aviator79's build

[efwd]

Looking good Brian. The camlocks that are attached at the foot wells were the ones I was concerned about. It seemed that they would be a problem but with the adjustable depth for the fastener everything worked out just fine. I didn't have to buy any addtl cam locks. I didn't do anything fancy when installing the camlocks along the flange either. I think the Flange is flexible enough that it just pulls everything together when securing the fastener.

[aviator79]

The FFW manual says the straps to hang the radiator should b 9.5" long, to be trimmed to length later. In my case, 9.5 wasn't long enough. My first thought was "What could I have measured incorrectly?" I'm pretty sure everything is where it's supposed to be. The radiator is 3/16 off the floor of the cowl, and ends up located pretty well under those tabs. The straps just don't reach. I don't have enough material to make new ones, so I'll probably just rivet/hysol some small extensions.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/T1GT9qOdeygwAAwIRLmoezT13o8n3pGmp1WV-FSseqJSqaLsV1n345aJ0g0HID3mVq5xq6x0LWZsSehvyffP0G3 3FDsztjopURY78EhfDZV8OH-soI3jS6mgc02Kkw3ReTx2u-nLd58=w600

[colospace]

I had the same issue; the material in the kit was not long enough to make two hangers of the necessary length. I think Kitfox sent me some more although my brain is being a bit fuzzy on that at this point.

[jrevens]

Same with me.

[aviator79]

I lengthened the straps with the little bit of excess material I had, and got the radiator and oil cooler mounted up. I installed all the NACA ducts (main cooling intake, turbo air inlet, and cabin air). I elected to use marine fiberglass epoxy thickened with some cotton flox instead of Hysol, which I've heard doesn't bond as well to the fiberglass. I completely missed the mark with my first hack at the exhaust hole, so I did a fiberglass layup to return the excess material I took off. I still have a lot of finishing to do on the cowls, but they are coming together nicely.

I continued with engine electrical wiring. I put together my fuel pump manifold, and convinced myself it will fit on the firewall in the same place the 912iS fuel pump assembly sits. Installed the cooling ductwork. Installed the oil tank and thermostat. A common issue I've read is an inability to get the oil up to an ideal temp, so I used a 205 deg F thermostat instead of the 180 deg thermostat often sold for the Rotax.

At this point most of the engine install is complete. I have a few bits of plumbing left to install when I get some fittings, and some electrical left to do when I have my panel. It's coming together though, and I hope I can run the engine in not too many more weeks.

I've slacked off on taking a lot of pictures, so I don't have much to show progress.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TNba_IEkxfHNwHPNMm-t7fQfy05kcSjvaFWjm1sAxjk9sMt25Fo_loE236oHHv2tN5EaF GxXxr4fZo8ACDlsY08ww6NX953TnUUoDJ3Huu4826uNTCBeIEO d4vJ_GvJcwLEEF-AG6w4=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yGyzpM6b6yTQweOJV6ZXzJWodDb1k8X4sJ0r76bXkbRMS1uXlE Z0s7YG84k6SXvNzp0n-qKhg7piMVILltfl4m6ZxzWRpaj47gxW8F-GOIL-AWAYeCIhy1lQHaPiW7_q2EIz6q_yhFI=w600

[aviator79]

I have the engine install complete except for the fuel pumps, and a fuel flow transducer.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lCip-QRdWmzE3dHV5Db89EA9B24QcQPDc0aPQyOKMbDBmSLJGQm1MPD 5LMFWCcTs2_YClQLE5zrzuh47n6CtDqwQq7AhboN0W_yQepaLe wQT6z9HhWMnpWZDEaATayVlsK3kMvtpdaY=w600

I fabricated a stainless box to contain the fuel pumps on the engine side of the firewall. Rotax recommends not having them on the engine side, but this box should protect them from engine heat and possible fire, much like the pumps are on the 912iS.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gJTM2lmT9RmgtMgkR0nK6gVwFmtiAoZz3DX0adrEvPreoh83Nt yBleqJO0AS3WE1uU9oefqADERsdx5HZrDnH8ns-I28tTw6dO-NWNVvsPnZEhBGUtwkcUZt6bEIbHnsnib7aX2S8IU=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Fri1t4kIgdD93CuLnQWTlMgHInYsxAzcryoQw65mQwn0J2CfBe 4Bb5GsdB9aBJ2gyIc5UwZGeFoTWjG78GL-9MOYU4rIzW3pDh_IZR70QClB_U500NUxurbYFGu1en--32LriI6QFLQ=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Osi2ZTfSHqbnz4RPSvf0aOUIMwCrdIXoUuNxk_N4U_HnCAXFs-Iv2_gkPL3oEJcW27zhSyboo-8BQN0MFOJOLE5214V0KFDInUb3Di3h02jQdnsnutF3D7RsXPhd 2Ya6zhgf-yEoQ5E=w600

Oh, and this came. I've got most of the aircraft wiring in. I still have to run wire for the control sticks, headset jacks, and ELT. Then I can start terminating and connecting wire behind the panel. The Quick Panel came out nice, and will save a little time.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MU8AgikkkcrRYsq4DomtZDd4Bj0BIHHQw5HAXXXoUHPMXZ92uL lyU7WU2j2y6puuS74O59MhLPbo_NGdB0dMZSAa_lDK0yAo2r1d fMFi0S_MFjfSW8pl-zU-k6uUSrzVFEi9AialtGQ=w600

[efwd]

Looking good Brian. Pluggin away I see.

[Clark in AZ]

Looks awesome Brian! We need high res pics of your panel. :)


Clark

[David47]

Yep, flying by Christmas. Great progress Brian and nicely done.

[Esser]

Interesting that Rotax doesn't want the pumps on the firewall side. That's where I want high pressure fuel leaks!

[aviator79]

Looks awesome Brian! We need high res pics of your panel. :)


Clark

I installed it and then removed it, but when I have it out again, I'll get some good pictures.

[aviator79]

Interesting that Rotax doesn't want the pumps on the firewall side. That's where I want high pressure fuel leaks!

Me too Josh. The standard 914 pumps aren't as high pressure as your fuel injection pumps, but I didn't like the idea of having them under or behind the seat.

[tjentzsch]

Great build thread, thank you for the energy and time you put into it.
I am VERY new to aviation, and was curious about the prop flange and spacing and why this is important and needs a jig of sorts to set it?

[aviator79]

The tool isn't strictly necessary, and is not mentioned in the instructions. The spacing is important because you want an adequate amount of space between the back of your spinner and the front of the cowl, but not a huge gap. Ensuring the prop flange is well-centered in the cowl is partly cosmetic to ensure the line of the spinner matches the contour of the cowl. If it were severely off, the cowl could interfere with the prop.

I was waiting for my prop to do the cowls, and when I mentioned that to another forum member, he told me about this tool and let me borrow it. He got the idea from J. McBean. Apparently they use a similar tool on the factory LSAs.

[tjentzsch]

Very cool, thank you for the info.

[efwd]

when I saw this post I was curious as to why my cowl went together so well without that tool. As you stated Brian, I had my prop spinner and spacer from the beginning so I had installed them to do the job. If you don't have those parts I suppose that explains the tool.

[aviator79]

Mostly just a bunch of wiring and cowl bodywork this week. I have almost all the wiring done that I can do prior to installing the panel. I may be able to test the panel next weekend.

I seem to recall hearing about some of you who made your bool cowls removable. While I CAN access everything with the panel removed, some of it would be pretty miserable work if it needs replacement. For those of you that have done it, how did you do it, how did it turn out, and what pointers do you have?

I finished up my fuel pump box, and it turned out pretty good. It should be a very clean install of the fuel pumps.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yNkQRy7AXxdFIYoInnS3Wb1SunYimStdXiHvNlhOiY6zRP1gZk eT8HcV1WVnlWH97OID8MJTX6yOrsLaZFsmhOxREQG58GwzSAuz tVHi4igvwzn55oxY71aMaad0DY_5u4cccJohE3g=w600

[efwd]

I did my boot cowl wrong according to the manual. I placed the cowl onto the firewall and drilled small holes clean through the cowl and firewall flange. I enlarged them and installed the engine cowl fasteners. I wasn't supposed to install those before the window went in. I put the windshield on and it just so happened to work out beautifully. At that point the cowl was placed as it would be per the manual. I then removed the engine cowl and drilled small holes, I think I have number six machine screws, between each of the cowling fasteners. I recessed the holes I made in the boot cowl and have flush head screws.I used very small washers and crimped nuts on the engine side of the firewall flange. Came out great. The intent is to place a sealant on the boot cowl / firewall flange.

[aviator79]

I don't have my manual for n front of me. Are your camloc fasteners installed only to the firewall, with a large through-hole in the boot cowl flange? If you have a picture or two you're willing to send...

[efwd]

Yes, camloc is riveted to firewall only. I am at work but should be able to text you a pic this eve.

[aviator79]

Looks awesome Brian! We need high res pics of your panel. :)


Clark

Here you go!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/58HSZH_pb6IIwcsNqf2W7ITdsaIJe7XtMfYntWtUML3x0i9C_R 141Thn-2HQGfy6x09EvE41FcT3YLrKuiCo9SiSWkynEmNnPV9TlVdFUK8 26NWJwzPCJkgQLGmYdukcg5apbyoljvM=w1200

[Clark in AZ]

Thanks Brian. Beautiful!

[aviator79]

Smoke is still inside.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JPrEC2sAHKpW_SEB60NhimHfCjSqjUIvReWOdvuGcNA6dNj0Bq 8z4Y3rDxG1IqRp8-XuVWUf25Y_BeYN7teZGlZ1P8Cpeid1sUGt1Q79k7lKGLiRnJzk ci79NuwFq-qKjzeZhIOiikU=w600

[efwd]

Whooo Hoooo! nice Brian.

[David47]

I'm thinking December 15th, 2018 FFF ...:D

[Clark in AZ]

Very Nice Brian! Looks great.

[jmodguy]

Yes - very nice!

[aviator79]

All wiring is complete and electrical equipment is tested. Fortunately I live right next door to the airport, so it was easy to push the plane out of the garage and get a radio check.

I finished installing the brakes and bled them. I had one persistent bubble that I could pump out of the pilot's right brake, but it would rise back up and disappear into the cylinder before I could get to the other side to pump fluid in through a syringe, and the bubble wouldn't come out. Finally I had my daughter hold the pedal at a different angle after pumping the bubble out so that the bubble would stay put in the line and I was finally able to shoot it up to the reservoir.

I installed the oil cooler door and prepped the cowls for paint. I'm waiting for a small can of white paint to arrive in the mail. I hope to receive my prop this week as well. I try not to set target dates but I hope this time next week I'll have the cowls painted and the prop installed and tested.

This sums up how I feel about the panel being installed and everytyhing working.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mAPQSSduxPaeyzz0IU1MgxG7zZ0NDO0CQdCV4O0dzBeTODUUfL s8Cw1LjZ5ZPBIxnlNmEEu-WxnVX8Mz9jEf7B-KwBSl9k_nzesI3kB-GnJwQsts1cKjlj5THJy7ssUEerxZ1XW67Y8=w600

Pushing it out of the garage for a radio check brought out all the neighbors. Also a good photo op.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BOKT7Lz6FUmtkhiLmr_vBoUmOrXseU7BsqKxpXp_HakVw5makU CU7Pv0kHYjJeGt-JSJgvD2YMn1G6eE6ZuPmi1YXcCYYWtV0K3lBTKlPeJY7yMeIk3 2FIfK5GORMLt7JSeKadetArU=w600

Oil door installation:

The notches at the top help the door sit flush. The door was much thicker than the recess up at the top. On the rest of the door perimeter, I beveled the door which helps it sit flush the rest of the way around.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QAskOi_W1h5e5cWZxHbApsdfbLhbTkN8EThRR2f-yOq3e1Nchs0qyaUJpRKEoUkapIuOjjKqYpSufuZJDz6X6L72Ze Ji06hDSCTX4O_zJGw0kZMJx2Oj3r8CPgkkUfSComlYE8xzJ1g= w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YZ87Uotq9uN0-WaEcyr1czwvys63MpFiBDifNZSv-sm0VCvqXBUoJRI97Uv7w_hPE-uajfpnkIAioRkpJYl9PUVVsLDtYaxodF4KGfMXuK9OdkBdofii jvaxLB6XcvnlU1jERpF6UUc=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wfYYx819NsWnZw7U1l0FOeryo5QxFoiGawih2MUzbThOHtJbmF FcosnJRd_GgNwd5m4eDXLyfyoX1AjrP8_tMBU6SLiO37yt8zez 60oh1_eqMiSCK9Nx9cZFJjER8RMZeoEQRxTZf7s=w600

[jiott]

Brian, I'm really liking your build. Great paint scheme and panel.

