Kitfox 4 fin size?

[jrevens]

...

Plus, if you keep the standard vertical you'll end up being a better pilot ...

Gee, if I'd known that I would have decreased the size of the one on my 7 SS !

...Just kiddin' you, Paul!

[HighWing]

Might just be me, but I kind of like the earlier, shorter rudder style of the Model 4 -1050 and the earlier model 1-3's...

I learned long ago and will be taking advantage of this once again soon. With the shorter vertical, it is much easier sharing hangar space as the vertical fin will easily fit under the wing of a second airplane. I am helping a friend with some mods and will have his Mk 4 Avid side by side with my Kitfox in my hangar when we leave town this weekend.

[t j]

" Oh, and for a bit of trivia, did you know the vertical on early Kitfoxes was styled from a P-51 tail."

For a little bit more Kitfox trivia, so was the 7 Super Sport's vertical stabilizer.

I didn't know that but an old B-17 Crewman in my neighborhood looked at my Model 4 and said, "It's got a tail kike a P-51".

[David47]

" Oh, and for a bit of trivia, did you know the vertical on early Kitfoxes was styled from a P-51 tail."

For a little bit more Kitfox trivia, so was the 7 Super Sport's vertical stabilizer.

I'm liking my SS7 build just that little bit more now, if that's possible ....

[HighWing]

I didn't know that but an old B-17 Crewman in my neighborhood looked at my Model 4 and said, "It's got a tail kike a P-51".

That explains a lot. Recently when I was doing a bit of research on the creative genius that developed the Kitfox, I found the attached site. I recall back in the day attending one of the factory fly-ins and there in the hangar was a mock up of Dan Denney's newest creation. The mock-up was Denney's way of desiging a cockpit that would accommodate a full sized man in a 3/4 scale Mustang. Very impressive at the time and more so as I read the article linked below.

http://www.ksql.com/myriad/thunder.htm

[av8rps]

Ok, ok. I just knew I'd get a rise out of you guys for my fin height comments. Nothin' like a little more lively forum conversation...

And Yes, the newer kitfoxes have the P-51 vertical shape also, just taller. (So for the experts out there, did the early 51's have a shorter vertical than later ones?)

And YES, keep that fin short and you are guaranteed to be a better pilot! Why would that be? Because you have to be a better pilot just to keep it going straight .

I started out with the Avid Flyer prototype as my 1st plane, and compared to an early Kitfox, the Avids' vertical was even shorter. I'm convinced that made me a better pilot. I checked out in a Pitts S-2 in a half hour after putting 300 hours on that short finned Avid. My instructor asked me where I developed such good stick and rudder skills? So something helped.