Transition training for tricycle 7SS

[Sink Rate]

Hello,
I have been chipping away on my little KF7 project for the past few years and I just realized that I finished all construction. What's left is 1st engine run and taxi tests, W&B, transponder check and then the airworthiness inspection. So I thought it might be prudent to find a place to do some transition training. Perhaps I missed it, but it seems all I can find are schools with conventional gear Kitfoxes. Does anyone know of options to get a few hours of transition training in a tricycle Kitfox? Ideally not too far from Denver area, but that might be wishing for too much

[Dave S]

Tom,

I would not discount a tailwheel kitfox school at all.

Insurance will require that a person have some kitfox hours; but, they don't differentiate between a trigear and tailwheel, the last I was aware of. Total hours is usually less for a trigear kitfox.

A good plan would be to contact your insurance company first, be sure they know you have a tri gear and find out what they want to see for Kitfox hours. Both airplanes fly the same and the airborne characteristics won't vary from a tailwheel. At the time I started testing, my insurance company wanted two hours of kitfox training for a trigear; and, I received that in a tailwheel kitfox. I also did some update training in a C152 which is a somewhat reasonable configuration fascimili for a trigear kitfox (except that the C 150/152 is dog performance wise compared to the kitfox). The Cessnas have a steerable nosewheel while the kitfox is a castering nosewheel which is just about the only major difference there. The castering nosewheel, in my opinion (and apparently in the opinion of some rather expensive HP singles) is easy to adapt to and a whole lot less trouble - basically you steer with the rudder, brakes and a little power (as needed for the rudder). I did my ground taxi tests in direct crosswinds up to 20 MPH with no problem. You do have to maintain and perform your skills concerning correct control position with surface winds and do it all the time like a pilot should do with any trigear (not to be confused with the poor practices we often see on the ramp & taxiways).

Congrats on your upcoming completion!

[Sink Rate]

Hi Dave,
Thank you for the detailed answer. I will contact the agent to see what they want. I do fly a C150 quite regularly here so I am very comfortable in it. Good to know that they are somewhat similar. The issue with some of the taildragger flight schools is that they require a tail-wheel endorsement before considering doing the transition training (S&R in Idaho for example). At my local airport, the tailwheel endorsement in a Citabria runs at ~$3k. A bit too steep of a price for getting admitted to 2 hours of transition training for my taste. I'll see what the insurance actually wants. Perhaps a couple of hours of flight time might suffice.
Thanks again for your info!
Tom