[efwd]

Looking sweet Brian. Love the enthusiastic look on the young un. She looks like she will be enjoying the fights with dad.

[Frontier Fox]

Looks like your making great progress Brian. Wish I was that far along, no wait, I’m having a blast building!

____________________

Joe Gallagher

Building SS7

[tjentzsch]

Looking good!

[AirFox]

Looks like your making great progress Brian......

Hay Joe, Are you building at the Airport? I need to swing by and check out your progress.

Scott

[Frontier Fox]

Scott
No, I have a shop at my home about nine miles from the airport.
I will be opening a web site to document the build. I should have the site up and running tomorrow.
If you would like to take a first hand look I could pick you up at SPB or you could drive out.
I picked up my kit in July but I was still working six days a week and trying to get another home project completed before the rain set in. I’m retired now so much of my time will be spent in the shop.
So far I almost have the horizontal stabilizer and elevator ready to cover plus the control column is assembled.

I’m enjoying the project.

_________________
Joe Gallagher
Building SS7

[aviator79]

I try not to set target dates but I hope this time next week I'll have the cowls painted and the prop installed and tested....

Here's what I get for that comment:

DHL isn't quite sure where half of my propeller is. It's not lost yet, per se, but it's not exactly accounted for either.

Then, about half way through my second coat of orange on the cowls, side covers, wingtips, and hubcaps, my compressor stopped compressing. I live in a small town where running out and buying a compressor real quick isn't an option. I tried, but the hardware store only had one inadequate compressor. I'm going to try to troubleshoot the compressor, but it's a Harbor Freight that's kind of janky anyway. It's not worth putting too much effort into.

[efwd]

Oh man, Sorry to hear that Brian. I have learned to quit setting timelines as well. Most of my down time now is because I kinda feel the build is over and all I have left are things that I don't find that entertaining. As long as people keep posting Youtube vids of Kitfoxes flying I should be able to get this done in the hopes of joining them in the air. I should have been able to make the High Sierra Fly In. I always think how big a bummer it would be to live out in the country where you just can't drive down the street for stuff. I am very fortunate in that regard. Jeeze, If I wanted a weather radar for my plane I could just drive a few miles and find one.:)

[aviator79]

I haven't updated in awhile. My pace has been slower the last month, but progress is still steady.

I'm finally finished with the cowls. They are painted and the fasteners are all installed. I really took my time making sure the fasteners were lined up well, and it paid off. On our club Cardinal, I dread oil changes just because of how difficult it is to get the cowls on and off. I can take them on and off my Kitfox by myself, and it's actually pretty easy.

I applied my decals. I had a few to put on the instrument panel (most of them were silk-screened by Advanced Flight Systems). I also wasn't really happy with my tape lines for the white stripes. The colors bled into the white in a few places. So I taped over them with vinyl striping tape. It looks much cleaner now.

I installed fairings to my Horizontal Stab struts, and am currently in the process of doing the lift strut fairings. I got the external extrusion lines sanded out over the weekend. That was a bigger job than I anticipated.

I think I'll be ready to take it to the airport around the turn of the New Year. I will still have a laundry list of final assembly items to complete when I get it there.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Pc-s-WeTPc6BqahbT5VdagPsNAOSwDnsvLR8vHrscaq6jHr3OY98EKC 2DQl1GmDICFJGyoDbyJT_2KLNv2FUw6dUP1dEQ-BpTrlWkbx56OGF_6AQPcPB4m26NG6yKixWntEPOYb9I6Q=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QQztkP3i3PvRN90T5LAH9Dtvc5wA0K6_h-eQaio7ocnZAJM7pft-RJE-mgHw_1m-xJmmgcYa6JwGlm57bILSwCd6D0FAAPzDmvR0R1G8rh9Ci2gkug p20L8-rKnNE3GbVUAL9eMvjh0=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SKgUXUqj0VChKjibHqIVQoYPQw98WyrQIRt5DMAW1wx85Taazm tUWSe8jG79g9AaNdGK_V-bM_nshPxgu_-VMOhGFxrS9mkJGa0b757ipmslvm0Qqdpu3_p1XLKsVlE6i0vMO OBQySI=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7uJvH4jByeK2FeOsp8E6_fMzDktrWTMD8ummI9Jmtn0PiE_a-Y08RDwkziNpcK3MfeNN79nLPeYEKwG6oDP6Vg_uX7eF1IoUXd4 0OabbLGiuLaGaaGK4dF-q35ShwnmHltIps27QZyc=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hprhVQQLVYyIDYuO79-RTcxFyQElyMF47w7I8Ec2QOsfbT509xIo-7K8b6Qno8HQPkxgzuqchz4Mn-UgOyi8dBatIl56RkyaVvCVbPUFx5wnwdn5Ol7eRRHyl-a5Q07QyktImz33crg=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3P4eBd8N0efY-0a6MQewKUB3wGmBH8LbeGhilpoqxm8KrSvmKsrEHOpzIj0mrVD E53VVNueWU5u5iDn6LURU8iKXmL6WvW4c8O6mkRflqdyPDdjRH UtRBYQ_pnlYHsSN-z7lJyDufkk=w600

[jiott]

That's a real beauty Brian!

[David47]

Really nice job Brian, and I particularly like the Kitfox logo on the tail. I guess the winter weather will prevent a December 15 first flight ...... :D


.........I also wasn't really happy with my tape lines for the white stripes. The colors bled into the white in a few places. So I taped over them with vinyl striping tape. It looks much cleaner now......


This is an issue I’m concerned about as well. I am planning on having several stripes on my final paint scheme and Ross (Mt Beauty in Victoria, Aus) pointed this out to me some time back. The colour bleed seems to be an issue.

[Esser]

Really nice job Brian, and I particularly like the Kitfox logo on the tail. I guess the winter weather will prevent a December 15 first flight ...... :D



This is an issue I’m concerned about as well. I am planning on having several stripes on my final paint scheme and Ross (Mt Beauty in Victoria, Aus) pointed this out to me some time back. The colour bleed seems to be an issue.

Hit the area with the base coat first and then with the colour. You’ll seal up the paint line with the base colour first then.

[aviator79]

Someone recommended "fine line" masking tape, which is apparently more vinyl-like than the green 3M product I used. If I had it to do over again, I'd plan to just use vinyl striping from the get-go. I ordered the strips from Aerographics. The vinyl is very thin, and a little trickier to apply than a roll you could get at the auto parts store, but looks like it's painted on. I do NOT think it would do curves well unless it were a very thin line. However, if you wanted curved decals, you should talk to them. I only have good things to say about their customer service. My scheme intentionally has no curves. (Easier to paint and easier to repair.)

Edit: I do have 60' of 3/8" white striping left. Anyone is welcome to it for the cost of shipping.

[aviator79]

I guess the winter weather will prevent a December 15 first flight ...... :D


The weather, yeah, that's it...

Last time I tried targeting a date, it blew up in my face, so while I have a rough idea in mind, I'm not going to tempt fate. I'll just say that I hope to see some of you guys at fly-ins in 2019, which, if it happens, would be far sooner than I had planned when I started.

[Esser]

Really nice job Brian, and I particularly like the Kitfox logo on the tail. I guess the winter weather will prevent a December 15 first flight ...... :D



This is an issue I’m concerned about as well. I am planning on having several stripes on my final paint scheme and Ross (Mt Beauty in Victoria, Aus) pointed this out to me some time back. The colour bleed seems to be an issue.

Hit the area with the base coat first and then with the colour. You’ll seal up the paint line with the base colour first then.

[David47]

The weather, yeah, that's it...

Last time I tried targeting a date, it blew up in my face...

Yep, setting a target sets you up to fall at the first hurdle.

[Mcgaero]

I love your paint scheme Brian, it's looking really nice!

[David47]

Hit the area with the base coat first and then with the colour. You’ll seal up the paint line with the base colour first then.

Will try that before taping, Thx.

[Esser]

You want to do it once it’s taped. Tape, base coat, color

[jmodguy]

I used 3M fineline tape. Comes in varying widths and does not bleed. Its vinyl and curves well enough. My friend that owns an auto paint shop uses it on his planes.

[rv9ralph]

Just to recap what Esser is saying. If base coat is blue, after painting blue, tape for second color, spray tape line with blue to seal, spray with second color. This of course is waiting for dry times.

Is this correct Josh?

Ralph

[Esser]

Yes, from what I’m told (I’m no expert) that no mater how good the tape is, the fabric has weave which can cause the paint to start migrating under the tape cause it’s not a perfectly flat surface. The theory is you seal that weave with your base colour so if it bleeds through, you can’t see it. Once that weave is full of paint, you hit it with your accent colour. The paint will not flow under the tape because it’s already filled with the base colour that you just sprayed.

As a fair warning, I never did this as I used vinyl stripes. But it was some advice I got from someone who had painted a few fabric planes.

[David47]

Just to recap what Esser is saying. If base coat is blue, after painting blue, tape for second color, spray tape line with blue to seal, spray with second color. This of course is waiting for dry times.

Is this correct Josh?

Ralph

OK - understand, that makes sense. You're effectively creating a barrier for any bleed by sealing the edge of the tape with a spray of base coat.

[Flybyjim]

I have sprayed 6 fabric planes and this is how I get a nice clean line. Spraying a lite coat of the base paint works well just make sure the base tacks up before going into final color and by the way this works on any type plane, fabric or metal. I use this technique on fiberglass and brass in my music shop.

[bbs428]

Really nice workmanship.
Paint colors and scheme turned out sweet!

[Frontier Fox]

I have had some experience painting in the past but not an airplane. So this thread has been helpful since I will be doing my own painting.

Noticed an article in November Kitplanes magazine in the shop tips section. The tip involves using electrical tape on the seam,leaving the on-mask edge loose. Then laying a piece of painters tape, sticky side up, under the electrical tape and press the sticky sides together. Then lay the edge of the paper or plastic over the painters tape.

I’m not sure how this would work on fabric or when removing the tape if it would peal paint underneath the tape.

Has anyone tried this technique?

[jmodguy]

That method works fine on fabric. I did not use electrical tape, I used 3M fineline tape. The adhesive is not as agressive or affected by solvents. It is also available in different widths.
The 3M tape, blue masking tape, and painters paper work great. I also used some real thin viscleen for covering larger areas.

