The firewall installation was not finalized until final assembly with the hoses, tubes, ducting and cables. (see firewallfinal photo below).

FirewallFinal.jpg

I fabricated a cowling using glass fibers and epoxy resin. The exhaust collector ring served as the mold for the cowling leading edge with the windscreen as the aft mold. The cowling was cut along the firewall and a joggle added for attachments. The upper forward portion of the cowling is easily removed for preflight and servicing. I also sewed the seats cushions and baggage upholstery.

CowlingStart.jpg

The instrument panel is built for VFR Night operations. It includes a Dynon D180 for flight instruments and engine data. A Garmin AERA 510 GPS provides navigation and XM weather. Comm/ICS is an ICOM A210 with audio alerts. The transponder is a King KT-76A. A storage box is on the right side of the panel.
The left side rocker switches are:
Battery, Display Power, Electronic Ignition, Mechanical Ignition, Oil Pump, Fuel Pump, Alternator
Right side rocker switches are:
GPS Power, Strobes, Nav Lights, Landing Lights, Flood Lights, Map Lights, Spare
The two 12VDC receptacles are “battery hot” for charging a cell phone without the battery master ON or for charging the main battery.
Center controls are:
Starter, Choke, Throttle, Carb Heat, Cabin Heat plus the ELT.
The small stereo jacks are for Dynon RS232 EFIS/EMS uploads/downloads and also for music on the right side.

InstrumentPanel.jpg

First flight was as exciting as I expected, and pleasantly routine. Even with little tail dragger time, I found the takeoff and landing to be somewhat predictable. As most Kitfox pilots know, one needs to use the rudder for coordinated flight. I made a Youtube video to help describe the first flight experience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYA5ySV9lk4

I found that a double check of the rigging plus a little tweaking on the lift struts allowed for hands-off flight. Flying near the forward CG limit, I am using half flaps with maximum nose-up trim for 60 MPH approach speeds. Wheel landings are the norm. I added an extra notch of flaps (about 10 deg) for level attitude during slow flight and use it in the pattern or when flying formation with Cubs. Stall speed is 48 MPH clean and 38 MPH with flaperons fully extended. I still have performance testing to accomplish, but the primary performance is the fun meter which is pegged to the right.

The aircraft is certified to be compliant with LSA criteria.

Fun project! Thanks to John and Debra McBean for providing the Kitfox kit and their support. Also thanks to Paul Chernikeeff at Rotec Engineering for the R2800 and his support. I could not have accomplished this without the technical advice and tools from my friends at EAA Chapter 983, Pecan Plantation, Texas.

Don Saint
Granbury, Texas