[Wheels]

As far as re fabric to repaint, do you know what the paint system is that is currently on the plane?
Stits systems are awsome and your A&P friend will tell you that some MEK and a long winter project will likley be the fix. Don't refabric if the plane is flyable and sound just because of some paint chips.

The cowling paint gets chipped on my grass runway sometimes. I'm repainting them now.

My plane is white with red stripe and some gray pinstripe.
let me know. What you find in your build manual for paint system. Im interested. I have my plane in a paintbooth with a professional painter doing the work.
I did the prep myself to save money and I saved over half the cost of paint.

[Rmendler]

Does anyone else with a 582 Blue Head and a 3:1 Gearbox have gearbox chatter around 2,800 RPM's?

The fox idles at 3,000 currently with no issues, but when I try to reduce the idle you can hear a slapping noise up front so I immediately throttle it back up to 3,000. Don't want to do any damage but at 3k on the tach when I let off the brakes she rolles forward pretty quickly and if you don't ride the brakes you'll be at takeoff speed in 600 feet, haha.

[Av8r_Sed]

You ought to be able to idle much closer to 2000 RPM. A lot depends on the prop. Mine has a clutch so idle is a non-issue now, but once the prop engages around 2400 RPM, it's relatively smooth all the way to full throttle.

What prop, length and number of blades are you running?

[Rmendler]

68" 3-Blade GSC prop.

I must say I am learning a lot about MY Rotax, but not many people here fly them so I have not been able to listen to others engines but to me it sounds like a mechanical backlash in the gearbox..

I also need to rejet, I moved the airplane to high altitude and with the recent heat wave the egt's have been cool and the idle has risen 100rpm's. it's clearly running too rich

[Dave F]

Check your carb needles - s/b on the 2nd notch from bottom for summer.

Under 5000 ASL this should be a good starting point.
Prop pitch will change your EGT as well.

What is your EGT temps at cruise 5800 to 6000 rpm ?
- what colour are your plugs?
-what # plug is in the engine?

Cheers

[Av8r_Sed]

If you haven't done so, you should check/adjust the blade angles on the prop. There are other threads on the forums with advice and reference materials for the GSC prop.

Also, if the plane has been stored outdoors during its lifetime it's possible that one or more of the wooden blades have picked up some moisture, affecting the balance. This happened to a buddy of mine and his fix was to inset and epoxy in a coin on the back of one of the blades to restore balance.

[Rmendler]

I'm going to check the needle position and Jet #'s tomorrow. The plug color is normal, no abnormalities there with the exception it is running a tad rich with a small amount of fouling.

So I took off this afternoon at 3pm, first time she's been flown since moving her to the airport in Tennessee at 2,200ft MSL. The temperature was 66 degrees farenheight, density altitude was 2,000ft. Did a nice, long preflight while I was waiting on my instructor. Started the engine, let it warm up to 140 degree water temp, conducted a runup and back taxied down runway 24. As we were turning around we held on the brakes and throttled it up to 6,000RPM's and everything was great, seemed to run good. We rolled onto the runway and applied full throttle, immedietely the EGT's dropped into the 900's, then the 800's as we lifted off. They came back up to the upper 900's quickly but alas, we had a problem

The engine was making NO power and we were only 80lbs under gross. As we hit 200ft AGL the climb rate was only at 150-200ft per minute and as we turned crosswind we started losing alititude. After a fancy manuever we got ourselves back into the wind and made a midfield landing.

It's time to rejet. Looking back at the fuel totalizer, at 6,300 RPM's we were burning 6.5GPH! If we had not turned back there is no doubt in my mind that we would be in the tree's right now. Not many open landing spots in the high ridges of the Appalachain mountains. A minimum altitude of 4,500MSL must be achieved just to clear the first set of ridges.

I was shaken a bit so I came home, tomorrow I'm going to check the Jet sizes and Idle Jet sizes. I bet they are 165/55 respectively. I think a 155/45 change would be good for the engine. Not sure if I need to mess with the midrange Needle Jet or not, I have no experience with changing these. I suppose just changing its clip location may be enough to fix it?

If I had of flown 2 days ago with the temps in the mid to upper 80's and no wind I think we would have had to make an emergency landing immediately after takeoff. It may not have ended so well.