[aviator79]

Strut fairings are on and struts are ready for paint.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YQ2rk7VWApZmNPBhQP_ELI0CmvxwtNyvKGoy-35EAFVvcHA-T40ZarzOjWCgLsM9l5_GKy_ntvoSnOK1CtuLM_eVVZ7-QEWdus8HwYBNLlOPr0GfrcPw0VUVCGhZrBPRwr9bkmm_ZPw=w6 00

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2LAurqPtdib1ADZWKGa62vEpjTKNryPe7qPFYhnI5il9OxR_KX FRCIDt2lUKZvIsMhAj0VNmLb6chRzHHxVE-hE77gjqUoqMJ8IPJlMvXUVkj4A0m6PZIsg-Zg-JDCRgXHzSxH4Pz0Q=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NvvP4Wz59M2JHo6Kln6tQtUuuKFdxNDvmjjTduvUOT9vUFpIh0 8n4SmdNq2W7XBeG7hHpu12tuyzty8srA98teKOrUSZZnDyGvbP 86DdyZN_uTrW6aWStbLuUwuWs-mE55WhDcPSkkM=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BhGvCcmxrFefxc1jDjPzdXjv1FqK8EEviuG8Ye5oACDpeAcFIl N4dGGSvMF_P0AbdZM5htcRZjUMPcls4G0qB9KaIB6COPDvIvJV o3KExkTFWgTKMNDIwAcsQtHVMadBZh3CjKipyWc=w600

Pies fabricated and consumed:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4-IeGKpqJvDcQsSDdq0RAhimDpSCrcGtrmw_CZ9x4EItzpcOv8P-ssBJVe7RT9yOlTuYmRKz4nnJ8LbU_4etauvFYrujFvQ6C0A86k tfMKydOe-Z7M2mTjdTO4Wfgzag1MbTINBoIVE=w600

Windshield fit, trimmed and installed. One tip: The sealing strips are really difficult to cut cleanly after the backing is removed. Fit, mark, and trim them before installing them. Also, to me the instructions were pretty vague about how to trim around the forward carrythrough tube. I was able to get my hands on some good pictures of how it is done at the factory and emulated them.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zcmFdKiCfheR1_LrEiVAqVHm28OYTBtRdioaRkCu9lV_AEUODa 49008Z5jiZjqbOOC2rKYfCyJGb4ISx7AaVNAZRvNixBCJGYIQN 5GHtaMjhmLnFCslnp2JIX9PZ75-CQSjoqlq6MHg=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Q4EkGVKrU4t53htbSyGbwxSN2spPXRreK4U8xm9SyYb316f7U4 BXHmZfaDeVxzTnzNLNYkVi3VqCSFjiVCIWs3L4RSr1NqBN9PTt uPNW2sG-gblrHYUTf5y5WXfhy5MVyyGQsLukIRg=w600

I got started on the glarshield this morning. I found it hard to find a datum to use for measuring the location of the notch to clear the fuselage tubes. Eventually I marked a centerline of dubious accuracy, and measured from the instrument panel to the tube intersection, and used that to locate the "Y". I made a cardboard template of what the Y should look like, laid it on the glareshield at the measured location, and I was shocked to find the cut ended up in the right place! I need to clean it up a little, and should get in installed over the next couple days.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nyHeoaTk_XmtPvwPrwHYYicu3fRMxrAp7gjzqzrZmkJGzmWuoS iGa7xrCwtcEBqBl-PiqAK6UJR8kcX8KxG8c9XBxSQuAIu11aZSl-dfgX9HAKKDH9LeXuX7_2pVU3RPSdDMZH7e5Lg=w600

I got the interior upholstery installed to the seat pan and center console. I haven't attached the floor mat and side panel velcro yet, but I fit them in place. Dang it looks sharp. I'll probably move the fuselage to the airport in a couple weeks, and then I have a bunch of painting and final assembly. I'm still thinking Q1 of CY19.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jrkIIyVjc_ZgE6bpYKMAxcWhErZWU3UjQ6CZlkCtsER_mqnsZN Djxohsyg63uNhNM6Jg51wCH7IE_xxAJnVeln7aV8kb3Dg4at3X jfHp7IxRa2-GnXmpDNKhVEOhXzpqpBXhdv_8chs=w600

[jiott]

Looking really nice Brian.

[Clark in AZ]

Good job Brian! Looking good!


Clark

[jrevens]

Nice, Brian! Good looking pies too!

[efwd]

Looks sweet Brian. If I were to do the glare shield a second time, with regard to the notches for the retaining tabs at the windshield, I would cut them straight back toward the front edge (panel side) apposed to at a 90 degree angle to the edge your cutting from. As the glare shield gets inserted it will mate with your tabs easier as the notch is received in line rather than the notch being off at a slight angle to the tab it attaches with. I would also fabricate some different tabs that extend beyond the short little bend that I have. If the glare shield flexes down into that space behind the panel, you will need to push it up from underneath to get it to engage on the tabs. If my tabs were more than 1/2 inch long, maybe a full inch, it would have received the glare shield and it would have slid up along the tab to final position. Hope that makes sense and It helps you not need a second person to assist with getting it installed.

[aviator79]

Good tips Eddie, I do understand exactly what you're saying. I can't think of an easy way to make the tabs project straight back to mate with straight cuts, but I will keep this in mind when I cut the notches. I cut the tabs this morning, but haven't drilled or bent them. I think I will bend it with the tab side a little longer.

[jrevens]

I don't know if it will be helpful, but here is a template of the cut-out that I did. I also like Eddie's idea about making the tabs longer.
16620
16621

[aviator79]

That would have been useful this morning, but mine came out fine. I'm sure someone else will appreciate having that though.

[aviator79]

Glareshield done.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tr9oNmqgg_r58kWmVDnhvTI_p1SXtQJdbSRN7VX61V0Ax6jXqM EZTvALV1xiFHCmSPEvTgaX7fAA2PGLS-JJDDADhnlg3uAOJAuO0AlS2PuakjKxGOKDjGZ6QSOn4VDkbNfo mKyJ6Uk=w600

Koger shade installed. This was a piece of cake.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/33msZ3Za5Ah9NjJjX9ZZNj1znTV25jDQkj3R_HC0rD1KOBvFh_ XGdGJIlYCIfwTZSoucekrq-O256eiLM_hI_tU-5YaV5HLJw6I20_5mrn4KJFVmiQrj2oltfWfCLDrRX_Q93gu2ML A=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ds8kz0-WvwsRpTFQX4RBXvxR7-4U5I3evwWQ0lMjAdlok4_meezsowRST9lc6Iz4HFn3qVsoEAkU i1CVc6GVblZLi3Z6ShvEGnog94kEuAya5nzZxYIZG42AWeXuKR 30QpyVXpDmMMA=w600

I got the turtledeck as installed as I can before I get the wings on.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mnvZZFYi9o_9f5qlAeXNd897PuGo-6EY_mPqQdwni26d0yVkydQJmOczr5vxO7NkA8Lgah69RRqf1tp BsWuXF4IWl_wpByDFYpUPMM2NYiE1lpI6vCkx_1bzUsWRWBAs5 5qj9otg3Xc=w600

I installed the floor mats and side panels, but didn't get a picture. It really feels like an airplane inside! The fuselage should be headed to the airport next weekend. That will free up the garage to paint the wings, flaperons, and miscellaneous bits that still need paint.

[efwd]

Man that looks great Brian! Wait till you get to peel off that coating on the acrylic. Wish I had that in flight adjustable prop that you have. Maybe it will come one day.

[Frontier Fox]

Looking fantastic Brian. Keep up the pace!

[bbs428]

Looks great!
Your interior, panel and everything are all well done..
Nice work!! :)

[David47]

Nice work Brian and I really like those shades and the way they fold down. And that's a kick-ass orange colour you've got. It just shouts "here I am", just as it should be ... !!

[aviator79]

It just shouts "here I am", just as it should be ... !!

I was inspired to go bold by the green on the factory Speedster. My original plan was a blue/white/gray scheme, but I like that I should be easy to spot in the air and on the ground.

[aviator79]

I Installed StolSpeed VGs to the horizontal stab, did the final install of the tail feathers, and pushed the fuselage to the airport. For the first time in almost a year, there is no airplane in my garage. It kind of feels lonely at home now, and I feel moments of panic when I open the garage door and find no airplane there.

Sprayed primer on struts and inspection covers this morning, the next few weeks will be exclusively painting.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QiSS_mPcBFZY5ZRzgiIulnGeYazgQVXYUF4-vNCSSJHW7h-EHm_WnIYmuKY3MyOMRoEC9qgGD_KpvhDl-efb-gnaZX6mNNErbAwuGERhi5nZGtyXA_X58-5MmenIy809wBDC1uj8GJc=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/D4G3AV7QMXuubMlwbyGnE4ucScAIXXnK0Yvyia5ESK-g7rc_yQq6b9GgcqvxBykGVr93mHx6EgmmXG6yWLBI8Vqmu3Adl 4xUA-GYFCeB0i7gGt-ur_8GXH6Ye22ykw9QqhNXzyKS0Ko=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xzoVu8zjt9V71JXZkF2ZcrI1du5bvdhrGHdGX0BpfIfTD1pOpU r-LAPYNzezKRJ7f1KgHIMeQx0nJ7aTEkDbMaXTdl3kcj41cEABSp VD2ZUtu8RnQ68w5NlHtKdZokUIRWCSsyhVNQA=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y9CZDbToNVfIGh7o1xfLys2diGLtaQioGPoa7A8ypwTtDGFa7U 9xmq4sWeodkrkd4yphwGAXmnJGU7qIZC5hpGi80GsWKLrOxbFC FyV6ipgOsc-HHLSjxo5P3HreRvRJGLDa_qKbIb8=w600

[Esser]

Looks super awesome Brian. I had a heart attack first time I opened the garage and there was no plane in there after 5+ years lol.

[Clark in AZ]

Looks great Brian! You'll be flying off those 40 hours before long...


Clark

[jiott]

That is the best looking airplane I've seen yet, and I am old.

[colospace]

That's really is one sharp looking airplane.
It has been a year since mine moved out of the garage, and I still marvel at being able to park the cars inside.

[efwd]

I know, that is one beautiful plane, but has anyone noticed the guard fox with what I assume is a Kitfox ball cap on?

[aviator79]

Haha. It's funny that you noticed that Eddie. I didn't mean to stage him in the photo. He's wearing my Trent Palmer Kitfox ball cap because it was in the way when I was trying to see around things to get the tail feathers on, so I took it off and put it on him. A local chainsaw artist made him.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/INRU9MysJ9E1W76Cfr3rEexU5AX_GUJhOVS_PilHllSiu-2J1E4IGk3efhpQDRAvxILkrhSlCdKtF30KC3TllBWIEb7LLgWp edl2T_3N54ljX_o1cXtGDkPWRXddSryl9-RO0OdUEh0=w600

[aviator79]

Happy New Year! Today marks one year of effort on the plane. Phase I is in sight.

Progress:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/POj9DytB2PPkpnx0nAeOrz0MQGuWOGYs5t8XW8Qzxd9rJrNRQQ UF5xSzbpewgu4r0UQn2dVEuss85ESrDRlvkWdvruYD5_OmSeXl lBT9rDv1WtB7Mbem-ZTNZp2Uw2aQ5Q7F3o-y13w=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/x3E2vBY-iU6rRXT697WYwEeQl4OGXBKfdK7kF2yuEKJKk0FknE7XDluWT2 IcE1xtqGLdT2WtIBirhqJ7UI20qx5FWbluM0_SKJ6ibjB8vNfg j9D0ieVgb9JLkIN9kmJ6se20FHuuTQs=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8j-hCxsB_t4vawdAQoPwRK2LPF_XONJCniLpRIsCJ4hvWiHNOBqGG Ayir8sjXEjNK2ivG-twvOcEf7C9VnSwFb9l6n9Gxtw25M5YxMSJ93xsVVx7YIUIl7tJ PA9TUsoq4owtKDAjsE4=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/X0u1fIkQoL2ZKlege9xfr_H15X_iAjivP4YfaYJFHUFZOnMM8H c7_O1SuOhI1YgGZr6pmdQ5FhE3dIYF-mdyW3sloS_KGvef1Z9buOudFqopsc5B5__g1UB-JgM809Ju1IVJroGVs4U=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KRQLjqLgW7fMc52DN5pkzCxozA4qPpFD0NmiYRaiY9deWujrEU 1Msxs6UqgpldLs7z96XJqAEnnqY2odqAmZezOXb6VM3BJuk_Zv u2lkF3TPHLArMhAmbp_1YKJSYM16jxyRIEy3Zk8=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/b7iTj5Vw9JwSdn0I-AvGjZnD1UDNAPSxYLr5Nifuv1QrCF9rjSbw-rTfEd_4pH8pm3K_eotXj2XTUrloWDpBqkDjMsl1FJe4vOly-1A2cGhyrIFXpBTjR89iMd2-3QHuHQ96HjIK23E=w600

[Meyer]

Looks awesome! Congrats!!!

