Kitfox Aircraft Stick and Rudder Stein Air Grove Aircraft TCW Technologies Dynon Avionics AeroLED MGL Avionics Leading Edge Airfoils Desser EarthX Batteries Garmin G3X Touch
Page 8 of 46 FirstFirst ... 45678910111218 ... LastLast
Results 71 to 80 of 453

Thread: Project 5 build thread

  1. #71
    Administrator DesertFox4's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Arizona
    Posts
    3,562

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    Alex Just wanted to say I’m enjoying your build thread. You’re making good progress. Thanks for taking the time to share.👍
    It’s all going to be worth it on first flight.


    DesertFox4
    Admin.
    7 Super Sport
    912 ULS Tri-gear


  2. #72
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Steilacoom, WA
    Posts
    729

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    I took a little bit of time off of the build (and work) for a motorcycle trip to SW Utah. It was supposed to be a ride on the Washington Backroad Discovery Route (WABDR), 541 miles of dirt from the Bridge of the Gods to the Canadian border. But with all the fires part of the route was charred and more parts had the roads blocked off. So we changed the plan to go somewhere that wasn't burning, and that was Moab and there abouts. In all a bit over 2600 miles of riding and some spectacular scenery in Canyonlands, Arches and then even more south to Valley of the Gods.

    Thanks to Desertfox for the kind words. I'm back on the build and made some progress, but I'm a little light on build pics so you'll have to endure some images from my trip.
    Shaffer Canyon Switchbacks_4.1.1-01.jpg
    Don drone_2.2.1.jpg

    It has taken me a week to recover from the trip and get back to my day job and another night of staring at the parts wishing they would put themselves together. When that didn't happen I did some minor fitting of the center console side panels where they interfered with the seat/floor boards at the rear corner and got all that to lay nicely together.
    The next step was one I had been avoiding because it involved structural adhesive, rivets and getting everything to line up before the Hysol kicked off. In short, the original Kitfox 5 instructions have you drill several holes and use zip ties to hold the seat pan to the fuselage tubes. I'm not sure when the transition took place but the current series 7 has tabs welded to the fuselage tubes and you back drill into the seat and install nut plates.
    The original builder of my plane fabricated what can be described as stainless steel Adel clamps that he bonded to the fuselage tubes and riveted nut plates to. They had been removed by the previous builder and I found them all in a bag, including the nut plates. I liked the solution way better than zip ties and I'm at the stage where those stainless tabs had to be installed.

    I got them all laid out and oriented so I wouldn't install any of them backwards. Then I masked off the tubes and removed the finish down to bare metal where the clamps would bond, and I wiped everything down well with denatured alcohol (twice). The trick was going to be getting them all slathered with EA 9460, oriented pretty close with Clecos, riveted and then installing the seat pan so all the holes would line up perfectly and be at the exact angle of the seat pan so it could cure correctly. Oh and of course clean up the squeeze out so my seat wasn't stuck for good.

    As usual I mixed up twice as much Hysol as I would need, but this time I was ready to go with installing some of the nylon rudder cable guide tubes - assuming I had any working time left with the adhesive after the seat pan was exactly where I needed it.

    It was going pretty well until I had about four of them installed and realized I was missing a nut plate. I was pretty sure I must have dropped it on my shop floor or set it somewhere I wouldn't lose it (leaning towards the latter) when I was on the opposite side of the fuselage. I looked for it briefly and decided that the clock was ticking so I needed to get the seven in place that I knew I had. If it got down to it I could remove the 8th clamp and wipe it clean, and just do that one when the nut plate surfaced.

    Once the first 7 were in place I went back to my bench where I had the screws and countersunk washers and found the missing nut plate. Huge relief, and I had time still to install it. The seat pan went in, I wiggled everything for perfect alignment and installed the screws. Then I crawled under the plane to make sure that the tabs were laying flat against the seat and they were.

    The adhesive was doing well so I installed the short nylon cable guides in the aft fuselage and called it a night.

    Yesterday was my 9/80 day off. The weather was terrible and my Citabria is still down for annual, so I got more done on the Kitfox. I started by removing the seat pan to verify that it wasn't stuck from squeeze out (it wasn't) and then I was able to make slits in the baggage compartment material so it would slip over the tabs and velcro in place. I made the slits with a razor blade, verified that everything fit (it did) and then came back with a soldering iron to sear the edges of the slits I made.

    Next I was looking at seat belts. My manual implies that all the holes are drilled for the seat belt mounts, but the tabs for my shoulder belts had no holes. Drilling them would be slightly tricky because the tabs are oriented very close to the fuselage tubes underneath. There is barely room for the washer and nut on the bottom side of those tabs, especially if you drill the hole just a little too far aft.

    I used a center punch to mark the locations and started the hole at 3/16" and then I would come back with a 1/4" for final size. The 3/16" went fine but when I started with the 1/4" cobalt bit I heard that crack sound a snapped drill bit makes. I looked at it and it wasn't broken, but it sure made zero progress at making chips after that. I got the bit in good light and saw that the tiniest piece had broken off the cutting edge, so an $8 bit was junk after two revolutions. I made another trip to the hardware store and got a decent HSS bit this time which finished the job no problem. I should have known better than to hand drill with the cobalt bit. I deburred and reamed the holes and tested the installation of the seat belts.

    Next up was making the slots where the seat belts come through the seat pan. The manual is a little vague on those, with the series 7 manual having just a bit more detail on the outer slots (and zero on the center slot). I started to do the layout on the inner surface but then saw how close the slots were to the fuselage tubes. I changed over to laying them out on the outer surface to make sure I was missing the tubes, because it's not by much.

