Kitfox vs. Super Stol

[av8rps]

I agree the Kitfox STI would be more comparable to a Super Cub than a Just Aircraft Super Stol. The Super Stol is a great airplane designed to go in and out of the most extreme and challenging places by an average guy.. The STI and the Super Cub (in its stock form) will be very capable in the STOL environment, but unless flown by an exceptional pilot, will not be as capable as the Super Stol.

A better comparison than the Super Stol would be to compare the Kitfox STI to the Just Aircraft Highlander. They would be pretty similar in performance and capability with the same powerplant and prop.

An interesting point on this discussion is that some have been doing minor modifications to the Highlander to discover that it will takeoff shorter than the Super Stol, and land within 10% of what the Super Stol will do, but will cruise faster and haul more. That is kind of how I see the STI...compared to previous Kitfox models it has just been enhanced for Stol ops. So in reality, we're kind of splitting hairs when we try to compare all these different aircraft that are essentially from the same lineage. (E.G.; an early, light Avid Flyer or Kitfox would likely hold its own against any of them, only at the expense of being smaller)

John McBean of Kitfox is a smart guy. I'm guessing when he conceptualized the Kitfox STI he was thinking about the huge potential market there would be if he could attract the Super Cub and back country flyer types to the Kitfox by giving it even better STOL capabilities along with an improved bush plane look. Sooner or later some of those guys are going to think about an LSA or Experimental that has more to offer them.

Personally, I think John has hit a homerun with the STI, as I find it to be a very appealing alternative to "the best of the best" bush plane choices out there (including the Super Cub). It has everything the previous Kitfox needed to make the back country flying crowd notice it.

And I believe they will most definitely notice it...

[AirFox]

The STI will match the performance of the Cubs on a little more than half the fuel burn too. Just got back from a backcountry trip with a Carbon cub. I burned just over half as much fuel and flew faster doing it. Both planes are awesome. I just love the speed of the Super sport.

[av8rps]

Yeah, I can understand a newer Kitfox traveling with a Carbon Cub on a cross country, as my little ol' 80 hp Model 4 on amphibs flies nicely with my friends' 180 hp Aviat Husky amphib. But of course on less than half the fuel burn. Our takeoff and climb are about the same solo, but he beats me when we each fly with a passenger. However, if I had a 100 hp 912 then I'm pretty sure we'd be about the same in pretty much every regard. And that's saying a lot as a Husky is regarded as a high performance version of a Super Cub, having a large engine with a constant speed prop.

Knowing how mine compares to that Husky assures me the Kitfox STI will compare favorably to a Super Cub.