What is the best way to lift my amphibian KF7 for gear maintenance/inspection?
Thanks Alot
Warren
Maui,Hawaii
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What is the best way to lift my amphibian KF7 for gear maintenance/inspection?
Thanks Alot
Warren
Maui,Hawaii
Hi Warren,
I lift my Kitfox floatplane by making 4 foam blocks that are v-shaped to fit under the bottom of the float, two for the front behind the nosewheel area and two for the rear behind the main gear area.
Then I push the tail down far enough to put the front foam blocks under the front part of each float.
Then I use a carpeted board and a floor jack to raise the main gear off the ground enough to put the remaining foam blocks under the rear of each float.
When done I have a nice stable way to support the airplane while I work on my gear.
If you want only a temporary method you can just use carpeted boards to lift the spreader bars, but you will find the airplane not as stable if you need to go in and out of it while moving gear handle/position, etc.
Paul
Hey Paul......
Nice to hear from you again...
I was just there in Sturgeon Bay with Ken Smith..
Actually we flew together to Florida a few weeks ago
Thanks for the help/info....
Let me know if you hear of any Aerocet Amphib. floats for sale for my IV....
Thanks
Warren.....
That was a cool trip I'm sure. Ken is a great guy. Were you flying your 7?Quote:
Originally Posted by mauiwarren
And what floats did you end up with on your 7?
Geez, I just had a friend that sold his aerocets :(
I still have a super nice set of czech 1200 amphibs for sale if interested. I hate to say this, as much as I like my little Aerocets, they are just a bit too small unless the IV is really light (575 - 600 lb ew).
By comparison the 1200's have more than enough floatation for a IV (will handle a 750 lb ew airplane) plus has a much better landing gear with bigger tires that can handle turf. And a bonus to top it all off, they are lighter than the Aerocets.
Hi Paul.....
Yes we flew the my 7 there. It was an amazing flight and we averaged over 100 mph IAS...
The amphib. floats are a from a company called WaterBorne Floats(Sebring,Florida).
They are composite float's that weigh less than 200 lbs combined(not including struts).
Ken was saying they handle and perform as well as anything he has used.
Takeoff water(slight texture,2 average people,2/3 fuel, 13/15 seconds)
Takeoff land 6/11 seconds. EW with floats 970 lbs.
I like the czech floats but I am exclusively on salt water with a lot of less than ideal beaching situations(rocks,hard sand etc.)..composite or rubber floats seem to be the most applicable..I am thinking about just going straight floats for my IV and using Lotus 1260's....
Have an enjoyable ThanksGiving
Warren..
Happy Thanksgiving to you too Warren.
That is really good performance with your Kitfox on floats. Congrats! Maybe that trip will help to make a Kitfox convert out of Ken, as he's a pretty dyed in the wool Rans guy as I'm sure you learned.
You should post a pic of your new Kitfox on your new floats for all of us to drool over :)
I am familiar with the float you chose as my friend that used to build amphib Highlanders used that float back when they were originally manufactured by Mike Puhle in Wautoma, Wisconsin (later they were known as Downwind, Waterlander, etc., etc.). Ironically, a bunch of years later I met the guy that made the original set for Mike - he worked at Cirrus and had grown up with the Klapmeier brothers. Ironically, he had no float plane experience, but was really good with glass. For a guy that knew little to nothing about seaplanes he did pretty good as I know a lot of people really like the look of the float. And whether by design or not, it being much shallower and wider than other floats it is probably providing more lift while causing less drag, so it overall works out pretty well. The downside of the design (imho) is the shallow angle from the step to the keel on the back of the float, so if you like to rotate hard off the water like I do, the back of the float will drag. But if you are just patient, or don't rotate too hard, it will do just fine. The other area that my friend had some issues with is where the rigging attached to the top of the float. Hopefully Waterborne has strengthened some of those areas.
Your beaching situation sounds difficult with any float aside from the Full Lotus. But I just couldn't bring myself to go back to a straight float or I would probably fly Lotus myself (they work so very well in snow... something you don't have to worry about I'm sure :D). However, in your case where you are operating in ocean conditions I would make a point to talk to a bunch of guys flying that float, or preferrably fly one yourself before taking the plunge on a set as I don't think they will handle well in rough water. I have limited Full Lotus experience gained when test flying a Kitfox IV for a friend, but while I liked them overall I didn't like them at all in rough water.
Saltwater and aluminum floats are not as bad of a combination as many might think. A friend with an Avid on Zenair floats has been flying out of salt and brakish water since 1984. A few years ago he found that he had to replace some tubing in the tail of his Avid that had rusted/corrroded due to saltwater exposure, but after really close inspection of the floats he found that they still looked like new, and needed no repairs. So if you decide you want to fly amphibs in salt, I wouldn't hesitate to consider an aluminum float. Based on what my buddy experienced with his Avid and his Zenairs, I think the the floats are likely to outlast the steel tube airplane in a saltwater environment.
Paul
Quote:
Originally Posted by mauiwarren
Hi Paul......
Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences with the Full Lotus floats....
Actually I met the guy who claims to have designed these floats or at least their(waterborne's) reincarnation..his name is Shawn and he is also the Capetown aircraft guy down at Sebring, Florida...
I believe all the rigging/float attachment points ahve been reinforced..
I have attached a youtube video of some of our early experimenting with water takeoff's using different flap settings and lifting one float etc.etc.
Thanks alot for the expertise input........
Warren
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyq4BBSo13I
I love your video (s) !!! I think you have a really nice Kitfox 7 amphib. It looks to perform really well.
I met another guy that had an earlier set of those floats on a Rans S-7, and he did a lot of reinforcing both to the fibreglass and the rigging gear (I think Ken and he worked together on them?) and he is now operating them quite successfully. I think the issue with the floats initially when Mike P did them was where the rigging attached to the float, and then after he sold the company then the next company had fibreglass issues. So the later Downwind floats in their raw (unmodified) form had the potential to fail in the float rigging, and in the figreglass. Either one of those areas can be a really big problem, but having both areas be a concern is downright scary.
So I'm really glad to hear that Capetown took the design and improved it. I've always thought if someone would just fix those issues it would be a good float. Based on what I'm learning about your Kitfox 7 amphib, it looks like they got it right.
Can you imagine owning a more fun airplane than a Kitfox amphib? :)
blocks for supporting floats and a float install
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9y9ct0MndA