[bumsteer]

Looking fantastic Brian!!!

Rick

[bbs428]

Sharp looking plane.
All the best in the new year!

[Frontier Fox]

Looking good Brian! Hope to be where you are this time next year.

[jrevens]

You’re getting there... great job, Brian!

[aviator79]

A big milestone accomplished. I have a couple good friends who were willing to tolerate freezing temperatures and snow to get my wings moved and installed.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ICxq-hs_8ykxHpaNkcUSQi8UmFfB5WjsHOOyfYGc-bBKYGBqXKUcnKLstAlMyEL4meDEpUH7zRXred2IR-VeNX38Ogu-1WLHxssPIKb-OYglaoY0eQSn96uiucp07L75Badc8mpeoQ4=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Edwz9t_xn51OxLORqoU8xYnfLT0dZu-ENlIpU69juEayrMBKXUso34Kr5oYfCcGK9ZQ_qdwlJpDQ8LDWM RV7SVqaRJ6mGvlFUY7vXcnmdhywZrj2PEGdYl4c4c4XDOZ5iYx BL4IEHZI=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wx8wj6Td8hBonoVxuUakXObJM9eLD1Ygw4OYx7RBIC6BwUSWP4 vXXY1-1GIlqZkTqRWMt2H7kQKtbE-cctmKDrGG4aJTx2uBOudsae7ynXdO9t3MWppMZemwaP-Ol4IPfDmT4Viscos=w600


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7lkc-LR-J23gKuhF9Y6SwxYJsau0JJpnVBsP6_DPFrpbLnpoMPm9vXCNF2 lLLgA0a7ysOUI2jxPYpxVt66PAIjwvWMKkpqj1xHnpZrmGWcvY Evo8GpBNdgnYGSabxOB2x-pK0StNC_4=w600

Fitting the hinged turtledeck. The photos show how I'm doing this without the slot to clear the flaperon tubes. Full disclosure: Despite thinking about it to make sure it would work, I made an error in the cuts that will make it difficult to completely remove the turtledeck. I don't plan to fold the wings though, so I think it will be fine. If I change my mind later, I can open up the cuts to make it easier to get on and off. But for now, I like being slot-less.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xkY2cUz6mDNk3cSrg5XzRPV_BxTL-c16coJ2oKnyw07UE_iu6Mtt3N1twqIFHrxGThmOv-Yaz43TM-En7U5elUCDLh6Z4yB-NaJCOZQZKDl7h342bFMp4gK4_l8M0w1IQVzNl3BH1xE=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/m6A8OFzHakg83bm805ud3C3Y3K8mUcsWsbmSSlMZIvNRks1-JLeiIqBITIphARfp_T7-Y62rc8iXzNmLKls8YFtN5prCflQRNhkwP8wyYIzghkEfKRAzcR MtHowTkhdtWyoUDOfH0aM=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/P_7838Oslh-OLsK1uzPY5zZn3qIApbcB77BnCLbaq9v23WkLBoDkEDnHfAp0p 6-PY-p3K5sqmPFgP8cLBbbziHMXEgF5ViysABJsxSLz-dLan-vn1UOWPYbjJ5AWDL6Qxtq9795M9yk=w600

[Clark in AZ]

WOW! Looks like an airplane Brian! Very nice. However, with all that snow, it doesn't look like you'll be flying for a little while.

Clark

[DesertFox4]

Very nice Bryan. Good friends are invaluable.:o

[efwd]

Cool Bryan. So close. I think, if I understand your situation, all that would have to happen for the next guy would be to cut the bottom joint at the front of the hole. Then you would be able to remove it all?

[aviator79]

That's correct Eddie. I made a straight cut at the bottom. I should have curved that cut the same way the notches are curved. The next guy would just have to make that cut curved enough to clear the torque tubes, which would open it up to about 1/2 inch at the bottom. You could then bond some Plexi inside to seal the gap when the turtledeck is closed. Like I said though, I don't plan to ever fold the wings, so I'm going to keep it like it is until I have a reason to change it. I was kicking myself because I had already reasoned out the curved cuts would be required, but when I marked it all out, I didn't do it. I'm over it now though. It will look good and hopefully seal out the drafts. I guess the lesson is that even when you're deviating from the manual, follow along the analogous steps in the manual. They might jog your brain on something.

[Esser]

My slots ended up larger than I wanted. Part of me wants to reorder the Lexan and do what you’re doing

[jrevens]

I have a wide slot too, Josh, but I cut it like that on purpose. Probably not the most eloquent way to do it, but the thinner Lexan gap-filling pieces work nicely to close everything up. I put a small bend on one of the corners so that everything slips into the proper place without any fooling around when closing - you can see it in the picture below. The way that mine ended up, there is no rubbing against the fabric when opening or closing either... there was just the slightest gap between the turtle deck and the fuselage in that area. I didn't need a curved cut Brian... a straight one at the right angle worked fine for full clearance during removal because I could accept a bigger opening with the way that I used the Lexan "gap-fillers". Been flying in cold weather now, and there aren't any bad drafts that make it uncomfortable. You can see pictures around post #392 in my thread "John's Build".
21329

[efwd]

yeh, my slots are too big as well.

[PaulSS]

Jeez, Brian, that horrible weather looks just like the terrible conditions I had to put up with a couple of days ago ;)

21331

Blatant misuse of your thread to see if the photos work :D

[David47]

I’ll be cutting these slots in couple of weeks. Perfect timing for this discussion. I like that idea of using a bit of tubing in the flaperon hangers to align the turtledeck cutout. Allows you to work around that area easily. Might unashamedly rip-off your idea Brian !

[rosslr]

Dave,

you might ask Ben to share a photo and some details of how he has dealt with this...pretty nice solution!

r

[aviator79]

I’ll be cutting these slots in couple of weeks. Perfect timing for this discussion...

I can't take credit for the idea to use the flaperon hinges to locate the holes. Brandon Peterson suggested it. Obviously you need to do this before you've riveted the flaperon horns and retaining rings in place, otherwise, you'll need to order a pair of hinge brackets from Kitfox.

[efwd]

Wish you had done this three months ago Brian. :(

[David47]

Dave,

you might ask Ben to share a photo and some details of how he has dealt with this...pretty nice solution!

r

Ross, being a LAME (US equivalent is A&P), he knows stuff. Sort of yin and yang thing ....

Brian, take some credit. You posted the photo.

But thank you also Brandon for the idea.

[aviator79]

I got my registration in the mail yesterday, so it's starting to feel official. I've been checking off punch list items that are pretty routine and not that interesting.
-Finished assembling and installing the hinged turtledeck.
-Installed the door gas springs.
-Wired the wings and tested the lights.
-Installed and leak tested the fuel system.
-Installed and rigged the flaperons.
-Fabricated wing root fairings - not totally satisfied with them. Making some custom fiberglass ones may be a future project.
-Filled, purged, and leak tested the oil system.
-Mounted cabin fire extinguisher in cargo bay behind right seat.
-Installed some heat shielding in the lower cowl adjacent to the turbocharger.

What's left? Not that much really.
-Trim and install landing light covers on wingtips.
-Install VGs on wings.
-Fuel flow tests.
-First engine run.
-Carb sync.
-Prop balance.
-Weight and balance.
-Wheel alignment.
-Tailwheel steering chains.
-Final system checklist

It should be wrapping up around the end of the month.

[kitfoxrk]

Hello Brian,

What hinge material did you use for your hinged turtledeck. Did you use the same material as John Evans? Any pictures?

thanks,
Bob Krause

[aviator79]

Hi Bob,

I actually don't have any pictures with it assembled. I'll try to get some. Working in the cold with gloves on, I find I'm taking far fewer pictures than I used to. I got the material from Kitfox. I don't know if they are advertising the kits for sale yet, but it's worth putting in a call. When they sent me mine, they didn't have instructions yet, but it's not difficult to figure out.

--Brian

[David47]

Hey Brian, not long now. That list is quite short now compared to couple months back ...

[aviator79]

What hinge material did you use for your hinged turtledeck. Did you use the same material as John Evans? Any pictures?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nHSjB8xq15hWYR5kzr3xkjHKRDjcE_MQ986QO_MTQYZKoe0JPp-bFaovHp-ds4v17gapDsqD8slCqFYxHrSekM2Q_N_GFFM5N1iSltPyBi_uq qC4z_GeBa4ORWPMW38Jhkr6Smxl-6Q=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Lg4xV7V3PQ2tpWVljRjblvNZFivrN8IH_YlBPArdfh7aVWT76d 75PS4NDceE7AwgMXZm-mjrvJdiOkeJlD-daZrtzJd2bAs9WKUwRR23tUdONFFyK8bAqhG3pUi-DZwH4LMLELqKcxM=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/k1BLH4f5oUn5k9x2xsvLd0XXZqQa8BhSuchxqDKKaM0HbShiL5 na9ePpsU2kgtVMV7fELv3ZNPejK9K_tXpwYtXcJx4vlmiQrW_F R-dn4WQbl3o4MaOIhtlb_K_D0arRpGtVbUrN34g=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RjqqhkNewu0gO_riNu48Ov97Pug7OlG1RGSO6FONVirDux33sz puHcA8WII5d9DR8D2Tn7lYTrCGmT3FdTbngS6fvqUlMC4KzAId iE-wI3UFiDB5KotwAUXDyvkSKLlltBlZ2ENX-yE=w600

[kitfoxrk]

Thanks for the pictures Brian. I appreciate it!!

Bob Krause

[aviator79]

Let's try some embedded video.


https://youtu.be/xSnQ8f_LG3c

[Clark in AZ]

WOO WOO! That is awesome Brian, congratulations! She looks great. When do you think you'll take the first flight?

Clark

[aviator79]

When do you think you'll take the first flight?
Clark

I'm really close. Just a few punch list items left. Another guy up here has an Arion Lightning that's almost ready. We are going to try to get an inspector up here on March 16th to look at both planes. I should try to get to Idaho for some training between now and then.

[DesertFox4]

Very nice. You can see the finish line.

[bbs428]

Very nice. Engine sounds good. Won't be long now... :D

[efwd]

All right Brian, I will now say you have officially caught up with me. Nice job. Looking great. You'll beat me to Boise Im sure. I have a little vacation coming up so I will be across the Pacific probably when you get to Stick and Rudder.
:D

[aviator79]

I don't think I'm quit caught up Eddie, but close. It's crazy to think it's almost ready to fly. I'm going to try to get up to Boise the second week in March. A trip across the Pacific sound like a nice alternative though. Targeting March 16 for airworthiness inspection.

[aviator79]

Prop balanced and brake pads glazed today. Weighing it on Tuesday. My turbo blew a bunch of oil into my airbox. May need to seat the ball in the check valve. Other than that, she's pretty much done. Inspection some time in the 2nd half of March.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uXpKlJcb4JS5WgyINEfbK0aJ0CQ18b7KP2frQ-IY3DqRszCle3AAEcAUYVBeFZqufd1G-BiXvQjY2lNUl2ub8jZiat1oqCBDoYhTqsOU2CkygBFgRd6lHxc tZy5HtfhbJVqLMrVl--Q=w600

[AirFox]

Beautiful Brian! Good luck on your inspection and first flight.

