Kitfox of the Month for May 2010 Mike and Kathy Custard.

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After flying a lot of different aircraft for the past 23 years, my wife and I decided that the Kitfox best suited our flying needs. We purchased the Super Sport kit from John McBean, took delivery in about March of 2007 and thirteen months later we received the airworthiness certificate. I went with a modified Continental 0-200 built by Lycon (125hp) and am now turning a composite Sensenich propeller. I recently replaced the carburetor with the Rotec throttle body injection and I am now burning almost 25% less fuel. A few of the options include the 1550 Grove gear, 8.50 main tires, Alaska tail wheel, Dynon D-180 EFIS/EMS, dual adjustable rudder/brake pedals, full glass doors, an Andair fuel selector and gascolator, the fully extended baggage area with an aluminum floor and Dacron sides (John McBeans idea) and a hinged rear glass to access the baggage area. We currently have 300 hours on it and are very happy with our decision. I frequently land on dirt roads, dirt with no roads, hay fields, etc. and since we have recently developed snow skis , we land on anything covered with snow. Too much fun! Thanks to John and Deb for their ongoing assistance and a special thanks to my wife for her help and support in making this project possible and enjoyable.

Mike Custard
Advanced Aviation, Inc
541 330-5817
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For more great photos of Mike and Kathy's Kitfox check flybymike's profile page for their photo album: flybymike


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Congrats Mike and Kathy. Beautiful Kitfox. Enjoy every flight.

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Congrats Mike and Kathy, it's a beautiful plane! I really like your "snowshoes", too.

Mike and Kathy, you have a beautiful Fox. I really like your glass panel. I have a question. Is there a weight savings going with glass as opposed to gauges? Anyone else have a comment on that?

Stan Inzer
"Saving for my Kitfox"

I don't know about a weight savings, but building the panel looks to be a lot easier, and I know I love my glass panel!

I think there is a weight savings considering all of the flight instruments and engine instruments are in one unit. I don't think the weight savings is very much, probably the double cheeseburger, fries and large iced tea I had for lunch before I went flying weighs more!! This is my second Dynon D180 and I love it. It allows the panel to be relatively uncluttered and provides a lot of information.
Thanks for the kind comments about our plane. We really enjoy it, especially in the winter with the snowshoes!

I love my D180 in my RV, but I never look at it unless I'm setting up the prop or the mix. I think if I were building a kitfox it would be a no brainer to put one in for cost. But I would still have an altitude indicator and speed in steam guage. I have them in the RV and that is what I use for take off and landing for a primary, still after 300hrs I can't use the dynon for that.