IV Straight line distance - tail wheel to mains

[Bob Brocious]

Folks,
I'm going to Kansas to pick up a IV Speedster. I need to modify a trailer so I can load the Kiftox backwards, by raising the tail on a rail. The critical issue is ... how far forward does the rail for the tailwheel have to extend? Then I will have to extend the trailer tongue to avoid contact between the wings and the rear of my vehicle.

So ... can someone tell me the distance from the center of the tail wheel to an imaginary line running between the two mains?

Thank you!
Bob

[Geowitz]

Perhaps you could borrow a standard car trailer?... Sorry, I don't have the measurement right now, but the pic below is my kitfox 4 speedster on a standard car trailer. I didn't have to modify the trailer at all and the tail spring is just sitting on a jack stand. No interference issues what so ever.

[Bob Brocious]

You wouldn't happen to know how long the bed is on your trailer ... ? My trailer has a 12' bed. I'm pretty sure it's more than 12'. But ... I got a plan!

Thanks for the reply Geowitz.

[t j]

My measurements, Kitfox Classic 4 long wing.

Center of the mains to center of the tail wheel
Leveled (tail high) 13' 2.5"

Center of tail wheel to wing tips 51.5"
subtract 18" for speedster wings 33.5"

For tow vehicle turning clearance I added half my pickup width at wing tip height above the trailer hitch which came out 36". The center of my trailer hitch is 36" forward of the wing tips. If you have a pickup without a canapee the wing tips will clear the top of the pickup bed when turning.

Now, mine has regular tube gear which puts the center of the main wheels 2.5 inches behind the leading edge of the wing. Yours will have grove gear which puts the center of the main wheels a couple inches forward of the wing leading edge.

Look at the weight and balance sheet for the plane to find the "Main wheels Arm" it will be a negative number. Make it a positive number and ad it Plus 2.5 inches to my 13' 3.5" main wheel to tail wheel measurement.

Confused yet?

[tommg13780]

13'5" grove gear. Add about 4" (guessing) for bungee gear

[Geowitz]

Sorry, forgot to add that detail. It was 16'.

[Dick B in KY]

I used a standard 16' trailer with 2' extensions added on the rear. Did not need to extend anything else. Ran 2X4's full length of the bed for tailwheel. No problems with turning radius clearance (just can't jackknife the set up).

Dick B

[Bob Brocious]

Here is a scale model of my trailer. I modified a J3 length to approximate a Kitfox IV. What do you think about this cradle idea? The aircraft sits on a thick foam pad. Of course we would strap or bungee the tailwheel to a point on the trailer to hold it in the cradle. The cradle would be secured to the trailer with bolts.

I've got to travel 500 miles to get her home. What do you think?

[Bob Brocious]

Here is a scale model of my trailer. I modified a J3 length to approximate a Kitfox IV. What do you think about this cradle idea? The aircraft sits on a thick foam pad. Of course we would strap or bungee the tailwheel to a point on the trailer to hold it in the cradle. The cradle would be secured to the trailer with bolts.

Kitfox trailer.png.jpg


I've got to travel 500 miles to get her home. What do you think?

[tommg13780]

With the wings folded back there's approximately 200# on the tailwheel. I think your diagram would probably bend the longerons during travel. In addition you may not have enough tongue weight to keep the trailer straight when rolling down the road. Insufficient tongue weight will cause the trailer to whip back and forth in an oscillating fashion. The attached photo is a model 1 on a 16' landscape trailer that went from NY to Arkansas (1100 mi) successfully. Notice the tail is supported at the tailwheel spring brackets.

Possible solution is remove the wings/lift struts and perhaps transport them on a roof rack.

Better solution is locate a trailer better suited for the task.