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Thread: Just bought a Kitfox IV

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  1. #1
    Senior Member 109JB's Avatar
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    Default Just bought a Kitfox IV

    So yesterday I bought this Kitfox IV


    20190804_183631.jpg

    Unfortunately I discovered that transporting a Kitfox on a 14,000 pound capacity utility trailer isn't a good idea.

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    So today instead of flying my new to me Kitfox, I started in on repairing by opening up that bay and making a tube straightener.

    20190805_121802.jpg

    I was able to get the tubes coerced back into alignment. Surprisingly they came out very straight and are not kinked. A spot on each longeron was a bit oval instead of round so had to make a die to squeeze the oval out of it. All in all it came out very good and I don't think it will cause any issues. I will have wait a few days for the Poly-Fiber kit to come so I can recover it.

    20190805_185309.jpg
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    Senior Member 109JB's Avatar
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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    So moving on, the airplane isn't the cleanest example out there, but it seems a good solid airplane. There is some hangar rash and other not so pretty stuff that I'll have to take care of. The finish is polytone, which I'm not a great fan of because it is impossible to keep clean. It needs some TLC and also some upholstery.

    On the upholstery end, it has absolutely none. The previous owners were using some cheap cushions. I intend to get some cordura fabric to make cushions, a turtle deck cover, and a baggage bag. Can anyone who has the stock Kitfox cushions in their IVlet me know how thick the bottom cushion and back cushions are?

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    Administrator DesertFox4's Avatar
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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    Happy to hear you are doing a thorough inspection before flight. 👍
    Congrats on your purchase. The model 4 is a lot of fun. Sorry your aircraft was injured on the trip home.☹️


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  4. #4
    Senior Member 109JB's Avatar
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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    I had to go out of town for a couple days so things slowed down a bit. After getting back i was able to get the fabric on and up through silver tonight.

    20190809_194338.jpg



    After the fabric is finished I don't plan to do a lot of mods before flying it, but do have some routine maintenance stuff to do mainly to establish a baseline for the future. I have some ideas of what I want to change but I'll get some flying done first and see if those opinions change.

  5. #5
    Senior Member rv9ralph's Avatar
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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    As far as cushion thickness, that depends on you. The proper thickness is what gets you to the most comfortable position to reach the controls and see over the dash. I added foam under my upholstered seat to get me to the right spot for me.

    Ralph

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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    Ouch, that had to wipe the smile off your face when you saw that. Seems like you are taking it in good stride though, press onward and get it back in the air. When it comes to adding things to an airplane, I'm reminded of the old adage, "if you want to put a part on an airplane that isn't absolutely needed, hold the part up in the air and then drop it. If it hits the ground, don't put it on" The moral of the story is everything adds weight, and weight kills performance in an airplane. Of course it ends up being a compromise, sometimes in the one direction, and sometimes on the other end of the scale. Hope you have fun with the new plane, JImChuk

  7. #7
    Senior Member 109JB's Avatar
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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    Yeah, I was sick to my stomach when I saw it and still had over 3 hours to drive to get it home. When I got home it was 1:00 am, so just went to bed. After looking at it in the morning and taking my pocket knife to it I decided that it wasn't too bad. All together it is going to cost only about $100 to repair and that is all for covering materials. All of my poly fiber stuff is too old so I bought a $60 "practice kit" which will have enough to get it through silver.

    As for the cushions, I realize I will need to customize, but I wanted to get an idea of what the stock cushions were, so if anyone has the thickness I'd still like to know.

    I won't be adding anything unnecessary to this airplane. I actually want to make this one as light as possible. According to the logs, it is currently 560 pounds, but I plan to weigh it to find out what it is really at. I'll only be adding the essentials, and the upholstery is an essential to me but will only have what is absolutely needed to cushion my butt and hold an overnight bag.

    Other things are going to get changed around slowly. I just plan to fly and have fun right now. The covering is solid, but it doesn't look too good. I love the polytone finish for repairs, flexability and durability, but am not a fan of the semi-gloss finish that seems to attract and suck in dirt. I eventually would like to recover this airplane with either Stewart Systems, or Oratex 600. I'm not a huge fan of the semi-transparent look of the oratex, but it may be worth it to save a few pounds. That's off in the distance though so I've got time to think about it.

  8. #8
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    Thurston, look at my thread (EFWD), page 27 at the bottom you will see what Josh Esser did to support the airframe. I did as he did and it made it to the airport unscathed.
    Eddie Forward
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  9. #9
    Senior Member jmodguy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    I would NOT recommend Stewart systems. PM me for details
    Jeff
    KF 5
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  10. #10

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    Default Re: Just bought a Kitfox IV

    Congratulations, on getting a Mk4,
    pitty about the damage ,there should be a check list on towing the fox for those who have never done it before.
    I would say from looking at the pictures on the Trailor you where very lucky with just the top longeron needing repair.
    1; get a couple of leading edge braces made or purchased to support the wing when folded, there’s an awful twist load going on to the pivot point ! Check inboard rib to spar scotch weld for security,
    2:long distance towing jack up the tail spring and place a suitable block of wood under the tail spring before ratcheting down. Do this before folding less weight on the tail .
    3;secure the flaperons so they don’t bang against the tail
    4: fit a tube onto the fuel cap vents and secure over the wing to take any fuel sloshing away from plane.
    5: cover the turtle deck area well as water weather will ingress your cockpit,
    nice job on straitening the tubes , enjoy ! Safe flying

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