Very cool iron John, I would have one less hole in my covering job if I had that
Very cool iron John, I would have one less hole in my covering job if I had that
Dorsal ~~^~~
Series 7 - Tri-Gear
912 ULS Warp Drive
In attempting to fit my balance weights to the flaperons, I believe that the contour/fit is not good. It is very poor at the leading edge. It doesn't look like the shape can be changed or "massaged" as needed because the bend needs to be greater right where the arm is welded to the base, & the nose bend is not right either. There is a gap of at least 1/8" at the apex of the nose. At the same time the "tail" is about in the correct position, with the factory-punched hole in the correct position in relation to the flaperon trailing edge. All 4 weights are the same. Yes, I am trying to install them on the right side (bottom) of the flaperon. I'm curious if anyone else has encountered this, or if I just got a batch of poorly-made weights (or?). On another local Kitfox, the weights follow the contour of the flaperons very closely & nicely. I know John & Debra will take care of it if necessary, but it's late at night & I'm feeling a little bit frustrated... like I said, I'm just wondering if this would be considered acceptable by other builders.
John Evens
Arvada, CO
Kitfox SS7 N27JE
EAA Lifetime
Chap. 43 honorary Lifetime
I think they should fit better than that and would ask about getting a new set. On the other side I think that they could be installed safely and be totally functional but they would not be very pleasing to the eye.
I was just looking at my balance weights today (which I didn't install) and they have a little gap, but nothing like yours. Mine are only about 1/16".
Phil Nelson
A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
Flying since 2016
I agree your gap is more than most, but when they are installed the Hysol fills the gap and can be radiused out with your finger so it looks much better after final paint.
I believe I also remodeled the leading edge bend on the weights slightly for a better fit. You can't do much but you can do some. Also pull them in tightly when you rivet them on-it slightly squeezes the thin flaperon for a better fit.
Jim Ott
Portland, OR
Kitfox SS7 flying
Rotax 912ULS
John,
Here is a photo of how mine fit....this photo is after riveting/bonding the weights to the flaperons.
I agree with others that the space can be minimized by pulling the weight down when riveting; the space can be taken up with hysol and the final result will be structurally sound; however, the contour of your weights is definitly different than mine; and, there is quite a bit of space showing.
Wondering if there are two different sets of weights available?....one for the current flaperon design and one for earlier symmetrical design??????.....Don't know.......
Dave S
KF 7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive
St Paul, Minne-snow-ta
Here's another picture, John. Your bends have a little tighter radius than mine. I picked up this SS in April,'13. I also smoothed some of the 'chicken poop' welds on the counter weights. Anal? Perhaps...
Metal working on that scale will wreck the powder coating.
I agree with the prior suggestion to get ahold of John McBean discuss the problem and get new weights.
Thank you all, guys... It's great to have such a good group of people to bounce something like this off of. I appreciate the replies! I agree that a little bit of bend would help, Dave. Even after that though, if I'm able to pull them down & decrease the nose gap it will probably move the tail & pre-punched hole too far aft, as it is already sticking out a little beyond the trailing edge of the flaperon. I also believe it would be ok structurally as is, but I definitely don't like it. I'll talk to John.
John Evens
Arvada, CO
Kitfox SS7 N27JE
EAA Lifetime
Chap. 43 honorary Lifetime
Here is one of the Flaperon counter weights.
Paul Zimmermann
LSRM-A
Garland, Texas
Looking at the passenger side inboard, the hysol seems to fill the gap.
Paul Zimmermann
LSRM-A
Garland, Texas