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Geek's STi Build
I received my kit special delivery from Heather and Brandon a month ago. Did the normal inventory and then started on the wings. Like SomeDay7, I think I want to get the wings dialed in and then be able to work the fuselage during the Winter months. I bought the pre-built wings along with the pre-rigging based on comments here on the forum saying it was so worth the money. I am at the point where I am going to be installing the Rib #1 stack and the butt rib after a lot of varnishing. Hence not any pics of that since I think varnishing is like watching grass grow. I wanted to do the leveling of the fuselage outside in front of the shop but it's not a level pad. So I did some looking here on the forum and Northof49 (Mike from Canada) had this great platform with scissor jacks. Then I saw that the scissor jacks were on sale at Harbor Freight Aircraft Supply Company so I pressed ahead and copied Mike's idea based on his pics. Next is to add something to bring the tail up to do the final leveling.
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Will try and keep up with this on my progress and such. I also have a build log on the EAA site. I am trying to be good at keeping that on up since I plan on using that when I get to the part where I need to show the DAR that I really did build this. Here's the link to that site. https://eaabuilderslog.org?s=Geek
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Gary, If you get 4 friends (one on each jack) to quickly work the jacks you will have the very first Kitfox simulator! Sorry couldn't help it after seeing your post. enjoy the build, Bruce N199CL
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Added in the second and third piece of the Rib 1 stack on the left wing. Came out pretty well I think. Had some HYSOL left and so I did the flaperon doublers on ribs 5, 7 and 9. Now it's time to put the left wing back on the rotisserie and do the same work on the right wing.
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Did you glue the 1 rib stack on when the wing was on the fuselage?
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I didn't. I got the pre-rigged wings and set the 1 rib stack at the 35 1/2 inches from the 3rd rib. Reading the directions it didn't look like I needed to set the wings on till after the 1 rib stack to check the rigging again and set up the butt rib. Am I setting myself up for a problem?
G
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Apparently they have not updated their instructions......frustrating!! Hopefully you can fit your wings onto the fuselage because if the spars got moved at all they will not fit. What you don't realize is there is a slight amount of flex in the spar. I would test fit your wings to make sure they fit. If you have not done the other side, I would have the wings on the fuselage before gluing the 1 rib in place. On my brothers we had to surgically remove the 1 rib on one wing. The other wing was fine.
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Well I guess I know what I will be doing today. I have not done the other side so there is the good news there. If the wing flexed and doesn't fit I don't think frustrating is the word I might choose. Might be coming back to you on some recommended 'surgery' suggestions.
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Fingers crossed!!! If not I can let you know what we did to remove the #1 Rib.
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Good news! The ruler said that the spar had not flexed but being a firm believer in "Trust but verify", the wife and I went out and hung the left wing. Fit just like it was supposed to. But now as I start on fitting the 1 rib stack to the right wing, I am making the plans in my head that will allow me to final assemble that one while hung. Not sure why your brother's spars flexed and yours (and thankfully mine) didn't but I sure as heck am not going to take this opportunity to Hysol the assembly up with the wing not hung and find out.
Dustin I really appreciate you jumping in like you did. Even if it could have been bad news. If you see me doing something wrong or have a better idea of how to do it (cause you did do a kind of OK job on your plane. Just kinda though (joking for certain!!)) please feel free to jump in.
Gary
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That’s great news! I think my brothers rib was a little too tight so when he slid it on it pulled just ever so slightly enough to cause it to flex and not fit. Didn’t realize it until it was glued in place. It was some serious brain damage to fix so I am happy for you that you don’t have to go through that. Good job and keep moving forward!
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Took Dustin's inputs to heart and got ready to do the rib 1 stack on the right wing. Figured I may have ducked the bullet on the left one and wasn't going to take the chance of learning the hard way. So I spent yesterday coming up with the supports required to hang one wing without the whole thing tipping over. Made two stands, notched the ribs of the stack for attachment and today, hung the right wing on the fuselage and Hysol'd in the first rib of the stack. I'll sleep better tonight I think knowing the spars are flexed and it fits up.
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Looking good! Glad it all worked out. We did the same thing and you will use your jig down the road to support one wing. I lost track how many times a wing went on and off.
