Factory Fly-in recap

As a new Kitfoxer I attended my first Factory Fly-in this past weekend. It was my first chance to hang out with a group of Kitfoxers and absorb all things Kitfox. There was a fair representation of all models there and lots of friendly folks to talk to. It is simply an invaluable learning experience to be able to look at planes and talk to the builders about what they did and why they did it.

Interestingly I spoke with several couples who were there checking out the Kitfox scene (considering purchasing a kit)... smart way to research things and it shows the interest in the type. Every person I spoke with who was building, or considering building, planned to set their MTOW (gross weight) at 1,320 to be able to operate under Sport Pilot regs. The Kitfox really fills a niche here.

It was especially good to meet some of the folks who are already hanging out here on this forum and put faces with names: Dan Billingsly and Steve Kellander from Arizona, and Steve Wilson from Arkansas -- good meeting you guys!

I also got my first flight in a Kitfox. Thanks to John McBean for the ride in the factory Super Sport and to Steve Kellander for the nice evening flight in his Model 4. My impressions? No suprises, about what I was expecting, but (take this with a grain of salt) I think it's crime to NOT build a Kitfox as a taildragger... the plane just needs to have the little wheel in the back, seems part of its DNA. (please, no flames for my admitted taildragger bias, we're all free to like whichever configration we choose)

In all a great event and I'm glad I went. John & Debra did a fantastic job as hosts, it was a most enjoyable event. Here's some eye candy from my evening flight with Steve...

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Thanks for the recap Randy. I hope to be there next year. What did you think of the handling of the super sport? Joe

It's been so long since I've flown anything but an RV my frame of reference is fuzzy. My expectation based on flight reports from other pilots was that the late model Kitfoxes (Series 5, 6, 7, & SS) was conventional in its characteristics while being noticeably more responsive than a Cessna and maybe slightly more responsive than a Citabria (two planes I've spent some time in, though years ago). That would sum up my impression though I can't say how much "sportier" it is than a Citabria or a Cessna due to my lack of recent reference. My comment when I got out of the airplane was "fly's like a normal airplane, but it needs to be a taildragger".

My RV-3, which I flew to the fly-in, is significantly more responsive and is a just a different animal altogether. For its mission profile though the Kitfox flew just fine and I'm looking forward to flying mine -- I was quite pleased.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RandyL

My comment when I got out of the airplane was "fly's like a normal airplane, but it needs to be a taildragger".

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I didn't know they flew different :)

Just kidding Randy !!

After experiencing the factory fly-in, it was well worth the two hour drive over to Tulsa...two hour packed-in-like-sardines commercial flight to Denver...two hour flight to Boise...then the 45 minute rental car ride to Homedale, Idaho.

I was basically the first one there on Friday and John McBean immediately shook my hand and called me by name. I had only met him at Oshkosh once but he remembered me none the less. The Kitfox operation including the personel was top notch and first class. The organization, service, and facilities proved to be all what I hoped to be. It will be of great comfort to build a plane with all that I saw and experienced this past weekend.

Now to the Kitfox Supersport. I had the opportunity to fly more than once over the weekend. It was very smooth, responsive, and curiously quiet. Definitely a two finger stick. Extremely safe feeling and even though it is geared towards light sport it showed itself to easily be a cross country contender. I have flown mainly Cessnas over the past 20 years and after being in the Kitfox you just wonder why Cessna couldn't build a plane as nice as the Kitfox.

John, Debra, Greg, Alan, Judd, Mark, Doyle and whoever I am forgetting thanks for a wonderful flyin. It was a weekend I thoroughly enjoyed and won't easily forget. See ya'll in January at the builder assist.

Steve

Randy's right! Tailwheel looks cooler. (They were in the majority attending)

Steve is right! Taildraggers were in the majority. Judd Parker kept
a running count and personally updated me every couple of hours.
I deserved it because my early Vixen was considered one of the first
to depart from the classic 'Fox. Many beautiful planes and lots of
old friends. I brought 78KA home for the winter, she is in the hangar
at CHD. Thanks for the picture posted above, Randy.
See you all at Copperstate.

