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lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:39 am Post subject: New Model IV

To the list:



I am back bulding again.  I never thought I would do it again since flying 

superceded the build experience, but then when there is no airplane....



Thanks to the local grapevine, I found a 1992 partially completed kit.  It 

was outfitted for the 582, so I have some parts that are available.  I am 

currently working on all the things I learned to wish I had on the original. 

Just finished a cabane attached compression spring landing gear.  It comes 

in at about 8 lbs under the grove gear weight and I like that.  It has a 

wider stance and is a bit taller than the grove gear.    The other major mod 

is the elimination of the upper false ribs, replacing them with an aluminum 

leading edge from the PVC leading edge aft to the stringer.  I hope to 

someday actually begin working on the airplane.  Pictures of the landing 

gear attached.



Glad to be back and active.



Lowell Fitt

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wtrooper(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:04 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Hello again Lowell -



I cannot say how heart-warming it is to hear this. Also - nice gear!



Best regards to you and Kay -

Bill Mills - Castro Valley

Chinook/912 in progress at LVK

Still lurking after all these years

 



On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 12:33 PM, Lowell Fitt <lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net (lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net)> wrote:

[quote] To the list:

 

 I am back bulding again.  I never thought I would do it again since flying superceded the build experience, but then when there is no airplane....

 

 Thanks to the local grapevine, I found a 1992 partially completed kit.  It was outfitted for the 582, so I have some parts that are available.  I am currently working on all the things I learned to wish I had on the original. Just finished a cabane attached compression spring landing gear.  It comes in at about 8 lbs under the grove gear weight and I like that.  It has a wider stance and is a bit taller than the grove gear.    The other major mod is the elimination of the upper false ribs, replacing them with an aluminum leading edge from the PVC leading edge aft to the stringer.  I hope to someday actually begin working on the airplane.  Pictures of the landing gear attached.

  

 Glad to be back and active.

 

 Lowell Fitt 

 [b]

rjdaugh

Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Posts: 195

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:24 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Good news Lowell!



I like the looks of your gear.  And the dimensions.  And the weight.  I can

assure you though that the Grove gear is tough!



Randy

Randy Daughenbaugh,  N10NH

Black Hills of South Dakota, - Near Mount Rushmore

Home Strip, Grass   Room in Hangar for visitors

Series 5/7 (7 Firewall Forward) 912S, Warp Drive Taper Tip

Gross Weight 1320 lbs, Flying since November 2004



--

_________________
Randy
Kitfox 5/7 912S
Black Hills, South Dakota

vft(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:40 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Hi lowell,

 

 Evern though it's been a few years since we sold our Kitfox I still lurk on the list so as to keep tabs on the folks I came to know through it.  It's good to hear you have a project going again that will some day become an airplane to fly. I'm a firm believer that one should never go too long without an airplane project. The landing geaar look cool

 

   Danny Melnik

 F1 N14ZM

 Rocket Factory

 Melbourne, FL

 

 

   [quote]--

Mo

Joined: 29 Jan 2006
Posts: 14
Location: Massachusetts

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:11 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Welcome back Lowell.  You have been missed.

Maurice Fitzgerald

---

mdkitfox(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Lowell,

 

 Welcome back to the list.  It's great to hear you've returned to building.

 

 Rick Weiss

 Series V, still building, but there is light at the end of the tunnel!

 

 

 --

Jim Shumaker

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 106

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Welcome Back Lowell.  Always great to hear from you.

  

 Jim Shumaker

 ---

_________________
Jim Shumaker

Lynn Matteson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 2:42 am Post subject: New Model IV

Hi Lowell-



Nice to hear from you.

It may just be all the shadows or the angle at which you took the  

shot, but it seems like there are more structural members within the  

fuse of your plane than normal. Is that just an illusion, or did you  

add some reinforcements?



Lynn Matteson

Kitfox IV Speedster

Jabiru 2200

Status: flying w/530 hrs





On Jun 21, 2008, at 3:33 PM, Lowell Fitt wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   To the list:



 I am back bulding again.  I never thought I would do it again since  

 flying superceded the build experience, but then when there is no  

 airplane....



 Thanks to the local grapevine, I found a 1992 partially completed  

 kit.  It was outfitted for the 582, so I have some parts that are  

 available.  I am currently working on all the things I learned to  

 wish I had on the original. Just finished a cabane attached  

 compression spring landing gear.  It comes in at about 8 lbs under  

 the grove gear weight and I like that.  It has a wider stance and  

 is a bit taller than the grove gear.    The other major mod is the  

 elimination of the upper false ribs, replacing them with an  

 aluminum leading edge from the PVC leading edge aft to the  

 stringer.  I hope to someday actually begin working on the  

 airplane.  Pictures of the landing gear attached.



 Glad to be back and active.



 Lowell Fitt

 <Landing Gear 3.jpg>

 <Landing Gear 5.jpg>

_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM

Catz631(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:15 am Post subject: New Model IV

Lowell,

    Good to have you back on the list! Did I tell you that I absolutely love the elevator trim system you made for me? It's first class all the way! What a difference in the aircraft!