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Worked on the false ribs installation and mounted the left wing onto the fuselage to fit the butt rib. Got it all dialed in and then pulled the butt rib off so I can do the rest of the work to get it ready for final install. Plan to Hysol the false ribs and the aluminum strip on the butt rib tomorrow as well as mount the right wing and start the right butt rib fitment. I am certainly not Speed Racer on this. Spent a lot of time measuring three times so I only had to cut, drill and cleco once.
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I too spend lots of times measuring so hopefully I only cut once. Your build is looking good!
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Thanks Harlan. Between your build and Dustin's I spend a lot of time checking your logs out to see if what you did is what I am thinking I should do after reading the directions.
G
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Got a little more done. I had questions on the jury strut install instructions which held me up a bit. Didn't want to mess up so early in the build. I got the answers from a couple people here on the forum and from Brandon which alleviated the issue and was able to press on. Got both jury struts installed, figured out where and how to mount the magnetometer and pitot tube, and am going to pull the wings back off (mostly to get my shop back to its normal set up and the Jeep back inside). Thanks again to all who chimed in on the instruction question I had.
Gary
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Have been working on the mounts in the left wing for the pitot tube (heated), thermostat for the pitot tube, OAT, and Magnetometer. When my wings were on the fuselage and leveled, I made a reference line on the left wing tip that was level as well so I could put the wing back into the level flight condition when it was on the rotisserie. In one pic you can see the stick that is clamped on that line so I can set my level on it to dial that in. I made the magnetometer mount so I could slide the magnetometer in and out relatively easy and see how many clamps I could use to glue up the frame. The reason I made it a bit long was to be able to support the connector going to the magnetometer since it's a bit long with the CANBUS termination attached. The OAT mount is set up so that the mount sets in between those sides so I can tighten (and later check to be sure it's still tight) without having to go inside the wing. The aluminum strip is there so I can ground it since the Garmin install says they like the sensor to sit on metal. I'll start epoxying all the parts tomorrow.
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Today was spent finishing up the varnishing of the mounts for the magnetometer, pitot tube, pitot tube controller and the OAT probe. Also sloshed out the fuel tanks with acetone and gas as the factory says to. Was not looking forward to that job. Tried it the first time using green tape to seal off the fill port as suggested in the sheet attached to the tank and that was an epic fail. Acetone and fuel leaked all over. Figured out a way to seal off the filling port on the tanks. Used the top of a spray can of paint, trimmed the outside down to about a half inch from the top, put a rubber gasket inside it and taped it down to the filler using electrical tape. Worked perfectly. Also note the two holes in the top to act as a vent. The acetone and gas build up quite the pressure when mixed. I drilled 2 #30 holes in the top and when I sloshed near the filler, I just put my finger over it. When I was sloshing elsewhere, I left it open and you could hear the air coming out. Near the end of the third go, I got a little help from one of the locals here.
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Finally got time to get back to the plane. I admit I was not looking forward to this part (sort of like sloshing the fuel tanks) because it could be pretty messy. But I got the spars primed internally using the slosh method and tennis balls wrapped in plastic. That tip was perfect. They didn't leak at all. Also found that after we (had my lovely assistant helping) were done sloshing the paint around inside and draining the major portion of what was left in each spar, we put a small cup that I normally use for mixing Hysol over the ends to contain the slow dripping. Worked perfectly. I also did the cut out on the inside rib of the #1 rib stack to clear the fuel tank out feed. You can see the cut out the factory did on the outside rib of the stack but I liked the opening I did on the inside which took out that sharp point.
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Waiting for some parts I want for the fuel tank install so I am in a slow hold short. Going to try a different banjo fitting that transitions to an AN6 connection rather than a barbed hose. My thought was to use PFTE hose rather than the fuel line included in the kit. Had read a couple threads saying that they had to replace that line later due to a light smell of fuel in the cockpit. Once I get those parts I'll be on it again.
When I was waiting for my kit, I was going through other build logs looking for good ideas and such. One of the ideas I liked was from John Evens and his blocks on the base of the rudder pedals to help keep from inadvertently applying brakes. Long as he kept his heels on the floor. So today I added them to my rudder pedals to see how I like them. Certainly not permanent but if they help then it's a good thing. Thanks for the idea here John.