[Rmendler]

on a lighter note, has anyone tried making a radiator that will fit under the cowling? something that mounts to the gearbox similar to the ultralight radiatiors that Rotax sells? Radiator technology has improved vastly, I have a custom Griffing radiator I had made. It cools a 550HP Chevy LS1 with a 383 Stroker kit and 11:1 compression in a Mazda Miata and it does so very well. Enough that I have to cover it up if the temps get below 50 degrees. It's small too!

Also, I am absolutely sold on a clutch, saw one perform and wow. I can actually pull power back all the way at landing without worrying the propeller is pulling the engine and created a WAY lean situation.

[tommg13780]

From what I've read sofar it sounds like you are flirting with disaster. You stated that your ground runup only produced 6000 RPM's which was telling you that it ain't going to climb. At that point the airplane should have gone back to the hanger for corrections.
6.5 gal/hr is about what a 582 will consume at full throttle.
The most alarming thing going on is taking off with 2 people in an unproven setup that is not producing full power. You need a test pilot and test pilots fly solo.
Prop pitch as suggested by Av8r Sed can have a big influence on EGT temps and of course totally determines full power RPM's.
It almost sounds like the needles may be on top of the plastic slide in the carbs rather that under. That would give the symptoms described.

[tommg13780]

One more thing...... All the information you gathered while flying with your instructor could have and should have been done with that airplane tied to a tree, pickup truck or whatever.
I realize that this formum is intended for positive reinforcement, encouragement and all that sort of stuff but seriously you really need to be a lot more conscious of the risk management side of things.
Fortunately you have an opportunity to make the necessary corrections and get a successful flying program going.

[Rmendler]

Sorry I was unclear.

We ran the engine up to 6,000RPM's. It was running smooth, so we added that extra tad bit of throttle and let of the brakes. The airplane ran at 6,300-6,400RPMS no problem on takeoff and throughout the climb. The only discrepancy we noticed was the cool EGT's which were not apparent in ground testing and what felt like a 35hp J3 cub of an airplane. It has never done this before and has always flown just fine..

We have ran the engine on the ground for over 2 Hours taxiing and sitting still in different wind and weather conditions and found no problems. The engine always started and warmed easily, EGT's always held around 1,000 degrees and the runup always produced between 6,200 and 6,400 depending on the wind factors.

The airplane flew just fine in Virginia at 400ft MSL with 2 people and full fuel, in fact over 590 hours of flying there. We have only had problems since it was moved to a higher field elevation of 2,240FT.

It has been almost 3 months of preperation to make sure this thing would fly and it did, just not very well. I have had 2 mechanics go over everything and it has been given a clean bill of health, including the engine. I think the only change needed is a Jetting change for the altitude and cooler temperatures but I am also going to check prop pitch when I get to the airport later today.

[Dave S]

Richard,

I think checking the prop pitch and comparing it to specifications for the engine/prop combo is a best idea.:)

I have a hard time thinking that a change in elevation of the airport of use of 2000' would make the difference between a kitfox blasting off like a homesick angel and barely clearing the trees. If 2K of elevation change was that dramatic in terms of performance I think all of us who fly anything would be in deep pigeon pinchings.:eek:

Let us know what you find out on the prop pitch....I think that is a very logical next place to troubleshoot this deal.

Sincerely,

Dave S
KF7 Trigear
912ULS Warp

[Rmendler]

I agree, all kitfox's should have no issue at that altitude or with a 30 degree temperature change.

I think I figured it out, I did try to check the prop pitch but I can't find the instructions for the protractor and I didn't realize until I got to the airport that I did not know what the hell I was doing.

I checked the Jets and the main jet is a #170 and the idle jet is a #55. The Needle Jet was set in position 4, full rich, so I readjusted it to position 3 and we will see how that goes.

I also ordered a #160 Main and a #45 Idle Jet. We will see if that helps raise the EGT's back into the 1,000-1,200 range.

I called the previous owner, the reason for the #170 main jet is the airplane had a GreenSky HACman kit on it! He removed it and THREW IT AWAY because he didn't understand it!!! He neglected to tell me this or put it in the logbooks because he did not feel it would have any effect on flight performance! Now I'm worried if he did anything else to the engine or airframe without logging it.

I'm going to check the prop pitch but I don't feel like it's going to be a problem. It flew fine a few months ago when it was last flown, seemed to climb around 500-700FPM and cruised at 80MPH. I can't it's too far off.