  

                                                   Dick Maddux

                                                    Fox 4-1200

                                                   Pensacola,Fl



Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.

  [quote][b]

Float Flyr

Joined: 19 Jul 2006
Posts: 2704
Location: Campbellton, Newfoundland

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:14 am Post subject: New Model IV

Welcome home!



Noel



--

_________________
Noel Loveys
Kitfox III-A
Aerocet 1100 Floats

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:15 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Thanks to all for the welcome.  To Lynn, this is the typical Model IV.  I 

guess with a bright sunny day and lots of contrast it makes it look busy. 

Actually, though, from the advice of friends, the turtle deck area has been 

modified to allow the shoulder straps to attach directly behind pilot and 

passenger.  I always struggled keeping the shoulder harness from dropping 

off my shoulder.   Repositioning the center lug also makes the baggage area 

more accessable.



Lowell



---

Lynn Matteson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:35 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Lowell-

I sort of cured that shoulder harness problem by using a 2" wide  

length of belting material (similar to the harness) wrapped around  

the two shoulder belts, and velcroed to itself. In other words, it's  

a circle of belting material that has velcro attached such that it  

becomes a straight section in the middle with a loop on each end. The  

straight section is formed when the ends of the belt are wrapped  

around the harness and pressed together. I'm not explaining it very  

well..too late in the day...but the result is the shoulder straps are  

held together on your shoulders, yet the thing can be removed very  

easily if needed. I put mine behind the down tubes.



Lynn Matteson

Kitfox IV Speedster

Jabiru 2200

Status: flying w/530 hrs





On Jun 22, 2008, at 4:59 PM, Lowell Fitt wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   

 <lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net>



 Thanks to all for the welcome.  To Lynn, this is the typical Model  

 IV.  I guess with a bright sunny day and lots of contrast it makes  

 it look busy. Actually, though, from the advice of friends, the  

 turtle deck area has been modified to allow the shoulder straps to  

 attach directly behind pilot and passenger.  I always struggled  

 keeping the shoulder harness from dropping off my shoulder.    

 Repositioning the center lug also makes the baggage area more  

 accessable.



 Lowell

_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM

Sbennett3(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:54 pm Post subject: New Model IV

I have hooker harnesses on my 4  When I do cross  countries and use the small cargo area, Me and my passenger just loop our  shoulder harnesses on the outside only. Belts only on the inside. Steve  Bennett   Rebel... 



Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.

  [quote][b]

dave

Joined: 22 Sep 2006
Posts: 1382

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:38 am Post subject: Re: New Model IV

Lowell,  Welcome back and I love you gear.   Your cub type gear  is awesome.  Looks like a cheaper and light alternative to the grove gear. 

Will you be selling it ? 



Dave

_________________
Realtime Kitfox movies to separate the internet chatter from the truth
http://www.youtube.com/user/kitfoxflyer
Hundreds of Kitfox Movies
Most viewed Kitfox on youtube
Most popular on youtube
Highest rated on youtube

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:40 am Post subject: New Model IV

Lynn,



I did exactly the same thing, but with 1" red nylon webbing.  I worried at 

times if it would be hard to get out of in the event of a crash and fire. 

It is interesting that in our hard landing, the nylon just came apart.  What 

I mean is the webbing shredded.



Lowell



---

kerrjohna(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:49 am Post subject: New Model IV

Lowell, they world is back on its proper axis with you building again.

  

 A comment on the shoulder straps:  Tired of having them slip off my shoulders, I swapped the ends so that they cross behind me.  There is no "scissor" action as the angle is only slightly greater than if centered behind the seats.

  

 John Kerr

  

 [quote]-------------- Original message -------------- 

From: "Lowell Fitt" <lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net> 



[quote] --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Lowell Fitt" 

 

 Thanks to all for the welcome. To Lynn, this is the typical Model IV. I 

 guess with a bright sunny day and lots of contrast it makes it look busy. 

 Actually, though, from the advice of friends, the turtle deck area has been 

 modified to allow the shoulder straps to attach directly behind pilot and 

 passenger. I always struggled keeping the shoulder harness from dropping 

 off my shoulder. Repositioning the center lug also makes the baggage area 

 more accessable. 

 

 Lowell 

 

 ---

Lynn Matteson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:49 am Post subject: New Model IV

John-

That's a good idea...I'll have to look and see if I can still do that  

move now that the plane is covered. I recall that one of the belts is  

pretty hard to access with covering on, but I think that was the lap  

belt on the outside of the plane.



Lowell-



Shredded? Wow, that must have been some hit. Did you sew the red  

webbing, or velcro it? With the velcro, it should have just popped  

the velcro loose, I would think.

The more I think about how I did mine, the less sure I am about the  

safety issue....I might just get turned sideways and slip through the  

shoulder harness and get up close and personal with the panel....time  

to revisit this situation, I think.