    Once I was sure they would miss the tubes I pulled the seat pan out of the plane and did the layout again to cross check that they would be symmetrical. Once they matched I grabbed my Milwaukee 12v cut off wheel and cut the slots. I did that work outside in the wind so as not to get fiberglass dust all over my garage. I recognized the smell of Hydrex resin immediately from my days in the kayak industry. It's good stuff for hand layup fiberglass. Once the cutting was done I washed my dust covered arms and hands with cold water - another thing from my kayak days. If you use warm water your pores will open up and the fiberglass dust will embed in your skin, giving you a major itchy rash.

    I knew the slots would be too thin to pass the seat belts through so I went at it with my Dremel tool for a while and then came back with the cutoff wheel again to make them perfectly straight. I ended up doubling the width of the slots before I was done.

    With it all cleaned up and the pan back in the plane I went to fit the belts and I'm still not anything like wide enough. So my first job of the day will be to get back more fiberglass grinding. Yay.
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  3. #73
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Steilacoom, WA
    Posts
    729

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    IMG_20200925_190459.jpg
    I couldn't get the above image inserted in my last post (clogged it up with Utah I guess). This shows the slots as I have them cut right now.

    I forgot to mention in my previous post but I also installed the phenolic rudder cable guide pulleys and torqued them. I had to disconnect the flaperon and elevator push-pull tubes to get the bolts inserted so I spent some time laying under the plane getting that sorted out. I still find all of this work (installing, uninstalling, fitting, reinstalling - rinse, repeat) enjoyable.

    Hopefully today I'll finish the seat belt installation and get the rest of the rudder cable guide tubes bonded in. Tomorrow I'm expecting Eric from Kitfox 5 Barn Find to visit, and we're going to visit yet another builder with the Aeromomentum engine on his Kitfox.
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  4. #74
    Senior Member Dave S's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    St Paul, MN
    Posts
    1,833

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    Quote

    "In short, the original Kitfox 5 instructions have you drill several holes and use zip ties to hold the seat pan to the fuselage tubes. I'm not sure when the transition took place but the current series 7 has tabs welded to the fuselage tubes and you back drill into the seat and install nut plates."

    ================================================

    Alex,

    The addition of the welded nutplate brackets to the fuselage tubes was one of the improvements that John M made to the kit after he acquired the company. A very good and welcome addition. Our S7 is a pre-John McBean kit and had no nutplate brackets but instructed the builder to use zip ties exactly as with your S5. The zip tie deal seemed more than a little bush-league to me and I came to another conclusion using the thin non cushion aviation clamps over a layer of hockey stick tape (which comes in either black or white to suit our particular kitfox tastes!) The hockey stick tape is very thin and provides a separation/protection from the thin aluminum clamp while avoiding thickness that would interfere with the fit and finish of the seat pan. I went with SAE screws, washers and nylocks. With the seat pan screwed into position it is a very solid assembly. Since the clamps are not bonded or fastened to the tubes on our plane, I have attempted to become very proficient at not dropping the washer and nut that goes on the bottom, a technique which I apparently still need to perfect. The welded nutplates on the newer kits is the perfect solution - saves time and a lot of monkeybusiness.

    Love the Utah photos - a place of incredible natural beauty which we love and have visited many times. First time out in the back country I heard an unusual noise - turned out that it is so quiet you could hear your own heart beat. I apologize to the local critters for gobbling up the pine nuts which are in season in the fall.
    Dave S
    Kitfox 7 Trigear (Flying since 2009)
    912ULS Warp Drive

    St Paul, MN

  5. #75
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Steilacoom, WA
    Posts
    729

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    Having trouble uploading images tonight. Here are a couple of the seat mounting tabs (from above and below)
    PXL_20200926_220000573.jpg
    PXL_20200926_204436072.jpg
    I widened up the slots in the seat pan and now the belts can easily pass through.
    PXL_20200926_230441886.jpg
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  6. #76
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Steilacoom, WA
    Posts
    729

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    I would like to thank whoever it is that posted the tip about straightening the rudder cable guide tubing by sticking it in a180 degree oven for a few minutes.
    I was able to make them almost perfect with just my hands, and they stayed put.

    I mixed up just the right amount of structural adhesive for once and bonded in all the remaining pieces.

    I was just digging in my boxes for the rudder cables and found bags of hardware that I have since purchased from Aircraft Spruce.

    Wondering if anyone can post pictures of the forward end of your center console sidewalls?

    The manual says you'll be attaching them to the firewall later on. I find no further reference even going into the FWF installation manual. On a recent visit to another kitfox builder I made a point to check and his just dangle at the forward end.
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  7. #77
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    2,959

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    Yes, the forward ends of the center console sidewalls are unsupported except for a screw at the top and bottom; no problem.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

  8. #78
    Senior Member PapuaPilot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Nampa, Idaho
    Posts
    1,225

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    FYI I had the PK screws back out on my left console cover one time during my first 40 hours o flying (vibration??). My right rudder pedal got caught on the console cover at a very inopportune moment during a landing, thankfully it didn't cause an incident or worse. I added lock washers to these PK screw and now I check these panels for security on every preflight.

    If I had to do it again I would install self locking nutplates and some #6 machine screws. Actually it wouldn't be that hard to do now.
    Phil Nelson
    A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
    KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
    Flying since 2016

  9. #79
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Steilacoom, WA
    Posts
    729

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    Jim and Phil,
    Thank you. Clears up the mystery. And Phil I've already got a fresh pile of self locking nutplates and #6 machine screws ready to go in along that top edge of the center console sidewalls.
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  10. #80
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    2,959

    Default Re: Project 5 build thread

    Never had a screw back out in 900 hours on the side panels. The bottom screws are machine screws that go into tinnerman nuts under the floor boards; the top ones are the regular self-tapping screws.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •