Flap handle stops
GDN asked in another thread about how to determine degrees of flaps, how to determine at what point you start to lose roll control and how to determine degree of flaps.
I'll paraphrase from the old "How to FLy A Kitfox" book by Ed Downs. You can determine the point at which roll control begins to be inhibited with a simple ground check. With flap handle full forward hold the stick full left or right and slowly pull the flap handle up. At some point you will feel the stick start to move back toward the center position. This is the flap position where roll control begins to be restricted. It will probably be at about 1/2 way on the flap handle travel.
He also says that knowing the exact degrees is not real important. About 90% of the effectiveness of flaps is reached at 50% of flap handle travel. Some people install a stop at 2/3 handle travel. This is usually about 20 degrees flaps and you still have good roll control.
Attached is a picture of the flap handle stops I made. Not elegant, but inexpensive, easy to make and functional. This is probably only relevent to models 1 through IV. I think the series 5 and on have some sort of notching mechanism on the flap handle.
The bottom stop is a 5/16 inch OD piece of aluminum tubing. It was left over wing root/tip rib brace material. The top stop is an adel clamp with a short piece of scrap aluminum covered with polyurathane fuel line.
I determined the degree markings by placing an angle finder on the a flaperon with the stick neutral.
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