1avidflyer

Not quite understanding your last post, here is the firewall I made for my Avid MK IV with Jabiru when I rebuilt the plane.  Notice how the stainless steel firewall recesses into the tubing at the bottom center.  JImChuk

My Kitfox 4 is 43 1/2" wide.  That is 4" over stock.  I think the Merle Williams widening kit adds 5" on a Kitfox 4.  My useful load is about 550.  JImChuk

Maybe to give more clearence for the carb?  Pretty tight on the Jabiru, and I think there are similarities between the two engines.  JImChuk

Very nice Bucky!  I'm glad you got it back to where it should be.  In the air!  You can be proud of the accomplishment.  And if you had a larger smile on your face, I think it would be allowed.     JImChuk

I've got no first hand experience with the tires you have, but know that on our Aeronca Chief, with 600/6 tires, it would get more bouncy with more than about 12-14 lbs of air pressure.  I'm sure the Chief was heavier than your Avid.   I would expect you would have the same results with maximum pressure.  JImChuk 

I have a 69 1/2" two blade NR on the Kitfox, and a 64" two blade warp drive on the Avid.  Engine idle rpm is close to the same in both at that point, but of course the Kitfox had the  gearbox, and the Jabiru in the Avid is direct drive.  Maybe if it was winter and I had a large lake under me and I was on skis, I would shut off the engine and see what the difference was.  With trees everywhere around me I'm not sure I'm up to shutting down on purpose.  The one engine out landing I had in the Avid, it seemed to glide just fine at 60, but I can't say what the rate of descent was.  JImChuk

Hi Doug, good to see you on the forum!  JImChuk

Those mounts are subject to cracking.  You are better off hanging the muffler off the firewall.  I welded plates on the ends of my muffler, fastened pieces of aluminum angel to the firewall and used some rubber belting between them.  It worked fine, and allowed me to make a wider muffler shroud for cabin heat.   JImChuk

Wont be long now!  Keep at it. JImChuk

I actually have a two blade IVO currently for sale.  It's an ultralight model, two blade 72".  Bit to long for a 447, but they can be cut down real easy.  IVOs are very simple to adjust as well.   I would probably shorten it to 64" and see how it did.  I had a two blade 60" IVO on my Himax which had a 447 in it, and it was two small at that length.  JImChuk

If it runs good, the prop or prop shaft are good places to look.  If that is a new prop because of a prop strike, maybe bent prop shaft in the gearbox??  Maybe put a dial indicator on it when the prop is off.  Two blade prop will run rougher that a three blade as well.  I have a 1" shaft I run through the prop that I rest on two real small drill bits to check for balance.  I've been tempted to buy a J3 kitten at times.  I was at the Hipps "factory" once, when we were visiting Greenville SC.  It's was about 20 miles from there in Saluda NC  JImChuk

Well the conditional inspection is done, and we hauled my buddy's Kitfox to the airport this weekend.  Tight fit with the Chief in there, but it worked.  JImChuk

Joey Myers recently put a 912 in his standard length Avid MK IV.  He had to put 10 lbs of weight in the tail buy he seems real happy with how it flys.  JImChuk

Hi all,  I was looking at some of my videos of flying the Avid MK IV and my Kitfox 4, and I knew that I showed a much bigger descent rate in the Kitfox 4 (long wing) than in the Avid MK IV.  Kitfox weight is about 650, Avid is about 610 empty.  Stall speeds are about the same in both planes.   Kind of figured maybe the verticle speed indicators were not very accurate as I was seeing nearly double amount of descent in the Kitfox.  That was on base leg, at about 60 mph in each plane.  Well when I looked at videos, and timed the descents, I showed 200' descent in 30 seconds in the Avid  (400' per minute) , and 400' descent in the Kitfox in 37 seconds  (almost 650' per minute.  I would have expected the Kitfox would have had a better glide than the Avid, but it seems not.  JImChuk

I think the biggest reason for stretching the Avid was when they hang a heavy engine on the nose, like a Subaru.  Avids tend to be a bit on the nose heavy side even with a 582.  Probably help the ground handling as well cause the Avid is pretty short coupled.  The early Kitfoxes, ( 3 and 4 at least) are about 9" longer than the Avid so maybe they need it less.   JImChuk

Wow TJay,  Pretty nice.  Now I see why you were wanting a bit faster cruise speed. Video to follow?  JImChuk

Some on this site have bought this gear.  Perhaps they will pipe up.   

I would say you just did it.  JImChuk

You can contact the FAA and see what they say.  Most likely, if you are the heir, they will want you to complete an heir at law form.  I'll put a link to one below.  I'll try to find the phone number for you to call the FAA.  Do it when you have some time to kill, cause you may wait an hr or more on hold.  Try this one...   (866) 762-9434    JImChuk

AFS-750-HEIR-1, Affidavit of Heir-At-Law (faa.gov)

Trailer it there, fly it home?  JImChuk

Not bad price,  If you could get the registration reinstated, it would be better.  That is not real hard to do if one is the legal owner such as an heir.   JImChuk

I think TJay has a post or video of where he made some for his new Kitfox wings.  JImChuk

.040" thick x 3/4" wide should be fine I would think.  

Tailwheel spring has a 3/16" bolt on each side going through that tab with the holes in it.  A piece of strap is under the spring and the bolts go through it.    The windshield is sort of cut to fit.  If I could find the windshield I had in the Kitfox 1, I could trace out a pattern.  Been a few yrs though and it's probably gone now.  Might want to consider a better supported engine I would say.  There is a Kitfox 1 build manual in the files and forms section of this forum.  Feel free to ask questions.  JImChuk

Bummer.  He seemed like a good guy in the experiences I had with him.  This getting old and what comes with it stinks.  Condolences to his friends and family.  JImChuk