---------------------------------------------------------- Kitfox-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Thu 04/14/05: 4 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 05:14 PM - Re: Windshields (Don Pearsall) 2. 08:44 PM - Re: Windshields (Rick) 3. 08:44 PM - windshields (Stu Bryant) 4. 11:21 PM - Alaska 2005 #3 (SOURDOSTAN@aol.com) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 05:14:13 PM PST US From: "Don Pearsall" Subject: RE: Kitfox-List: Windshields --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Don Pearsall" If you cannot find any "H" channel, you can just rivet some strips of aluminum together to form an "H" channel. That is how it is done on a lot of production planes. Just go down to the airport and look at some split window planes. My Mooney was that way. Don Pearsall -----Original Message----- From: owner-kitfox-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-kitfox-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Jimmie Blackwell Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: Windshields --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Jimmie Blackwell" Tested the Saran wrap today...it caves in at slightly below VNE, 4 mph. On the serious side I would sure like to see a photo of an installation that use the split method. Hopefully, there is someone out there that will share this with us. JImmie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Herbert" Subject: Kitfox-List: Windshields > --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Herbert" > > I understand that several folks have given up on the one piece windshield and have split the windshield horizontally, at the compound bend with an "H" aluminum moulding of some sort. The moulding goes horizontally side to side, across the windshield opening and the Lexan fits into the "H" chanel. > > Sounds like it might be a fix to the problem that we all seem to have, with cracking and crazing. Now where can such a "H" chanel moulding be found? > > Don, anxiously awaiting your report on how the Saran Wrap works. > > Herb > > ************************ > > Time: 03:58:10 AM PST US > From: AlbertaIV@aol.com > Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: Windshield replacement > > --> Kitfox-List message posted by: AlbertaIV@aol.com > > > In a message dated 4/11/2005 10:40:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, > hmdoud@ev1.net writes: > > > I might consider going the next thickness thinner if the crazing continues > to get worse and I have to do it again. I believe that the next thinner > would be 3/32nds. (.093) The stress of the strong bend to the cabin top mighten > > be not be as stressfull on the thinner polycarbonate. > > Regards ......Herb > > > I had .093 originally and it crazed. I went to .063 and it still crazed at > the compound bend area. To prevent crazing, you may have to go to Saran Wrap. > > Don Smythe > Classic IV w/ 582 > > ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 08:44:59 PM PST US From: "Rick" Subject: RE: Kitfox-List: Windshields --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Rick" Might I add to keep the holes along the joining edge at least an inch away from the butt. Make sure thy are very smooth and without and cracks. My windshield failure was along that edge and what an experience that was. Oh an the butt is the one that will be a permanent part of the plane not the mobile one he he. Rick N656T -----Original Message----- From: owner-kitfox-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-kitfox-list-server@matronics.com]On Behalf Of Don Pearsall Subject: RE: Kitfox-List: Windshields --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Don Pearsall" If you cannot find any "H" channel, you can just rivet some strips of aluminum together to form an "H" channel. That is how it is done on a lot of production planes. Just go down to the airport and look at some split window planes. My Mooney was that way. Don Pearsall -----Original Message----- From: owner-kitfox-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-kitfox-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Jimmie Blackwell Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: Windshields --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Jimmie Blackwell" Tested the Saran wrap today...it caves in at slightly below VNE, 4 mph. On the serious side I would sure like to see a photo of an installation that use the split method. Hopefully, there is someone out there that will share this with us. JImmie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Herbert" Subject: Kitfox-List: