Minimal damage after I crashed my kitfox. I got it on video!

Hey guys,

If you haven't seen the video of me crashing my kitfox here it is!

If you are flying a rotax. be careful of vapor lock issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ3WByjahOc&t=145s

Do you have a fuel pump, or are you going to add one to help?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shadowrider

Do you have a fuel pump, or are you going to add one to help?

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I changed the gold rotax fuel pump to the new silver one and did the bypass.

i haven't had any issues so far.

So the plane is repaired and flying again? How long ago was the incident?

First, well done video. Second, good job on the crash. No injuries, minimal damage, what more could you ask for? (Yeah, I know...)


I worked hard on my build to minimize the vapor lock possibility. I re-routed my fuel line away from heat sources and fire shielded all the lines. Of course, I also had a round cowl, which ventilates much better than the tight 7 cowl. Take a look at your installation. See if you're getting any heat from the exhaust system or other high heat sources.


Good luck!

Glad your ok. Curious to know, how long from the time you started up until take off? As in, did you fire it up, and immediately take off or did you sit there idling for “x” amount of time?

Curious how you were able to determine the issue was vapor lock?



The classical Rotax vapor lock issue is a hot soak situation following shutdown on a hot day and attempting to restart 5-10 minutes later where the bleed line is not installed.


Any feedback on the type of fuel that was being used at the time?

Also be aware that even though the prop was not turning ,this is still considered by rotax's definition as a prop strike and their maintenance manual should be consulted on what is required. From the manual-3.2.2) Propeller strike
A propeller strike can be defined as follows:
1.Any cases in which the engine is operating and the propeller impacts an object which causes
a
considerable drop in engine RPM
.
Propeller strikes on ground or contact with various objects can result in engine and/or compo-
nent damage even if the propeller may continue to rotate. Such damage may progress to engine
failure.
2.Any incident, whether or not the engine is operating (e.g. damage due to contact with foreign
objects, landing gear failure etc.), that requires a removal of the propeller for repair. Also if a
propeller governor is installed, it must be the inspected and repaired in accordance with the
propeller governor manufacturer ́s published instructions.
3.Any incident with a sudden RPM drop while impacting water, tall grass, or other similar medium
where damage on the propeller structure is not incurred.

ok, I'll add my thoughts. how's the tail. A quick visual is NOT going to work. seems it hit real hard on roll over. My thought is, you have to remove all the fabric on the back vertical on down into the fuse and inspect for cracks and repair as per needed. someday it could snap and you will be in for a, how do you say it, not so fun ride.

one more thing, the engine, ya it was not turning. I guess the engine might be ok. but I would tear the gear box off and do a runout check on the crank and gear box. the prop, no way, new one. you could have a slight crack or weakness and not know it and someday, POW! again, you will have one of those, oh crap moments.