Phil "papa" Laker

The fly-in turned out to be a great event for the second year in a row. It was great to make some new friends and catch up with those I haven't seen for a year. John and Debra McBean went above the call of duty hosting a top notch event and I believe everyone had a good time. Steve Kellander and I came up from Phoenix in his KF-IV and were fortunate to have tailwinds there on Friday and back on Monday. It just don't get no better than that. Randy, that's a great picture of Papa's plane and I'm glad you got a chance to ride in it. These are certainly not the Kitfoxes of yesteryear...my how they have developed. Looking forward to next year and flying my IV.

The 2nd annual Kitfox Aircraft Factory Fly-in was fantastic. Lots of absolutely beautiful Kitfox aircraft in attendance and one spectacular RV3. The quality of the craftsmanship seems to go up exponentially every year. Looks like some potential show winners were in attendance. Neil brought over his Kitfox with a freshly mounted Rotec radial engine on the front. What a neat sound for a Kitfox. It attracted a lot of attention. Nice job Neil.

A big thanks to John, Deb, Phil, Judd, Clarisa, Gregg, Mark, Doyle, Roy and the local Chamber of Commerce and anyone else that I may have missed. The food was great , again.

It was nice to meet a couple of the TeamKitfox members. Steve Wilson came a long way to see the facility and meet some of the group. Steve said he'd be back in Jan. 09 to take advantage of the builder assist program. Congrats Steve on a great choice in the SuperSport. You will love the whole process. It was nice to meet you .

Also had the pleasure of meeting Randy Lervold. Randy flew in his beautiful RV3. Randy will have the best of both worlds with his Kitfox and RV occupying the same hangar. When he gets his Kitfox done he'll actually have a long cross country aircraft and be able to take along more than just a toothbrush and maybe even a co-pilot. :) Just kidding Randy. I'm a little envious of that fighter plane you showed up in. Better keep the keys in your pocket when I'm around.
I had the pleasure of flying with Randy in my Model 4. It didn't take long to see Randy was an expert with a stick and rudder aircraft. All those hours of close formation flying with Vans Airforce is good for the skill levels. I know you'll love your Kitfox just as much or more as the RV when you get it flying Randy.

As Randy stated in his post, he is biased towards taildragger aircraft. That's OK as the Super Sport Kitfox will perform just as well in either configuration. For those that feel more comfortable with the nose wheel out front you will be glad to know you have lots of company and I think there were some very sexy nosedraggers in attendance this year starting with the factory demo. Kitfox. Wow, what a beautiful aircraft to represent this fantastic company.

Another highlight was seeing Dan Denney and his son-in-law Josh and Dan's daughter . Josh is building a model 4 kit. Everyone I talked to was happy Dan flew in . We all recognize his contribution in the conception and evolution of this great aircraft. He has to feel good about where John, Debra and Phil have taken the design. Dan is building sand buggies now and had one at the fly-in. A few lucky Kitfoxers got to have a thrill ride with Dan at the controls.

I had the pleasure again this year of flying up and back with Dan Billingsley.
Thanks Dan, you made the trip a blast ,again. Tell Wendy thanks for letting me take you away on a precious weekend like Labor Day. Dan's building a Model 4 and has a great website to keep tabs on his progress. With a little luck he'll be flying it to the 3rd annual Kitfox Aircraft fly-in. As Dan stated we had a tailwind both directions. Sometimes you just have to ask and you will receive. Our first leg leaving Homedale showed ground speeds of 159 mph. Our first fuel stop was in Buhl, ID. and winds on the ground were 30 plus and gusty. Sure was nice to have that tailwheel out front.

Also had the pleasure of flying back to Phoenix with Phil and Bill. Phil brought back the factory demo so everyone can see it at CopperState in October. Hope you all can make that trip. Weather is usually spectacular then.

Well, if you missed this years factory fly-in you should plan on next years for sure. If you haven't seen what Kitfox Aircraft LLC. is up to you need to . One more big thank you to John and Debra.




Steve Kellander
Desert Fox Squadron