Carl,
The Kitfox is on the FAA approved 51% kit list. Your DAR shouldn't have had to send you that.
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Carl,
The Kitfox is on the FAA approved 51% kit list. Your DAR shouldn't have had to send you that.
Sorry for any confusion. The plane has not been inspected. I'm just at the stage were my initial paperwork requesting inspection has been submitted to the FAA and an inspection will soon follow. I don't expect there will be any problems with the inspection. What triggered the detailed FAA Eligibility Statement form was my listing that I had used "professional" help during the build. Really not a bit deal and I found it all to typical that a government evaluation would count building a wing equivalent to drilling a hole through a control stick and inserting a bolt.
I had the pleasure of meeting this DAR at a presentation he gave to an area EAA group a few months ago. Very nice guy and I'm delighted to have him inspecting my project. I am very sure he will do a very complete inspection. He and I both want to insure that I've built a safe plane and I haven't missed any cotter pins, safety nuts and so forth. From memory, during his presentation he said he has inspected around 975 planes and hopes to do 1000 before "retiring".
I'm working with small projects while waiting for inspection. One of today's job was polishing the trim cuts on the turtle deck. No rush to actually install until the inspection is complete but I realized that I had completely forgotten about the strakes and, after holding one in position, am wondering what purpose they serve. Do they cut down on buffeting around the wing root or just visually fill a gap?
I think they may help keep rain out at the flaperon control penetration. There may be some aerodynamic benefit. Also, looks?
John, I think it was your build where I noticed the acrylic pieces closing the flapperon tubing cutout. I'll work on something like that as well.
I would have thought that having the strakes installed and having the Kitfox cover on, I would not have rain get in. Rain got in. Ruined my Rotax manual and three paper VFR charts. I aim to do as Carl just stated. I really liked Johns as well.
This is a very easy and effective way to block the flaperon slots in the turtle deck. Its 3/16" thick closed cell foam rubber attached to the turtle deck with contact cement. The slit in the rubber allows it to slide over the tube when removing or installing the turtle deck. Not as elegant as John's but actually looks quite good.
Attachment 26622
I haven’t had any rain get in, but Jim’s definitely seals better than what I did. I’ve also seen others do a much better job than I did, with similar ideas that were more closely fitted. The strakes probably help some though, especially on the ground if the wind isn’t blowing a hard rain directly at the opening. My idea was an afterthought after I had already cut slots and then thought of the hinged turtle deck idea.
That looks really nice Jim. You did a very clean job with the contact cement. Looks like the same foam for the grommets where the screw plates are located. That same idea might form a nice gasket between the boot cowling and the windshield.
Noticed this description on one of Neoprene products sold on Amazon,
Reviewers also complained about being shorted on both length and width with divots in the surface. I think this average American will keep looking.
- Closed-cell Neoprene Sponge Foam Sheet Roll sheet absorbs impact EMPOWERING the AVERAGE AMERICAN with little to no experience in repair to create PROFESSIONAL set-ups for sealing. It is made to take a beating!