bbs428 Build

[PapuaPilot]

Brett,
Have you posted drawings of your paint scheme anywhere?

[bbs428]

"Brett,
Have you posted drawings of your paint scheme anywhere?"


I had posted it way back. March 2019 pg.3, post 23

https://teamkitfox.com/Forums/attach...6&d=1551716615

There have been some changes from that original drawing, which I hope are for the better.
I free handed that sketch. I was just playing around with those swoopy chevron's (what I call them). Kinda stumbled onto the design.
My wife really liked this iteration the best and encouraged me to do it, even when I wanted to throw in the towel. Lol.

I made the white area on the wings bigger. I was concerned the dark colors would build up heat in the hot summer months.
The flaperons are now all red
The graphics on the top and bottom rear empennage and the vertical and horizontal stabilizer have been redesigned.
I'll be posting all of this soon, as the painting is all done now, except the wheel pants.

[bbs428]

The fuselage was a lot of fun. I must have laid out the lines a dozen times before it all fell into place. I literally just kept at it till it made sense to my eyes. All of it was free handed

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[Kitfox Pilot]

Brett that looks great! I paint a little and I know that was a lot of work right there in those pics! Harlan

[bbs428]

No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get the original concept to look decent on the stabilizer/elevator. Yuk!
Looks like it's back to the drawing board - literally!

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Hmmm - Why not just do the same as the vertical stabilizer/rudder? As the design moves aft it becomes less busy and has a cleaner look.
Follows the key KISS principle of Keep it simple stupid! Looks like it's meant to be, so it's a keeper!

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Callie Graphics Did the Kitfox logo and the "N" number in Eagle Blue. The "N" number on the instrument panel in Pontiac Red.
I used them a lot when I was building scale WW1 RC airplanes a while back.
Very nice to do business with and easy on the wallet.
Callie Graphics (callie-graphics.com)

I really like the flow of the chevrons. Gives the plane a real feeling of movement. Glad I continued the design elements under the plane and on top. Much different than the original rendering, eh?
The rudder turned out great after all the hard work. Especially pleased with the fit and finish of the rudder bolt access holes! Getting the bolts in and out will try your patience! Had to improvise and overcome and made a special tool from a cheap 3/8's wrench to get it on. Lol.

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[Geek]

KISS principle for the win!! Brett your paint looks great and there certainly won't be another Fox out there looking like yours. Man if you were sill in the Canoe Club they would have you out in the hangar bay painting the CAG bird.

Gary

[bbs428]

KISS principle for the win!! Brett your paint looks great and there certainly won't be another Fox out there looking like yours. Man if you were sill in the Canoe Club they would have you out in the hangar bay painting the CAG bird.Gary

Not bad for a brown shoe tweet, Lol.
I had some friends in corrosion control (crud crew) and saw what they did on a daily basis. They were a good bunch.

The CAG bird always got more love than the rest of the birds. It was always nuts - 700. Our designator for S3's being 700 series - 700 - 709. After we went to all haze grey paint, the colorful CAG birds all went away.

VS29DragonfiresS3Viking1981Picture1 (2020_09_21 10_29_07 UTC).jpg

Before this project, I mostly painted from a P!ss can! The Apollo HVLP rig helped. Had some do-overs but you learn fast on what not to do.

[Redline]

My paint scheme is a much simpler design than you have and it's still a ton of work! Nice job Brett!

[bbs428]

Finally getting serious about the wiring harness.

The G3x system seems hard at first but is actually not that bad once you get your head around the Can Bus daisy chain, shield drains, data lines, etc. I practiced my solder techniques, crimping and splicing on two short pieces of shielded twisted pairs for the can buss and a few pieces of shielded wires before jumping in whole hog.

The tools are not that expensive, and you can use the savings by doing the harness yourself for other stuff you need.

This thread by Eric Page is a must read! Avionics Wiring Harness: A Tutorial (teamkitfox.com)

After many an hour contemplating on how and what to do, I finally settled on a plan of action. I read the G3x install manual many times and made a wiring, power distribution and a Can Buss diagram for my application. Also made copies of each LRU pinout. Watching the many you-tube videos helped. Some of the auto wiring harness videos are very helpful as well.

This is what is working for me and just my 2cw.

1. Ran a flexible, 1/2" rope, duplicating the wire runs to all the LRU's. I have a main trunk line in a lightweight aluminum channel from the firewall to the rear by the header tank and it fans out, front and rear to the LRU's. I Noted where the attachment points are located on the frame and put two small red dots marking the location for later.

2. Taped a smaller rope/line to the other peripherals such as switches, starter, etc. onto the main trunk line, taking into consideration service loops for access or removal for troubleshooting. I tried to get everything as neat and organized as possible.

3. Took some pictures and went over everything to make sure everything electrical is accounted for.

4. Removed the new harness mock-up and transferred it to my workstation and placed it so I could comfortably work on the wires without it moving around. I like to stand and work, so my table is some plywood, on some tall sawhorses so I can walk around comfortably.
I had it on the concrete initially and found out quickly that wasn't going to work! Lol.

5. The sequence I used for building the harness:

A. Power - to c/b
B. Ground - must have zero reference ground. No grounds at different places in the a/c
C. Can Buss - work out how the Can Buss will flow from each LRU and which LRU to terminate the buss at the ends.
D. RS-232 - multiple shielded data lines
E. Data - individual shielded/Non shielded lines
F. Strain - relief
G. Backshell - build and secure shield drains.
H. Secure - the wire bundle. I used string ties.

Did one wire/connector at a time so NOT to get confused.
Labeled everything as I went because you will get lost in mass of spaghetti quickly.
I use a Dymo D1 label maker, lots of 1/4, black on white cartridges and clear heat shrink and label as I go.

When completed, I'll test it and post the results. Fun stuff!
Btw - Beer did help, but only in limited quantities, Lol.

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[Kitfox Pilot]

Looking good! You are right about not being too bad once you get your head around it all but I wondered a time or two if I ever would when I wired mine. Haha