Re: Greetings All
Welcome JetPilot,
You've come to the right place. A Kitfox makes for a great float plane. The model you choose is going to be dependent on your budget, as well as the physical size of the people wanting to fly in it.
I have a Model 4-1200 Kitfox on Aerocet 1100 amphib floats with a Rotax 912ul (80 hp) that I absolutely love. I use an IVO inflight adjustable propeller that helps me to get on the step quicker, but even with only 80 hp and a fixed pitch prop it would be a good floatplane. If you could use straight floats rather than the amphibs the performance would be considerably better as the weight would be down probably another 50-80 lbs. If you were to upgrade to a Rotax 912 of 100 hp or more (like a 108 or 114 hp zipper kit or a 100 hp 912uls) your Supercub floatplane pals will learn to hate you as you will greatly outperform them, on about 1/2 the fuel, and probably 1/3 the acquisition cost.
A newer model 5-7 Kitfox also will make for a great floatplane. It's larger cabin and baggage area is nice, as is the higher gross weight when you want to haul more. But acquisition price will likely be higher than for a typical Model 4. And so will float cost, as you will need a much larger float. So you really need to decide what is most important for your needs.
Generally the Model 4 makes for a sportier, almost hotrod-like floatplane, but the newer Kitfox as a floatplane is no slouch. It would still be a better performer than most other floatplanes. Comparing the newer Kitfox to the older Model 4? I would say a newer model Kitfox with a 100 hp or more 912 would be pretty comparable performance wise with the 80 hp 912 Model 4. But because the Model 4 can be as much as 200 lbs lighter than the newer models, the wing loading is much lighter and the horsepower per pound is pretty hard to beat. So that's why it's the hotrod of the models. The downside of the Model 4 would be a slightly smaller cabin size and lower weight carrying capacity. But I've never had an issue with either of those things with my Model 4. It handles all of that well as long as you're not hauling around huge people with a lot of gear.
Hopefully that will give you enough to think about for a while. If you want to know more about a Kitfox 4 floatplane, search for my Kitfox of the month write up done a few years ago here on the forum. Or check out some of "the sunnair" youtube videos out there like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzrVBVwqbHU
Oh, and maybe you want to buy the floats first? There is a fantastic deal on a brand new set of Aerocet 1100 amphibs for only $7900 on Barnstormers right now. And they even come with Kitfox 4 riggingDeals like that are never out there when you need them...
Paul Seehafer
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Re: Greetings All