Scott

[JoeRuscito]

Hell ya! Looking great Brian!

[efwd]

OOOhhhhh Brian, its gonna come down to the wire which of us is going to finish first. My inspection is scheduled for Mar 16th. You have made such great time with yours.
It seems there was never a time where something wasn't being accomplished. It is looking very nice I might add.

[aviator79]

I'm still waiting on the FAA inspector to nail down the date. Los Alamos is kind of in the sticks, so he's hoping to do my plane and one other on the same day. The other guy found a leak in his fuel tank, so needed another week or two. Looks like March 23rd or 30th, so you'll have a jump on me there, Eddie. Not that it's a competition. I'll be at Stick and Rudder next weekend for a Kitfox refresher if the weather is good enough to fly.

[Clark in AZ]

Awesome Brian, great job! Good luck on the inspection and at Stick & Rudder.

Just finished up with the EAA Sport Air Electronics Workshop this weekend.

Clark

[David47]

Congratulations Brian on getting almost to the finish line. Hope the inspection goes well and that the test flying shows a nicely balanced airplane. I'm around 3 months behind you - weather here in Australia is currently too hot for doing the final paint scheme so getting all the systems installed. Looking forward to seeing some of your first flight photos. Fly safe.

[efwd]

Great Brian, I contacted Paul yesterday. I will be trying to make March 21 for my currency. I have to try to move my work schedule a bit today.

[aviator79]

Weighing complete. 875lbs, 9.7 CG. I'll take it.

[Esser]

By the time I reweigh me plane, you and I should be very close! Nice work.

[Floog]

Beautiful airplane, Brian! Following your build was interesting. It was a pleasure meeting you 'only yesterday' and now you're ready to bore some holes in the sky.
The inspector will appreciate the quality of your work. No worries.

[Mcgaero]

Looks Fantastic Brian! And a nice weight to come in at.

[Shadowrider]

Strut fairings are on and struts are ready for paint.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YQ2rk7VWApZmNPBhQP_ELI0CmvxwtNyvKGoy-35EAFVvcHA-T40ZarzOjWCgLsM9l5_GKy_ntvoSnOK1CtuLM_eVVZ7-QEWdus8HwYBNLlOPr0GfrcPw0VUVCGhZrBPRwr9bkmm_ZPw=w6 00

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2LAurqPtdib1ADZWKGa62vEpjTKNryPe7qPFYhnI5il9OxR_KX FRCIDt2lUKZvIsMhAj0VNmLb6chRzHHxVE-hE77gjqUoqMJ8IPJlMvXUVkj4A0m6PZIsg-Zg-JDCRgXHzSxH4Pz0Q=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NvvP4Wz59M2JHo6Kln6tQtUuuKFdxNDvmjjTduvUOT9vUFpIh0 8n4SmdNq2W7XBeG7hHpu12tuyzty8srA98teKOrUSZZnDyGvbP 86DdyZN_uTrW6aWStbLuUwuWs-mE55WhDcPSkkM=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BhGvCcmxrFefxc1jDjPzdXjv1FqK8EEviuG8Ye5oACDpeAcFIl N4dGGSvMF_P0AbdZM5htcRZjUMPcls4G0qB9KaIB6COPDvIvJV o3KExkTFWgTKMNDIwAcsQtHVMadBZh3CjKipyWc=w600








Did you sand the ridges out of fairing material? What did you use to sand them off and do you think its a good idea to do, or are you glad you sanded them down?

[jiott]

I sanded the smaller grooves out of the fairings using and orbital sander, but it still took a lot of sanding. I never did get the one deepest groove to disappear because it seemed to me that the material would get too thin. At least it looks much better without all those other grooves, and the one left is quite shallow after all that sanding.

[aviator79]

I did the same as Jim. Sanded the ridges out with an orbital sander. It was a ton of work, but I'm glad I did it, It's a much cleaner look.

[Floog]

I made quick work of it with a belt sander and 60 grit. Too bad we have to deal with such an obsolete and time consuming fairing method.

[Shadowrider]

Thanks! What’d did you do around the jury strut attachment point? I would like to clean up and smooth around it with maybe hysol and super fil, just can’t decide the best timing? I dont want it to crack out as I am installing jury struts. I am thinking after I paint struts and have jury struts installed I then fill with super fil and paint just that area?

[aviator79]

I just drilled/filed a rounded square hole for the Jury strut brackets. I made it a little oversized so the bracket could rotate a little bit when fitting the jury struts. I did not fair the hole to the bracket with anything. If you did, you'd want to fair it while the wing is installed, and then you'd either have to paint it with the wings on, or remove your wings to paint the struts. I'd be concerned about the fairing material cracking over time. Not worth it, IMO, unless you're trying to build a show plane.

[Shadowrider]

I just drilled/filed a rounded square hole for the Jury strut brackets. I made it a little oversized so Yes all good points. Ha... defiantly not a show plane. That is what I have done, they just seem to stand out but I guess they will look better once the struts are painted. Thanks!

[efwd]

Super fill has already started falling out of my Jury Strut holes.

[jiott]

I filled/filleted the jury strut holes with white silicone caulk (my fairings are painted white) to seal them and improve the look, but yet allowing some flexibility. Other than appearance, there is a more important reason to seal these holes, and that is an open hole will allow small amounts of water to get inside the fairings when flying thru rain showers. This moisture then runs down to the bottom of the fairing but can't get out due to the nice job we all do to SuperFill the bottom end of our fairings. It then just builds up and stays there, possibly eventually causing the critical steel struts to rust-not good. As I remember, Floog got to worrying about this a couple of years ago (before his dunking in the Columbia) and he drilled a small hole in the underside bottom end of his fairings and sure enough, some water ran out.

[aviator79]

Great point Jim. I think I have some 3M FireBarrier Caulk that is a grey that will just about match my strut paint.

[jrevens]

I sealed mine with silicone, like Jim, for the very same reason. Also have drain holes on the bottom.

[efwd]

Thanks for that lead Brian. need a grey or silver product myself.

[aviator79]

Project Update:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/izfSXRW3sqVd5miHrqPFEhIURXFVzG1_VH9uhvyfYSiIDWUoFC cJhqFFMh9JV24ull2EF0yf-x1P0Ivax8Abf3B51zXx1sLLQzulAttuvseegQRpAdVVDiLS_Zk M44fgSchE-C5jnK0=w800

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yBVPEF4GOPDDKI8Dj6Rqh-7VOEmLKCTQA9eOHDlSRdYeoz1BZSC6Isz1-N9waENy3RYdzdSjPYNcoOYjLdQ3Vfq49foo9ln4qUvXhfcyJ_m 2ZNrxRbCFzueiFY8RNigMxghHr9QAA1E=w800

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bqkI34fx2e65ZH-9hVcaK719pJvN-encXAy8Di8QHOF4-hoI8G15_oUa0RROmlPEg7WzEmDEdE3ERjThNNA7yz1tYaBkela 0BlTH4pNTkd4agB21S7gwNHoY1Z_I1bRCw1LP3sS3L4I=w800

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TCrNyN2dvVSgMVwjvRvOzB25xKCisKkO-FzsgrFDUK88EoDXu4hkrWWQcneONC54fUA_Vym8V7Z7vvNTtEl jVaGmrRmW4HxctodoF4j6RYpk-5c8xYOkjkeCvTgpJviO_3VX63QGKAA=w800

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0BZS5BRi6qu42P785MyChLnWsHsfNtZC6EJL8v6RlI5ARSXjTV 7zJTkbyX6U9B-AXi6-tNMN-OMfzDe0gmTb4T7s6o5rEbpLU41iCDVsNod8C-xse27oZ8y9rteC4QpflDLdIS7fXwk=w800

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QQtT6rX5XAcV6Jm_H_l_00oXB92KDrWBfTBK4Bt621-4r6_0vqqr3BFfh_6NXjITjHUOrJd542jsXYgqjBIE-VNWC5yYJ8Qf0E5AHBtS9m7hei4fTXVxuLuXleLJCavy70i2AGY otwg=w800

The performance was beyond my expectations. It surprised me. I don't have numbers, because I was too busy wondering how I got so high so fast. Being solo and having the Airmaster on the 914 was very different than flying at Stick and Rudder.

[efwd]

SWEET Brian! Congrats!. That thing is gorgeous.

[bumsteer]

Brian

Great looking airplane!!! Congrats!!!

Rick

[DesertFox4]

Congrats Brian! Beautiful Kitfox. Enjoy that 914 performance.

[Frontier Fox]

Outstanding Brian! Congratulations.

[SSFoxBuilder]

Congratulations!
22023

[JoeRuscito]

Congrats! So stoked for you!!

[jrevens]

The ultimate “project update”! Way to go, Brian... your airplane is beautiful!

[colospace]

Wow!! Seems like you had just started that build.

[aviator79]

For those interested in performance, here are some numbers derived from EFIS flight data:
Density Altitude: 8000
Flight test weight: 1175 lbs.
Flaps: 1/2 position
Ground Roll: 550'
Distance to clear 50' obstacle: 1017'.
Climb rate: 1300 fpm at 71 mph.

These numbers are with an inexperienced Kitfox pilot making no attempt to extract maximum performance. I'm pretty happy with the performance, and look forward to developing the skill required to expand the envelope.

[Clark in AZ]

Nice Brian! Thanks for posting the numbers. Refresh my memory on your engine again? Non standard 914 turbo, correct? HP?

Great Job!

Clark

[aviator79]

Flight test is going slower than I'd hoped. I'm only 7 hours in. Between work travel, kids' activities, teaching a Private student, and weather, it's harder to find flight time than build time! It's 30 degrees and snowing this morning. Go home Spring, you're drunk!

Some notes:
-The performance is a lot of fun. At SAF, I can make pattern altitude inside the fence. On a touch and go, it's airborne before the throttle makes it to the stop. Really fun.
-The oil temps on the 914 at ~40 deg and 9000'DA get warm. At Max climb power and Vy, I would overheat within 2-3 minutes. Of course when you're climbing at 1500 fpm, you don't need to maintain that for long to transition to a cruise climb. If I push the nose over to 85 mph, it cools right down, and I still climb at 900 fpm. As summer approaches, I may have to think about improving cooling.
-My empty CG is 9.7. Solo with full tanks puts me at 11.7. At that CG, you run out of aft trim way before approach speed. I put 50 lbs of ballast in the aft cargo bay, putting the CG about 13 inches. It's a different airplane now on the approach. Much easier to land.
-No left turn tendency mitigation is incorporated into the design, so like most, mine has a slight left tendency. Hands off the yaw is .5 to 1 ball width to the right, and it rolls left ~ 1 deg/s. I'll add a rudder tab to center the ball, and then adjust the washout.
-Stalls like a kitten! Stalls are non-events.
-Full flaps sucks. The controls get 'weird". Hard to describe, bit it's more than extreme adverse yaw. I'm pretty sure airflow over the H stab gets turbulent.
-Its fast. The turbo does it's job. 130-135 mph at 11000' DA. (914 w/912 ULS cylinders, Airmaster prop w/ 70" WW blades.)

[Shadowrider]

Thanks for the update! Sounds like it’s fast and climbs great also! What ideas do you have on cooling? Thinking of lowering my oil cooler all the way down to sit flush with the bottom of the radiator. Wonder about an oversized oil cooler?

[aviator79]

Thanks for the update! Sounds like it’s fast and climbs great also! What ideas do you have on cooling? Thinking of lowering my oil cooler all the way down to sit flush with the bottom of the radiator. Wonder about an oversized oil cooler?

