Thinking out loud, a long and meandering post

[Wheels]

I bought a flying Kitfox in November. I had a VG kit and a grove gear installed and I had seventy hours in a j3 cub. I have logged 210 hours in the Kitfox in the mountains of North Idaho since april. I cruise at 105 most days and 115 to 120 mph when it's cool. I burn 4.5 gallons per hour or less and I keep the plane in a barn by a 1600 foot hay field.
For the money, I can't touch another airplane. I weigh 160 lbs and I am 5ft 7. That plane has an 85 hp rotax 912 in it.
Math is math. Affordable makes it flyable.

[rogerh12]

"I’ve also read somewhere else that strictly speaking dollars, if a person flies less that 125 hrs a year, its better to rent (granted, this figure is based on a certified aircraft with the owner not conducting any maintenance)."

This statement is only true if you pay actual money for your new plane. There are thousands of Kitfoxes out there, and many "deals" come up each year (not so on the RV, they are just too few and too hot to find a true "deal" on). I bought my model 4 from a widow (unstarted with the rotax firewall forward kit) for just $5000 (but don't try this at home with an RV9 !!!!). Also, you can mount cheaper smaller motors on a model 4, so you are not stuck with a high dollar factory big bore sucking avgas all day long (and your wallet)

[SkySteve]

StrawRube,
You and I are too old to mind ---- the thing. Buy it / Build it, Fly it, Enjoy it.

Remember, when you own it you can leave your headset in it 24/7!!

[jrevens]

You have to decide what kind of flying you want to do. They're really 2 different worlds. I built, and have flown a very fast & efficient, low-wing all-metal Thorp T-18 for 21 years now. Yes, an RV-9 can take-off & land pretty short, but you'll never be able to get into some places that you can with a Kitfox. For instance, you have the capability to put much larger tires on the 'fox if you want to without looking stupid, and also the potential emergency landing spots, without hurting yourself or maybe even the airplane, increase tremendously.

Do you like working with metal, or do you want to experience tube & rag? Do you like high or low wings? I've flown for close to 40 years, & I've dreamed about building & flying an airplane like the Kitfox for a long time, and am now just starting to realize that dream. The pure joy of flying means more to me than great speed anymore. As we get a little bit older, some of us also start thinking about being Light Sport legal. In that regard, there are things about the RV-12 that don't really appeal to me personally.

The Kitfox community also seems to me to be a closer, smaller group of wonderful people, much like my Thorp friends. This is important to me. One final thought... the Kitfox is still a relatively unique airplane, compared to an RV. Guy's joke about it, but the RVs really have become the "Cessna's" of the homebuilt community - they're everywhere. No insult intended - they're great airplanes, & so is the Kitfox.