Gary
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Those look really nice Gary! I’m sure others had done similar things well before I did that. It was one of the best mods I did to improve the Kitfox for me, especially with my long legs.
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Gary, I have been sitting in my plane with legs bent a little thinking I need to do something like that myself to stay off the brakes. It would be very easy if the factory pedals had room for another hole for the brake cylinders. I like yours. How far behind on shipping those are you?? https://teamkitfox.com/Forums/images/icons/icon12.png Haha
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Harlan I do have a piece of Delrin left over from the piece I made them from that is enough to make four more. Yours if you want it.
Gary
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I wonder if some adjustment in geometry on the pedal is in order. Even us short leg peeps have issue in this regard. On account of having adjustable pedals, as the pedals come aft to meet my feet, the angle of the pedal changes such that the problem presents itself for us short legged pilots as well. I have noticed I have applied the brakes on takeoff before. I will likely be applying this mod as well.
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IMO Eddie the hole that mounts the brake cylinder needs moved up on the pedal or the pedal pivot point moved down. If there was any metal higher it would be a simple fix by just moving the hole but there is no extra above the current hole so it would have to be added.
The easy way is to add a piece as Gary has done. I may fix the pedal someday but I want to fly asap now so I will add the bottom piece as shown.
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Also very important when you start flying your new Kitfox to make this a part of your briefing to passengers as well. Very easy for them to unconsciously apply brake pressure that you won't know about. Before every landing with a passenger , important to ask "feet off the pedals?" Bruce N199CL
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Finally reached a point to get back to making some real progress on the build. Part of my issue was that I wasn't impressed with the way the banjo fitting interfaced with the #1 rib and didn't like the rubber hose and hose clamp interface. So I ordered some parts to basically assess options I might have. I ordered a different type of banjo fitting and decided that the fuel lines would be better off using AN6 PFTE hose and fittings. So while waiting (I'm not good at waiting by the by) I fabricated the butt rib close out plates and the plates for the fuel gauge. I also purchased some carbon fiber arrow shafts to glue into the trailing edge of the wings to help stiffen them rather than the aluminum tubing suggested in the manual. Had to paint the shafts due to the galvanic corrosion that occurs between the aluminum and the fiber.
After receiving the parts and looking at how the 'new' banjo fitting interfaced, I decided to go with the one from Kitfox as it fit better once you got the ribs trimmed. I liked the new banjo fitting's use of an allen wrench to tighten it but it was just a bit too fat both in width and diameter. Would have taken some additional trimming on the rib and I just didn't want to go there. I am still going to use the PFTE hose and transition the banjo fitting over to AN6 fittings. The good news is that now that I was able to see how things were going to work, I was able to actually glue in the fuel tanks. Tomorrow I can start making some better progress and work on installing the #2 rib along with the false ribs.
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Gary,
I don’t have the STi wing, so there may be some differences from what I found with my standard wing. I considered using the SS braided PTFE hose also, but decided not to because of the considerably greater flexibility of the quality rubber fuel line that I did use. It put much less strain on everything, especially considering that I wanted to be able to fold the wings. No doubt you’ve already considered this, but make sure you determine how those hose sections have to move and slide against things when folding. I used teflon hose from my header tank up to shut-off valves for each tank, then came out of the valves with relatively short sections of the rubber hose. The possible abrasive effect of the braided sheath was also considered. Just thought I’d mention that.
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Thanks John. I think the transition between the wing on the STi and the SS are pretty much the same. I did think about the flex (or somewhat lack of when using PTFE) and my thought was to use the quality rubber for the area of the wing fold and then go to the PTFE. The rubber would be only in the fuselage for maybe the first foot or so to a shut off valve for the tank and then PTFE down to the header tank. So most of the line inside would be PTFE. With the exception of the barb fitting on the banjo the rest of the connections will be all AN6.
Appreciate any and all inputs. Especially any that tell me I am heading for issues that others have learned about through experience.
Gary
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I wonder about the purpose of steel braided lines on gravity feed fuel lines? They are pretty but they have to weigh quite a bit more no? My fuel lines are secured to the airframe and as John mentioned, the abrasion would be terrible.
