1avidflyer

Interesting article.  The example given of the Kitfox that caught on fire and burned was about 25 miles from where I live.  Guy named Howard Firm built the plane.  It had a Subaru engine with fuel injection.  He told me the bird broke a high pressure fuel line off, and gas ignited on the muffler.  Sad thing, but the next kitfox he built go burned up in a hangar fire at the Eveleth Mn airport.  JImChuk

Hi all,  any Avid or Kitfox owners/builders in the Greenville SC area?  Wife and I are visiting here daughter for a bit, and not a lot for me to do. Anyone up to a visit?   JimChuk 

Wow! beautiful country.  JImChuk

Pictures are always helpful.  If you are using windows on your computer, it's pretty easy to downsize them if they are to big to load on this site.  JImChuk

Nice looking plane, and doesn't seem like a bad price.  Bringing into the USA may present problems from the FAA as you mentioned.  The squared off rudder and the door latch at the front of the door say it's likely not a true MK IV, maybe a C model with some MK IV modifications like the cowl and such.  What is the factory serial number.  Still nice though.  

TJay who posted earlier in this string of messages did this on his Kitfox 1.  If you search Kitfox 1 wing conversion  you should find his videos of what he did and how it worked out.  Maybe he will respond to your questions as well. 

If you use a bungee or cabane style landing gear, it's a good idea to infill the seat truss to the extent possible.  The bungee gear pulls down on the center of the seat truss, the cabane style pushes in on the bottom of the seat truss.   I think I have somewhat beaten that by connecting the seat truss to the cabane on my Avid.  On my cabane, there is an additional tube that runs across at the top of the cabane to help keep it from buckling in  If that tube hadn't been there, I would have run the strap  right up to the seat truss.   As far as the baggage compartment, Avid MK IV has a door on the left side to access the baggage compartment which is just under the back of the turtle deck.  

I'm just looking at the online manual, and in section II chapter 4, the rudder pedals are discussed.  Looks like that nylon bushing is 11/16" diameter with 1/4" hole, probably about 1/2" long.  If you don't have the paper manual, you can look in the forms and files section on this forum.  That's what I just  did cause I'm not close to my paper manual.  The index for what section refers to what part of the plane you want to look at is section XII.   JImChuk

Hi Nick or Leni,  I do like the manual uploaded, but if there was any way to label each section to say what was covered in it, that would be great.  If I had my manual handy, I could see what section I'm looking for without having to download one after the other till I get to the section I need to look at.  Of course, then I'd just look in the manual...     Thanks,  JimChuk

PS,  I found that section XII is the index for the manual.  Download it first, and then you will know which section you want.

Good point Chris.  This is what I did to get access to the tailwheel spring bolt.  Also makes it easier to inspect for corrosion or damage.  I epoxied in an aluminum cross tube to terminate the fabric on.  An aluminum cover screwed in place will cover it up when finished.  

You have the Kitfox 4 don't you.  I like a wider fuselage, and also infilled under the doors.  If one was to infill the seat truss somewhat, that would help a know weak area as well.  I used .040" steel on mine.   Here is a picture of my fuselage, and then the door latches I made with rods going front and back.  

I think the regular motor mount would work just fine if you mount the oil tank into the firewall.  That is what I did on my Kitfox 4.  I ended up cutting the brackets off the mount that hold the oil tank in place.  The problem is the tank sits way to high for the smooth cowl using the regular mount location.  JImChuk

PS   the same Kitfox mount fits the models 3, and 4.  Later models are wider,

Hi all, yesterday someone contacted me for some info and mentioned that they are going with this Suzuki engine for their plane. (A highlander, but similar size to our Kitfoxes....) I am very much a 912 Rotax fan, and suggested he go in that direction. Does anyone know of any Kitfox, Avid or Highlander that is using this Suzuki engine successfully? I don't know much about them, other than the guy in Canada who promotes them for use on trikes. Thanks all. JImChuk

PS, I already have a 912 for my next Kitfox project and fully intend to use it :-)

Hi all, yesterday someone contacted me for some info and mentioned that they are going with this Suzuki engine for their plane. (A highlander, but similar size to our Kitfoxes....) I am very much a 912 Rotax fan, and suggested he go in that direction. Does anyone know of any Kitfox, Avid or Highlander that is using this Suzuki engine successfully? I don't know much about them, other than the guy in Canada who promotes them for use on trikes. Thanks all. JImChuk

PS, I already have a 912 for my next Kitfox project and fully intend to use it :-)

Kitfox 4 and later models use the same ribs.  STi wing is different though.  Nice thing about the Kitfox 4 is it's lighter than later models.  They are bigger, and have higher gross weights however.  

