Really trailerable?

[s10sakota]

I would like to know if it is really possible to keep a Kitfox at home and trailer it to the airport. Imagine the money saved if one didn't need to buy a hangar!

I've always heard that yes the Kitfox has folding wings, but the bumps of the road can fatigue the metal attach fittings and the plane really shouldn't be trailered.

I want to know the actual case and not someone's personal theory. So...can the Kitfox actually be kept at home and trailered regularly to the airport?

Thanks in advance,

Mark

[DesertFox4]

I want to know the actual case and not someone's personal theory.

Mark, it's done all the time. Clint Bazzil in Cal. keeps his at home and I believe he's got over 1400 hours on his model 4. Never had a hangar and never will at the prices they want just to rent one out there.
The key is getting the routine down. Should take you about 15 minutes to swing wings, unload from trailer, hook up controls and install turtle deck. This is by yourself with no help.
I trailered my model 3 about 6 times before I got a covered tie-down at Phoenix. Not because the process was a pain but because the drivers here in Phoenix are insane. I had cars 2 feet from my prop. all the time. Too busy looking at the plane instead of driving their cars. I figured it was only a short matter of time before my plane was in a car accident.

I've always heard that yes the Kitfox has folding wings, but the bumps of the road can fatigue the metal attach fittings and the plane really shouldn't be trailered.

.
No damage will occur to the airframe if you have the correct trailer. It must be a light weight trailer with light weight axles not a car hauler type.
Yes , it's much nicer to have a hangar to tuck your Kitfox into at night but many do not have this option so don't let that keep you from all the fun. Best of luck.

[RandyL]

Just checking a practical consideration here: when you fold the wings back, especially on a taildragger, don't the fuel tanks need to be partially empty so fuel won't spurt back out the vents?

[s10sakota]

Randy,

Not that it answers your question, but it seems that it would be easy enough to make a small rubber fitting that one could put on the end of the vent to plug it for transport.

I'm starting to see that a "Wing Unfolding" checklist would be a good idea!

[RandyL]

1) I'm not concerned with trailering/towing, just folding the left wing back to fit it in a hangar. Sounds like I'll need to make sure the left tank is 1/2 full or less. That's kind of a pain and news to me, hmm.

2) Regarding towing, I have a 12 mile drive to the airport. Any reason I can't use my tailwheel-to-trailerhitch thing I built for towing RVs to the airport and just tow it with the wings folded and secured? I'm thinking once a year, 12 miles each way.

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[SkySteve]

For a few months I had my plane hangered in a hanger that was so full of airplanes I had to fold the wings to get it in the hanger. Since it was such a pain to always drain the tanks I used a length of rubber gas line and slipped one end of the line onto each fuel tank cap vent. Never lost any fuel because the tanks were then "piped" together. I would pull the plane out of the hanger, swing the wings into place and secure them, then remove the fuel line from one fuel cap vent, lift it up to allow the fuel which was in the temporary fuel line to drain into the tank which was still attached, remove the fuel line from the second wing fuel cap vent, and off I'd go. It worked pretty slick.

[RandyL]

Thanks Steve, nice to know there are some techniques for making folded wing storage a practical consideration.

[airlina]

Mark, I am attaching my wing fold and towing checklist that I use when I trailer my Series 5 Kitfox home to my shop. This will give you an idea what is involved in the process. I only do this when I bring it home to my shop for maintenance or modification. Usually once or twice per year. I pay 150 bucks a month for hangar rent which is well worth it. I would not consider the tow for every flight process for this amount. I have a friend in Fla. who pays 450 bucks a month for a hangar for his 170 and at this price the towing would become more attractive. I would definitely not fly as much if I had to go thru the process for every flight. You cannot rush the procedure or you risk screwing something up and damaging the airplane (that is why I developed these checklists.) Also I believe in draining all the fuel from my wing tanks to get rid of the weight that will be bearing on the attach points with the wings folded. If you want to see photos of mine on the trailer, go to this website www.aselia.com and click on the kitfox link. Hope this helps . Bruce Lina N199CL

[s10sakota]

All of these replies were very helpful. The answer that I have come up with is, NO...it's not really possible to trailer the airplane back and forth. Theoretically it may be possible, but the fact the fuel has to be drained every time, along with the process of folding and unfolding the wings, and the plane probably being too large to fit in my garage with the wings folded, does not make this a good option. Darn.

[vetdrem]

I have a trailer that I have towed my model 3 about 5000 miles on with no ill effects to the plane.

The fuel MUST be removed. Not a big deal, I bought a $2.00 pump from Tractor supply, and just drain them into cans.

Last year, we spent the winter in Florida. I towed my Kitfox from Michigan to just south of Tampa and went to a small airport that I wanted to use a my base of operations for the season. I rented a tie-down spot at the airport for $30/month and parked the trailer in that spot. I used the trailer as my hanger for the entire time I was there. It worked GREAT.

It would take me about 20 minutes to unload, open the wings, preflight and add fuel. I was never more than 30 minutes getting into the air.

As for using the tailwheel bracket that was used for the RV, It wont work. When the wings fold back, they are 2 or 3 feet aft of the rudder, also the horiz stab and elevator would be attached, so turns would be pretty tough.

There is a set of plans to build a tow bar that is used to tow the kitfox on its mains for those short (relativly slow) trips from your house to your local airport.

All in All, I love my trailer, it makes my Kitfox even more versital.