Lynn Matteson

Kitfox IV Speedster

Jabiru 2200

Status: flying w/538 hrs





On Jun 23, 2008, at 9:36 AM, Lowell Fitt wrote:

I did exactly the same thing, but with 1" red nylon webbing.  I  

worried at times if it would be hard to get out of in the event of a  

crash and fire. It is interesting that in our hard landing, the nylon  

just came apart.  What I mean is the webbing shredded.

On Jun 23, 2008, at 11:46 AM, kerrjohna(at)comcast.net wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   Lowell, they world is back on its proper axis with you building again.



 A comment on the shoulder straps:  Tired of having them slip off my  

 shoulders, I swapped the ends so that they cross behind me.  There  

 is no "scissor" action as the angle is only slightly greater than  

 if centered behind the seats.



 John Kerr

_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:27 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Lynn,



The strap had velcro on each end with a small "D" ring for grabbing in an 

emergency.  Picture of what was left attached.  Yes it was a hit.



Lowell

---

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patreilly43(at)hotmail.co
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:28 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Lowell, I'm fairly new to this list. But, I will also say welcome back. By the looks of the gear you built, you are an irreplaceable asset to a site like this. You say your building again. I tell people I will be trying to get out of the coffin to build something, anything. Do you happen to have blueprints of the gear you built? Even rough skeches with dimensions and material sizes?

  

 Pat Reilly

 Mod 3 582 Rebuild

 Rockford, IL 



 	  Quote: 	
		   From: lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net

 To: kitfox-list(at)matronics.com

 Subject: New Model IV

 Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:33:44 -0700

 

 To the list:

 

 I am back bulding again. I never thought I would do it again since flying 

 superceded the build experience, but then when there is no airplane....

 

 Thanks to the local grapevine, I found a 1992 partially completed kit. It 

 was outfitted for the 582, so I have some parts that are available. I am 

 currently working on all the things I learned to wish I had on the original. 

 Just finished a cabane attached compression spring landing gear. It comes 

 in at about 8 lbs under the grove gear weight and I like that. It has a 

 wider stance and is a bit taller than the grove gear. The other major mod 

 is the elimination of the upper false ribs, replacing them with an aluminum 

 leading edge from the PVC leading edge aft to the stringer. I hope to 

 someday actually begin working on the airplane. Pictures of the landing 

 gear attached.

 

 Glad to be back and active.

 

 Lowell Fitt 


	


  [quote][b]

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:49 pm Post subject: New Model IV

Pat,



I would be happy to help.  I have a meeting to go to tonight and can give 

some dimensions tomorrow.  I'll tell give you a brief discription how I did 

it.  A friend gave me some basic measurements - height above the ground - 

forward end of the forward mounting boltto the ground and the and track.  I 

then fixed the fuselage on a sawhorse level at that height and secured it. 

I removed the tires and using the bare axles, I dropped a plumb line and 

marked the floor exactly below the ends of the old tube gear.  A line was 

drawn through those line to give a fix on the wheel contact line in a fore 

and aft direction.  Then a plumb line down from the center of the fuselage 

to give a center point on the wheel contact line.  The total track was then 

marked on that line to give the relative position of the ends of the axles.



I then used two lengths of 1X1X1/8" angle extending beyond the widest marks 

on the line and welded a length of angle between them about 10" long.  I now 

had two parallel rails that were fixed to the floor with bondo with the line 

between them.  The plan is to use the rails to make fixtures on trollys that 

fix the angle and location of the axles.  Of angle iron and wood, I made 

spacers about 1.3" high that rode on the rails essentially extending the 

rail height that 1/3 inch.  Then using tubing that exactly fit over the 

axles, I welded up fixtures of angle iron that rode on the spacers to fix 

the  angle and location of the axle.



After the fixtures were finished. I removed the old landing gear, tapped out 

the axles and using the fixtures without the spacers and mounted at the 

appropriate distance on the rails positioned the axles at the desired 

location for the new landing gear.  The rest amounted to using the axles 

mounted to the fixtures on the rails and the fuselage as a jig and cutting 

and welding everything in place.  Of course tack welding and then removing 

to bench top height made the welding easier.  I found that starting at the 

axle and then working to the pivot points on the tops of the legs gave a 

more accureate reslult given the warpage typical with welding.



The cabane strut was made pretty much the same way.  I will send some detail 

photos.  For the spring strut, I used 3/4" .049 tubing and it wasn't until 

after finishing the struts that I learned that the spring strut made for my 

friend was 7/8 .049 tubing.  These struts are commercially made and are 

designed for airplanes heavier than the Model IV.  I will stick with what I 

have, but may go to the larger tubing if I make another set.  The springs 

themselves are available from Aircraft Spruce in their catalog.  They are 

heavy puppies and cost abour $90 per set.



I'll take a couple of photos of the jigs and track and send them also.  Also 

when welding up the final gear legs, I drilled and tapped holes in the jigs 

through and into the tracks and placed bolts in them so nothing would move.



Questions - just ask.  I doubt all this makes sense at first.



Lowell



---

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