Kitfox Series 7 Super Sport - Show Me Fox

[Jason Murphy]

Received my parts back from powder coat. Powder Coat Plus in Quincy IL they were great to work with did a great job stripping the old and applying new.

I will have them do some additional work in the future. I kinda wish I would have had them apply powder coat to the brackets in my center console prior to assembly. I will need to use paint to prevent breakdown of the adhesive and filler that was applied. I don’t believe it would be a good use of resources and time to disassemble it for a third time. I disassembled it to install the nut plates on the sides.

I had requested they plug the ends to prevent the build up of powder coat on the inside. This resulted in a small buildup on the ends. I am going to try and dress this up the end and if I am not happy I will get back in touch with them and repeat the job this time without plugging the ends. Attached are pictures they did great work!

Tomorrow I will be completing the sale of my C150. A little sad to see it allowed me to build time and complete my commercial certificate but I know it will be going to a good home.

[Jason Murphy]

Rough fit the new mahogany floorboard. Before drilling the holes I want to ensure all floorboards will fit together without gaps.

I need to take a look at options for corrosion prevention inside the rudder pedal torque tubes. I had a gentleman who operated a shop who specialized in repair of Cessna 195’s tell me one time that they used to coat the inside of fuselage tubes with linseed oil. He went on to tell me that he coats the inside of his air compressors with linseed oil.

I am back to work tomorrow and will do some research on the topic and continue to get ready for AirVenture.

[rv9ralph]

If you are worried about corrosion on the inside of the tubes for the rudders, look up Corrosion X.

[Jason Murphy]

I have a Spruce order together, I will add some probably exactly the product I’m looking for.

[Dave S]

[QUOTE=Jason Murphy;109043].....
I need to take a look at options for corrosion prevention inside the rudder pedal torque tubes. I had a gentleman who operated a shop who specialized in repair of Cessna 195’s tell me one time that they used to coat the inside of fuselage tubes with linseed oil. He went on to tell me that he coats the inside of his air compressors with linseed oil.
/QUOTE]

Jason,

Although the procedure has been approximately 97% forgotten about, the use of linseed oil (meaning boiled linseed oil (BLO), not raw linseed oil) for corrosion protection, where internal spaces or overlapped seams are not open to normal painting, is a pretty good way to to accomplish rust/corrosion control.

While it works well and is inexpensive, people have also forgotten the potential of the stuff to autoignite in relatively short order if mishandled - mishandled meaning putting the soaked cleanup rags in a pile where it can't shed the heat produced.

Some years back a local airport lost a couple hangars and some planes when a person put the soaked linseed oil rags in a pail - one of my pals was flying the next day and noticed smoke coming out of the rafters and shortly the whole thing went up in flames.

BLO is great for corrosion control, penetrates well, sheds moisture, very inexpensive and perfectly safe if used correctly just be aware of its penchant for starting fires if mishandled. Not that this cannot happen with other oil products, but linseed oil is really good at self oxidizing in soaked up rags - and it doesn't take long.

[Jason Murphy]

Revisiting the floorboards…

Using the factory floorboards as a template I cut floorboards from 1/8” aircraft grade mahogany acquired from Wicks Aircraft in Highland IL.

After they had been cut I fitted them using a dremel and sandpaper. I started with the forward board then the rear and the middle board actually fits on top of the rear. A bevel was sanded into the rear edge to match the rear floor board.

Used a side clamp cleco with a pencil that had been cut down to locate and mark hole locations for the tabs. As the boards were drilled they were secured with screws. The purpose was to prevent migration which occurred on my first set.

Drilled with a No. 30 bit and used a countersink tool With a No 30 pilot to countersink. The floorboards were secured with flush mount washers and screws.

I ordered some pure tung oil to seal the wood. I am planning on installing an aluminum plate on the middle board to minimize wear on the middle floorboard from rubbing my heels.

Needing to find a solution to the low set tabs on the fuselage. This seems to be a known issue with the factory jig. I will likely fabricate a spacer from plywood. Suggestions were made to stack washers and use Rivnuts however I have had a lot of advice from experienced A&P mechanics to avoid Rivnuts if possible. Although I do find using a machine screw much more appealing than a sheet metal screw.

[Jason Murphy]

Service bulletin SB 912 i-013 does not apply to the fuel pumps / fuel pump assembly on this aircraft based on serial number.

Effected part numbers are 889694 from serial number 180500 up to 203724.

Fuel Pump Housing: Part No. 889696 S/N 22.0025
Fuel Pump 1: Part No. 889691 ASSY S/N 21.4295
Fuel Pump 2: Part No. 889691 ASSY S/N 21.4319

[Jason Murphy]

I have been looking at the Sensenich 3 Blade Ground Adjustable Props. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them?

After speaking with the rep today I understand they are furnished with 6 indexing pins. To set the prop pitch you simply turn the blade to full fine insert the index in of your choice then turn the prop blade to engage the index pin.

Basically there are 6 positions you can set the prop and the index pins provide a quick and repeatable way to adjust the prop without protractors. Each pin will adjust the pitch by approximately 1 degree or 3” of pitch.

I may be posting a used Whirlwind Prop and Spinner for sale in the near future if all this checks out. I will be visiting their booth at AirVenture in the coming weeks.

[Geek]

Revisiting the floorboards… ............Needing to find a solution to the low set tabs on the fuselage. This seems to be a known issue with the factory jig. I will likely fabricate a spacer from plywood. Suggestions were made to stack washers and use Rivnuts however I have had a lot of advice from experienced A&P mechanics to avoid Rivnuts if possible. Although I do find using a machine screw much more appealing than a sheet metal screw.

I am one of those Rivnut fans Jason but also understand they have limitations and are not just a 'general' go to solution. They are awesome for applications where there is little to no stress other than just holding something in place. In the case of your floorboards they are perfect. You are going to be taking those boards in and out so many times over the build and being able to use the machine screw and knowing they aren't going to strip out is just too good. The other complaint is that they break loose and rotate in their holes. I use a drop of the Loctite lock that you use on the elevator bearings when I install mine. Have done that for years on old car/Jeep rebuilds and never had one break loose. But then again, we are talking about applications where you really aren't using a lot of torque on the screw/bolt to install. I did use a thin shim between my floorboards and the mounting tang to take up the slack and it worked great.

Obviously my 2 cents on the rivnuts. Your build and attention to detail is awesome man!

Gary

[Jason Murphy]

Gary,

Thank You for sharing information on the appropriate use of Rivnuts. The advice I was under prior to this was they should be avoided like the plague. Primarily due to the tendency to spin. From how you describe it they spin because they have been abused in some capacity and pushed beyond what they had been designed to do.

Your comments regarding attention to detail are very encouraging. I have been occasionally reviewing your work and it means a lot coming from someone who I feel like is doing top notch work.

Thanks Agan!