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Lynn Matteson
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan
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 Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 6:17 pm Post subject: Skis for Kitfox's |
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Makes sense to me, Michel...kinda like a fuse for the landing gear.
I've got the Grove gear on mine, which is supposed to be a bit
stronger than the tube gear, so I'm not sure whether this will give
under the same circumstances as the tube gear or not.
Incidentally, I drove a couple hundred miles south into Ohio today,
and bought a tube notcher and a tube bending kit. When I got home, my
Spruce order was on the porch, which included my 4130 tubing and gas
welding rod....I'm starting my skis tomorrow...YEEEEHAWWWW!
Ok, Lynn, calm down....I'm gonna practice with both the MIG welder
and the gas, to determine which I like best. I got some advice from a
welding instructor at Sun 'n' Fun last year on which gas and type of
wire to use with the MIG, and lo and behold, that's exactly what I
had on hand at home. I bought the gas rod that Spruce claims is the
best for 4130....if you can believe them, so I've got some choices to
play with.
Lynn
On Dec 29, 2006, at 2:41 PM, Michel Verheughe wrote:
| Quote: |
On Dec 29, 2006, at 1:36 AM, Lynn Matteson wrote:
> I was actually referring to your friend...Paul?...who welded your
> skis.
Yes, here is the story, Lynn. I got some good photos of wheel
penetrating skis from a Norwegian Avid pilot. With the photos in
the background, I went to make a technical drawing, at scale
(scaling on the tyre diameter) of what I felt was a good
reproduction of the Avid Flyer's skis. Then I asked my friend Paul,
who has been a welder for 40 years, to make them for me, from the
drawings and the photos. But first, I took him for a flight, we
looked at the gear construction, the axis, etc. Then he made them.
I even trusted them enough to go flying with me after the first
trial that I have published on my web page. Incidentally, he is
also the guy who welded my Jabiru engine mount. Those who have seen
it say that it is a beautiful welding job.
Should I hit a rock under the snow, I don't know what will give up
first. But, from taking the plane in and out of the hangar, it
becomes evident to me that a side force on one end of the ski will
give a big twisting moment and will probably damage the entire
gear. So, my wish is that it would only bend the ski and not the
gear. Does that make sense?
Cheers,
Michel
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Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM |
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dave
Joined: 22 Sep 2006
Posts: 1382
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 6:52 pm Post subject: Skis for Kitfox's |
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<<....I'm gonna practice with both the MIG welder
and the gas, to determine which I like best>>
I will take oxy/acetylene over Mig even though our Kitfoxes are Mig welded.
035 wall is thin and best to do some joints like t joints and try to break
them apart.
See where weld or tube breaks. Also you can drill the weld -- if it too
hard it will be hard to drill and most likely be brittle. you can
normalize joints with a torch and with MIG your joints can cool too fast.
Hope that helps .
Dave
PS get some pics for us on these wheel skis in the making .
---
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Clem Nichols
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 88
Location: Munfordville, Ky
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 8:10 pm Post subject: Skis for Kitfox's |
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I've recently completed some repair on the 4130 framework of a Rans S14 I
own (in addition to my Kitfox). I had tried without success to get a local
professional to do it with a TIG welder which is apparently the preferred
method nowadays. After it became apparent that I was on my own, I purchased
a couple of books on welding and accessed all the information I could find
on the internet. From what I could gather, 4130 should be welded either
with TIG or with oxy-acetylene. Why not MIG? I never figured that out, but
that seemed to be the consensus. Not owning a TIG welder, and not
interested in spending over $1000 to purchase one, I resorted to my old
oxy-acetylene welder. The info I had recommended using Oxweld 32 rods which
are available from Aircraft Spruce. (They also sell a package of 4130
scraps which are helpful in practicing your technique.) My technique in
adjusting the flame (something I came across on another website) was to set
the acetylene pressure at 2 psi, light the gas, and then screw in the oxygen
regulator just enough to get the proper flame from the torch. My O2
regulator is not calibrated for very low pressure, and it didn't show any at
all when turned on in this manner, but this is what you want when welding
.035" material. This gives you a setup similar to the $370 Henron torch you
may have seen demonstrated at Sun-N-Fun or Oshkosh. Also you'll want to use
either a #0 or #1 tip on your torch to avoid burn-through. My sources
recommended not welding with TIG unless the temperature was 70 degrees or
above, and also recommended preheating before welding which is obviously
done with the gas unit. It was also recommended to withdraw the torch
slowly, which amounts to a bit of heat-treating. To any professional or
advanced amateurs on the list what I have just written may sound like a
bunch of nonsense, but it worked for me.
FWIW
Clem Nichols
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Lynn Matteson
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 8:10 pm Post subject: Skis for Kitfox's |
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I've got a bunch of experience gas welding on building exhaust
headers back in my racing days, so that should help with the thin
stock, but certainly not with the 4130. Yes, I've been told that the
gas is best over the MIG, like you said, Dave.
Pics will be done, including self-portraits while the flame is
going...big show-off!
I once had an assignment for photo class that required shooting under
4 different light sources/color temperatures of light. One that I
used was gas welding...it was a really cool picture that showed a
spark shooting straight up, then jutting off at an angle, then
bursting like a roman candle...time exposure of course. I had to
really set the torch hot and burn the metal to do that, and any real
weldor would have caught the wrong welding technique, but the effect
was dramatic.
Lynn
On Dec 29, 2006, at 9:51 PM, dave wrote:
[quote]
<<....I'm gonna practice with both the MIG welder
and the gas, to determine which I like best>>
I will take oxy/acetylene over Mig even though our Kitfoxes are
Mig welded.
035 wall is thin and best to do some joints like t joints and try
to break them apart.
See where weld or tube breaks. Also you can drill the weld -- if
it too hard it will be hard to drill and most likely be brittle.
you can normalize joints with a torch and with MIG your joints can
cool too fast.
Hope that helps .
Dave
PS get some pics for us on these wheel skis in the making .
---
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_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM |
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rjdaugh
Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Posts: 195
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| Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 2:07 pm Post subject: Skis for Kitfox's |
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Kitfox Mike,
I am exploring doing just that. I am looking for a pair of boards that
approach 5' long and plan to make a metal frame for them and cut holes for
wheel penetration. I believe that with a frame, they will be just fine.
I can't decide whether to leave one side open so that I can put them on (or
off) without jacking up the plane. I am toying with the idea of making a
removable section on one side so I can close off the side hole after
mounting the skis.
Randy
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Randy
Kitfox 5/7 912S
Black Hills, South Dakota |
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