If I can reasonably manage temperatures by lowering the nose and reducing power, I won't change anything. There's no reason I need a maximum performance climb to 3000' AGL.

If I do struggle to control the oil temps, a bigger oil cooler is an obvious choice, but finding one that fits where the current one does might be a trick. It would need to be wider, but not much taller, and the cooling air inlet NACA would need to be modified to accommodate different ports. It's probably a pretty big job.

Thomas used an oil/coolant heat exchanger on his Shark, so that's another option I would consider.

[Clark in AZ]

Hey Brian, great to hear from you. Thanks for the report and keep them coming! I'd like to know how it does as the weather warms into summer.

Clark

[aviator79]

Hey Brian, great to hear from you. Thanks for the report and keep them coming! I'd like to know how it does as the weather warms into summer.

Clark

Will do, Clark. How's the Super Stol coming?

[Shadowrider]

If I can reasonably manage temperatures by lowering the nose and reducing power, I won't change anything. There's no reason I need a maximum performance climb to 3000' AGL.

If I do struggle to control the oil temps, a bigger oil cooler is an obvious choice, but finding one that fits where the current one does might be a trick. It would need to be wider, but not much taller, and the cooling air inlet NACA would need to be modified to accommodate different ports. It's probably a pretty big job.

Thomas used an oil/coolant heat exchanger on his Shark, so that's another option I would consider.

Thanks for this info! Are your water temps always in check? Would you be conerned about going to a larger oil cooler and getting less cooling to your radiator? I am thinking of pulling off the oil-cooler I have now and going to the next larger size.

[Meyer]

Maybe not the cheapest option, but you could have an oil cooler made I would think.

Does Clark have a build thread?

[Clark in AZ]

Will do, Clark. How's the Super Stol coming?

Not as fast as I would like, that's what happens when you start adding things or making modifications. Anyway, getting close to covering. Changed my mind and have decided on Oratex covering, should be fun. I picked up a 2010 Yamaha Apex sled about 8 weeks ago. It runs great and only has 600 miles on it. I will be sending the engine to Thomas for a complete rebuild with upgraded parts and a turbo. Looking forward to mounting that engine.

Clark

[aviator79]

I don't have a water temp gauge. Roger Lee, the Rotax guru out of Tucson seems to think one isn't required, as the temps should track CHTs pretty well. I may anyway, as the Rotax manual says you should have one if running conventional coolant. That said, my CHTs are well in check. I don't think they've had time to get too hot, since I push over into cruise climb to control the oil temp, so as it is, I have room to trade some heat between the oil and the coolant by either adding some oil cooler area (reducing effective radiator area), or by adding a heat exchanger as Thomas did.

When you look at it holistically, your engine is going to make a lot of heat when you demand a lot of performance, and at some point your ability to cool it reaches the limits of what you can carry away with the air going through your cowl, as ultimately that's where you reject all the heat. Based on my very small data set, I would probably go with a slightly larger oil cooler. But just to be clear, I'm not convinced that I actually have any problem that requires addressing, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend you go making changes to your setup based on my 7 hours of flight testing with a different set of input parameters. I make a lot of power at an altitude where there's not much air to carry away the associated heat. If I can mitigate that by reducing my amazing performance to merely awesome performance a couple months out of the year, I'm good with that.

[aviator79]

Not as fast as I would like, that's what happens when you start adding things or making modifications. Anyway, getting close to covering. Changed my mind and have decided on Oratex covering, should be fun. I picked up a 2010 Yamaha Apex sled about 8 weeks ago. It runs great and only has 600 miles on it. I will be sending the engine to Thomas for a complete rebuild with upgraded parts and a turbo. Looking forward to mounting that engine.

Clark

Nice! Thomas is great to work with. I know that engine is sort of a new product for them, but you can be confident he'll work with you on addressing any issues if they should arise.

I don't imagine that engine is worth much in the sled in Cave Creek.

[Clark in AZ]

Yeah, Thomas is working on Steve Henry's Apex now, 300hp, Fuel Injected, and Turbo'd. I think he is putting the finishing touches on it now. Should be interesting to hear Steve's flight reports once he gets it installed in his new Highlander. He is great to work with, I can't wait to send it off.

Funny, I had to go to Santa Fe to pick up the sled. That was the closest one I could find. Flew into ABQ and rented a Penske truck, drove up to SF and picked it up, drove back to CC. Not too bad of a trip, all in one day.

[aviator79]

300 HP in a plane that size is nuts. With what my plane does on less than half that, it's difficult for me to imagine. Are you having yours built to the same spec?

[Clark in AZ]

No, I going for reliability, mine is 150hp Fuel Injected as it is in the sled, I'm adding a turbo. I should get maybe 160-170hp for takeoff. 150 continuous. He will be beefing up the internals same as the 300hp though. So, it should run forever.

Steve, on the other hand, is building for competition. Totally different animal. He will run Nitrous too. He competes in the Stol Drags, Valdez, etc., etc.

[Shadowrider]

I don't have a water temp gauge. Roger Lee, the Rotax guru out of Tucson seems to think one isn't required, as the temps should track CHTs pretty well. I may anyway, as the Rotax manual says you should have one if running conventional coolant. That said, my CHTs are well in check. I don't think they've had time to get too hot, since I push over into cruise climb to control the oil temp, so as it is, I have room to trade some heat between the oil and the coolant by either adding some oil cooler area (reducing effective radiator area), or by adding a heat exchanger as Thomas did.

When you look at it holistically, your engine is going to make a lot of heat when you demand a lot of performance, and at some point your ability to cool it reaches the limits of what you can carry away with the air going through your cowl, as ultimately that's where you reject all the heat. Based on my very small data set, I would probably go with a slightly larger oil cooler. But just to be clear, I'm not convinced that I actually have any problem that requires addressing, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend you go making changes to your setup based on my 7 hours of flight testing with a different set of input parameters. I make a lot of power at an altitude where there's not much air to carry away the associated heat. If I can mitigate that by reducing my amazing performance to merely awesome performance a couple months out of the year, I'm good with that.

Thanks Brian. Just got off the phone with Thomas and we discussed oil cooling. So we are running the 50-915-7612 cooler which is slightly bigger. They sell the 50-925-7612 which is a full 6" tall. It would fit but need to mod the Naca. Thomas says he thinks, based on what he saw, we would see the biggest decrease in oil temps by running water to oil heat ex-changer like he did. I think that is the route we are going to go. He said he saw a drop of about 40degrees and only a slight rise in the water temp. The one he ran was very small and they are pretty effective at cooling oil.

[aviator79]

Very cool Dustin (no pun intended.) Maybe this is a dumb question, but does he run the heat exchanger in addtion to, or in lieu of the oil cooler? Also, as you get around to that, I'd love to see some pics of how/where you mount/install. Which model heat exchanger? Have you priced them out yet? I'm guessing a few hundred bucks?

[Clark in AZ]

...Does Clark have a build thread?

I didn't start out with one but have thrown together a blog, a collection of my thoughts as I progress. It's really not great, but it gives me a place to put all my pics. I'm updating it as I go with older content and pics too. Hope to get everything back to day one posted eventually. I've not advertised this at all, but since you asked...

https://superstol512.blogspot.com/

Clark

[Shadowrider]

Very cool Dustin (no pun intended.) Maybe this is a dumb question, but does he run the heat exchanger in addtion to, or in lieu of the oil cooler? Also, as you get around to that, I'd love to see some pics of how/where you mount/install. Which model heat exchanger? Have you priced them out yet? I'm guessing a few hundred bucks?

Yes in addition to the oil cooler. He said he tried baffling and had the largest oil cooler that he could fit. He said he was still seeing 250f. So he installed the water to air heat exchanger and the oil temp dropped 40 degrees. The one he used is small like 3” by 4”. Easy to run also. Run oil lines in and out and run water lines, in and out and your done. No air flow is needed. Working on pricing I will post when I figure it out.

[aviator79]

Pretty nasty exhaust leak at this slip joint. I need some exhaust tools to get it fixed, so no flying for me this weekend. :( I'm behind where I was hoping to be with Phase I. Right now I'm still hoping to make it to the fly-in in Idaho Falls.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/EUgBg3sMVoSekC0hHP9GGLOwT7KinOpgpnj0RhRIGzoPndnsi6 1zKHf-6ufjAmE1kwKoqzPAOwta595c1vxoPc6pmyr0v9cA3oB8-v42RnkipTMWfUjpewvx8eqtt85ONnSvpT5GXn8=w600

[rv9ralph]

That does look nasty. Good decision to fix before flight. You should have time to complete Phase 1 before mid August.

Ralph

[Clark in AZ]

Is that a quality control issue for Thomas? Was it done incorrectly or just a defect?

Clark

[aviator79]

After disassembly, the joint is very loose. I am no expert, but an overhauled engine should perform as new, and this engine has has a few minor squawks. Thomas knows about this leak, and has been very helpful in telling me what I need to do to fix it, and has offered to send me a brand new exhaust system if I can't get it straightened out quickly.

[Clark in AZ]

I agree. Good to hear he is being helpful and willing to get you a new exhaust.

Clark

[efwd]

Awe crap. Don't read my latest post in my thread Brian. You'll see.
Hope this stuff gets resolved easily so you can get on with it. Good luck.

[aviator79]

I'm thrilled for you Eddie. My frustrations do not detract from your successes. Congratulations on finishing up.

I'm sure it will get resolved. I just hope it's relatively quick and easy and does not involve waiting on an exhaust to ship from Norway.

[aviator79]

Installed STOLspeed vortex generators at about 2" aft of the leading edge, measured along the chord. Spacing was per STOLspeed's Instructions. I dropped 6 mph from my power off stall speed, and about 4 mph from my cruise speed. Cruise was 129 mph at 30" MAP and 5200 RPM, 10k density altitude. Now 125. Stall characteristics still benign.

I do have to relearn how to land it. I can approach much slower, with a steeper glidepath, but the roundout and flare require better timing because the sink rate is higher. I've had a couple touchdowns firmer than expected. Not planning on shock monster gear, but if I had them and big tires, I think these landings would be very satisfying. The next thing is an elevator gap seal to give me a little more elevator authority to arrest that descent in the flare.

[efwd]

Sounds like a worthwhile mod. 6mph reduction is impressive. Let us know what you find with the elevator gap seal. I didn't notice any improvement myself. Alex Di Sessa did a pretty detailed test in his youtube videos on the gap seal. If you haven't seen it, check it out. His findings were lackluster as well.

[aviator79]

I did see Alex's video, and it's pretty convincing. Others who have VGs cla a noticable improvement. I figure it's relatively cheap, and won't hurt. I'm sure the mod I really need is more practice.

[aviator79]

Update on the VGs: After a good 6 hours of cross country in smooth air, I'm happy to report that I did not lose as much cruise speed as I thought. Maybe 1-2 mph lost. Almost negligible. Definitely worth it. I have not done the gap seal yet. The material is backordered at Spruce.

[bumsteer]

Brian

Very nice write-up on your build in Sport Aviation. Well done on both the article and your build.

Rick

[Shadowrider]

Did you get the gap seal installed? Did you fly with it yet or still working on EFI?

[aviator79]

I never did the gap seal, so nothing to report there. The EFI is almost ready. I'm just waiting on a throttle arm that I drew up and Thomas is fabricating before I can start it up, tune the EFI, and map the boost. I'm also waiting on some fiberglass supplies to finish building an intake plenum for the intercooler. Shipping is delayed for COVID slowdown. Progress is at a creep and the flying weather is getting good...

[Shadowrider]

I hear you on the weather!!

Some claim the gaps seals help so I was curious.

Just FYI we had to find a longer bolt than what rotax supplies and drill it for the cable so that threads where showing out past the nylon in the lock nut.

[Desertwndrr]

Aviator79, how is your Kitfox? Everything going to be OK?

