Esser's Build

[Esser]

I built a Classic 4 and had similar issues when I first started . Fuselage tabs sometimes had to be tapped jently with a plastic hammer to tweak them into place either for alignment or clearance/bolt length/washer placement/castle nut pins etc. Sometimes the bushing ends of the bearing fit parts needed to be touched a few strokes with a file for proper fit.

I'm not familiar with new models of kitfox but on the model 4 any filing on the aileron bell crank bushing ends is done on the top end only. Then extra washer if needed is used on the bottom end to maintain clearance to the floor boards.

I used blue locktite under the heads of bolts to stop the turning bolt problem.

The #40 drill bit is used for 3/32" rivets. The #30 drill bit is used for 1/8" rivets. These drill bits are a hair larger than the rivet size for easy incert of the rivet. If you need to drill a rivet out use the fraction size bit for that rivet, ie 3/32" or 1/8" drill to minimize enlarging the hole.

You will want to get a can or two of touch up spray paint for your powder coated parts. As you have already found out, you will be needing to touch up more powder coated parts. It needs to be compatible with the covering system you are going to use. Back when I was building, the factory sold good high quality touch up paint to match any powder coating color.

I guess my drill bit thats came with the kit are packaged backwards as the #40 bit is larger than the #30. Mystery solved haha.

Thanks for the tips too everyone. Just before I called her a night I added a drop of loctite to the bolts that were turning so we shall see what happens. How long does that stuff normally take to set?

Also I will look for my touch up bottle. It was come in handy because I have more nicks in my powder coated pieces than a kid learning to shave.

[Esser]

My friend Matt came over and we sanded the ribs and once we were happy with the placement we tried our hand at Hysol. We learnt a few things along the way. When using Hysol it sets up in about 20-30 minutes to the point where its difficult to apply. We made a fairly large batch a first to do all of the horz stab ribs but we were unable to apply half that batch before it became too difficult to apply. The baggie idea is great for applying hysol. We did the ole finger method for the first run with ugly results. By the time we were done the horz stab we had very professional fillets. Nitrile gloves and lots of shop tools to clean up are a must.

Also when sanding the ribs, tape a piece of sand paper to the 1" tubing of the stab to make short work of fitting the ribs. Takes patience as it was a few hours to get them all in proper place.


Matt sanding away




The before picture





Matt cleaning some wayward Hysol





Our solution to a rib with a slight warp. Zip tie it in place! Also notice the HORRIBLE hysol job at our first crack at it compared with our later methods! Slight learning curve. Learn from our mistakes and fill a baggie with hysol and tape off your ends. Also apply all your hysol before you start trying to make a nice fillet. Once it sets up a little it's easier to shape.


A mostly finished product



I also installed the flapperon mixer assembly today but failed to get pictures. I would be interested to see some of your safety wire jobs on the flapperon mixer bolts as I had never wired before so I just went for it.

Cheers!

[t j]

I would be interested to see some of your safety wire jobs on the flapperon mixer bolts as I had never wired before so I just went for it.

Have you found the "Hint's for Homebuilders" safety wireing video?
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=1675022426001

[Esser]

Have you found the "Hint's for Homebuilders" safety wireing video?
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=1675022426001

I have seen the video but it is a good reminder thanks. I was more curious how people have wired it up since the entire bolt has the potential to turn both ways. I forgot to take a picture again of what I did yesterday.


Yesterday I planned to hysol the elevator ribs in but they were too warped. Since I had help we decided to jump ahead and tackle the vert stab ribs. We found that these ribs were a very poor fit. They had to be sanded out 1/8 inch each side on the back and the opening on the front was about 3/8ths in diameter and needed to be 5/8ths. After sanding for an hour we realized we would be more than all day just sanding these ribs so we decided to get creative.



Not exactly the right tool for the job but it was a perfect fit and sure saved a lot of time.


For the mouth we cut a piece of 5/8th cold rolled, wrapped sand paper around it, put it in the drill press at the slowest speed, and away we went.


None of my ribs on my horz stab needed stiffeners so I brewed up a batch of varnish and put a couple coats on. I had some left over and I knew I wouldnt be working on the plan for a couple weeks so I varnished the vert stab ribs as well. The problem is I hadnt put the stiffeners in yet. Now that these are varnished will it be a problem to sand the ribs and hysol my stiffeners in? I wasn't really thinking.


Thanks!
Josh

[jiott]

Don't forget the invaluable Dremel tool with a variety of attachments: cutoff wheels, sanding drums, etc. I hope you have one; they are very handy for the type of work you are doing with the wood ribs. I have used mine continually thru the whole project.

Gluing Hysol on top of varnish-not the best idea. Your joint strength will be only as good as the varnish adhesion to the wood. Varnish is a coating, not realy a glue like Hysol. Probably no big deal on rib stiffeners but I sure wouldn't do it on important things like wing ribs glued to spars.

Jim

[Esser]

Hey jiott, I do have a dremel but none of the sanding bits I have are small enough to get into these places. I havent been abel to find any that are less than 3/4. I have tried to cheat with the stones but they end up getting gummed up and arent meant for the application. As for hysolling the varnished ribs, they were epoxied to the frame before varnishing. I just need to add ribs in the vert stab and was wondering if sanding will work or if the varnish goes too deep.

Cheers

[inzersv]

I did the same thing and varnished some of the ribs and stiffeners before bonding. I sanded (roughed up) the area on the ribs and stiffeners that needed bonding and then applied the Hysol. That was about three months ago and they seem to be holding together well. Hysol seems to be good stuff.