Kitfox Series 7 Super Sport - Show Me Fox

[Jason Murphy]

I'm finishing up a G3x install that was 100% purchased from Stein. I also had them build the harness which was the best money spent in my opinion. Eighty percent of the time Stein himself answers the phone and he has been super helpful. The other 20% of the time Tim 1 or Tim 2 answer and they too know their stuff. I wish every business was ran like Stein runs his.

Yes, I am very impressed with how their business is operated.

My first call that I had with them my situation and I was going to need to purchase the avionics in stages.

I said I would like to start with a basic system and just get things airworthy. Then want to add a Com Radio ASAP. Then add an autopilot. Then my dreams get really wild and add second screen, and in my wildest dreams an IFR navigator to be legal to climb through layers or to maintain IFR currency. They said no problem we can build up your harness in advance all you will need to do when your ready is to cut the hole in the panel and connect the device and configure the new device.

I talked with a few people and they were the first to act like it was no big deal to expand as you go.

I am in a bit of a rock and a hard place. Having them build everything up would be the easy button in this case. However I am at a place in my life where I must watch my discretionary spending. I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense because I am building an airplane,


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[Jason Murphy]

Stein has a wonderful reputation, and I'm sure he provides an excellent service. However, if, like me, you cringe at spending >$2k on wiring harnesses and would rather invest the time, it's not really that hard. It's just a matter of connecting the pins on one box to the pins on another. All the connections are detailed in the installation manuals and the parts are readily available.

I posted a tutorial on making a harness cable for a Dynon SkyView system here, and the Garmin cables will be very similar. Like the rest of the project, it's just a matter of buying some new and unfamiliar tools and learning some new and unfamiliar skills.

The hardest part is deciding what your time is worth. If you can pick up a shift or work overtime and make the cost of Stein-made harnesses in less time than you can build them yourself, then it makes sense to buy them. If not, or you just want to learn how it's done, then dig in.

Thank you for your contribution. At this time it does make me cringe to think about paying someone 2 to 3k to build a harness. The last few years have been very hard on my family especially my wife who injured her back and is still recovering leaving us as a single income family. I am trying to compare and contrast the cost of building my own to purchasing a completed harness.

We do have one thing going for us, she stays home with the kids and I am able to work an incredible amount of overtime to compensate for her being unable to work.

I also have a very unique job where the name of the game is to hurry up and wait. In my down time I have completed a bachelors & masters degree as well as complete my private, commercial, and (almost) instrument if we can ever get a Checkride date to come together we are on our 5th attempt.

What I am trying to say; I would be able to do a lot of the book work and planning. Then take that plan and bring it home to run the wire. I also have access to A&P mechanics through work and some of them do have an avionics background.


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[Jason Murphy]

I think wiring the plane was what I enjoyed the most of the build. Up to that point nothing fit, so it was a nice break to do something that the plane didn't seem to want to fight you on.

I may want to talk with you in detail on this.

I’m definitely not afraid of doing the work and if you have read back very far in the build thread I can be a little over the top on stressing about the details and meticulous.

Perhaps, I would have a similar experience. Would you recommend running the wire before covering so you would have nearly unrestricted access?

I will admit that the thought of having zero 12v DC wiring experience to working on an avionics suite is a little intimidating. Right now I am struggling with figuring out if I want to use traditional breakers or vertical power.


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[alexM]

Vertical Power is cool (cool enough I wish I had come up with it), but it's big money. Since you've said money is an issue you may want to brush up on how to wire the plane yourself as many builders have done and are suggesting. I wanted to go with Klaxon breakers but after getting hold of Bob Nuckoll's book AeroElectric Connection I'm going with an automotive type fuse block (TLDR version: When was the last time your car blew a fuse?).

And I probably won't be popular for saying this but I don't understand the fascination with an autopilot on a simple VFR plane. I'm quite sure I'm a weirdo but I hand fly planes all day long for a living (63.4 hours in the last two weeks) and flying coast to coast with no autopilot is a normal thing. My current work plane has an autopilot and I use it but I don't find that it reduces my workload enough to justify it. You still have to continuously monitor position, heading and altitude or one of your cats will run off.

