KF SS7 Ready to Fly

[BobRS]

Greetings KF Family
After 6 years almost to the day (start to flight certified), KF N104Y was granted its A/W certificate yesterday by the FAA (is my smile big enough). Our daughter provided the graphic design which includes feathers on the wing tops and a set of owl eyes looking down on the underside. The FAA inspector was very impressed with the project and the craftsmanship possible with the KF kit (thank you John & Debra McBean). My wife and I have almost 20 hrs each in transition training from Paul's CFI staff over at Stick & Rudder and we're ready to go into Phase I!
BobRS
SS7, Rotax 914
Albuquerque, NM

[Esser]

Very nice Bob! Looks very nice!

[GWright6970]

Well done!! Congratulations on your completion!! Please let us know how your first flights go!!

[Dave S]

Great looking airplane Bob! Love the paint job.:)

Curious what you used for covering and paint?

Wondering why there is no white stuff on the ground????....Oh Right - New Mexico! Lucky!

[colospace]

Nice, those graphics on the white base give it a nice lean look. Good to see a trigear with no pants as that is where I am headed too (at least for starters). The owl eyes may serve for bird strike mitigation, heh? ;)

[Flybyjim]

Very Nice,

I would love to see a few more photos of the panel and interior.
Congrats!

[southwind32]

Looks beautiful, nice job, Congratulations. :D

[jrevens]

Sweet! I love the paint scheme also. Very nice, Bob!

[DesertFox4]

Congrats to you both on a beautiful Kitfox. :)
Do I remember correctly Bob that you have a 914?

Enjoy every flight and I hope to see you both in the near future.

[jiott]

Something to be proud of!

[BobRS]

Thank you all for comments and best wishes on the 1st flt. I'll answer some of the questions from the post's thread.

Steve, yes it's a Rotax 914. My wife made the decision to purchase the 914 back in the days so we have margin to get over the high terrain here in NM. My wife is very wise.

We used the Poly Fiber that came with our kit. We took the class at Oshkosh, and actually it was a great deal of fun skinning the plane...even the razor back (perhaps the hardest part). I posted a suggestion early on for doing it in one piece.

We used PPG Aerospace paint. The white background is to help keep the KF cooler in our warm climate in the SW, and it helps to highlight the design. We used Gene Kear Aircraft Refinishing in Colorado Springs. His shop was at Meadow Lake Airport. Useful info for KF builders in CO, and nearby.

We purchased the Advanced Flight Systems 5600 through John and Debra. Its a computer so we have ASI, ALT steam gauges and a clock for back up on the co-Pilot side just in case the AFS goes out. I HAD a vertical compass installed, but after spending a day trying to calibrate with the little ball kit (too much cockpit magnetism/steel), I finally replaced it with another electronic compass with its magnetometer mounted out in the right wing tip. It's wired so that if the engine is running - its remains ON. I also installed a separate antenna underneath the fuselage with a coax cable that runs to a BNC on the panel and increases the range/reception for our handheld backup radio.

We designed the panel with these features and ergonomics. I've included a picture below as requested. I'll continue to monitor the thread if anyone else has questions, and will post something after 1st flight.
Regards to all,
BobRS
KF N104Y

[Flybyjim]

Thank you for the photos Bob, it always nice to see how others have laid out their panels.

[PapuaPilot]

That's a beautiful plane Bob. Can't wait to hear about the first flight. :)