Windshields > --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Herbert" > > I understand that several folks have given up on the one piece windshield and have split the windshield horizontally, at the compound bend with an "H" aluminum moulding of some sort. The moulding goes horizontally side to side, across the windshield opening and the Lexan fits into the "H" chanel. > > Sounds like it might be a fix to the problem that we all seem to have, with cracking and crazing. Now where can such a "H" chanel moulding be found? > > Don, anxiously awaiting your report on how the Saran Wrap works. > > Herb > > ************************ > > Time: 03:58:10 AM PST US > From: AlbertaIV@aol.com > Subject: Re: Kitfox-List: Windshield replacement > > --> Kitfox-List message posted by: AlbertaIV@aol.com > > > In a message dated 4/11/2005 10:40:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, > hmdoud@ev1.net writes: > > > I might consider going the next thickness thinner if the crazing continues > to get worse and I have to do it again. I believe that the next thinner > would be 3/32nds. (.093) The stress of the strong bend to the cabin top mighten > > be not be as stressfull on the thinner polycarbonate. > > Regards ......Herb > > > I had .093 originally and it crazed. I went to .063 and it still crazed at > the compound bend area. To prevent crazing, you may have to go to Saran Wrap. > > Don Smythe > Classic IV w/ 582 > > ________________________________ Message 3 _____________________________________ Time: 08:44:59 PM PST US From: "Stu Bryant" Subject: Kitfox-List: windshields --> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Stu Bryant" What I want to know is has anyone really studied or had experience with bird strikes using thin sheet? I can't imagine that I haven't somehow missed some discussion on this previously, but what about impact resistance? Thinner and thinner we go, but folks this is an airplane we're talking about. Not a fast one, but fast enough! I will be using this method of bending a thin sheet myself this summer for my boat. But the boat probably won't exceed 30 mph. (Not knots- MPH), and I can stop nearly anytime I want. I can also crawl back to the dock at 10 mph if I so choose. Bird strike is a very real thing to me. Years ago when I was a line boy I got to wash both single engine and twins. I saw what ground up seagull looks like, from spinner to tailfeathers. Worst one was a Cessna 210. Made a mess on the windshield as well as the whole side of the airplane. I'd hate to see what would have happened if it had been a flimsy piece of some thin plastic rather than a molded windshield. And no, I wouldn't count on the propeller to make the pieces small enough to do little harm! Might have been fatalities had that been some thin sheet. And the speed was only 80 knots at impact- Kitfox speed. I hit two birds yesterday coming home from work in my pickup. It happens. Will this sheet give us adequate protection? Even if it does not allow penetration, will it manage to stay inside its frame if I hit a seagull, hawk, or goose? I really wonder. Stu Bryant ________________________________ Message 4 _____________________________________ Time: 11:21:55 PM PST US From: SOURDOSTAN@aol.com Subject: Kitfox-List: Alaska 2005 #3 terryblack274tb@yahoo.com, chadl@compu.net, robert.mcclintock@sbcglobal.net, clint_bazzill@hotmail.com --> Kitfox-List message posted by: SOURDOSTAN@aol.com More information about the 2005 Kitfoxes to Alaska trip. I've decided to keep mailing this information to the List, since a number of you responded that you wanted to follow our trip, even though you can't go along. Stan Specht Alaska 2005 #3 Preliminary Route Selected We have selected a basic route for our Kitfox (and a C-172) trip to Alaska this June. The route will be adjusted for enroute weather, side trips, and whims of the moment. We also encourage those pilots who anticipate joining=20us to send us your suggestions for places you=E2=80=99d like to visit that would really make your trip extra special (such as to visit a relative, some place you saw in National Geographic, or some place you heard about and just have to see, etc.). We plan to begin our trip at the Cameron Park Fly-in in California on June 11th and head north through Idaho with John McBean as tour leader. For trip members coming from the east, we may possibly join up in Caldwell, Idaho because of weather enroute or some other such excuse. We=E2=80=99ll leave John=E2=80=99s group at Cavanaugh Bay and head north across the U.S.