[aviator79]

Aviator79, how is your Kitfox? Everything going to be OK?
I have some work to do, but yes, with some help from the factory and the amazing Kitfox community, she's going to be okay.

[Desertwndrr]

Good to hear. Thanks.

[Shadowrider]

Brian glad to hear it went well getting her home! Maybe when its not so fresh would you care to share lessons learned? I am a low time pilot always looking to learn.

[aviator79]

Many of you know I had a little mishap in my plane. As a lot of people on this forum know, when you build a plane, you get emotionally invested. It remains a little bit hard for me talk about for a couple reasons. 1) I'm a CFI, and I preach safety and good Aeronautical Decision Making. While in the moment I thought I was doing the safe thing, The evidence suggests I made a poor decision, and it hurts the ego. 2) In bending up my plane a bit, I feel like I hurt my best friend, and it still hurts to think about.

The airplane is within a few weeks of being ready to fly. I'm hoping to get a flight in by the end of October. But just like with the build, I'm not trying to hold a date. I do one task at a time until I run out of tasks. Now that I can see some light at the end of the tunnel, I feel obligated to tell the story because I know some are interested, and I may keep others from making a similar mistake. I'll probably use a couple posts to get it all out there. Let's start on May 14th.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uh0iRWP00s_pCM1z-2APZ_wxDWAKGNfwt8adLUksEl5cjAef5czRFv0P9CPeLw5LyEk 2_vvyVFNxUwRXV-eJZlo6GUVJ1d0OTS0W-He4ovyEVfXL7USsl5k8c-Jj5pSN6-jebHv1ZLU=w600

It should be pretty obvious what happened here. I landed on soft mud, the mains sunk in, and I went over the top. The damage isn't too bad. A broken windshield, a trashed prop, and a gearbox in need of inspection. By the time it was off that lakebed, there would be some more though.

Before work, I decided to head down and check out a public dirt strip I hadn't been to - Estancia, NM E92. Departing Estancia, I see a huge, beautiful, miles-long lakebed only a couple miles away. I figured it was worth checking out. It had been weeks since NM had seen any significant rainfall. I did two low passes looking for wet spots, puddles, property fences, or other signs that it wasn't safe before deciding to attempt the landing. The initial touchdown was smooth, but as the weight transitioned from the wings to the mains, they sunk in and over I went. It was actually a pretty tame event. I was hanging in my harness, but not a scratch or a bruise to speak of. Now I had to figure out how I was going to get out of there, and how I was going to get my plane out of there. Fortunately, I had cell service, and I did make it home that day. The plane however, stayed out there for two agonizing weeks. That's another story.

How was I deceived into thinking this was dry, and more importantly, what were the leading indicators that could have warned me off, and what should I have done when I decided this looked like a good place to land? Here's what that lakebed looks like:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uhG0pIdb0IIgJC8TVdXbI1eVVcaNBs-Uv-WfOQbxgTcHu26ArErhry8szl3WNaaznvNpOxaqGbdzv228yr-XinH3VBjDk1bI46Z00SZUmRL8qYFFuKSSO3CDgncyCo7YNoCfL kcbMU=w600

It turns out that the lakebed is never actually dry. The geology is such that it is kept wet from underneath. A salt crust forms on top of the lakebed which becomes bone-dry, hiding thick, gooey, foul-smelling mud underneath. I know this now, after talking to the very kind ranchers nearby that helped me out. It turns out, I'm not the first airplane to do this. The ranchers shared a story of a glider that got stuck out there, and a helicopter that got stuck out there while filming a movie. Also, a high speed police chase once ended with the suspect and two cop cars stuck in the mud out there. I mention all this just to make myself feel better. I'm not the only one that's been lured by this lakebed's siren song.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2J4dLXWNPnSrfG4onWsPmf2V4Ys9ysKk2mK_jgFgHfr25putaT jr_Krb1hS9_CCb4kbKzLM6c-8vbsTz_AIHQTuhv4rc2fDAevqM_KCz1SWVF1vSOirALFAzWelP pDaDa7vpUpCxctQ=w600

I've since talked to some pilots out of Moriarty, NM that know this lakebed well. That's where the stuck glider came from. So what should I have done differently? The biggest thing is when I saw that lakebed, I should have made a mental note, and then asked around the local pilot community. I would have quickly learned that it's a bad idea. The second thing is that you'll notice that the lakebed is pristine. That's not a good thing. A dry lakebed miles long and at least a mile wide on mostly BLM land should have four-wheeler tracks running all over it. Every weekend people should be out there doing donuts and tearing it up. The lack of any evidence that it gets used should have been a clue to do some homework first. So now I have a rule about landing off-airport. I won't land anywhere I haven't seen someone else land first. And if I'm honest, I'm gun-shy about landing off-airport at all for awhile.

Getting the airplane out is a story unto itself. I'll cover it another post. Then maybe another one about getting her fixed up. I'm not quite there yet, but this story will have a happy ending.

[DesertFox4]

Glad you are close to getting airborne again Brian and of course happily with no injuries to recover from.
Lessons learned, shared and headed are valuable to the community. Sharing them does take courage and for that I say thank you. You’re not the first to have to unbuckle and crawl out on the underside of a wing and likely won’t be the last unfortunately.
You’ve left some good tips on evaluating “dry” lake landing conditions.

Man those photos hit hard how quickly a great day of flying can go south. Help seems so far away.
Again, happy you are well Brian.👍

[efwd]

Thank You Brian for sharing. A number of us have been anxiously waiting your story. TWO WEEKS?! Damn that had to weigh on you. So glad it didn't result in any injury and that it will be repaired soon and this all will be behind you.

[bbs428]

"I feel like I hurt my best friend, and it still hurts to think about."

Well said. I can only begin to understand how you feel. With all the effort it takes to get this pile of hardware flying and then have this happen. :(
I appreciate your post and will take it to heart. I wish you an uneventful return to fair winds and blue sky's. :D

[aviator79]

Thank You Brian for sharing. A number of us have been anxiously waiting your story. TWO WEEKS?! Damn that had to weigh on you. So glad it didn't result in any injury and that it will be repaired soon and this all will be behind you.
I have to get her fixed, because I think I still owe you breakfast at CHD.

[jrevens]

Thank you for sharing that, Brian. It says a lot about your character, and you’ve probably saved others from having a similar heartbreaking, and humbling experience. It would be so easy for me to fall into that same kind of trap. You’ve shared a really valuable experience for me... I appreciate it very much.

[Shadowrider]

Thanks for sharing Brian. Good info and some good tips on staying safe!

[Meyer]

Glad you are ok. Stuff can be fixed.

[Eric Page]

Wow, I think I would have landed there too. After reading your story, I'll think twice about dry lake beds in the future. Thank you, and I'm very glad you're OK and your plane is nearing (re-)completion!

[PapuaPilot]

I think we all learned something here. Thanks for sharing your story.

[tdldedcd]

Thanks for having the courage to share your story and lessons learned. Glad to hear you are getting close to get your best friend back up in the air. Can't wait to see a picture of that!!

[alexM]

I'll echo what others have said. Good on you for posting up and glad you're okay.

Best wishes on getting the plane back in the air.

[jiott]

I will add to the cautions about "dry" lake beds, having spent quite a bit of time at Oregon's Alvord Desert area and nearby lake beds. They never completely dry out, so you are always on some kind of a crust of unknown thickness and strength. Adequate crust in one year may be completely inadequate at the same time in another year. Crust is "usually" drier and thicker near the lake edges rather than out in the middle. I ditto the "look for other peoples vehicle tracks before landing" advice. Don't be the first guinea pig; an aircraft is much harder to extract.

[aviator79]

Since I had the pleasure of walking across that lakebed a few times, I can say that Jim is right. Near the edges of the lakebed, it was firmer and probably landable. In fact, while the surface looks completely uniform, I walked across patches where I'd sink to my calf, and others where I'd sink a half inch. If you have to land on an unknown lakebed, nearer the "beach" is the better idea. However, knowing what I know now, I'll never land on another lakebed without clear evidence of recent vehicle or airplane use, and/or very reliable local knowledge.

This particular bed's condition has little to do with rainfall and more to do with geologic water pressure. Apparently, ponds will spontaneously appear in the lake even after weeks without rain. There is no way to know whether any of it is safe to land on by looking at it from the air.

[Shadowrider]

Good info Brian thanks. Sorry for your mishap, but you will be back at it soon. I happened to bump into a local pilot and told him I was thinking of flying to a lakebed here in Utah. He told me that the lakebed was hard pan and can have standing water and you won’t sink, it’s like concrete. Then he told me not to be tempted to land at the next lake bed over as it looks dry, but you will be upside down before you know it. So I echo your suggestions of local knowledge is very helpful.

[aviator79]

What do you do when you're in the middle of nowhere with your upside-down plane all by yourself? Luckily, I had cell service, so I made some calls to let people know where I was and that I was okay. I also started contacting people who I know have been in similar situations to ask for some advice. One, a member of this forum, recommended contacting an off-road recovery outfit for help. I got in touch with a guy in Albuquerque who dropped what he was doing to come out and help. While I waited for them, I started walking toward a ranch I'd seen from the air. The couple that lived there gave me permission to cross their property to get to the plane, and gave me a ride to Estancia where I could wait for the recovery crew.

We made a plan to retrieve the airplane. We would take six sheets of plywood out to the plane. I'd seen people flip Kitfoxes over on Youtube, so figured it would be possible with three strong guys. If we could get it flipped over, we could put a sheet of plywood under each wheel, roll it 8 feet, put the other three sheets down, roll it another 8 feet, and repeat until we could get it within range of a winch. This plan was a miserable failure. The airplane was about 1500' from the nearest place we could get the Jeep. It took hours for us to get the plywood to the plane. You can't just throw it up on your shoulder and walk across the mud, so we dragged one piece of plywood at a time across the other 5. At this point, I was already getting skeptical that this plan had any merit, but I didn't have a better option, so we soldiered on. I thought one of the recovery guys, who was a bit out of shape, might die. We got to the plane sunburned and exhausted. This picture was taken a couple days later when I went out to retrieve some things.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9-JUSUBG08soaciy83fnNO8sUZs2YaHr_WX7d6iWxpnobiNsc-O2N7u-KGYl9beuH8vReagGmJqcb7YSam2hti9YApGkPFm008b0N3Y9p4 9ikGVQpJHuytCR4L5oNV9HdupLKNMRB7I=w500

There was no way in hell three guys were going to get it flipped over on the mud, and even if we did, after the effort it took just to get the plywood to the plane, there was no way we were going to move the plane across the lakebed on the plywood. Every 8 feet would have been a huge fight. I was forced to admit defeat. I googled "Helicopter airplane recovery" and actually got a hit in Santa Fe, NM. I called them up and they wanted $12k to fish my plane out. That's when I admitted that it was time to call the insurance company. That may have been the smartest thing I did. So far, my insurer, Starr, has been amazing to work with. They got me in touch with their recovery specialist who said he'd get out there to get the plane later that week with special recovery rig that could handle the mud. Well guess what? He got his rig stuck in the mud and spent half a day recovering his recovery rig.

