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  1. wolves200 added a post in a topic Tiny tach   

    Thanks for the answer guys , but how can you wrap the cable around the two leads? I mean that cable is very small... are you connecting an extra cable to the original red cable??
     
    can anybody take a close pic if possible to the installation?
     
    I brought the wraps very close together and it got better, I mean, now shows 1200RPM while the 2 last digits are very active around 50rpm swing.
     
    Regards
    Dimi3
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  2. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic anyone fly or have flown a kitfox lite?   

    Not quite the same plane, but I owned and flew a Himax with a 447 and 60" 3 blade IVO on it.  It climbed out very well.  I have a video on youtube of me taking off on skis.  Search for himaxflyer and you will find it.  Short takeoff and climbed like a homesick angel.  How heavy is your plane.  Weight ofcourse is a killer for aircraft performance.  What RPM are you turning during full power climbout?  JIm Chuk
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  3. 959 added a post in a topic Doe's anyone make a transport kit for Avid's   

    Thx for the reply.
    You saved me the $399 kitfox wanted for the kit
                                 Marv
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  4. amienoel added a topic in Avidfoxflyers General Hangar   

    anyone fly or have flown a kitfox lite?
    Anyone flown or have a kitfox lite? I put a 447 on one but it could use a little more power for quick climb out. Just wondering if anyone had played with these.
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  5. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Doe's anyone make a transport kit for Avid's   

    No, the Kitfox parts won't fit.  You would have to get the Avid one from Brett, and we all know that's not going to be any time soon.  
     
    I suggest making your own.  1/2" electrical conduit works well for the front braces (from lower longeron to front spar when folded) and the rear braces can be fabbed from nearly anything.
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  6. 959 added a topic in Technical tasks   

    Doe's anyone make a transport kit for Avid's
    I was looking threw the Kitfox catalog and saw a transport kit for when you trailer your plane and would like to know if either that kit would work on my MK 4 or if one is made for the Avid.
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  7. akflyer added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    In talking to dean wilson, he was pretty much trying to make the plane idiot proof with the massive washout and conservative cg range. Hence the aoa making it damn near impossible to get into a deep stall and a forward cg that makes you run out of elevator long before you run out of wing. This was intentional as the original thought was it's a plane that some guy is going to buy, build, then learn to fly in. I think for the most part it's been more experienced pilots flying them, hence the wings gradually getting less and less washout in them. I know I wish I didn't have all the washout in mine.

    I guess you could also liken this as the main difference between a pa-12 and an 18... the 18 has about 2deg. More aoa at the fuse than a 12. Better stol, less cruise.

    At the end of the day, I'm sure no matter what you do, it's going to fly great!

    Oh, and you may have just surpassed joey on the square rooter claim to fame hahahaha


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  8. Luked added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    Ed, believe it or not, I'm trying to keep this pretty simple by not getting into analyzing airfoils, etc. (over my head anyway). I just want to use an existing and proven configuration that I know will work.
     
    I hear you Larry. I can get kind of obsessed with some details at times, and I might need to take a step back to keep them in perspective. I'll think on this one a little more.
     
    One more picture for now and I'll call it good. This (picture below) is basically what I see when I hold a KF rib up to my plane. I can't shake the feeling that the angle of attack is too negative. Measuring a Kitfox seems to agree (this rib on the Avid is almost exactly 3 degrees more negative than the way it's mounted on the Kitfox). Will the plane fly okay? Probably so (with proper adjustment of the HS). Will it be more nose up in cruise than I would like? Will wings fold okay? Still trying to decide those questions... Here's the picture:
     

     
    Note: please ignore the flaperon hanger. I was just playing with some ideas. Nothing near final. The main point is that it is in the same location relative to the wing as the stock KF flaperon.
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  9. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    When ever I start getting too wonkey with technical details on my Kitfox build, Dave tells me,
     
    "C'mon man, it's not a church we're building, it's just an airplane."
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  10. EDMO added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    Luke,
          This topic could even get deeper if I started quoting design book info - incidence, also called "Longitudinal Decalage" can affect the angle of lift for takeoffs, and the loss of lift after landing, as well as cruise and visibility issues.  
      Not even going there - All these birds fly - maybe a tiny bit differently.
    EdMO
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  11. EDMO added a post in a topic Matco MC 5's new 50 bucks   

    These just sold for high bid of $92 plus $14 shipping - Rather stupid when you could have bought them for $50....
    EDMO
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  12. Luked added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    Okay guys, sorry about that. I know I've probably gained the well deserved reputation as the over analyzer on the forum   I guess I can't help myself! In my defense, I've been down this road before on another homebuilt project and when I jumped in without fulling checking things out, I ended up second guessing myself down the road, and re-doing things a different way. Anyway, thanks to everyone for your patience and suggestions.
     
    Hey Larry, I'm starting with an Avid MK-IV. What model did you friend have? Also, if he didn't need to fold his wings, he could have a higher angle of attack because the traililng edge could hang down more.
     
    Thanks  a ton Jim for your measurements. I made some drawings of what you measures. I'm sorry the quality is so bad. I don't have a good way to change my drawings into clear images. You should be able to read them if you click on them to enlarge. I indicated angles that have the front spar lower then the rear as negative angles.
     
