Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
That is a very common problem with these planes.
Here is a thread when I did nearly the same exact repair.
Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
Thanks for the link Larry,
It seems quiet common indeed. What welding method did you used? What is the material of the tubing?
Thanks!
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Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
This is also a weak link on Avid Flyers, I would suggest filling in as much of the seat truss as you can with some .040" steel sheet. Jim Chuk
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Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
Jorge-- the tubing is 4140 steel, I believe I used .049" wall for the repair. The tube gets sleeved on the inside and rosette welded to hold the sleeves in place.
If you choose to stay with the bungee gear, I would recommend doing as avidflyer suggested and put some webbing in that truss to keep this from happening again.
I put webbing in my side trusses to reinforce for the grove gear on my Mangy Fox project. Something like that would help the bungee truss.
Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
Thanks for your replies,
I was going trough the FAR instructions for the repair ... Seems like I need a good welder.
Is it meant to be TIG welded only or what kind of welding machine did you guys used?
Thanks again,
Jorge
Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
Mine is all Mig welded, like the original construction was.
Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
Hi Larry,
what kind of "filler rod" did you used for the welded repair?
Thanks!
Jorge
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Av8r3400
Mine is all Mig welded, like the original construction was.
Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
I am wondering how many incidents of actual bungee cord failure there has been where the airframe was saved by the cables. Some of my flying buddies cut out the limit cables to avoid the event triggering this thread and just went with the bungees. Since most of us are pretty good at the periodic maintenance schedules, I think I would focus on a timed bungee cord replacement and go without the cables. Wondering if the origInal design fix to prevent bungee cord failure damage has caused more problems than it has prevented.
Re: Kitfox III, bent tube
I agree with Lowell on that...better without the safety cable...change the bungee every year's or 100hr...