Trailering My plane home

[Steve Schlager]

Here's some photos

[DBVZ]

Thanks. Looks good. I see you used the "shrink wrap" method to close it up. I bought a roll from Office Depot for my trip. We since made a custom cover, using a vinyl material with a flannel backing, velcro, some aluminum rods with camlock fasteners. Closed up pretty tight now.

[DesertFox4]

With the wings folded back that is a lot of weight on that tail wheel.

Use a support bracket to raise your tail and take the stress off the tail wheel area. I've heard stories years ago of the rear vertical stabilizer tubing being broken from improper trailer use. Look it over good before flight.

[Stolman]

Is it realistic and practical to plan on keeping a Kitfox S7 on a trailer at home and then taking it out to fly (with the intention of avoiding hangar fees)?

[GWright6970]

"Use a support bracket to raise your tail and take the stress off the tail wheel area." DesertFox4

I see your point....

If you were to do this, how would it be constructed, and padded, so that the support does not rub/destroy the fabric under the fuselage... ?

Does anyone have a picture of their "successful" support?

Thanks,
Grover

[HighWing]

Just did the trailering. No detail in the pic of the support on the trailer, but two pics of the supports are attached. The base is a steel plate about 12X14 and something like .075 thickness. The two vertical tubes telescope. The telescoping tube rides on the spring (lucky to have the raw stuff laying around). The Delrin top pad is shaped to fit against the tailweel spring and around the main tailwheel spring nut to hold it in place.

The trailer had a wood deck and the owner was fine with me using construction screws to fasten the support to the deck. The trailer had a six inch high square tube structure across the front of the bed, so I ran the tires up against that and wrapped the length of a rachet tie down strap around the tube and the foot of the landing gear. I then used a strap on each side from the top of the landing gear to points aft of that. There were two straps in back, one on each side wrapped around the tailwheel spring. Anyone like to try the spring set-up back there send a personal note, I have three or four extra springs They are one inch diameter and fifty or so lbs. will compress them about a half inch of their two inch capacity.
Lowell