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I think you are correct Eddie in that they are a bit heavier, especially with the AN fittings rather than just rubber hose/ hose clamp. Since there are a multitude of Kitfox out there flying around I am certain rubber hose and hose clamp works just fine. I'm just not a fan which I think comes from my motor head days of rebuilding older cars. It's hard sometimes to break away from what you have had great success with in the past. Pretty? I guess so but my real attraction to them is that they are PTFE hoses and impervious to every fuel I know of and my history with AN fittings is a solid one. My plan is to use Adel clamps to hold the hoses so they won't be abrading against the airframe at all. I am looking at more flexible hose for the wing fold and thinking along the lines of a clear Motion Pro hose. That would give me a Tygon hose that's flexible and I could visually see that there was fuel being fed to the header tank as a bonus. Guess it's still a work in progress.
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In the middle of installing rib 2 on both wings, the fuel cap fairing, stringer, and the upper/lower false ribs. I used the aluminum angle pieces as a reference for the capstrip level when setting up the ribs. Lots of shimming going on to get those levels right and thankful for a good table saw and bench belt sander. Using the sander to fine tune the false ribs is a real plus. I have done the fitting for the upper false ribs on both wings and am starting on the lower ribs now. I installed the fuel cap fairing (yes the tool box worked perfectly to weigh the fairing to the tank while the Hysol set up) and the overflow tube (finished it but didn't take a final pic). Seems like I am doing a lot of stuff but not progressing very fast. The new mantra is "It's not a race". Also saw a comment on the forum where it was noted that doing a step the first time takes much longer than doing it the second time. Man is that one right on!!
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I have reached the part where I am getting ready to install the Laker leading edge but wanted to check a few things. One of the things I have read here is that there can be some interference when sweeping the wings with the butt rib that requires some trimming. Since I had never actually swept the wings, thought that might be a good idea to do before pressing on. Also I didn't like the idea of mounting the pitot tube outboard of the wing strut. Just too exposed for my liking and people do like to walk around and look at airplanes. I planned on mounting it inboard of the wing strut. My ruler said that it was going to work but again, hadn't actually set the mast into the mount and fitted the pitot tube into the mast. So the good news is that the wings swept just fine and the pitot tube clears the wing spar by about three inches so now it's on to the leading edge work.
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Had reached the part in the instructions to install the wing leading edges but I was going on a trip for work and didn't want to start until I could focus on it without an interruption. So I started working on the extended wing tips getting the Hysol into the edge of the fences and running a fillet where the fence joins the wing tip. The nav and landing lights also needed to be installed and had decided to build doublers along the line of what Paul (Captainphx) did (post #150 of his build log). I got the nav light doublers done but had to order corner plate nuts for the landing lights before I can finish them off. Today I got to start on the leading edge. Got the pieces fitted for the left wing and tomorrow I should get to dial in the right wing. Won't Hysol them on cause I am waiting for an order of more Hysol and don't want to start and then not be able to finish.
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Looks like they fixed the not fitting wing tips of the past with the new longer design. It should flex to fit about anything as much as the fiberglass sticks out. I guess you gain some lift also?
I like the looks of them, hadn't really seen a good pic like that of them.
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I hadn't actually thought about that. I do have your You Tube vid saved where you show the issue you had with yours and how you fixed it. Figured I would look at that again when I got to that part and go that way if I needed to (you kind of get the idea that I am not shy about using other people's good ideas eh?). But now looking at the video again and my wing tips I would say that yeah they are definitely different and there's probably enough flex to get it done.
G
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Talking to Brandon he said in testing the longer wingtips do not lower the stall speed which was very surprising to me? He said in a stall and slow flight they do increase stability. I imagine they help in a climb rate also?
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Bit more done on the wing tip landing lights. Cut the holes in the wing tips for the mounts. Once you cut in through the skin you can see the tube that runs through the wing tip. The instructions say you need to trim back that tube and I'll admit I asked Brandon for some clarification just to be sure before I cut them. With the heat sink on the back of the landing light, you need to cut the tube back about 3/4" behind the back wall of the fairing. Was able to start fitting the backing plate I made to mount the light but am still waiting for the right nut plates before I can epoxy them to the fiberglass mount. Once that's done I'll be able to glue the mount into the wing tips.
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