Kitfox IV Speedster & learning to fly

[wannafly]

I am a low time pilot with about 100 hrs in a cessna 150 before buying my kitfox. I took lessons in a taylorcraft for about 5 hrs. The instructor is a fantastic pilot and showed great skill in what he could do with his aircraft. He then took my kitfox IV Speedster out for about 2 hrs on his own and did lots of testing (landing and takeoffs) and made himself more aware of what a Kitfox is like before we went up and did some dual time. We had close to 5 hours dual before he said I was good to go on my own. I found the experience of the transition good probably because of the good instruction. I did this with subaru power on the nose. When I put the 912s in it was like starting over because of the increase in performance.
But what an amazing experience. best of luck in your training exercise

[akflyer]

I am gonna be the odd ball here (big surprise) and say go for it. The speedster is no more of a handful than many other GA aircraft out there that got a bad rap. Gear set up was a huge issue on the pacer getting a bad name as a handful on the ground. Wide gear took care of that problem, just as wide gear on the KF makes it a much more forgiving airplane.

Getting the CFI up to speed on the aircraft will be the biggest thing, and that is due to the nature of the engine etc. If there is a competent tail wheel instructor in your area, and they cant get comfortable in a speedster by the end of the first flight and a few landings, then you need to boot the low time kid out of the cockpit and go find a crusty old guy that has more time in a tail dragger than the afore mentioned kid has breathing.

There are no huge "gotchas" in flying the KF, other than quirky start-up procedures on a 912, or, in the case of a 2 stroke, knowing how to jet and run the 2 stroke. The plane itself is not anything that a CFI should have any trouble with.

Just my .02, and ya get what ya pay for on the internet

[carlisle]

Agree with AKFlyer. Hard not to sound a little 'old school' here but the fundamental things that Kitfox flying teaches are good lessons in any airplane. Coordinated turns in my M2 for example are like perfect landings...a little hard to come by and very satisfying when accomplished. The turn coord ball sometimes tends to act more like the wet compass in when it comes to keeping it centered.

Having to pay a little more attention to the engine gauges is also a good habit to develop and one that I didn't get into while learning in the 150 some 40 yrs ago. I'm pretty comfortable behind my 582 now after some experience, but wouldn't be if I didn't have the EGT and coolant temp gauges to frequently glance at.

Even without including the 'tail dragger vs nose dragger' argument, I think that anyone learning from the start in a Kitfox would be a better pilot for it and transitioning to a conventional plane would be a lot easier than vice versa.

Chris Carlisle
Model 2, 582, C box
Sioux Falls, SD

[HighWing]

No strong feelings yes or no, but! I learned to fly in a Cessna 170B - not your conventional trainer There was a day when the only thing you could learn in had a taillwheel and aviation survived. My only take on the Speedster are the CFI issues. It may take a bit more time, but I can't see where it won't be doable, and not having to pay rental fees would be a real plus to me.

Lowell

[DesertFox6]

Well it sure looks to me like wannafly taxied into a goldmine with his flight training experience: That's the kind of story we ought to be reading about in AOPA Pilot or one of the EAA magazines: Old-school, flight disciplined, IP! WOW! I'm just tickled pink you had such a wonderful experience with what sounds like one of those rare-as-Rotax-gaskets "crusty old guys" that akflyer endorses and I'll certainly second his recommendation on that score!

So, kl2657, other than slight variations of opinion based on our flying backgrounds with various trainers and Kitfox models, what you should take from this is that we ALL focus on the qualifications of the CFI as our primary concern for your success; certainly where the Kitfox is the mount of the moment, and, as carlisle so clearly opines, "anyone learning from the start in a Kitfox would be a better pilot for it," to which I'll add only "Amen." Just think of the quality of CFIs you'd have to chose from!

It would be great if you could take a demo flight in the machine you're eying and have an experienced Kitfox builder mentor you through the steps of acquiring somebody else's handiwork: This is an art form unto itself, covered in depth under many "else-wheres," so I'll drop it at that.

Make sure you have a great aircraft before you buy and a great instructor before you fly, Jason: Satisfy those two conditions and you'll be landing on some of our TeamKitfox members' home-dromes before you know it...and that includes GEU out here in Desert-Fox-Squadron-Land. I'd be happy to offer some instruction if you're in the area; just try to arrive when the temperature is less than 112 Fahrenheit/45 Celsius as the fully-loaded takeoff rolls sometimes exceed 400 feet!

"E.T."
(Semper Crustier!)

[cap01]

nice to read that someone else has a ball that acts like a compass . all along i thought it was me .

[kitfoxnick]

Just do it Jason. I learned in my model 4 1200 I was fortunate enough to have an instructor who has been teaching since the early 1960's and has owned his champ since 1966. Finding a good CFI is the trick. Try to find someone who has a lot of tail time. Once you get your license you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. Try to find some 2 stroke rotax guys in your area to teach you how to take care of your engine. I have no personal experience with the two strokes but many of my friends at the local ultralight field do, and seems to be a very reliable engine if taken care of. Insurance can be difficult to get being a student pilot in an experimental taildragger but it can be done. If you want to take a ride come on down I'm about an hour north of Baltimore and an hour south of Harrisburg.