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Re: Building tips and hints
hi guy's, wanted to post what we did to support the fuel line and wireing through the seat tunnel. used some left over alum, tubing from a rans s7 build and clamps to the air frame tubing.
also added a swing down fuse panel. hope someone can use this.
please keep the tips coming no matter how small, they are a great help.:D
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Re: Building tips and hints
One tool I absolutely love and might be a good idea on the Acrylic windshields and bubble doors is a Zero Flute counter sink. It is perfect for non chatter duburring of holes.
Re: Building tips and hints
Fabric covering tip (this one's for Jiott):
I'm sure others have different ways to get the tape lines on the wing wrap straight, but this is what I found to work well. Make use of those chalk lines and don't make the mistake of grabbing black chalk (use the blue)...don't ask how I know that :D
http://www.azshowersolutions.com/Wing1.html
Dan
Re: Building tips and hints
Spent yesterday working on the wing spars. Things went very well but I thought I'd pass along a small piece of wisdom. The spar inserts are a pretty snug fit in the spar tubes and can gouge the tubes if not inserted carefully. I've seen it suggested to use some sort of lube, but I was hoping to avoid that as I intend to slosh the insides with primer after the inserts are rivetted. I found that the long spar tubes will sag a very small amount when positioned on the building jig and that this slight curvature can cause the straight inserts to bind as they go in. Things go much better if the spars are laid flat on a table and even rolled back and forth a bit.
Re: Building tips and hints
This is gonna sound pretty silly, but I stumbled on a pretty simple tool for marking the rib locations on the spars. If you've not done it yet, the trouble is making lines on the spar tubes so that they run perpendicular to the spar. I've seen folks simply wrap paper around the tube and that seems fine, but yesterday I noticed that the little cardboard tube that safety wire comes in looked to be the same size as the spar tubes. Well, it turns out that it is almost a perfect fit, being just a tiny bit snug. After a few seconds on my spindle sander the tube slides perfectly over the spar tubes and makes drawing the lines a snap.
Re: Building tips and hints
The 5/16" Nylaflow tubing used for the rudder cable guides comes coiled in the kit, & will have a pretty good curve to it. Simply cut your sections of the tube to length, then put them in your oven at 180 deg. for about 2 minutes. They will straighten right out, and can be "helped" a little with your hands while they're still warm. Works great.
Re: Building tips and hints
Wing Assembly - All Models with wing tanks.
If you plan on lacing the ½ rib under the fuel tank at rib location #2, you need to plan ahead. The rib under the tank is nothing more than a cap strip that you glue to the bottom of the fuel tank with scrap pieces of wood for spacers to form the profile.
Make a template of your planned rib stitch locations and transfer those marks to the lower cap strip. Then glue your cap strip spacers in position avoiding the stitch locations. You can plan on making a custom needle to reach under the cap strips.
John Pitkin
Greenville, TX
Re: Building tips and hints
Rib Lacing - All Models
As suggested in the Polyfiber manual, you should make a full size template of your rib by tracing around the wing tip rib. Draw the stitch spacing on your template. I found this template to be invaluable. I made my template out of poster board. My cardboard wasn’t long enough so I joined two pieces with duct tape and cut out the pattern with tin snips.
Use a chalk line for layout of the rib lacing stitches on the wing. Blue chalk works well and is cleaner than red or black.
Pre-punch all the holes prior to lacing to assure even spacing of your stitches. Pre-punching the holes also speeds the job. Use a sharp needle for punching. When the holes are punched, blow the chalk line residue away with compressed air. Do not wipe the chalk line as it will imbed into the weave of the fabric. A faint chalk line may remain after using the blow gun, but any chalk will be sealed in next two coats of Poly Brush. The chalk will not affect you final finish.
The Kitfox has 1 inch wide ribs, but reinforcing tape is not available in 1 inch width. You must use two strips of 1/2 inch tape side by side. If you pre-punch the lacing holes before you apply the reinforcing tape you can use the holes as a guide for the tape. Do not let the tape overlap a hole as it will cause a dimple in the tape when the stitching is tightened.
Sharp needles are great for punching holes, but they are not good for locating the blind hole when lacing through to the other side. The sharp tip will snag the fabric inside the wing and make it very difficult to tell when you have the needle in position to push through. A dull needle with a smooth rounded tip is much better. A few seconds on the disk sander created a smooth ball tip. Simply push the dull needle through and feel for the edge of the rib on the opposite side. Slide the needle up and down along the opposite rib edge and it will pop into the pre-punched hole.
Rib lacing goes a lot faster if you have an assistant, but it’s not impossible to do it alone. I had my wing in a rotisserie jig so it was easy to flip. Vertical positioning worked best for me as I could reach over the wing to pull the needle through. When I was half way down the rib, I flipped the wing to put the trailing edge up and finished the lacing.
Because internal structure may get in the way of your needles, you may have to skip a hole when passing through, then double back to reach the desired hole. Rest assured, it is possible to reach every stitch location on the Kitfox wing.
John Pitkin
Greenville, TX
Re: Building tips and hints
Good post John. I did a couple of things differently on my SS7:
To layout the rib stitch spacing I used a flexible 1" wide piece of fiberglass (actually a trimming off the wingtip) and laid it on the tip rib capstrip and marked the position of the trailing edge. Then I marked the 2.5" stitch spacing on this piece, doing my best to avoid internal structures. Then I moved this marked piece to the next rib and the next, etc. to check every rib to make sure my stitches would freely go all the way thru. I found that I had to readjust the spacing and starting point slightly, but when I was done every stitch was evenly spaced and lined up down the wing. Using this marked strip I then marked and prepunched the holes with the needle. Of course I also made a similar strip and transferred the markings to the opposite side of the wing, using a square to keep all the stitches parallel and vertical. This method avoids the chalkline and its mess.
When I actually stitched the ribs, all stitches went thru without problem and none had to be skipped and backtracked. There are many ways to skin a cat and this was my way for what its worth.
Jim
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Re: Building tips and hints
Rib lacing – All models
When you reach the end of your lacing cord, or the last stitch on a rib, you are left with a knot and short piece of lacing cord that must be tucked inside the fabric.
Trim the cord to about 2 inches long and turn a needle around backwards. Thread the cord through the eye and poke the eye end of the needle inside the exit hole. Hang onto the cord as you push the needle inside and the knot will drag down into the wing. Release the cord and push the needle a little further to slip the cord off the needle inside the wing. Be sure to hang on to the needle so you don’t drop it inside the wing!
Photo 1 shows holding the needle backwards with the cord in the eye.
Photo 2 has the needle poked inside the wing and the cord released.
John Pitkin
Greenville, TX