Not available currently.  Should have jumped on it when it was.  :-)  

I see a Kitfox 4 on barnstormers with a Jabiru engine for $54,000 if I remember correctly....  and an Avid MK IV with a Subaru engine in it for $35,000.  Wow, nothing cheap out there. 

TJ,  I see you have a different dimension on the Kitfox 1 strut, but noticed that yours is the rear tube of the lift strut, mine was the front tube at 98".  The more info he can get the better, to try to figure out what he has.  (why isn't there a thumbs up in the emoticons?)  

About 6 yrs ago, I was going to get a spar tube from Just Aircraft to repair a Kitfox 1 wing I had.  It was .065"wall, and they said they would install the aluminum stiffener in it for me to avoid extra shipping.  Based on that, I thought Just used the .065" material.  Maybe they went to the .083" stuff later on???  I ended up finding another complete wing that needed some repairs and used it instead.  Made quite a sight driving it back from New York state to Mn.  

Kitfox 4 and later style ribs may be a better option, they perform good at slow and higher speeds.  Also, it may be hard to find .83" tube for spars.  Kitfox uses .065" and a good stiffener with gross weights of 1550 lbs.  120 is pretty fast for these planes...

Here is a post where I show a bunch of my ski build pictures.  Making a new set of skis - Forum How-to's - AvidFoxFlyers Forums

Back to the current topic, can you measure the front of your lift struts, and post the measurement?  I can't get a measurement just now, but maybe some one else can.  If you have a different length, that would explain why the 80" measurement isn't working for you locating your lift strut bracket.  

PS  Just rethinking things, and remembered you said the plane is scratch built.  There never were any plans for Avids that I'm aware of, but someone did copy the Kitfox 1 and made plans from it.  Called a Raven I believe.  Maybe you would find that the measurements for a Kitfox 1 might match up better with what you have.  I know there is also a Kitfox 1 manual in the files and forms section.  I had a Kitfox 1 and have the measurement for the lift strut on it, and that is 98" from center to center of the front lift strut bolt to attach point bolt on the fuselage.  

I got to thinking after I went to bed last night, and remembered  pulling a string from wing tip to wing tip and as I remember, I had 3 or 4" to the skylight.   Went looking for pictures of my Avid MK IV, and found this.  I'll see if I can find pics of my other Avids, but I don't think this one has more dihedral than the others.   

PS Last night I posted some figures on what one degree at 80" would add up to. Today, I got to thinking, and realized I was mistaken in my figures. The lift strut attachment bolt is 80" from the end of the spar according to the Avid wing build manual. But if one was going to figure out how high the bracket should be at a certain degree, you need to double that 80" figure to get to the diameter and then multiply that by pie (3.1416) The figures I posted last night used the 80" length, so they were off by 1/2. Therefore, (unless I'm wrong again) 1 degree at the liftstrut bracket (80" from the butt end of the spar) should be 1.396". At 4' that should be .837" Hope this helps and no one read my previous incorrect posts.   So,  80' X 2 = 160"  X 3.1416 =  502.65  (circumference of the circle)  divide by 360   (number of degrees in a circle)  = 1.396"

The figures I gave in this post were incorrect and so I deleted them and corrected them in my next post. 

If you have your manual, you should be able to find the dimension for locating the lift strut brackets on the wing spars.  I'm not close to my manual right now.  Now that I think about it though, the manual is in the files and forms section.  

PS  I just looked in the online manual, and found the info you maybe need.  It's in section III,  chapter 2,  drawing # FW-1B.  There is shows that the dimension from fuselage end of spar to center of liftstrut attachment bolt should be 80"

Rubber has been used for many yrs for muffler mounts without real problems I think, but there is more than one way to skin a cat.