---------------------------------------------------------- Kitfox-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Thu 02/03/11: 7 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 01:53 AM - Bungee tube failure (Robert Fraser) 2. 02:12 AM - Re: Bungee tube failure (WurlyBird) 3. 02:26 AM - Re: Bungee tube failure (dave) 4. 06:49 AM - Kitfox Corral at Sun-n-Fun (Paul Morel) 5. 07:45 AM - Re: Bungee tube failure (PMorel) 6. 11:58 AM - Re: Bungee tube failure (carlisle) 7. 12:01 PM - Re: Kitfox Corral at Sun-n-Fun (Dorsal) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 01:53:20 AM PST US From: "Robert Fraser" Subject: Kitfox-List: Bungee tube failure Hello Kitfox pilots , I had a suprise recently, the morning after an interesting flight looking at local floodwater [and a good 3point landing] . I pulled kitfox 2 from hanger over a very slight lip in door way of hanger and noticed a strange noise .I found a broken tube on the undercarriage . The tube takes the strain of the 6 bungee wraps and had failed completely under the 2nd wrap and had thus been concealed from normal inspection . I am going to sleeve the tube to prevent another failure. Needless to say the consequences could have been disastrous had the failure occurred during landing or takeoff. The aircraft has had its share of rough landings during training and has done over 700 hours not sure of number of landings as I am not the original owner /builder. I suggest everyone with a few hours on bungee gear attempt to check for cracking by moving bungeewraps sideways a little ,one at a time to carefully check for hairline cracking . regards to all. Robert Fraser ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 02:12:22 AM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: Bungee tube failure From: "WurlyBird" That is pretty good advice, particularly since I average about 3-4 landings per hour logged on my plane and the average of those is certainly not a "greaser". I definitely plan on checking that out when I get home. Of course I am also going to replace the bungees so that will aide in a good visual of the area. Thanks for sharing your experience. -------- James Kitfox 3 / 582 / 70" IVO 2 blade GA 50 hrs on the Fox in between deployments, now she lies in wait Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=329430#329430 ________________________________ Message 3 _____________________________________ Time: 02:26:39 AM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: Bungee tube failure From: "dave" Good work and luck. I think the earlier model has a 035 wall tube and later .049 big tensile difference. Check my latest Kitfox Stall video............ how bout a video on the busted landing gear? Would be great for all Kitfoxers. -------- Rotax Dealer, Ontario Canada http://www.cfisher.com/ http://www.kitfoxflyer.com/ http://rotaxaircraft.com/forum/ Realtime Kitfox movies to separate the internet chatter from the truth http://www.youtube.com/user/kitfoxflyer Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=329431#329431 ________________________________ Message 4 _____________________________________ Time: 06:49:40 AM PST US From: "Paul Morel" Subject: Kitfox-List: Kitfox Corral at Sun-n-Fun Hi Sun-n-Fun spring breakers, Sun-n-Fun is just around the corner at the end of March. I was wondering if there might be a parking area where some of the Kitfox builders and owners plan to gather or have gathered in the past? Last year, I saw a few scattered in the homebuilt section and thought it might be nice to corral a bunch in one area. What are your thoughts or recommendations? Paul Morel 912 Speedster Locust Grove, GA ________________________________ Message 5 _____________________________________ Time: 07:45:28 AM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: Bungee tube failure From: "PMorel" I too had experienced gear failure due to use of a thin walled replacement gear. Luckily, this happened during a slow taxi after landing. If this happened upon landing, it could have been catistrophic. It appears the thin wall tube was weakening after each landing and shows a flat area on top of the tube at the break. There's a lot to be said for a Grove Gear. Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=329448#329448 Attachments: http://forums.matronics.com//files/gear_failure_184.jpg ________________________________ Message 6 _____________________________________ Time: 11:58:14 AM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: Bungee tube failure From: "carlisle" PMorel...On your pic, it looks like the weld on the underside was a little cold and let go allowing the remaining circumference of the tube to oil can and finally fracture. I agree however that the thick-walled tubing is a good idea, especially in this highly stressed point. Curious though. As I recall, most of the stress failures in Model 1's and 2's were up in the carry through webbing over which the bungees wrap in the cockpit. In fact, the factory told me when I got mine back in 1991 (ser# 707) that it was actually a kind of Model 2.5 since they included extra diagonally welded tubing in this area that would eventually be included in Model 3's and up. Chris Carlisle Model 2 (.5), 582, C box Sioux Falls, SD Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=329479#329479 ________________________________ Message 7 _____________________________________ Time: 12:01:30 PM PST US Subject: Kitfox-List: Re: Kitfox Corral at Sun-n-Fun From: "Dorsal" I am planning on going and just brought this up on the "other" group, looks like there will be a few of us, would be fun to get together. -------- Dorsal Series 7 Flying 912S Warp Drive Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=329480#329480 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message kitfox-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Kitfox-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/kitfox-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/kitfox-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.