Kitfox 7 Apex Build Episode 67 New Shock Wheel Designed for the Kitfox

[@cropduster48sady46]

Good design. May I make one suggestion. Add a bug shield to front side of shock. Look at most modern dirt bikes. Bugs will build up on front side of slider, and take the seal out in short order.

[@timhuckabay]

Congrats on your first place finish at High Sierra STOL drags! I hope there’s a video:)

[@wadestoelting5942]

Hi Brian, in your camera view it looked as though you have a transponder antenna on the underside of your fuselage. Are you still using the UAvionx TailbeaconX setup?

[@BowenAero]

That is for ADS-B IN

[@bradcox7111]

You must be touching down lightly, because the shocks don’t compress that much. Could you lighten the shocks compression? I have grove gear and love that concept. I would need a gross weight of 1900#. Thanks for your video. You do very well at giving straight up critiques.

[@earlgreystoke3324]

Did you do any 3D modeling of the design before building it? "Rubbing" between the shock body & tire is not acceptable in any circumstance.

[@BowenAero]

That is why a spacer has been added.

[@jamesneirinck413]

With the shocks helping absorb impact could you move to smaller tires? That would be less cost and less drag and solve your sidewall contact issue. Just a thought.

[@AlexZaboroski]

Looks clean! Nice sled collection you've got there as well lol

[@stevemyers2092]

add a difficult landing the tire width will expand and will not be good....yes?

[@BowenAero]

It expands on the bottom of the tire not the top. Not an issue.

[@yellowcubdriver9545]

Nice video Brian. But I really don’t see the advantage of the mod. Stick to your 29’s and you’ll be fine. Plus more weight and drag. But your not lacking any kind of horse power either.

[@yellowcubdriver9545]

And nice toys in your hanger. I see another set of wings. What are they for?

[@scottcummings8074]

@@yellowcubdriver9545 he built 2 sets to play with airfoils.

[@michaelspunich7273]

@@scottcummings8074 I don't think he has flown the "speed" airfoil yet, has he?

[@scottcummings8074]

@@michaelspunich7273 not that I know of.he did fly another plane with one of his eing sets, but I don't remember if it is the set he's flying with now.

[@BowenAero]

They do make a huge difference for off airport use. The feel of the landing is completely different than the straight grove gear, much softer and you don’t get a noticeable bounce when you hit hard. I ran straight grove gear and Alaska Bush wheels for years and these are a definite improvement. As for the big WING, I am currently running the standard Kitfox wing. The extra wing in the hangar is the big prototype wing that we flew in testing with SLATS and now that the STOL Drag World championship is over, they will be going on for further testing. Video to follow.

[@mikefairbanks]

Hey Brian, what's the overall width with the spacers and ABW 29's? Need to know if it will still trailer.

[@johnfitzpatrick2469]

Great design: how about rubbing some powder to see scuffing? 🦉 🌐

[@HeeHawHighlander]

Oh looky here, eating lunch at work and get a notice Bryan has a new video! Cue the popcorn 🍿

[@86309]

Is there actual oil dampening going on inside the shock? or is it entirely controlled by just air pressure, it seems to lack any real rebound control with regard to the speed of the rebound, and looks like no compression adjustment other than air...?

[@FlyingShotsman]

That's a very clever product, but it doesn't seem well-suited to Grove spring gear. It looked to me like the gear legs were still flexing about as much as I would expect without the shocks, and the shocks didn't compress much until the weight of the aircraft settled on the gear. Perhaps this concept would work better on a rigid gear leg, where the shock doesn't have to compete with the reflex of the gear legs. On a Shock Monster or Acme Aero system, the gas shocks are doing all of the work and you can tune them for damping *and* rebound. With this setup you can't really tune out the bounciness of the Grove legs, and that's the biggest complaint about Grove gear for off-airport operations. To land and stop short, you need to be able to aggressively plant the wheels and not bounce back up. It doesn't look like this system takes that tendency out of the Grove gear.

[@BowenAero]

They work together, however the Grove gear on the Kitfox is very soft which makes it harder to tune the Shock wheel to do most of the work. On stiffer leaf spring gear like on a Zenith 701/750 the effect of the shock wheel makes a huge difference. With the Kitfox, you really have to fly it to appreciate the dampening of the initial landing impact. The shock wheel absorbs the larger frequency movement while the grove spring takes the smaller frequency movement. The two together make for a very smooth ride and keeps the bounce to a minimum. Even the Shock Monster gear will bounce.

[@jeremykemp3782]

I think you are wrong sir, the shocks are for the initial hit and the grove then takes over for the rest of the ride . It's quite simple concept really.

[@FlyingNDriving]

Looks like a bit too much pressure in these videos on and off airport. Unless you are really greasing them on

[@barnesandrewj]

@missionarybushpilot

[@BowenAero]

Ryan definitely needs a set.