What are your favorite Kitfox mods?

[jrevens]

John

I did a search for "John's Build" and your builders log is toward the bottom of the first page. Looks like it's all there.

Rick

Thanks Rick... sometimes I wonder how I find my way out of bed in the morning!

3kdscf ... you can find my original posts of how I did it in my "John's Build" thread, posts #274 & 275.

[3kdscf]

Thanks Rick... sometimes I wonder how I find my way out of bed in the morning!

3kdscf ... you can find my original posts of how I did it in my "John's Build" thread, posts #274 & 275.

Thanks! If anyone wants to look at John's hinged turtledeck, here it is! What I love about this modification is that it lets you seal the gap around the flapperon control horn without having to undo the seal every time you want to fold the turtledeck. Only the aft portion lifts up making it *much* quicker to open and close.

https://teamkitfox.com/Forums/thread...ll=1#post70368
https://teamkitfox.com/Forums/threads/5198-John-s-Build?p=70369&viewfull=1#post70369

[avidflyer]

Here are a few things I did on my Kitfox 4 rebuild. I widened the fuselage at the doors by 4" by adding 1/2" tubing to the outside of the door openings. When you go to install the doors, you rack the door frames (bend) to fit the new opening and then install the windows. I also added .040" thick steel sheet under the doors as a way of strengthening that area which can be bent with pretty hard landings. I copied Larry with his Mangy Fox in this addon. The other thing I did is the access door to the oil tank in my smooth cowl. My tank is recessed into the firewall by about 2" and this lets me check or add oil. The front has a sort of tongue and groove setup and the rear camlocks hold it and the cowl down at the same time. Works for me. JImChuk

[3kdscf]

I also added .040" thick steel sheet under the doors as a way of strengthening that area which can be bent with pretty hard landings. I copied Larry with his Mangy Fox in this addon.

Interesting! I had forgotten about this. When I sat in the demo Kitfox at Oshkosh in 2000 I remember feeling how the metal along the bottom edge of the doorframe seemed to flex a lot more than I thought it should when I put my weight on it to get into the cockpit. I was not bold enough to take a welding torch to my new fuselage structure but I did fill in the triangles with 1/8" plywood and structural epoxy to beef it up and it has survived some pretty, ah ... firm landings.


SeatReinforcement.jpg

[airlina]

In the 20 years since finishing my Series 5 build, there have been plenty of mods , which is the beauty of our experimental certification. Didn't want to go thru the whole list so I chose a few that I use on most or all flights and have added utility to my plane. 1st pic shows my 2 axis autopilot which is a game changer. for cross country flights. 2nd pic shows cockpit adjustable rudder trim which I consider a requirement if you are planning for an A/P. Absolute coordinated flight is required with the A/P engaged or you'll be flying wing low. This is achievable with your foot, or trim....I prefer trim. 3rd pic shows my MGL engine monitor which replaced my original westach engine gauge (which was in vogue when I was building) The MGL instrument and associated master caution/warning lite are great for monitoring all cylinder health and any deviations from programmable engine parameters. Last mod was electronic ignition on my Continental IO-240 , by the addition of dual P mags to replace my slick mags. I did this in stages by replacing the left mag with a Pmag first, to develope trust in its operation , then after a few years with great results , I changed over the right mag as well. Been a fun journey. Bruce N199CL