Just bought a Kitfox IV

[DesertFox4]

So what exactly caused the tube damage on that flatbed trailer?

1. Too heavy of a trailer by a factor of at least 10. Every road bump shock was transferred through the entire aircraft.
2. Tying any part of the fuselage to the trailer deck, such as shown in the photo, with the tie down straps. Only the landing gear should be strapped to the trailer thus allowing the landing gear to absorb stresses induced from rough roads.
3. Transporting with the tail on the trailer deck and not elevating the tail and using the tail mounting tubing located ahead of the tail that goes from side to side utilizing a tail elevating transport bracket. A few Kitfox aircraft have broken their vertical tail posts transporting with the tail tied down to the deck even on light duty trailers. This damage cannot readily be found without very close inspection.
In effect by tying the fuselage up front and the tail you turn your aircraft frame into a torsion bar which tries to prevent that heavy trailer from flexing during transport. The airframe always looses as evidenced here.

I’d be doing a thorough inspection of this entire aircraft before next flight and if the original poster is not an A&P, have one inspect the repair for compliance with best repair practices and look over the rest of the aircraft for further issues.

[109JB]

I appreciate the concern. The airplane will be fully inspected by both me and the A&P that is going to do the condition inspection and he was consulted on the repairs before I started them. I will say however, that being the original builder, an A&P, or anyone else doesn't mean that someone is or isn't qualified. I know a couple A&P's that I wouldn't let hold my coffee, and I know even more non-A&P homebuilders that I would trust with anything.

[Goldknight]

Thanks for sharing this. I am picking up a Merlin GT in the spring and I only have my 25ft 14K trailer. Great info. I have some planing to do that i was unaware of

Thurston

[109JB]

Thought I would update.

I still haven't flown it because I have been very busy with work which has curtailed the time I have available to work on it. I did however get the fuselage damage all repaired.

20190822_101157.jpg

The color looks perfect in the picture, but it actually does show a little. The shad of the repair is just a bit lighter. I'll deal with that later. I also had to do a little patch on the flaperons.

I also made some seat cushions and they came out pretty good I think. I made them with memory foam and fabric that is used for patio furniture. Could have done some wild prints, but chose plain old black. I had the foam and the fabric cost me about $25. They will do for now.
20190822_195455.jpg

I also made some brake pedals for the right side and got them all hooked up and working. I only had blue paint, so they stand out a bit.
20190822_203053.jpg


I've been working on fixing other things up and getting to know the airplane. Kind of getting a baseline for it so I know what I've got. I had a leak coming from the gearbox that was a seal issue. I think I have that fixed now but will keep an eye on it. Then the tach was working but crapped out during one of my test runs so had to replace it. I just put a cheap one in for now because I think I'll be putting an EIS on it this winter. I replaced all of the fuel lines. I think it is just about ready to go now so after a little more run time to verify that the gearbox leak is fixed I'll get it over to my mechanic for the condition inspection.

I did have a question though. This airplane has the 582UL engine and it is pretty rough at idle speeds, which I suppose is "normal" because of the big prop out front. Being a snowmobiler, I know that the 2-stokes are smooth runners and verified it by running the engine without the prop on. The 582 UL ran smooth as glass at 1900 rpm whereas with the prop on it it didn't smooth out until about 2500 rpm. I'm thinking about investing in a clutch setup for it and am looking at the Air Tech clutch kit sold through ACS. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...hoC1w0QAvD_BwE

I would love to hear from anyone who has experience with any clutch on the 582, and especially those that have experience with this clutch kit.

Thanks,

John Brannen

[Av8r_Sed]

I run that clutch on my 582. Also known as an RK400. It’s been very reliable and makes the idle just like you’ve experienced. I even had to put in a smaller idle jet and file my carb slides a bit so it idles nicely at 2000 RPM.

The down side is you can’t rotate the engine when it’s shut down. That makes it a pain to inspect the pistons and rings. If I had a lighter prop, I’d probably remove the clutch, but for now I’m sticking with it.

[109JB]

Thanks. I didn't think about not being able to rotate the engine for maintenance. Sounds like otherwise it is a plus.

[Av8r_Sed]

Forgot to mention: On approach when the clutch disengages, the windmilling prop really increases your sink rate. I always add some power to arrest that before touchdown. Deadsticking it in takes a bit of skill and can lead to some interesting arrivals. On the plus side, you can get it in pretty short.

[4Hummer]

Looks like you need to do the pedal re-enforcement There's a Service bulletin for it, and kit/part available from kitfox

[109JB]

Looks like you need to do the pedal re-enforcement There's a Service bulletin for it, and kit/part available from kitfox

Thanks for your concern, but you are mistaken. There is no Service Bulletin for the K IV rudder pedals. The only rudder pedal Service Bulletin applies only to the Vixen. There is a Service Letter to inspect the rudder pedals of all models and to replace if cracks are found. I have accomplished that. No cracks found. The service letter does advise using the factory reinforcement kit part number 35015, but it is not mandatory.

I do plan to reinforce my pedals, but will not be using the factory kit. The kit is geared toward non-welders and as such uses riveted on steel gussets. I will weld boxed gussets on which will be substantially stronger than the factory mod. Here is picture I found of what the factory kit looks like. Not that the factory kit isn't sufficient, but I can do better, so will be doing it different.
Nov 4, m 2012 (3).jpg

[4Hummer]

Service Letter / Service Bulletin, Tomato / Potato.. Was just giving you a heads up on a known issue with those pedals

Agree if you can weld it's a better and cheaper option for sure. Kitfox want something like $185 for the reinforcement kit,

I'm picking my New to me Model 4 up this weekend, it's how I came across the Peddle issue