And Now For A Little Assembly

It has been quite a while since I posted anything on this sight so I thought it would be a good idea to let followers know how the flying is going and how Frontier Fox is doing.

As of today 1-26-2021 I have 8.8 hours left in Phase 1. So that’s 31.2 hour of flying and 110 landings. I have a 75 mile radius around KSPB but must stay out of PDX airspace. My two additional airports that I am allowed to land at are Kelso WA (KKLS) and Toledo WA (KTDO). I chose those two airports because there are lost of options in case I had to do an off airport emergency landing. East and West of my home airport is mostly forest land with few options to land. South of here is much more populated.

As far as repairs goes there have been a few but nothing outside of what I expected except for two items which I will get into later.

I had a minor fuel leak at the header tank where the return fuel line is. Just needed to tighten the fitting. There was a coolant leak at the heater core shut off valve and the tube at the recovery tank. Also had both brake caliber fittings leak. I had to take the fittings out, reapply sealant then bleed the brakes.

One of the first problems that I encountered had to do with the horizontal trim. I chose to not use the trim rocker switch that came with the kit. Instead I installed Ray Allen G405 grips and put the trim on the grips. It’s handy, easy to find and I can keep my hand on the throttle instead of searching for the rocker switch. It all works fine on the ground, BUT when executing a go-a-round the horizontal would not move. This took lots of forward pressure on the stick to keep from stalling. The solution was to install an amp booster for the horizontal actuator. I bought one from Advanced Flight System and they made up a custom harness to hook up to the ACM.

Here is a pic of the booster.

I have had zero issues with the horizontal actuator since this was installed.

Another little issue that all single engine aircraft have is the left turning tendency. I got tired of having to hold right rudder so decided to fabricate and install a simple trim tab. I used a piece of .025 aluminum that measures 6” X 5.5”. I put a crease on the leading edge and down the top and bottom to give it some strength and to hide the 3M double sticky tape. I quessed how much trim would be needed and I got lucky. It’s seems to be right on the money. Below are a couple of pics. Simple but effective.

The last issue that needs to be addressed is the auto pilot. I have been working with Advanced Flight Systems to resolve the problem. It appears that the auto pilot servos were not specked right, not enough torque. Especially to the elevator. I will be replacing the Dynon 32L servos with Dynon 42L servos. I just received them so I need to put the D-sub connectors on and get them installed. I will post some pics and let you all know how it works.

I must say that I am really pleased with the way Frontier Fox handles. Looking forward to getting the last little quirks fixed and finish Phase 1.

The DAR inspected Frontier Fox on September 21, 2020. I am pleased to report that he only found a few minor things that I needed to take care of which only took a few minutes. Overall he was very impressed with the workmanship and was surprised that it was my first build.

Really a great feeling to have this piece of paper in my hands after two years of work.

Next on the list was to schedule some time with Stick & Rudder to get a little more transition training. I had been there in mid June but it took me much longer than expected to finish the build. Paul Leadabrand was able to squeeze me in for a day of training to “get me back in the saddle “. I came home and did the First Flight (and lived to tell about it)

Continue reading Final assembly

Time to prep the windshield.  I was a little nervous handling the windshield.  It is acrylic and must be handled with out bending it too much.  Acrylic drill bits must also be used to keep from cracking.  The directions are pretty easy to follow.  The idea is to slowly trim it to fit at the butt ribs, boot cowl, door frames and aft to the turtle deck.

All of the edges were sanded smooth and all 42 bolt holes are beveled and sanded smooth.

Next up was to fit the glare shield.  The first pics show how I strayed a little from the way the factory instructions show.  It will make the glare shield easier to install, at least that’s the idea.

Something else that I did to make the glare shield easier to fit was to not have the windshield installed.  Instead I used the part of the windshield that was trimmed off as a spacer that simulates the windshield.  If you look closely you can see the spacer is attached to the boot cowl.

The pic below is made to fit around the tubing and will be left in place when I need to remove the glare shield.

The above pic shows how the main part of the glare shield fits into a slot on three sides of the cross tube piece.  Big Bird the fireman likes the view.

Below shows the glare shield edge finished off with with a piece of trim.

Next up, the turtle deck.  I bought the optional hinge kit from Kitfox.  The directions were straight forward and I am happy with the fit.  All edges were sanded smooth and the holes beveled to reduce the chances of cracking.

Notice that the wings are installed before I fitted the turtle deck.  I used the inside flapperon hinges to pinpoint the spot where the flapperon control rod will pass through the side of the turtle deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to install the propeller.  I chose an Airmaster inflight adjustable propeller with 75” Whirlwind blades.  Below are a few pics of the install.  The pic of the panel shows the prop control and to the left of the throttle is a feather control.

 

I decided that mounting the air filter directly onto the throttle body was not how I wanted it.  To me it is best for engine efficiency to get cooler air from outside the cowl than inside by a hot engine.   So I built a housing for the filter that is mounted (fiberglass) to the right side of the lower cowl.  Air enters through a NACA duct to the air filter then up through a scat tube to the throttle body.

Below are a few pics of the process.

Note that the air sensor it mounted at the aft / lower part of the air filter box.

Pretty happy with the final result.

 

 

Mounting the radiator was pretty straight forward. Made the brackets, put the lower cowl on and find the correct height for the radiator.  Then make the brackets for the oil cooler and hang it.

I modified the oil cooler brackets so that I could install an oil cooler shutter.  I decided to go this way instead of using an oil thermostat.  It took a little head scratching but I’m happy with the results and won’t have to deal with a thermostat failing or all the plumbing for one.  Below are some pics of the process and outcome.

The last pic shows the control knob.  All the way in, the shutter is full open.  Full closed is about one and a half inches and there is a stop built in.  Just need to do the labeling on the panel.  Can’t wait to see how it works.

Here are two pics of the coolant lines, oil lines and oil tank.

 

 

The cowl is the next task to take on.  I have read all of the discussion on Teamkitfox forum. Most everyone is in agreement.  The pieces don’t fit together very well at all and you have to be creative. This really tested my sculpting ability. Let’s say it was a character building process.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

This about covers the three parts of the cowl.  Next up is to install the radiator and oil cooler.  After that I will come back and show the NACA duct for the radiator and the fresh air vents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Just got started on the brakes.  Parking brake valve is installed on the console.  All of the fittings are installed and the reservoir.  I did get the brake lines from the gear to calipers complete.

Notice the brass reservoir cap.  The factory supplies a plastic one (lighter) but I like the brass.  Drilled  1/16” hole for the vent.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted.  I suspended work on the build to focus my time on getting my Private Pilot license and needed maintenance on my home and property.
I still have not gotten my license however much progress has been made.  Three weeks ago I completed the two short cross countries, one to Olympia Washington and the other to Salem Oregon.  Two weeks ago I completed the long cross country, Eugene,OR to Tillamook,OR and home to Scappoose.  Next week I have my written exam scheduled.
What’s left?  Three hours of dual pre-check ride with my CFI and finally the Check Ride.

I am pretty well caught up on home / property maintenance so back to work on Frontier Fox!

I left off working on plumbing the brakes.  Below are a few pics of brake lines.  The first is underneath at the fuselage at the Grove gear, then inside to the firewall, parking brake and rudder pedals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the brake bleeder that I found and modified. I bleed the brakes from the calibers up through the master cylinders to the reservoir.

 

The only thing left to do is burn in the brakes during the taxi phase of Phase 3.