Series 7 Super Sport - Rotec Radial R2800

[DesertFox4]

Bumping the video so it doesn't get lost in all the postings.
It is a great video of one sexy Kitfox.

http://www.youtube.com/user/KitfoxAircraft

[DesertFox6]

Well (sigh) you can lead a horse to water, but...

I'd like to add to Monocock's all-too-often-overlooked assessment of the current state of affairs of our favorite aircraft manufacturer and its stunning turnaround in the business world. I'm reminded of another US manufacturer who was nearly driven out of the market before re-inventing itself and literally conquering the world that was about to bury it.

On my bookshelf is a copy of Peter C. Reid's 1990 book Well Made in America with the sub-title Lessons From Harley Davidson on Being the Best. It's written by a business guru who probably never sat on a Hawg, but the same self-reliant, user-family-oriented, attitudes that resurrected "The Motor Company" (forcing the Ford Corporation to HIRE Harley to show them how to run a parts-as-needed hardware flow and low-overhead manufacturing process!) appear in healthy doses along the banks of the Snake River in Homedale, Idaho. Those who've come to love the Kitfox name need to know how far the McBean's TLC has brought this remarkable company. That doesn't happen by accident nor by ignoring one's customer/fan base either! DesertFox1: Wanna write a book, Papa? I got new crayons for Christmas to do the illustrations!

Monocock; DesertFox4; thanks for sharing your perspectives with all of us. I received the "not polite" response from the Philippines in the automatic e-mail reply alert from this website to my own address: DesertFox4 exercised his "administrative blue pencil" correctly. I agree: Such ill-decorum needs no harbor here...WE'RE TOO BUSY HAVIN' FUN!

"E.T."

(Of course, when I lived in the PI, over 30 years ago, there was a 16 or 17 hour time difference to the US west coast but we knew how to address that problem back then...AND we dialed the correct number!)

[Andrew G]

I have been fixing broken businesses since 1989... and rarely do broken businesses -- actually get permanently fixed... from all indications, the McBeans have done a fabulous job of not only fixing Kitfox, but growing it as well. A rarity in the business world. The feat is even more impressive after one considers that the recession occured right when any newly revived business needs a tail wind, not a recession-driven headwind.

I met the whole Kitfox family in AZ at the Copperstate Fly-in... and I learned that Kitfox is more than a company, it's a culture. John kindly took me for a ride and I was hooked by both the product and the company culture.

Kitfox is a lot like Harley in many respects, at a much smaller scale, but certainly in terms of how new leadership is percieved in the market. I also think the Kitfox product arrived at the right time in terms of older pilots, higher gas prices, the LSA/Sport Pilot designations, and aging plane stock. Just like Harley. The only difference is is that Harleys are priced much lower and financing is much more abundant, the skill level is far, far lower and manufacturing scale can be achieved much more easily.

I still don't have a Kitfox, because I am up to my eyeballs myself fixing a (formerly) broken business (in aviation) and every time I feel confident that I have the time and cash, my customers remind me that the cash and time have to go back into the business... and of course other wonderful life events get in the way too...

But I'll get one someday, and I am confident that Kitfox Inc and its great culture will be there when I am ready.