[Av8r_Sed]

Too bad he discarded the HacMan system. Properly installed, it allows fine adjustments of the mixture and EGT's. It's been a great addition to my setup and dramatically helps me keep the EGT's in check when I throttle back.

With the HacMan I'm currently running 190 main jets. I had 205's in there during the winter.

[Rmendler]

I am so confused at this point, another airport bum and I checked my prop pitch and we both got the same result. The prop was set at 18 degrees. I then performed another static check and it produced 6,425 RPM's at full throttle.

I increased the pitch to 19 degrees on the prop thinking it would slow the RPM's down a little, closer to the recommended 6,200 RPMS by GSC. It did the opposite, in fact we hit 6,500 RPM's on the static check this time.

I just got off the phone with tech support at GSC, it is unlikely but it is possible that the blades are stalling (shouldnt happen at 19 degrees according to GSC). He recommended that I try 14 degrees and see what happens so thats the plan tomorrow if I have the time. We are going to set 14 degrees, do a static check and check the EGT's again.

I'm also going to scrounge around some and see if anyone has a prop tach I can use. I don't trust the tach in my airplane now, it could be off which would really screw up these results. We just did not have one handy today.

[Dave S]

Richard,

Good call to to check with the Prop MFG......they are pretty much aware of the possible engine/prop combinations.

FWIW....when I originally set my prop, I got the minimum/maximum pitch settings from the Prop Mfg then set it at a point 1/2 way between the two for a conservative approach. Experience led me to fine tune it...the original setting ended up being within a degree of the optimum setting for the engine/prop/performance.

There is a reason for what you are experiencing, just takes a while to find it sometimes. Changing one thing at a time helps rule specific problems out...

Take care and keep at it...

Dave S

[Rmendler]

Well I'm going to play with the prop, until the new carb jets show up, then I will play with those some. This is the last time I buy anything with a wood prop, it doesn't make good noises when you torque it down. I don't like the sound of wood compressing. Plus it was a PITA to get all 3 blades adjusted just right, took hours! I think IVO has the right idea, make a single adjustment (bolt,key,nut,whatever) that adjust all 3 at the same time

I'm just glad GSC was open on Memorial Day to help me out

[Dave F]

What are you torquing this prop too?

Should be less than 8 ft /pounds or 100 inch pounds.

You are going nuts playing with too many variables.

If you go back and read my post and answer the questions thats would help you alot. Or email me your # and I will call you.

I have thousands and thousands of Kitfox hours alone....... plus many more in rotax engines


Your jets should be 165 and 55 - needles 11G2

Hope this helps -- These engeins are very simple but too many times some try to re-engineer and have no idea what they are doing.

Dave


>>>Check your carb needles - s/b on the 2nd notch from bottom for summer.

Under 5000 ASL this should be a good starting point.
Prop pitch will change your EGT as well.

What is your EGT temps at cruise 5800 to 6000 rpm ?
- what colour are your plugs?
-what # plug is in the engine?

[Dave F]

Well I'm going to play with the prop, until the new carb jets show up, then I will play with those some. This is the last time I buy anything with a wood prop, it doesn't make good noises when you torque it down. I don't like the sound of wood compressing. Plus it was a PITA to get all 3 blades adjusted just right, took hours! I think IVO has the right idea, make a single adjustment (bolt,key,nut,whatever) that adjust all 3 at the same time

I'm just glad GSC was open on Memorial Day to help me out


YOu might be doing this wrong...........

GSC prop re- pitch 10 minutes or so..........

DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN !! REPEAT again........... They are not that supposed to be too tight.

I don't like the sound of wood compressing. Plus it was a PITA to get all 3 blades adjusted just right, took hours

[Av8r3400]

What kind of tach are you running?

An analog tach should not be trusted on a 582. I have personally seen several cases where they were off by 500-1000 rpm!

[Dave F]

What kind of tach are you running?

An analog tach should not be trusted on a 582. I have personally seen several cases where they were off by 500-1000 rpm!

good point Av8r ..........

Too many un knowns -----

[Rmendler]

Fortunately my local Snap-On truck had an aviation precision prop torque wrench for $300 :eek:

It's okay he had a used one for $120. None of my torque wrenches would go as low or as high as 100in-lbs. We checked it on the truck before I used it on the prop. I torqued from 5ft-lb up to 8ft-lb. No over-torque occured, although the hub was already a little tight. I did manage to fit a .0012 gauge in it but thats not much of a gap, its really tight.