It would have to come out by helicopter, and the chopper wasn't available until it had been on the lakebed two weeks. The helicopter did a great job fishing her out and setting her down very gently.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1xJQnyUbwLKreLDmw71WUYWOA_T5F30N2-Pr87geW7An-6T-cZkxtC6QMb50mEU0mZYvmOJudFRz3qqfnCC5rEBQJXLzTIkksF 5YZjVEUmDajIe3YJ4LwwIu4dPOwl_Mmu5pcKsXlfo=w500

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/g0l3OmGaiOZE9MfxGxZTtAfgMO2SlaRJmlvpD7sP6TsR6L91xK Zqw0B-awatTOpu6zE-j5Rc3FhOpsAtshaqBQp2zuiZ6Xijy2XPn7sUGXygz2stSHqyJj KaLn-vmT-pScLCJlEqYdQ=w500

The recovery guy was there with his recovery truck and his plan was to hook his crane winch to the tailwheel and drive forward slowly while a friend and I guided the wings as it went over. This was similar to how I'd seen it done on the internet, with the added convenience of having a truck to do the hard work. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as would have liked. This is why I'm not already flying again:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5Jtx3fUnXlxxF3dC50rVTORTgUI_B0U-KvEkj6rhYjzzco6onujx1lzn_5KqiK5_jY1nYiFc11NPw7qHFl CBn6OrTzY6faqI-UVT1AVaxBxS7dILUAyjk_FyHDj0OLLOEpleMW4wXis=w500

The recovery guy said that he thought the tail was going to come down on his truck and he gunned the throttle a bit. He wasn't pulling perfectly straight, so the tail came down sideloaded. So, lots of bent pieces to contend with there. I said many swear words at this point, and the recovery guy felt bad about it. In addition to being a lot more to fix than I'd hoped for, it also made it much harder to get it loaded and unloaded into a trailer. The trailer I had was just a hair too narrow, so we had to take a main wheel off, but we got it loaded and home.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/kazqshfKUs5YY0mNZIO3yjUVnjBR_wh-jE7_g5RQB3xPHZIAe-hvVxfEt0HPl_bVPUB-xkt8GLhggCH1sV3CAlqcoL1uGNr1LUSRGYfNUAAlo8uFPZDbhz 8Jjbqh6nYCi_w5DGbmnX8=w500

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CKs_vD74nOVfjT1OGVX4OGybNoUJtJQFLABUUiORU34Vk5qv4U 3Ec_PO3SUZfT8u-qDl66Pha7f0Zuq-jD_caz9ti-ElW7QUuAB2SuQVBQKLhLFZIoJzPHeV0lsdhE8DSaqdTFbitUk= w500

She looks pretty sad in the hangar like that, but at this point I felt much better because all the unknowns had become fixed, and I could focus my attention on fixing things instead of worrying.

A couple notes to close out this post. While I haven't seen my renewal rate yet, my insurance company has been great. They were familiar with experimental aircraft, and not only are they fine with me doing all the work, they are paying me an hourly rate for my time. They very quickly sent out a partial advance payment to get me started on the repairs, and have checked in regularly. They asked very few questions, gave me some papers to fill out and that was it. Also, the Kitfox community really came through for me. Kitfox has been very helpful supporting me with parts and assistance. The community got a trailering kit out to me really quickly (Thanks Scott and Dustin!), and as word spread, I got a lot of calls and text messages offering kind words and whatever help they could provide. It takes a lot of the sting out of an incident like this to have a community rally around you.

Now, I've got some painting to go do. I'll do one more post about how bad the damage actually was and the process to fix her up.

[Shadowrider]

Great write up Brian. Thanks for taking the time to do that. Lots of valuable info.

[Clark in AZ]

WOW Brian! Incredible. Glad you're okay. Thank you for taking the time to recount the experience here. Lots of lessons to learn.

So, you built your plane, did the fly off, had an incident, repaired it and will have it flying again, all before I'll have finished my build for the first time! I need to get busy. :)

Thanks for the post, all the best!

Clark

[aviator79]

WOW Brian! Incredible. Glad you're okay. Thank you for taking the time to recount the experience here. Lots of lessons to learn.

So, you built your plane, did the fly off, had an incident, repaired it and will have it flying again, all before I'll have finished my build for the first time! I need to get busy. :)

Thanks for the post, all the best!

Clark

When you put it like that, I guess it's not so bad. And I got to spend most of 2019 flying all over the western US, and at least it's down during a fly-in season with no fly-ins. (Not that I'm happy about a global pandemic, but none of the fun things I did last year happened this year anyway.)

[aviator79]

Here's a damage inventory:
-damaged prop
-cracked windshield
-damaged lift strut
-some minor paint cracking in the cowls where they flexed going over the nose.
-That mud is either caustic or acidic, so my bare aluminum spinner was pitted and stained.
-The damaged tail from the recovery.

Most of this is pretty simple remove/service replace.
-I followed the Rotax prop strike instructions. CPS did the overhaul and NDT inspection of the gearbox. Prop flange and crank runout were within spec. CPS said it's quite rare for a clutch-equipped gearbox to damage the crank or fail the NDT inspection.
-Airmaster had me saw the blades off their roots and send the hub and blade roots back to them. They rebuilt it to new standards and shipped it back.
-I used the old windshield as a template to cut the new one. If I did it again, I wouldn't do this. It worked out okay, but I don't think it was significantly less work and the fit isn't as good as the original. I'll say that the very stern instructions from Kitfox should be followed for receiving the windshield. The first one LP Aero sent out was cracked all the way across. There was no significant damage to the box, so I'm glad I took the time to open the box and inspect it.
-Lift struts are being replaced with the airfoiled steel struts. (in progress)
-Sanded, primed and painted the cowls and spinner.

All that was no big deal. But repairing that tail took some work. I was hoping that just the tailwheel mount bracket was bent. Then I could grind it off and weld a new one on. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dtukocDQkllk4kQmKgTptnE4J4mXwrEwYkm-iR6xgXgnoqeL-0VW72vJLcNv5ikiGjwslgk0Mbf213ovYl1tNzHZ0_p06yJUfwa cQ3SL3DMxOsYKfQJxrK2OUhAFYEzENmhSvEXqqns=w500

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lJ2DT1lDwJxA1NwtzEysLe3H8VCt0vMk6h_GcQPQcowXOUOAez-yEJwPUGTdjA1NyusXaeihJctkZq4IlCOMeHbNmmP_IVq6x6U7n 6Pk5KJG4CSyYfiZprYUElgKICU2psMP6VEaC7o=w500

The fuse tubes could be straightened, but that tailpost kink has to be cut out, and I that means that whole cluster weld at the tail has to be cut out. Also, there's no way to do this while keeping the bottom rudder mount boss and enough margin to do a proper aerospace weld on the tailpost. So I had a whole subassembly welded up that I could sleeve-weld in, and hope that I could get that boss located well enough to keep proper rudder function.

Here's what it looked like prepped for welding. Fortunately, I work with a bunch of welders and was able to get a couple guys with a generator and TiG welder to come do it. They tacked everything in place with the rudder on and a fixture plate to ensure the tailwheel mount holes were correctly located. The angles were difficult and space was tight, but they did a nice job.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/e6Dt6xVw37DaQhNfytLkXfwYiHJFyvgCcOZzCRevFPxeV_sYw-xITD02jKA9C1h_dBgcrZTYCq_oLrnqpnUjgpTZ1DcpKY0QMgUM JPkLuihE_p75B6oMDX0v8l1avqeoHvO_S1sKHRY=w500

Rebuilding everything:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3oX5o9FPs51wNq_jwsEFmtp8KKBSm3ukUEoR-XKPaYsvOLdbv1o4zPuTy74TtV6QLDQjxqy16Vz5R1ZbbMvt76y c4gjnZDyRQ8acMgE3B3VXCx8mqexwgCTzn7Jvi8mzy7AUc57OT f8=w500

Wrapping it back up:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/69zajGF0p-n3hB6NLZw5nrpHFsEvnZP_q7ECq2QuK6StkVXBlPcTRb6YhzZ9 XtFSSHbVxAN8TtHOt_gchyO60aKYxFY8eZbyOFft6-dThySDfRv0WQqpx1AEnDT1P3kJAG2kPszAA-0=w500

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SI9TOBLgluIjnw_SVRVZAwzmv1oSfdrnBP4t66pQGGKbQ2vPFp c_Lzg6NMrtB9y5AT0s77D4ObZGNTPZa8IuVSojU7WJBlPNyG1B MSgtdLlYY3NM03QJfycoy0suNrOX8EqJJF3HiE8=w500

So as of yesterday, the hard part is done. I still have to reassemble the plane and go through a punch list similar to a first flight, but the end is in sight. Looking forward to flying again.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vREggeVlpAAX_hp_bIRHyJPfMlllQqrFp7-RGfTGG70DG0Wv-eBa5CP0wp3fJUqwsFdvL5nyZbJf0tOcwz7mxDQAoBaA0osv3tK ju92Mu8FHf1SWEu03KCyknd-r9-tu9o_he5KVqnY=w500

[jrevens]

That’s really a good job, Brian. I admire the way you tackled it and got it done.

[DesertFox4]

It looks like a really good repair Brian. Should bring your Kitfox back to full health and function.

Here’ hoping 2021 is a year filled with much Kitfox flying for you Brian and everyone on T.K., many fly ins, AirVenture, lots of $25.00 hamburgers, grass strips, backcountry adventures, many Kitfox first flights with new airworthiness certificates, good health and more time with family and good friends. Oh, and low fuel prices.

[Clark in AZ]

When you put it like that, I guess it's not so bad. And I got to spend most of 2019 flying all over the western US, and at least it's down during a fly-in season with no fly-ins. (Not that I'm happy about a global pandemic, but none of the fun things I did last year happened this year anyway.)

You're not alone Brian...
https://www.facebook.com/KeeneHelibase/photos/pcb.1633359143512924/1633359070179598

(https://www.facebook.com/KeeneHelibase/photos/pcb.1633359143512924/1633359070179598)https://www.facebook.com/KeeneHelibase/

Clark

[aviator79]

Soon.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Zm6cOO3YVVnFIzGytj0wIMQ0M6hQTG1JWTNnaEmOuu9ZK-Kbf8TBpE_1Pw6WzqP9CNRi0_Z7g0gmDyy5JKXdBOKfUHNv2JZU sL9mhSkW4Mywbn4lbtipPdnTfIHj4kXjDDuMPvVFDxM=w500

[JoeRuscito]

Awesome Brian! Looks great and will be stoked to see you flying again!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shadowrider]

Yeah! Looks good. Giddy Up!

[efwd]

Dang Brian, looks great. You have been busy.

[tdldedcd]

Wow Brian. The plane looks great! Sooooooooo close!

[aviator79]

All's well that ends well.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Iw7yqf-BXRvcLKG0F_4fKN8gSnDJ8zahDFsHuyDWyzku1XURnGazN2wZ0 aTVrDaGuSyYdGS_vxp1tZ-DvfX9mqVPYhLDhdzQEpV-BZtITEsKXlVVmxtwi8hZhwjNfeN2nxAHqjGQEE8=w500

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uwtzm9hud-bjfGx1JWrIeLX99M_4RXM8ocBbJAqg1bfndC9S5te31KpxrVZx hVmYmh81dXqLCmopjYXX9-V2jj6uzo27bO-37F3XA0kb-8xyPj3VliL_mP_aDL7tamJppd-4KjZigvw=w500

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SCqln16QVD-cu6bXdRzDXJ6f1VPM5UPyC7X2EO50rRrkSKHp0J2Bz9sK03_FH yxeRSEd_n4AeWhdTgpwwaNEWsxeT_egmfl-O8RRq0o7X32re2iUtEL78DHtN1TXW9O5N0-yz4eQpyQ=w500

[Eric Page]

Woo hoo!! Congrats. That's got to feel pretty good!

[bbs428]

I hope when faced with adversity, I could bounce back as well as you have Brian.

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement..."

The plane looks great! Fair winds.

[DesertFox4]

Nice to see you airborne again Brian. Beautiful Kitfox.

[efwd]

So good to see your back up Brian. I agree with Bret and love that quote btw.

[aviator79]

So good to see your back up Brian. I agree with Bret and love that quote btw.

It is a great quote. I had to look it up for attribution. I may frame that one somewhere.

[PapuaPilot]

Good to see that you are flying again!