Finding the family Kitfox
Greetings all, great forum you have here.
N923RC (kitfox IV) was a joint build between my father and grandfather 20 years ago. My grandpa was retiring at the time and wanted a fun airplane as a change of pace from the Bonanzas and Barrons he had been flying for business, and my dad was freshly finished with a concours restoration of an early Landrover and in the market for a new project.
I remember helping un-crate it in the driveway like it was yesterday!
Family life revolved around the garage at my grandparents house for a couple of years but progress was steady and I remember each major phase! Before I knew it it was back from painting!
^^^ There I am making engine noises circa 1992
Before I knew it there was a whole airplane in the driveway!
And not long after that it got an airworthyness certificate and we were FLYING!
When my grandpa voluntarily gave up his medical he decided to donate the Kitfox to a good friend of his in Owatonna MN who was opening up a museum and was excited to have such a fine example of a homebuilt to display! I assumed it would always be there to visit and appreciate when I was around that part of the country but I assumed wrong. The museum went under after a few years and its rather large collection of aircraft disappeared! My grandpa had the Kitfox deregistered with the FAA before donating it so the N number I had was pretty useless in tracking it down... years passed and would always wonder if I'd ever see the plane again and of course WHAT HAPPENED TO IT????
Myself and my entire family have always had extremely fond memories of the kitfox, including one particular forced landing in a bean field in Iowa on the way to Oshkosh. Well maybe that one is only fond in hindsightin the days before cell phones waiting on someone five hours past their expected arrival in a new homebuilt was pretty gut wrenching!
Anyway, a few years ago in the midst of my flight lessons I had a huge resurgence of interest in tracking down the old bird, hoping, PPL in hand I'd find it languishing in some barn up north waiting to be rescued! Just a few weeks ago I was given a box with all of the old build documentation including a treasure trove of pictures and a detailed daily journal of the build process! most importantly I found the serial number and with that and about thirty seconds of magical internet use I found her!!!!
Here she is more recently!
My heart literally skipped a beat when I saw that pic come up. I miss the old faux radial cowl but theres no mistaking the rest!
Looks like she's had a loving owner in Norway for quite some time and recieved some tasty mods like bush gear/wheels and a Jabiru swap!
Is anyone on here familiar with this plane or the owner? I would love to get in touch with him and hear more about its current state, how he came to obtain it etc!
Oh and even though my heart sank a little when I didn't find it on Barnstormers for 15k and days drive I'm thrilled to see it with someone who obviously loves it as much as we do, and Norway or not I'll still maintain a small sliver of hope I can talk him out of it someday
Thanks for reading!
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