HB Kitfox

[LumpeeGrendel]

Hi,

I am just starting to build a new Kitfox that I brought home a couple weeks ago. I live in Huntington Beach California and am looking forward to not only building this plane, but learning and hanging out with others that share the same interest. I don't seem to find a lot of my friends sharing my passion. Thinking about naming the plane "Because..." so I can just point at it when I get some of the looks and questions I've been getting.

Started the tail, but I was also wondering if anyone had any suggestions about where else to start. Been reading a lot of the posts in this forum, but it's hard to read all. Thought maybe someone would have an opinion.

Found another guy that lives near me, Eddie, that just flew his first flight last week. Hopefully he can come by and point out all my mistakes.

I'll post my progress and any questions I seem to have. Looking forward to the whole process.

Thanks for the help that I'm definitely going to need ahead of time,

Kevin

[DesertFox4]

Welcome Kevin. Glad you’re here. Eddie will be a great resource for info and advice.
Congrats on starting a life changing adventure.
Most start their builds with the controls and rudder pedals fitting and installation. No harm no foul starting in on the tail surfaces. The manual will take you through the build in a pretty logical sequence. The fuselage will take approximately 65 to 70% of your total build effort.

I woundn’t presume to help name your aircrfaft but when I hear Huntington Beach, I think sunshine, The Beach Boys, convertibles and surfing.
“Surfer Girl” holds some interesting possibilities for nose art.
Have fun Kevin.
22018

[efwd]

Yeah, I got a lot of comments when I told people that I had bought an airplane kit. I heard this one more than any other, or I just was quite annoyed by it, "What, are you having a Midlife Crisis?" So.... That is how it got its name. Looking forward to watching this build progress since I will likely have a flying partner when its finished. Sorry Kevin, the weather was awesome this morning so I was able to get another 2.2 hours on it this morning instead of stopping by. Lots of opportunity ahead though.

[LumpeeGrendel]

Alright, just throwing this out there. I'm currently working on both the tail section and the controls at the same time so I don't get bored.

A couple of things I'm running into are the following:

1. Reaming out the holes on the fuselage and tail are making me want to stab myself in the eye. There doesn't seem to be any way to get a power tool in there. I'm trying to use a flexible hose in the drill, but with hit and miss results. Does anyone have a better way of doing this? I know there are few master mechanic/fabricators in this forum and I would love some help.

2. The flanged bearings in the control column bracket seem to be a hair too long and do not sit flush. I'm about to machine one of them to a better thickness, but wanted some thoughts on it before I did.

3. The mixture ratio for the Hysol/flox that I read in the forum was 15oz/15oz/1Tbs of flox. Does that seem the best amount of flox?

Thanks ahead of time for the help. Sorry if some of this seems a little rudimentary, but I'm just getting the lay of the land on this thing and don't want to create more problems than I solve.

Kevin

[LumpeeGrendel]

Yeah, I've got a few ideas about the name, "Surf Fox", "Beach Fox", "Cal Fox", ect... There are quite a few.

This Kitfox naming seems to be a lot like my Duffy boat. It's electric and everyone seems to have some kind of electrical type name, like "Ohmer Simpson", "Watt a boat", ect...

I'll see how things go. Thanks for the response.

Kevin

[efwd]

grind down the back end of the reamer to fit into a small socket. Put an extension on the socket and slip onto the reamer. the extension will then be out through the outboard bearing.

[Mesteve]

Alright, just throwing this out there. I'm currently working on both the tail section and the controls at the same time so I don't get bored.

A couple of things I'm running into are the following:

1. Reaming out the holes on the fuselage and tail are making me want to stab myself in the eye. There doesn't seem to be any way to get a power tool in there. I'm trying to use a flexible hose in the drill, but with hit and miss results. Does anyone have a better way of doing this? I know there are few master mechanic/fabricators in this forum and I would love some help.

2. The flanged bearings in the control column bracket seem to be a hair too long and do not sit flush. I'm about to machine one of them to a better thickness, but wanted some thoughts on it before I did.

3. The mixture ratio for the Hysol/flox that I read in the forum was 15oz/15oz/1Tbs of flox. Does that seem the best amount of flox?

Thanks ahead of time for the help. Sorry if some of this seems a little rudimentary, but I'm just getting the lay of the land on this thing and don't want to create more problems than I solve.

Kevin

I am only a day or so ahead of you, so take my input for what its worth...

1. I didn't have a socket small enough, so I ground 4 flat spots and used a small open end wrench. Worked really well; the only pain was the flap handle mount that wasn't just a mounting tab.

2. Make sure you have the spacer in there too. I think I had to ream out the aluminum to seat the bushings fully.

3. I have been measuring in grams, at about 20g a mix. I have been using a tsp per 20 grams with good results. As long as it isn't running from where you placed it, you've used enough.

[LumpeeGrendel]

Yeah, I ended up having a problem with concentricity of the three holes. My fault. The reamer fixed it.

Thanks to both you and Eddie, for the tip about the reamers, flox ratios, and just generally responding.

Kevin