-Canadian border to our Customs=20stop in Canada (exact stop to be determined). From there it=E2=80=99s to Prince=20George (CYXS), British Columbia, and up the =E2=80=9CTrench=E2=80=9D (Williston Lake) to Watson Lake (CYQH). If weather is a deterrent, we may fly east to Fort St. John (CYXJ) on the Alaska Highway, or northwest up the Yellowhead Highway through Smithers (CYYD), then along the Cassiar Highway to Watson Lake. A variation on this=20route would take us direct to Whitehorse (CYXY) from the Smithers area, with a side trip to Skagway (PSGY), Alaska. Otherwise, we may drop down to Skagway from Whitehorse. The baseline for the next portion of our journey will be the Yukon River (about the same length as the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers). So, from Watson Lake or Whitehorse, we=E2=80=99ll head north to Dawson City (CYDA), following the Yukon where we can. We=E2=80=99ll see the famous Klondike gold region while at Dawson City. Then we=E2=80=99ll fly the Yukon into Alaska, stopping at Fort Yukon=20(PFYU), Alaska, to clear Customs. Then its fun stops at hot springs and local villages and attractions. At this point we=E2=80=99ll make a decision about flying to the North Slope, either to Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse) (PSCC) or Barrow (PBRW) or both. The weather and pilot wishes and needs will be the determinant. We=E2=80=99ll stop in Bettles (PBTT) at some point to visit old friends from the last trip, including Bill and Lil Fickus at Crevice Creek (the northernmost farm in North America, according to National Geographic). We may decide to fit in a trip to Fairbanks (PFAI) somewhere along the way for maintenance or other physical or curiosity needs. Then it=E2=80=99s on down the Yukon toward its meeting with the Bering Sea,=20and most likely Nome (POME), the home of a gold dredge and lots of bars. Scott McClintock may even be there and follow us back to the States in his Kitfox. We=E2=80=99ll then head cross lots to Anchorage (PANC) along the Iditerod Trail (famous sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome, which reenacts a trip many years ago to deliver serum). We=E2=80=99ll chase a few more rabbits around the Anchorage area, and then head back home, the route to be made up as we go. Most likely we will leave Alaska through Northway (PORT) and the Alaska Highway back toward Whitehorse. Total time enroute could be up to four weeks. Gotta=E2=80=99 get in some fishin=E2=80=99, you know!!! Stan Specht sourdostan@aol.com Kitfox Model IV Speedster =E2=80=9CColumbine=E2=80=9D I=E2=80=99m including Note #2 again, because when I sent it out the first time I didn=E2=80=99 t get the format right. Alaska 2005 #2 The Alaska Airmen=E2=80=99s Logbook This note is the second in a series about our Kitfox trip to Alaska in June 2005. The emphasis of this note is on gaining information about the trip -flying conditions, what to expect, and how to go about planning for the trip. This information may interest you, whether you plan on making the trip this=20year or at another time. One of the best resources is the =E2=80=9CLogbook=E2=80=9D published by the Alaska Airmen=E2=80=99s Association. I recently received my copy in the mail and haven=E2=80=99t been able to put it down, even though I know quite a bit about the subject. You can either buy the book from the Alaska Airmen=E2=80=99s association for $35 or, the best deal is to join the Alaska Airmen=E2=80=99s Association for $35 and they will send you a copy of the Logbook free, plus a year=E2=80=99s membership, which includes stickers, a bi-monthly newsletter, and a packet of miscellaneous information. Part of this packet is information about flying in Canada, including customs information for entering Canada and returning to the United States.=20 (I will prepare an information note about customs and Canadian flying later.) The Logbook is intended to provide information for general aviation pilots about flying to and in Alaska. It provides a way to gather a cross-section=20of information into an easily accessible and understandable format. Sections of the Logbook include weather, terrain, legalities of flying in Alaska, being prepared for the flight, contacts with the Alaskan wildlife, survival, other reference materials, flying in Canada, descriptions of the various routes to and within Alaska including airport diagrams, and side trips. To discover more about joining the Alaska Airmen=E2=80=99s Association and purchasing their items, visit their Website at www.alaskaairmen.com or call toll-free 800-464-7030. Please mention my name when joining. Stan Specht sourdostan@aol.com Kitfox Model IV Speedster =E2=80=9CColumbine=E2=80=9D