As for covering, having covered wings is no big deal assuming you've thought far enough ahead to know if you're going to use a heated pitot or not (I'm not. Again, simple VFR plane that has no business in freezing moisture). Wires for my magnetometer and the wing tips lights will travel through the rear spar like everyone else here does. My choice of wing tip lights eliminates wires to the tail. Right now my only wires to the tail are for stab trim motor and stab trim position (two different things). I really wanted to put the COM antenna in the vertical fin but in the name of simplicity my intent (as I type this, could change in an hour) is to put the COM antenna behind the turtle deck where the factory put it back in the Skystar days. Short wires, easy access, simple.

Right now in my head I'm going to push forward and cover at least one side of my fuselage and then get serious about wiring. I can flip the fuselage on its side or send my skinny son in to the bowels if needed.

[Jerrytex]

Ditto on the fuse blocks. Cheap, easy to install, and the fuses are readily available. If something quits in flight, land and fix it. Circuit breakers are nice, but you're most likely going to have to land to troubleshoot if one trips anyway. The vertical power is really nice but crazy expensive and I am not sure I would want the distraction of troubleshooting and going through a bunch of menus on a screen while in the air. So essentially you're going to land anyway.

I actually installed 2 fuse blocks, and made one the essential bus (Bob Nuckoll's design) behind diodes that will run solely off the battery in case I have to turn off the master for any reason.

I too cringed at the costs of the panel and basic wire harnesses. Would be nice to have the cash to spend on it, but I didn't and had to find other ways. You can really save a ton of money on the panel if you do the work and wiring yourself. It really is not that hard, and there are tons of videos to educate. Also check around on the other sites for people upgrading. You can get some nice stuff for cheap because others want the latest and greatest. You'll have to be fast though because good stuff sells quickly. Also I found a lot of the expensive aviation grade connectors and aviation wire on Ebay for a fraction of the cost.

I did my complete panel, with Auto Pilot (sorry Alex, I know it's not necessary but it sure is nice nice when you have to let go of the stick for a minute, especially in winds in a Kitfox), for about $5500. Sill expensive in my opinion, but manageable.







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[bbs428]

After coughing up the $$ for the G3x system, the VPX just wasn't in the budget. Would have loved to have one tbh.
The automotive type of fuse is very reliable and budget friendly, it definitely has its place.
I wanted something more traditional and standard, so I went with the Klixon 2TC2 style c/b. Purchased 18 of these little gems from a/c Spruce. Ganged together by light weight brass strips.
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There are enough great electrical guys on the forum to walk you through and help if you decide to make your own harness. I would definitely 2nd getting Bob Nuckolls book "Aeroelectric Connection" to familiarize yourself.
This post by Eric Page is excellent on the subject. Avionics Wiring Harness: A Tutorial (teamkitfox.com)
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You probably have more skills than you give yourself credit for. Just undertaking a kit Plane build is proof enough. Part of the fun (agony) is learning all the skills to bring your project to fruition.

[Eric Page]

BTW, Bob Nuckolls has generously made his book available for free download, here (18Mb PDF).

[alexM]

(sorry Alex, I know it's not necessary but it sure is nice nice when you have to let go of the stick for a minute, especially in winds in a Kitfox)

Ha! I fully understand that I'm the outlier on the subject.

[Jason Murphy]

Finished varnishing the No 1 & 3 ribs. Installing the tank in place would limit access to these areas after installing.

Installed bathroom exhaust fan in work area for ventilation since I am working in a confined area. Wondering how frequently the charcoal filters should be replaced on a 3M Respirator.

Prep spars, brush on epoxy primer beneath where the wing tank would cover.

Chase existing threads with tap. Dry fit fuel fittings, I had the goal of having 2 or 3 threads showing. Per Brandon when you apply the fuel sealant this will act as a lubricant allowing the fittings to thread in further. Using a fine tip sharpie I placed marks on the threads of the tap to help me keep track of how deep I have tapped the hole.

Leaving clearance between the No 3 rib and tank it is a pretty tight fit between the fuel fittings and the No 1 rib see photo.

I need to apply another coat of epoxy primer beneath the wing tank area. I purchased the pitot install kit from Kitfox. The mast is not pre drilled for the GAP 26 probe. I am wondering if I would be better off ordering the garmin Pitot Mast which is pre drilled.

[Jason Murphy]

BTW, Bob Nuckolls has generously made his book available for free download, here (18Mb PDF).

I have downloaded this book and will be reviewing it. Thank you for sharing and also thank you for the demonstration on building the connector.