Looking at all of the historical, current, and upcoming engine choices, its really hard to find something that is the best "all around" choice.

I would really like to buy a flying Kitfox in about 2 years and get to know the plane and capabilities and all that before building a new Kitfox - but the used market is pretty thin and I may just end up building first.

What I am trying to figure out is the best engine choice, or better yet, the best all around build setup.

My flying mission would include a lot of normal airport to airport flying, local area stuff, lots of 200-300 XC trips and many of those being for seasonal camping trips to places with good condition turf (Cavanaugh Bay, Sullivan etc). I would also like to ability to install some larger tires and get into the backcountry like so many kitfox pilots do. 29" tires would be a seasonal thing also - as would floats in the future. Having the ability to convert multiple times in a single flying season is what really sells me on the Kitfox.

Ok - so I am currently thinking a standard Super Sport kit, but with STi gear and shocks/TW like what AirFox has done. His build is very close to what I think would be perfect for my mission.

The STi wing is awesome and performance is great - but I think I would stick with a standard wing to facilitate better cruise speeds and I would plan landing ground roll and locations accordingly.

Now to the engines. Ive never flown behind a Rotax, but I trust the engine and its long history of success in the experimental community. That being said - I do like the Titan X340 option used on the STi. My questions there is, would it be a good choice on the standard SS kit? My initial thoughts are W&B, useful load (EAB, not LSA), and prop clearance if on standard gear.

I really like the factory SS with the Lycoming 233, but I can't find much data on that since the testing. It seems like a Rotax and 233 are pretty darned close overall - but the Rotax has better fuel economy and is much more 'standard' in the Kitfox community.

I am really thinking here and I think a 912iS or Titan 340 will be the competing engines here. The Titan on a standard SS with STi gear and 26" tires seems like a good fit in the (easier) backcountry strips and still have lots of power for good cruise numbers - but could also pull power and cruise closer to 100TAS and see really great fuel numbers.

Anyways - theres my brain spaghetti for the afternoon. Long story short - there are way too many options and they all have their merits - and I think that is a compliment to the Kitfox community and the versatility of an awesome kit plane.

Jake