     
    I'll start with the Avid MK-IV that you measured. This what I have, and the measurements you got are exactly the same as mine (that's a good sign). The Model C was the same too.
    Angle = 3.13°(negative)

     
    Next is Jim's Kitfox 1.
    Angle = 2.61°(negative)

     
    Next is Jim's Kitfox 4
    Angle = 1.04°(negative)

     
    For comparison, I'm  including measurements from a member on the TeamKitFox forum. He measured a different way than Jim, but I drew the picture showing his measurements, and then added measurements done the way Jim did them for comparison. Also, here is a quote showing how he measured:
    It's my understanding that this was a Kitfox model 5. It matches very closely to what I measured on  another kitfox that I'm pretty sure is a model 5 or model 6.
    Angle = .13°(positive)

     
     
    Thanks again Jim. This information is very interesting. It shows quite a few differences between various models.
     
    Also, if anyone sees a mistake I made, please let me know. I did these in a bit of a hurry.
     
    Thanks,
    Luke D.
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  13. thebriman added a post in a topic Tiny tach   

    Thats a good idea Leni.  I think I'll go try it.
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  14. akflyer added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

     
        
     

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  15. EDMO added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    Jim,
         The other thing to take into account is that the Kitfox 4 rear spar sits in a different position than the early ones - that would also make a difference.   Yes, it has probably been over-analyzed, but lots of fun and informative as to the differences - Bet they all fly!
    EdMO
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  16. Av8r3400 added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    As I said, Dave didn't change any of the incidence on his Avid C fuselage when he went to the Kitfox IV wing and it flys very, vey nicely.

    I think you guys are way over analyzing this.

    What fuselage are you starting with, Luke?
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  17. 1avidflyer added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    Well I guess I'll jump into this as well.  Did some measuring on fuselages today.  Kitfox 1 and 4, and Avid C and MK IV.  Yes I know I have to many unfinished projects!  Anyway, I measured from the top of the front and rear wing carry throughs straight down to the bottom of the fuselage.  Avid C and MK IV were 36" front, and 37 1/2" rear.  Kitfox 1  36 3/4" front and 38" rear.  Kitfox 4 was 38 1/2" front, and 39" rear.  Not sure if this helps or not, but that is what I got.  Jim Chuk
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  18. akflyer added a post in a topic Tiny tach   

    I wrap mine around two leads so I can test the ignition system and watch for RPM drop between the two.  A 500 RPM swing is pretty big, but without a prop on it I can see where you wouldn't really hear that much of a difference in it with no load on it.
     

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  19. thebriman added a post in a topic Tiny tach   

    You can put it around any spark plug wire you want.  They are all firing at the same rate, so that being the case I'd try another wire and position untill it works correctly.  I use a tiny tach with about 4 wraps with no issues.  It sounds like you are picking up interference from somewhere else.  
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  20. wolves200 added a topic in Technical tasks   

    Tiny tach
    Hello Guys:
     
    I just finished up installing a Tiny Tach on my avid, and the manual recomends 3 to 4 wraps around the #1 ignition cable; however, I ran a test, without prop inside of my garage, just to test it, and is giving me readings of 1400 up to 1900 rpm at idle, judging by the engine sound, there is no changes, I try 2 and even 1 and is not stable, I even tried it without wraps, and even though is more stable is still jumping.
     
    any of you have a good advise of how, or what am I doing wrong? or this supposed to be like that??
     
    Regards
    Dimi3
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  21. EDMO added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    I thought about changing the incidence in my wings to match the KF4 when I started this project - but since I was using the undercambered Eppler ribs, I decided to copy the KF2 - The KF4 was designed to use the 582 engine and engines have gotten a lot heavier - I am not going to change that now that I have modified the ribs to the Riblett pattern, and extended the leading edges, because it will still be nose-heavy.
    EDMO
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  22. Luked added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    That's true about model airplanes. You can make just about anything fly on a small scale  Of course we weren't riding in side to see how crappy they really flew!
     
    I edited my post above. I think I confused the issue the way I did the quotes. They were from two completely different threads, and not related to each other. I also didn't mention that the measurements quoted were from a later KF.
     
    From everything I have measured and read, the later Kitfoxes had the bottom surface of the airfoil almost parallel with the lower longeron, or lower door sill. This measurement is not technically the true "angle of incidence", but only for comparison. That is pretty much settle in my mind. The main questions seem to be:
     
    - How much difference will a couple of degrees of incidence make?
    - Exactly how do you compare the angles of attack on airfoils that have different characteristics (pitching moment, chord line location, etc)
     
    I thought it was interesting that it seems a small change in incidence made a difference in cruise speed and forward visibility.
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  23. EDMO added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    Luke,
         That measurement only shows 1/16 inch difference - not what I measured - my model 2 measured about 1 1/2" higher on rear crossover - and that should make it "nose high" - NOT "nose-low" as the writer stated.  It also made the tail lower, and this was changed to make the tail higher by Kitfox on the new Riblett wing for the model 4.   Could be that as the engines got heavier, that the original incidence was better than what Kitfox had modified, and that is why they use a negative flaperon angle fro cruise?
          Wasn't life much simpler when we were building model airplanes?  
    EDMO
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  24. EDMO added a post in a topic Happy Birthday Leni and Bandit   

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY LENI, CHRISTINE, AND NUMBER ONE - U2 BANDIT!
    EDMO
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  25. Luked added a post in a topic Issue putting KF wings on Avid   

    Hi Ed, I didn't notice those tube sizes. I'll have a look next time.
     
    I went searching for more info on this, and google turned some information on  the Team KF forum:
     
     
     
     
    Edit: I should have clarified that this quote below is not related to the quote above. It is the measurement of a "Series 5" Kitfox. My understanding is that once Kitfox updated the design on the KF4, the wing geometry stayed pretty much the same from that point forward. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong on that.
     
    This second quote matches what I measured almost exactly. There are some other interesting comments on the KF forum, but these jumped out at me. I'm still reading some more over there.
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