John's Build

[rv9ralph]

So John, what is the availability/cost of these little beauties. I have been suspect of my Ducati Reg/Rec for a while (not always charging as expected).
Are you able to get a batch for your "Team Kitfox Friends"?

Ralph

[DesertFox4]

John, first off, hoping you are on the mend and family are well again.



Regarding reg/recs, I am on my 4th in 900 hours of operation. While I beleive my use of high power usage devices (Whelen strobes) during taxi times and other low RPMs times helped contribute to short longevity, I still think the Ducati regulator/rectifiers are not up to Rotax quality standards. I have since modified my electrical device usage and so far my latest regulator is still functioning.

I would be very interested in a more robust regulator as discussed in your post.

Ducati costs about $179.00.

[jrevens]

Ralph - It was about $220 at the current exchange rate. That's pretty expensive, but maybe cheap enough if it doesn't have to be replaced. I don't know what the price is for the Ducati units now. Silent Hektik won't ship them to the US for some reason. As I said, I'm also not aware of anyone selling them here.

Steve - thank you.

[Rodney]

John - I had rotator cuff surgery too and I really hope yours was successful and you recover soon. I was down for six months. Make sure you do the rehab. It's really important.

I too had a regulator go out and found no way to get one of those european units.

I found a replacement at Napa for about $100 bucks. Puts out 13.8 volts and handles up to 20 amps. It'll wire right in to the ducatti wiring harness with the exception of one wire that is not used. I've got about 40 hours on mine right now and all seems well.

Get well soon BUT don't lift too much too soon.

Regards
Rodney

[Av8r3400]

Rodney, please give us some more detail on the NAPA regulator.

[jrevens]

I'm hoping to get some feedback from the group... I'm trying to decide which mod. of air filters to use on my 912uls - I'm not using an airbox. I'm leaning towards the smaller (R-1060) filters shown on the left in the picture. I believe that these are the filters used on the 912uls powered Kitfoxes first, but then there is the larger RU-1400 (shown on the right) that Kitfox recommends now. Obviously, more surface area is good, but I like the looks & less crowded area with the smaller ones. How have the R-1060's worked out for those of you who use them? Has anyone switched over to the larger ones and noticed any difference in performance?

[Flyboy66]

John,

Did you use the EAA guys to check out your build? If so, who does it in this area?

Steve

[jrevens]

I got a request for some pictures of the headset jacks behind my seats, so I decided to post a couple here. They are made from 0.063 aluminum and are bonded to the tubing with Hysol. The jacks are mounted on insulating washers, so there is no grounding at the jacks themselves as per standard practice. I made matching cover plates with oversized holes. They are held on with small S.S. screws and blind nuts (nutserts). I cut and melted slightly oversized holes in the baggage sack material and sandwiched it between the mounting plates and the cover plates.
The Velcro mounting ledges that were discussed on another thread are perhaps shown a little better (before covering) here also.

[jrevens]

I got back this morning from a couple of wonderful days with Paul Leadabrand (Stick & Rudder Aviation) in Greenleaf, Idaho, getting a good feel for the Super Sport. What a great experience it was, and what a nice airplane!! It was just the boost I needed now! As has been said many times before by others, Paul is a really great instructor and I feel so fortunate that he's doing what he's doing now, and also that I could slip into a narrow available slot with the weather cooperating. I'm glad the winds were kicking up a little and I got a good feel for how nicely this airplane handles crosswinds and so much more. Also good to see John and Debra McBean again, as always, as well as a couple of other local Kitfox friends. Just a really great time doing what I love to do. Thank you, Paul! And thank you John and Debra for keeping this great design alive, fresh and well!

[efwd]

Glad to hear you had a good time. Glad your weather worked out. My first two days (two years ago) with Stick and Rudder, one got rained out. My next trip is April 9 thru 13 for my try for the tail wheel endorsement and BFW. Can't Wait. this time it is suppose to be with Paul. His schedule nearly didn't work out but I was able to switch my vacation and his schedule lightened up enough to allow him to do my instruction. So.... No longer seeking an alternate airplane to fly.