Roger,

John has the issue covered well on the issue of the slipstream taking the pressure off the stick. 100% spot on. Elevators work pretty much like a wind sock.....they droop unless they have wind....

I would like to add a bit about the Spring assist kit which John Mc Bean provides.

I also have a series 7 - same deal as War eagle - and I got the spring assist and installed it following phase 1 testing. Works well and is a good enhancement for the plane.

My theory was fly it as designed - then consider enhancements only after getting acquainted with the handling characteristics to see if it is really needed and if it is even appropriate - and maybe a little of - I want to know how this things works first.

Kitfox models, while they have a lot in common - do have their individual uniquenesses; however, heavy controls in flight is not one of them - I love the light touch on the controls and freedom from mechanical drag and freedom from control slop so you can feel the air load rather than drag from assorted cables and pulleys.

The elevator is going to feel heavy when the plane is sitting in the hangar - mostly all airplanes are like that. That is not what the spring assist is for. What the spring deal is all about is providing TRIM ASSIST, not lightening the elevator feel when the plane is in the hangar.

I wouldn't make any assumptions that if it's good for a series 7 it is good for other models.

The way my KF 7 flew with flaps out at approach speed and full nose up trim required some backpressure to hold the attitude - in otherwords you could not completely trim out all of the backpressure.

The Trim Assist that John M sells is specifically designed to help trim out the backpressure (which is not in any way very much pressure in the firstplace) so you can arrive at a neutral stick pressure on approach WITH THIS PARTICULAR MODEL of kitfox.

It is not for alleviating the static elevator weight - it is for assisting the nose up trim on approach.

If a person makes design changes in controls before testing - the alteration/modification can mask basic handling characteristics and you can end up with something akin to the goofy obsessions we have in this country with medications - take a pill to fix everything - take a second pill to fix the side effects of the first, then a third to fix the side effects of the second ...till a person has a home pharmacy of 37 pills to fix one basic issue and the constellation of pills are worse than the original problem.

I haven't flown every kitfox model out there - a IV, a couple 5s and & a couple 7s and they all handle well easily enough as designed. Wouldn't be too concerned about modifications till some flight testing is done. There will likely be some fine tuning of the rigging after the first flight or two anyway.

Sincerely,
Dave S
KF7 Trigear
912ULS - Warp drive
W/Trim assist