So anyway, we tried the prop at every degree from 12-23 over the past few days just to see what would happen. I had some free time on my hands. The engine seemed to like 19 degrees the most, static RPM was 6,200 on the button. GSC thought this was very high but I found some others online who use as high as 20 degrees.

We tried to use a prop tach, when I tried to get new batteries for it I could not find them, they are L1147 watch batteries, no one here has them. I may have to order them tonight.

So far that's all I have done, play with the prop pitch. It was a good learning experience.

The Tach is an OEM ROTAX gauge. I really wish I could get the prop tach working tonight, I'd go double check it tomorrow.

Oh and the noise when I was tightening the prop was just the urethane, it made alot of noise, even when I would torque to 50 in lbs.

The main jets are 170, idle jet is a 55 and the Needle Jet is a 11G2 on the 3rd richest setting.

I've managed to get the prop adjustment time down to 30 minutes per adjustment, no way to do it in 10 minutes. You can line them all up perfect but as soon as you add some tension to the bolts they shift slightly, so it takes a few tries in my experience. Perhaps I am being a bit anal but I don't want my propeller blades 1/2 degree off, I get them perfect before I start the engine.

[Rmendler]

So why does IVO recommend the 2 blade medium prop for the 3:1 gearbox?

I called them and they really didn't give me an answer, I'm not sure if the gentleman I talked to even knew.

I then asked if I could add a 3rd blade for climb and he said sure.

I then asked what diameter he recommended, he told me 72-74"

Now I have read that the 2 blade prop sucks with the 582, and that the 582 has a hard time turning the 3 blade 70" + props.

[Av8r_Sed]

I'm running the recommended 2 blade IVO medium ground adjust 70" on my 582 3:1 C box. While the moment of inertia is within limits of the gearbox, the vibrations at idle speeds were causing the float needles in my carbs to unseat pouring out gas as a consequence. The solution to that problem was to install a clutch. Now that all works well together, it's smooth and easy to adjust, but I'm still not satisfied with my climb performance (500-800 fpm).

Some of the Avid guys are running the ultralight IFA 3 blade fine pitch 70" IVO's and seem to be very happy. That's what I would do if I wanted to make another prop investment. Like everyone else, I'm not sure why Ivo recommends the 2 blade medium for the 582 C box.

One thing for sure, you won't be able to run a 3 blade medium on the 582. The moment of inertia exceeds the gearbox limits.

[Av8r3400]

IMO, Ivo recommends the two blade medium because they cost more.

I have a 3-blade, 72" diameter Ivo ultralight for my IV project. I'm running a 80 hp 912 in that. I know several of these operating with very favorable results. This plane was set up with it by the previous owner and it works very well.

Ultralight blades come in two different pitch ranges. I think the finer range, 18-52" would be the favorable one for a 582 three blade, rather than the more corse 35-70". Per the Ivo website, this prop will take up to 100 hp.

SO-- why they recommend the Medium is beyond my understanding other than $$.

Link (http://compare.ebay.com/like/251146234723?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar)

[Dave F]

Fortunately my local Snap-On truck had an aviation precision prop torque wrench for $300 :eek:

It's okay he had a used one for $120. None of my torque wrenches would go as low or as high as 100in-lbs. We checked it on the truck before I used it on the prop. I torqued from 5ft-lb up to 8ft-lb. No over-torque occured, although the hub was already a little tight. I did manage to fit a .0012 gauge in it but thats not much of a gap, its really tight.

So anyway, we tried the prop at every degree from 12-23 over the past few days just to see what would happen. I had some free time on my hands. The engine seemed to like 19 degrees the most, static RPM was 6,200 on the button. GSC thought this was very high but I found some others online who use as high as 20 degrees.

We tried to use a prop tach, when I tried to get new batteries for it I could not find them, they are L1147 watch batteries, no one here has them. I may have to order them tonight.

So far that's all I have done, play with the prop pitch. It was a good learning experience.

The Tach is an OEM ROTAX gauge. I really wish I could get the prop tach working tonight, I'd go double check it tomorrow.

