Help needed on crashed model V

[mharmon]

Hi everyone. Long time lurker here. Anyways I have been playing with the idea of buying a kitfox for a number of years now. Anyways one came up for sale locally with some damage and I was hoping that the knowledge base here can help me out to know if I should buy it, what to watch for and a general idea of what one should pay.

It is a 1997 Kitfox V from the original owner/builder with about 990 hours before the incident. Here is the news article If you scroll down to the bottom of the article you can see picture of it after the crash. I have both talked with the owner and have seen the carnage in person.

Here is what it looks like currently.


I am very handy when it comes to automobiles, fabrication and paint work. I also have a fairly well equipped shop for the hobbies I've listed.

How big of a project am I biting off and what is a reasonable ballpark figure for the remains?

[avidflyer]

Just at first glance, you have a prop strike on I believe a 912 Rotax engine, at least one wing ruined, landing gear tore off (how much damage to the belly of the plane when the gear was tore off) . Figure a total recover also. Probably more damage as well. Without looking at it closer, I would have a real hard time giving $5000 for it. Sad for the owner, it was worth so much more before it got messed up. Especially if he just had liability insurance. Jim Chuk

[Av8r_Sed]

Welcome to the forum! Is there an asking price to get started with?

What engine and equipment? You need to get a good idea of which tubes are bent or kinked. One wing is toast probably along with the flaperon, although the fuel tank may be salvageable. The wing strut on that side is probably suspect too. Check all the fuselage carry through tubes and landing gear trusses. Some minor bends are repairable with some effort, but kinks need to be replaced. Are landing gear, wheels, brakes tires salvageable? Also the type of fabric and finish will weigh in on the repair expense.

[mharmon]

Tank's for the warm welcome. It feels good to get out of the shadows.

The plane has a rotax 912 ul. I has had a prop strike. Nothing overly obvious from the outside although I know it doesn't mean much.

The fuselage overall is rather straight. There are a few bent longer on but none of them are bent. The holes in the Fabrice underneath but a couple poked in the side.

The one wing is toast for sure (broken and or bent spar). The other one has some flaperon damage.

Landing gear is toast. There is a set available locally for cheap. Wheels are good, so are axles, and brakes (needs new tubing).

Are far as avionics I'm not exactly sure. They were pulled and are neatly packed in a box. He wanted to prevent theft. It was two weeks until he could get it airlifted out.

Finish is unknown at this point but I'm sure it is in the build logs.

Asking price is $8k but he is flexible (at least he says).

What is a flying model V worth? Are they much more than a IV? I don't see them on barnstormers nearly as much as the IV. I just want to make sure my purchase makes sense vs buying a flying example.

[Av8r_Sed]

Model V's often have a heavier Lycoming (IO-240?) I'm no expert on that. They tent to fill the price range between Model IV's and the 7SS. With the 912 I'd guess a good one might be in mid 30's to 40K.

What gear did it have? If tri-gear then the engine mount is likely toast too. I'm guessing it's a package of headaches. On the plus side, 912's are pretty resilient and often only suffer gearbox issues after a prop strike.

[Av8r3400]

The engine is going to need to go to a good Rotax tech for a full tear down. The 912UL does not have a slipper clutch in the gearbox so damage to the box and to the crank are possible with a hard prop strike. They need to be properly inspected.

I would estimate you will easily have upwards of a $20k bill, if you can do the labor yourself, to get the plane back in the air.

$3-5K engine/prop (if all is okay with the crank)
$5-7k fabric & paint
$3-5k Wing rebuild, fuel tanks and flapperons (you may as well upgrade to the new ethanol resistant tanks since the wings are apart)
$3-5k Miscellaneous other stuff



Worst case, say you put $30k into the rebuild with a $8k initial buy, you will still have a very nice plane for less than $40k.

[Paul Z]

I looked at a few flying that were $40,000.
If having Rotex going through the engine will be $20,000, which is probably a good estimate. I would just buy a new one.

[HighWing]

A couple of pictures of the airplane for evaluation before and after. The owner was a frequent visitor at our Fly-in back in the day.

[kmach]

To get that back in the air is going to require allot of work, problem solving, time, motivation and money.

If you can do all or most of the work yourself then you will have an interesting rebuild ahead of you . Will it be cheaper than buying a flying one ? only the future holds that answer.( I kind of think no myself).

The engine is a big question and dollar value.

The aircraft as in Lowell's pictures, depending on avionics and times, I think would be in the mid $40,000 range or higher .

A model V as in Lowell's pictures , with a 912 uls or IS and a glass panel should I think be in the $50,000 plus area and possibly creeping close to the model 7 value .

There are lots of variables.

[Paul Z]

She was a beautiful bird.