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Thread: The Barn Find Build

  1. #51
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    With the last of this year's landscaping done, I'm finally going to be concentrating on the Kitfox. Here's the latest progress.

    Fairing Removed.jpg

    I used an oscillating tool to slice the outer edges of the tail post fairing about 4" above the tail wheel mounting plate, then it just peeled off of the Scotch Weld with surprising ease. That gets it out of the way for the tail reinforcement, and it can even be re-used (which saved me $60+ for a new one).

    Power File.jpg Tail 01.jpg Tail 02.jpg

    With that done, I busted up and removed the bottom rib in the tail. I really only needed to remove the rear half, but the forward half was glued in crooked, and since I have a new rib on order, I'll have material to replace it, so it might was well come out. Once the fairing and rib were out, I used a power file to remove powder coat from the area around and above the tail wheel mounting plate, so a reinforcing gusset can be welded on. If you don't own a power file, I can highly recommend it. It fits in tight spaces, it's easy to control, and it makes short work of paint and corrosion.

    Rudder Bracket Plates.jpg

    The last sanding job on the frame was to remove powder coat from the rudder torque tube bracket mounting plates in the forward fuselage. The holes drilled by the first builder weren't quite in the right place, which may have been a contributor to the rudder pedals being very difficult to move. So, I'm going to have the holes plug welded, and I'll drill them again when I get to reassembly. You can't tell from this photo, but the powder coat is removed on the underside as well. That's where the power file was a Godsend; the tip of it fit into the U-channel with about 1/8" to spare, so each plate took about 30-40 seconds to clean up. That power file is becoming my favorite tool.

    Caliper Before.jpg Caliper After.jpg

    You may remember that my brake calipers were in quite a state. Using both the power file and my 4x36 belt sander, I was able to remove virtually all of the corrosion and pitting on the calipers, leaving a bright, shiny surface, ready for a new coating. I'll probably Alodine them to start with, and eventually paint them to match the overall color scheme.

    By carefully scrubbing the calipers' cylinder bores with a maroon Scotchbrite pad, I was able to remove all of the roughness left by the old o-rings. There's still some black staining on the aluminum but the bores are nice and smooth, so I think they'll make a good seal with new o-rings on the pistons. That's a huge relief, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, because replacements are very expensive. Plus, I've got a lot of time into them now!

    Finally, I spent about an hour getting my wing rotisseries closer to finished. The first builder had fabricated some PVC tees to mount the wings, which I cut apart to scavenge several ~12" pieces of 2" Sch 40 pipe. I also cut two 36" pieces of 2x4 and bored three holes in each to receive the PVC pipes. Those will be the rotating assembly. The holes need a little sanding to fit the pipes, so I'm waiting on a kit of sanding drums from Amazon. I should be able to get the rotisseries done in another hour or so, then I'll finally be able to start stripping the wings.

    It looks like my adaptation of the EAA rotisserie design that I posted a few weeks ago should work well. I'll be able to lock the wing in any position by tightening an iron pipe cap. Hard to explain, but I'll post photos when it's done.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  2. #52
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Looks like your moving right along Eric. I have an air driven sander like yours that I bought cheep at HF. It made my cowl work so much more enjoyable. Most people find the engine cowl work the most unpleasant so anything to lessen that was much appreciated.
    Eddie Forward
    Flying
    SS7, 912iS, Garmin G3X

  3. #53
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I've spent most of my career in machine shops and have never seen a power file. Looks handy, and will be even more handy cleaning up those welds from the bottom side of those channels. I'm going to have to look that tool up. On my plane the rudder pedal bracket holes in the center were correct, so I didn't need to weld those up. It made the rest of the job less vague.

    Having just bonded those bottom tail ribs in the other night I can say they would be easy to get in crooked. They can ride up on the weld bead at the ends and judging what to do around that cross tube takes some time. I also found the tubing isn't perfectly square to the world down there. I tacked mine in place while laying under the tail with good light

    Mostly I'm trying to figure out what the heck the covering is supposed to do down there where the steel tubes converge to a point and the bottom wood rib diverges to the fiberglass fairing. It seems to me like a place we need to do more foam/balsa and filler like the tips if the stabs, fin and elevator. But if you do that and carry it too far back you won't be able to access the hardware on that tail wheel platform you're beefing up.
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  4. #54
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Quote Originally Posted by alexM View Post
    On my plane the rudder pedal bracket holes in the center were correct, so I didn't need to weld those up. It made the rest of the job less vague.
    To be honest, I don't know which of the bracket holes are misplaced on mine; I just know it was tweaked enough that it didn't work right, so I'm going to weld them all and start over. I like your idea to use nut plates, so there's a little wiggle room until you torque down the screws.

    Mostly I'm trying to figure out what the heck the covering is supposed to do down there where the steel tubes converge to a point and the bottom wood rib diverges to the fiberglass fairing.
    I've looked at that and wondered the same thing. I'm sure someone on here will be able to post photos and suggest a procedure.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  5. #55
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Here's how I finished my fabric in the lower tail area:
    009.jpg
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

  6. #56
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Mine looks like Jims, only in Oratex.
    Eddie Forward
    Flying
    SS7, 912iS, Garmin G3X

  7. #57
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    See, Alex? These guys are great!
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  8. #58
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Quote Originally Posted by jiott View Post
    Here's how I finished my fabric in the lower tail area:
    009.jpg
    That looks better than I was imagining, thanks for posting that. Next question. How do you reach the nut for the front end of the tail wheel when the plane is covered. It looks like reaching it would be nearly impossible.
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  9. #59
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I'm going to guess there's an inspection cover on the other side. Either that, or every socket extension in the neighborhood.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  10. #60
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I did just that at 25hrs. I put a T3 on. I just used a ratchet in my hand and reached down through the horizontal passthrough and held the bolt. Of course the elevator has to be trimmed all the way up. I did consider putting an access hole in but decided it just wasn't necessary. Even as easy is that task would be with Oratex as I have, I chose to keep it clean.
    Eddie Forward
    Flying
    SS7, 912iS, Garmin G3X

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