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Thread: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

  1. #1
    Senior Member Maverick's Avatar
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    Default Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    The kit I have, a KF5, has a two piece turtle deck kit. I am not all that enthralled with it and am wondering if anyone out there with a KF5 turned the two piece into a one piece turtle deck. I'm thinking that this could be done but I want to avoid any headaches if it's been done and you might have some tips of advise.

    My thought was to use some aluminum strip to attache the forward turtle deck piece to the aft turtle deck piece creating a single turtle deck. Rather than putting a piece of lexan in the two different openings, I would put one large piece front to rear, which I think would strengthen the frame, along with the various aluminum angle strips. It would seem like it could be done fairly easily. Is there anyone out there that took that approach?

    P.S. to those that would advocate just buying the single piece currently on the newest models, I have already evaluated that but do not see enough value in having it over just using the originally supplied materials, so there's that.

    Thanks,
    Fred

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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    Hey Maverick , (reminds me of top gun when I say that) here is another consideration for you. When I test flew a Series 5 Outback at Skystar (the old factory) in the late 90's , I asked the demo pilot to tell me things he didn't particularly like about the airplane. As you can imagine , being a salesman he didn't have many , but one thing he said was, he didn't like how much the turtle deck oil canned in flight especially in slips. With that in mind when I bought my kit in '99, I found that LP Aeroplastics sold a domed turtledeck for the Series 5 , so I bought one and love it. The only time it rattles is if I am in a full, rudder pedal to the floor , get me down now slip, and that ain't so bad because it keeps me awake to transition out of it a tad early on arrival. Just looked in their catalog and they still have it. Bruce N199CL

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    Senior Member jmodguy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    Mav
    I had a 2 piece and made it a 1 piece. Wasn’t hard to do.
    The bubble sounds interesting. Wonder what it does to tail blanking in a deep stall? 🤔
    Jeff
    KF 5
    340KF

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    Senior Member PapuaPilot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    Hi Fred.
    The original person who got my kit bought an after market one piece 1/8" darkened plexiglass and I absolutely love it. I think it makes the plane look so much nicer. It has a 11 Dzus fasteners and comes off in a minute. No doubt you will spend a lot of time fabricating and painting the one that came with your kit. I remember it took less than one hour to fit my Plexiglas one to the airframe. I was thrilled to save an estimated 10-25 hours.

    I have never had it rattle in slips.

    Plexi TD.jpg
    Phil Nelson
    A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
    KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
    Flying since 2016

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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    Quote Originally Posted by airlina View Post
    Hey Maverick , (reminds me of top gun when I say that) here is another consideration for you. When I test flew a Series 5 Outback at Skystar (the old factory) in the late 90's , I asked the demo pilot to tell me things he didn't particularly like about the airplane. As you can imagine , being a salesman he didn't have many , but one thing he said was, he didn't like how much the turtle deck oil canned in flight especially in slips. With that in mind when I bought my kit in '99, I found that LP Aeroplastics sold a domed turtledeck for the Series 5 , so I bought one and love it. The only time it rattles is if I am in a full, rudder pedal to the floor , get me down now slip, and that ain't so bad because it keeps me awake to transition out of it a tad early on arrival. Just looked in their catalog and they still have it. Bruce N199CL

    I'm curious to see it if you don't mind posting a picture.
    Mike
    Building the JaMFox N677JM
    Kitfox 5 Vixen
    KRNM

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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    Took a pic of my domed turtledeck but unfortunately the pictures don't show the dome of the acrylic. I would estimate that at its highest point the dome is about 1 " higher than it is at the sides that attach to the frame of the turtledeck.
    Jeff the dome doesn't effect stall characteristics at all still docile and easily recovery in all configurations. along those lines however , hear is an interesting Kitfox youtube video that shows the progression of the stall on a Kitfox wing , a very interesting watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRNPM7A54Yk
    Attached Images Attached Images

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    Senior Member Maverick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    Quote Originally Posted by PapuaPilot View Post
    Hi Fred.
    The original person who got my kit bought an after market one piece 1/8" darkened plexiglass and I absolutely love it. I think it makes the plane look so much nicer. It has a 11 Dzus fasteners and comes off in a minute. No doubt you will spend a lot of time fabricating and painting the one that came with your kit. I remember it took less than one hour to fit my Plexiglas one to the airframe. I was thrilled to save an estimated 10-25 hours.

    I have never had it rattle in slips.
    Phil, do you know who the vendor is? I really like that.

    Bruce, I looked at LP Aero Plastics and found the turtle deck listed in their catalog but not in their price list.

    Jmodguy, was there anything you would do differently? Do you have some pics of your result?

    Thanks, guys.
    Fred

  8. #8
    Senior Member PapuaPilot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    Sorry, I don't know. It just came with the kit. I'm sure you could get one from the factory.
    Phil Nelson
    A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
    KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
    Flying since 2016

  9. #9
    Senior Member Maverick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    In looking at different turtle deck pictures it appears that some, the aluminum framed ones, have the strakes installed but, then one piece plastic decks don't. Is there an advantage to having them?

    I can see them adding some strength to the aluminum deck but is the juice worth the squeeze?

  10. #10
    Senior Member jrevens's Avatar
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    Default Re: Two Piece Turtle Deck to One Piece

    Quote Originally Posted by Maverick View Post
    In looking at different turtle deck pictures it appears that some, the aluminum framed ones, have the strakes installed but, then one piece plastic decks don't. Is there an advantage to having them?

    I can see them adding some strength to the aluminum deck but is the juice worth the squeeze?
    The plastic ones have the strakes also.
    John Evens
    Arvada, CO
    Kitfox SS7 N27JE
    EAA Lifetime
    Chap. 43 honorary Lifetime

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