New Pilot Intro and 1st Plane Decisions

[ShaneNC]

Hey Shane. If I could suggest a third option, a nice Model 4/1200/912ul could be bought in the price range that you mentioned. Plus the maintenance cost would be much less than an older certified plane...

James,

Thank you for the offer, that would be awesome. I’m about a 15 minute drive from BQ1, I’d be glad to buy you lunch there for your troubles if you’re interested in flying this way. Or I could come to you, whatever is easiest for you. PM me your contact info sometime. It will probably be after the new year before I can do much though between work and traveling back and forth to visit family.

[avidflyer]

Another thought is maybe an earlier Kitfox or Avid Flyer. Sometimes you can find them in the $15,000 range. That's a long way from the $75,000 price tag that was mentioned for building a Kitfox 7 with a 912. And if you really want that 7, the cheaper plane will probably still be worth what you paid for it once the 7 is built and you can have a lot of fun flying in the meantime. JImChuk

[Dave S]

Shane,


Just a few thoughts to throw into the mix. On the "buy used certificated" vs "build new experimental" there are some things to consider. I did consider a third option - rebuild a certificated tube and fabric aircraft.


Buy a new certificated aircraft? Not only is the price laughable but it is so far beyond what an average person can do it is a sick joke.



1) My last 4 rental experiences prior to building our Kitfox all ended with mechanical kerfuffles - all between picking up the keys and the run-up pad. It occurred to me that airplanes with a gazillion hours on them with mechanics trying to keep up with whatever some renters can dish out and walk away from is not my deal.


2) I also spent some time working with an A & P on several airplanes. I was aghast at the frequency corrosion was encountered, particularly in old all aluminum certificated airplanes. There is not much you can do with an aluminum airplane with spar or other serious structural corrosion discovered after one of those is purchased. I recall seeing little donut shaped rings around wing rivets on one aircraft where the corrosion between the skin and ribs had pushed up. I don't care how neat the paint looks - paint doesn't make it fly.



3) Old Tube and fabric airplanes can be rebuilt to better than new due to the nature of that technology - but it is still a certificated airplane - but not a bad option.


4) Experimental? A person can end up with a new airplane at a cost that is approachable by many. Also the Repairman's certificate and the assurance that a person can maintain it to their standards rather than not knowing if it is something you would not want to trust your life to.


My personal opinion is that experimentals is where we will continue to see airplanes added to the fleet that average folks can fly while not entirely destroying the kid's inheritance.

[Hockeystud87]

I own a model 4 1200. Though I got mine from my grandfather I have to say it's been a absolute joy to own.

If buying a kitfox I would not get anything older than the model 4 1200. There was a lot of upgrades that were implemented with the 4 and later that are pretty nice and make them great flying machines.

The operating costs are almost 0 ($15 an hour gas), plus I do all the maintenance my self. So far I have had to redo the brakes, fuel lines, tires, and install an oil cooler. Did it all my self paying for nothing more than the parts cost. This is HUGE in aviation. Plus you won't have to wait for a shop to finish it. If you want it done order the parts and get it fixed up. Beyond that getting to understand your aircraft is a major plus.

Key is to have a trusted A&P to will at least give it a glance to make sure you have not attached the wing backwards.

I was once told by a FEDEX 777 captain when talking with him about planes to fly. I wanted a Comanche 260, high performance, retracts, the works...

He looked at me and said "What you need is something slow and cheap" then pointed at my grandfathers kitfox 4.