Kitfox Series 7 Super Sport - Show Me Fox

[Jason Murphy]

Locate and fit remaining top false ribs on left wing. Number for reassembly after spar is prepped for bonding.

Remove trailing edge from right wing. Begin to remove the excess Hysol from between capstrips. This Hysol which had been generously applied while bonding trailing edge to seal the wood now interferes with installing the flaperon hinge brackets to the trailing edge which the flaperons attach.

Spoke with Brandon, he advises when he builds up a wing he will place the trailing edge, install flaperon hinge brackets, and install trailing edge support tubes in the trailing edge at the same time. This prevents cured adhesive from interfering with the installation of another component.

[Jason Murphy]

Completed rigging square, sweep, dihedral, and washout.

2 full 12+ hour days and lots of pacing later the wings are correctly set.

Special Thank You to Alex M. for creating an amazing set of jigs to accomplish the task.

[Jason Murphy]

Had to remove cured hysol from trailing edge of wing. Took approximately 5 hours to remove. Hysol had to be removed because it interfered with locating and bonding of rib braces for flaperon attachment brackets.


Fitted rib brace material for flaperon attachment brackets.


Moved wing next to fuselage. Hung wing by rear spar per instruction manual.


Prepped bonding surfaces of left wing to bond false ribs.

[alexM]

Keep it up Jason. Good to see your build thread here.

[Jason Murphy]

Keep it up Jason. Good to see your build thread here.

Alex, Thanks for your support. Good to rear from you! I am posting both here and on the EAA Builders Log. A link is attached in my original post to my previous work.

[Jason Murphy]

Work has been put on the back burner to focus on my instrument rating. I was unable to take my check ride due to thunderstorms which lasted for 2 days when the check ride was scheduled.

Several entries have been consolidated.

Worked on polishing the main landing gear. There are cosmetic distortions from when I had hand sanded to remove the swirls which were to help paint bond to the metal. Using a sanding block to eliminate finger grooves. Initial work was very promising. It will require several hours of hand sanding to gently remove the blemishes. Plan to work up to 2000 grit and apply polish.

Sanded the floorboard of the baggage compartment to provide a relief area for the autopilot mounting bracket and baggage sack. The floor boards should lie flat. I may order matching suede material to cover the floorboards which would match the upholstery.

Contacted kitfox regarding upholstery options. Need to decide on a thickness for the seat.

Over the past few weeks I have fit 7 of the 8 sets of spar attachment brackets. I am using the last inside bracket to provide the appropriate contour when stoning the fuselage to fit the internal diameter of the wing.

Drilled the “drill later” holes in the lift strut attachment bracket on the left wing.
Prep surfaces for bonding. I will delay bonding until I have a full day to bond the brackets. This way I do not get in a hurry and I am able to get the job done without rushing.

[Jason Murphy]

Weighed each propeller blade.

Weighed blades in order of serial number. Blade 1 weighed approximately 889 grams. Blade 2 weighed 887 grams. Blade 3 weighed a whopping 983 grams.

Contacted Joe who I purchased the prop from and asked if there was any reason there was nearly a 100 gram discrepancy. He advised he never weighed the blades he had the propeller dynamically balanced and that is the reason there was a bolt in the prop hub. Removed bolt and washers. It required a 9 gram weight to balance the prop.

Emailed Whirlwind and I am awaiting a response.

[DesertFox4]

You are moving at a brisk pace Jason. Nice spacious shop too. Enjoying your build process. Thanks for sharing.

[Jason Murphy]

You are moving at a brisk pace Jason. Nice spacious shop too. Enjoying your build process. Thanks for sharing.

Oh I wish I was building in that area this whole time. I am back in my basement, I was only able to use that space for a brief time.

I actually had to move the right wing in then the fuselage then the left wing. Working on spar doublers where the wings attach to the fuselage right now.

Progress has been slowed a bit because I am preparing for my Instrument Checkride which will be on the 24th. Next goal after that will be CFI


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[Jason Murphy]

Contacted Brandon at the factory regarding the left lower aft spar reinforcement. This required reaming to get it to fit. I later learned how I had supported the wing while fitting gave it a slight twist which was discovered after I had reamed the part.

Brandon advised that although it is tight and not moving currently it may shift under load and recommend replacement. I will order additional reinforcement brackets and use my last remaining set to replace this set.

This was a challenging task as I had to use heat on the bottom reinforcement bracket to get the Hysol to release and not heat the top bracket.

I started by drilling the heads off the stainless steel rivets. Leaving the shank in place.

I attempted to use a clothing iron and direct contact to the steel reinforcement bracket. This resulted in heat from the fabric iron warming the aluminum spar through convection and radiation. This was aborted.

Next I tried using a soldering iron and placed the tip into the shank of the rivets. The soldering iron was supposed to produce 900 degrees. This never warmed the bracket.

Brandon suggested creating a heat shield. And using a heat gun. This was attempted out of aluminum foil and was produced marginal results as the spar being aluminum conducted heat quickly.

I then came up with the solution. Using a clamp on fan I aimed the fan at the top bracket and set it to high. I also had my son take an electric air pump you use for air mattress and blow air from the tip end to the root end. This maximized air exchange and air cooling. The heat gun was then aimed at the lower outer reinforcement bracket. It was warmed using the heat gun. The spar temperature and upper bracket was monitored using an infrared thermometer. They never became warmer than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This technique was successful as I was able to use my Knipex Pliers and easily break the bond between the Hysol and outside bracket.

The stems of the rivets were drilled out with a No. 40 drill to ensure the holes were not opened up. A no. 34 drill was then used to drill out the center of the stainless steel rivet stems ensuring the sides of the ricet were not drilled through.

The old Hysol was cleaned off and the same technique was used to release the inner spar reinforcement bracket. Heat was applied to the lower spar which heated the Hysol on the opposite side of the wall of the tubing. Knipex pliers were used to pull the reinforcement bracket up and a popsicle stick was used as a wedge which released the bond between the Hysol and the spar tube. The Hysol remained bonded to the inner reinforcement bracket and there was very little cleanup.

Spar tube is prepped for bonding and cleaned with alcohol.

I plan to accomplish this task during the next build session.