Fairings, more

62 posts in this topic

Posted

No issues with any control surfaces or with anything at all. The Vne is 135 and that is very conservative I believe.  I am really impressed with these little ships every time I fly one.  Dean Wilson did a great job designing the plane and the fact that it has been so copied around the world is truly a testament of that.  Dean thank you so much.  Kit Fox has carried the banner forward into the present day. Ok, off my soap box, preaching to the choir I believe. 

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Posted

A 120 mph Avid! You might have the ideal aircraft. People on this group will carry on the old favorites for a long time. Not slighting the new Foxes, but we can do it for 1/3 the cost.

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Posted


Thats really cool  do you  happen to have a list of what you have all done?

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Posted

Here is the list

reduced the inlet to half

covered the gear legs, streamlined rear tubes

faired the jury struts

faired the HS struts

covered the opening above the HS

Fairings fore and aft of the fuel caps

strut cuff fairing

 

Things on my to do list:

fairing the cabane

reduce the radiator inlet

build a com antenna that will be out of the airstream 

maybe new wing tips

fairing gearlegs at fuselage junction

 

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Posted

covered the gear legs, streamlined rear tubes

Probably a dumb question since you opted for covering the gear leg but Ive wondered if fairing each tube individually would be better, ie less wetted area? The only reason Id want to do it that way is it would leave the cross tube uncovered which can be used as a step.

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Posted

I would not be surprised if that is correct.

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Posted

https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/appages/vortelator_kit_certified.php

 

Hey Paul this is something that may be of interest to you. Thought about how this might work on the tops of the flaperons to keep the boundary layer attached. People have also been toying around with the idea of putting vortex generators on the underside of the wing. Don't know if anyone has. I would think putting them right on the underside of the spar between the tip and lift strut could get the boundary layer sticking better out there in that somewhat over twisted portion of the wing area. 

All that vortelator is, is thick vinyl that has been pinked with a somewhat courser than scissor pattern. I did buy some but never did anything with it so far.

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Posted

I wondered the same thing when I covered my new gear legs. I went as far as cutting fairings for each tube, but then just put the fairing on the back one and covered the whole thing with fabric. If covering the whole gear leg IS better than fairing the tubes individually, wouldn’t it also be better to cover the whole jury strut and HS brace the same way? I’ve never seen it done, but maybe that’s just because it would look stupid? 

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Posted

I have this if its any help. 

image.png

Could you share a cleaner copy of this if you have one?

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Posted

I had thought about building a fairing that would completely enclose the cabane.  It would attach to the belly of the plane like a belly pod.  Most likely out of fiberglass.  I think it would cut down on a bunch of drag, and the area behind the cabana could maybe become a baggage area if built right.  JImChuk

Jim, I am toying around with building a cabane type bush gear, but I want to reduce the drag. Your idea of enclosing the cabane seems like the way to go. Do you have any other thoughts or drawings, links, etc?

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Posted (edited)

U guys want a better copy of that air drag paper still? It is on the start of this post.  But im happy to post it and i tried to enlarge it also. 

7609E283-DA37-4FD3-8982-A39EDADE6BDC.png

Edited by Buckchop

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