thoughts and questions on building a Kitfox II

Just picked up a barely started KF II kit (#305). Will be starting on it in the next couple of days, so any thing I should watch for or if you think I should know anything about something please chime in. I have access to a machine shop and a welding shop so anything along those lines isn't a problem.

Planning on:
1-Enlarging the rudder up by ~10" and over the non-moving part or should I Enlarge the non-moving portion instead?
2-Putting on airdale aluminum gear, or some other bungee style gear. Which would be best?
3-Not sure what brakes/wheels (want to use ~20" tires) to use, would like something good though, what is everyone else using?
4-Thinking of using this tailwheel, would it work or is there something better?
5-Thinking of having the frame and most all the other metal parts powder coated, will it be enough to prevent the frame and other parts from rusting/corroding or should I use something else? How about the wing spars?
6-What should I use to seal the wooden wing ribs with?
7-What should I use to glue the wing together, I'm guessing the 3M weld stuff that came with the kit is out dated?
8-The kit came with one fiber glass seat, not really sure if thats what came with the kits or not. What is everyone else doing for seats?
9-I know its a long shot but does anyone know if the smooth/flat cowling with fit the HKS 700e, seen where someone here had put one in a round cowling but had to cut a little out of the side for one of the heads to stick out?
10-I would like to essentially make it into a model III 1050, what all would need to change? (this isn't a necessity)


Thank you for taking the time to read through all of my ???, I'm sure I'll have more. Any input is appreciated, if you are answering a question please put the number of the question in front of your answer to keep things neat. Also if you know of any build threads of a kitfox I-III with pictures etc I would love to know of one, haven't found much.

Planning on:
1-Enlarging the rudder up by ~10" and over the non-moving part or should I Enlarge the non-moving portion instead?
2-Putting on airdale aluminum gear, or some other bungee style gear. Which would be best? Would use stock gear -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_kEZnXDgYM
3-Not sure what brakes/wheels (want to use ~20" tires) to use, would like something good though, what is everyone else using? Stock wheels and brakes again
I use they and they take a beating
4-Thinking of using this tailwheel, would it work or is there something better? stock tailwheel again
5-Thinking of having the frame and most all the other metal parts powder coated, will it be enough to prevent the frame and other parts from rusting/corroding or should I use something else? How about the wing spars?
6-What should I use to seal the wooden wing ribs with?
7-What should I use to glue the wing together, I'm guessing the 3M weld stuff that came with the kit is out dated? - Garbage --
8-The kit came with one fiber glass seat, not really sure if thats what came with the kits or not. What is everyone else doing for seats? That is it -- will need re-inforcemnts in time
9-I know its a long shot but does anyone know if the smooth/flat cowling with fit the HKS 700e, seen where someone here had put one in a round cowling but had to cut a little out of the side for one of the heads to stick out?
10-I would like to essentially make it into a model III 1050, what all would need to change? (this isn't a necessity) Not possible.
Moel 2 is 950 gross --tube size change at models change

The kit didn't include any wheels, landing gear, brakes, tail wheel, or glue. Is there somewhere I can get some of the stock parts from? Was thinking upgrade parts would not be a lot more since I would have to get the stock part any way?

7- when you say "garbage" do you mean the glue is good? If so where can I get it?
8- when you say it will need reinforcments what do you mean? Is there somewhere I can get another one like the one I have? Some seem to have a bench seat?
10-what tubes were changed?

Thanks Dave F for your response

Epoxy is likley trash-- You holding your plane with it.
Talk to Mc Bean at Kitfox for Landing gear. .

check barnstormers for everything - it will be cheaper to buy landing gear with wheels and brakes --maybe 400 to 600$ instead of 2,000.00



Build them lite for max performance.

Personally a used cheap Kitfox 2 can be had for 10 to 20k flying.

Dave

I have got some responses saying the aluminum tanks end up leaking. Where do they usually fail? Is it something I could strengthen? Could I foam/rubber mount the tank to allow it to move/flex a little?

Also thinking about doing this wide body mod, would that cause any problems?

@ Dave F - When you say "If you want wider gear spend 1200 for someone elses." who would you be referring too?

Several guys sell them - Airdale - Lowell - Mc Bean.



KF 2 has limited Gross weight about 500 lb usage less fuel you gonna be a solo flyer soon.

3benny- aluminum tanks have a poor track record in the kitfox wing design. Aluminum was abandoned years ago as a viable alternative to fiberglass wing tanks. They will most likely leak at the welds. Most if not all ended up removing them and replacing with fiberglass years ago. Lots of work. The tanks are part of the structural integrity of the wing and need to be bonded to the front and rear spars. This results in the flexing and fatigue of the tanks creating the leaks. Fiberglass just plain works in this mission.
3benny, this is pretty common knowledge in the Kitfox community but as so often happens this info. gets buried in threads and posts and is hard to search by topic for new Kitfox enthusiasts and is easily missed. Glad you're asking questions. Enjoy the forum.

What are your thoughts on the wide body mod? Is it worth it, or is the Kitfox wide enough like it is? I have all the stuff to do it with and I don't believe it will add more then 10 lbs if that, but of course it all adds up.

I would like to use these tires since they are about the right size and aren't extremely expensive. Any reason I shouldn't or is there anything better(bigger)? Where can I get a 8" wheel to fit these? Matco makes some but not sure if they would fit right? Any suggestions on the brake system, was thinking about going with matco?