Oh and the noise when I was tightening the prop was just the urethane, it made alot of noise, even when I would torque to 50 in lbs.

The main jets are 170, idle jet is a 55 and the Needle Jet is a 11G2 on the 3rd richest setting.

I've managed to get the prop adjustment time down to 30 minutes per adjustment, no way to do it in 10 minutes. You can line them all up perfect but as soon as you add some tension to the bolts they shift slightly, so it takes a few tries in my experience. Perhaps I am being a bit anal but I don't want my propeller blades 1/2 degree off, I get them perfect before I start the engine.


Your GSC blades are likely in need of replacemnet now. .0012 gap means that the blades have been bee nover tightened.

Here is one that shows the gap http://cfisher.com/gsc/
and the blade still failed. ]
I have used GSC for years and never had one fail on me yet but I have seen a few fail. Any prop will fail and most brand have from time to time.

I have found GSC 68" usually set around 16 degrees +/- 1/2 degree.
using a GSC protractor.

I would also think that you should get a tiny tach to confirm that your RPMs are correct.

[Dave F]

I'm running the recommended 2 blade IVO medium ground adjust 70" on my 582 3:1 C box. While the moment of inertia is within limits of the gearbox, the vibrations at idle speeds were causing the float needles in my carbs to unseat pouring out gas as a consequence. The solution to that problem was to install a clutch. Now that all works well together, it's smooth and easy to adjust, but I'm still not satisfied with my climb performance (500-800 fpm).

Some of the Avid guys are running the ultralight IFA 3 blade fine pitch 70" IVO's and seem to be very happy. That's what I would do if I wanted to make another prop investment. Like everyone else, I'm not sure why Ivo recommends the 2 blade medium for the 582 C box.

One thing for sure, you won't be able to run a 3 blade medium on the 582. The moment of inertia exceeds the gearbox limits.

I would get the WARP or the IVO Ultralight prop as you mentioned. The IVO Medium I have used and works well. YOu have to lexperiment and learn how to pitch IVO though.....
I find that you might have to go static higher rpm that 6000 to 6200 cause once you start rolling the prop starts to coursen up a bit. Good prop over all.

The reason thats IVO recos the2 blade is due to some harmonic issues running a 3 blade on a 3 to 1 ratio.

I ran WARP 68" with nickel Leading edges for over 1500 hours ( not a tapered tip) on floats, wheels and skiss and it was the best prop overall plus the most durable in my opinion.

I have played with alot of props over the years and had a blast doing it. 3 blades are my favorite. Quieter and smoother.

[Dave F]

IMO, Ivo recommends the two blade medium because they cost more.

I have a 3-blade, 72" diameter Ivo ultralight for my IV project. I'm running a 80 hp 912 in that. I know several of these operating with very favorable results. This plane was set up with it by the previous owner and it works very well.

Ultralight blades come in two different pitch ranges. I think the finer range, 18-52" would be the favorable one for a 582 three blade, rather than the more corse 35-70". Per the Ivo website, this prop will take up to 100 hp.

SO-- why they recommend the Medium is beyond my understanding other than $$.

Link (http://compare.ebay.com/like/251146234723?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar)


IVO - 2 blade on 3 to 1 ratios due ot harmonic issues.

Bottom line on B box use an IVO
C or E box use WARP or IVO ....... GSC ok too - I have one I could sell maybe.

[Av8r3400]

Sounds logical, Dave. Thanks.

A question for you: Have you experimented with different ratios in your gearbox and what works best in your opinion?

[Rmendler]

Okay guys I have a tiny tach now. I'm going to double check my tach readings. I'll keep you guys updated on how far off my analog Rotax tach is

[Rmendler]

Both of the tachs, the Tiny Tach and the Rotax Tach are almost identical, they are about 50 RPM's off is all. The Rotax tach reading a tad bit high

EGT's are still holding at 1,050 and 1,075 at WOT and 6,200 RPM's Static on both tachometers.

The prop is still pitched at 19 degrees.

The fuel regulator was leaking when the engine was warm, hardly noticeable, but I went ahead and replaced it with a new pressure tested one and set it to 3 PSI.

The spark plugs are NGK part # BR8ES and gapped at .018. They are a light grey, almost ashy color with no unusual erosion or anything.

Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. I found a very small amount of trash in one fuel filter. When the wing tank is empty I will replace it but I don't think that is the problem, but they are just $10 bucks. Cheap insurance as far as I'm concerned.

Any other suggestions other then the jets? Which I haven't messed with yet.

[Dave F]

Rmendler;30986]Both of the tachs, the Tiny Tach and the Rotax Tach are almost identical, they are about 50 RPM's off is all. The Rotax tach reading a tad bit high

EGT's are still holding at 1,050 and 1,075 at WOT and 6,200 RPM's Static on both tachometers.

The prop is still pitched at 19 degrees.

I think something is wrong here

The fuel regulator was leaking when the engine was warm, hardly noticeable, but I went ahead and replaced it with a new pressure tested one and set it to 3 PSI.

Did not know the stock Mikuni pump was adjustable?

The spark plugs are NGK part # BR8ES and gapped at .018. They are a light grey, almost ashy color with no unusual erosion or anything.

I would like to see some brown on it.

Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. I found a very small amount of trash in one fuel filter. When the wing tank is empty I will replace it but I don't think that is the problem, but they are just $10 bucks. Cheap insurance as far as I'm concerned.

Any other suggestions other then the jets? Which I haven't messed with yet.

Did you get the engine back to stock yet?

Seems like someone have played around alot with this set up ...........

Stock settings should do you well untill your base elevation is 5000 ASL

[Rmendler]

I'm getting a little fed up with Lockwood, this is my 2nd order with them and for the second time a whole week has gone by without them shipping my parts. Last time it took 3 weeks to ship and I got my parts 3 and a half weeks late! I cannot wait this long to get new Jets, anyone know of a better place to order 2-stroke Rotax parts in the southeast.

So to answer the question no, the carbs are not back to stock because I am still waiting for my In-Stock jets to ship.

The stock Mikuni pump is not adjustable, but the fuel regulator the aircrafts builder added is . The previous owner told me this pump had to be regulated to 3psi, he was very adament about that. I have no way of getting the part number off the pump itself without drilling a bunch of rivets, its hidded behind a custom heat sheild bracket.

The spark plugs look normal according to the NGK plug charts, a little light tan, grayish color with some 2-stroke oil buildup around the outside, they seem to be burning correctly.

GSC told me to use the 19 degrees of pitch and see what happens, they have other kitfox owners who have had to use 18 degrees of pitch to hit the correct RPM numbers

[Av8r3400]

Give LEAF (http://www.leadingedge-airfoils.com/) a try. They are in the Milwaukee Wisconsin area and I do a lot of business with them. Very friendly and knowledgeable tech people there.

An excellent resource to call upon.

[Rmendler]

thanks I will give them a call. I've called Lockwood probably 5 times in the past couple weeks and I keep getting the same answer "oh, it should ship tomorrow" :confused:

[Dave F]

GSC blades - might vary a bit but the usual is a 68" tapered tip some have urethane leading edge and some do not but pict should be about the same.

You never did answer what ratio that you have-- most were 3 to 1

This last ower seems to know more than the rest by the sounds of it -- or at least he thinks that he did. The fuel regulator thing is hogwash..... it might have been a bandaid for some other issue.- WHO KNOW what some think !!

I have a GSC 68" in shop - I should measure pitch on it to give you an idea........ I pretty sure they work around 15 to 16.5 degrees it i recall.......
Are you using a GSC gauge?

It really is not rocket science.

Dave

[Rmendler]

yes its a 3:1 gearbox and it is a GSC 68" 3-Blade prop, it is a Taper Speed Tip version with Urethane Leading Edges and Blade Roots. Rick at GSC told me the Taper Tip does not work nearly as well on the Kitfox as the standard blades. He thought that has something to do with it.

The GSC protractor couldn't be easier, I simply zero it on the hub, slide it down the blade and take a couple of readings, readjust if nessecary, re-torque and take a couple more readings to verify the pitch before I start the engine..

The actual recommended prop pitch from GSC is 12-14 degrees. I do know of other kitfox owners having to use 18 degrees of pitch and so did Rick at GSC. In fact he said some 582's in a pusher configuration have to use 20-25 degrees.

[Rmendler]

I did mention the noise to Rick at GSC and I also told him about the hub halves being awfully close together. I don't recall him saying anything about it though. I was just told to torque to 100 in - lbs and re-adjust the prop pitch for 6,200RPM