So happy with my AirStreaks. Thank you Bart.
I am amazed at how much they reduce the spring gear movement on landing.
I really can't see over the nose during taxi now. Love it.

Nice!!

Congrats! Looks awesome!!

Great looking plane

Ken

Kitfox5 wrote:So happy with my AirStreaks. Thank you Bart.

Glad I could help! Plane looks great!!

Nice looking KF! Whattaya got for power in that? I just read a blur=b from GA News that KF is gonna sytart offering a factory LSA with the turbo 914 Rotax. Dunno if it includes the 914, but the article also said KF offers a fly-away LSA for under $100K-- that's a pretty good price compared to some of them out there. (but still a lot of dough!)

I have a 125hp Lycoming O290D in mine, which makes it a bit heavier, but it performs very well. I can cruise at 135mph and stall at 41-43mph. I still would like to add a VG kit, but I have heard mixed reviews on flapperon wings. With the 914 you would get the boost in power and retain the lower weight of a Rotax. I think it would be a great performer. The Kitfox LSA is an outstanding option for the LSA market. I learned to fly in a C180 and think of the Kitfox as a smaller less expensive version. It is a great deal of fun to fly and very capable.

That looks great! I'm sooo jealous. I need some fatty's for mine.

290D-- nice! No offense to anyone, but I'm old school & I like "real" airplane engines.(I'm sure that'll get a few comments!)
What's the empty/gross weights on that airplane? When LSA first came out, I had the idea of building up a KF7 with a C85/O200 cont or maybe a 235 Lyc, but the folks at the factory told me that there was no way to do that & not exceed LSA weight limits.
A friend of mine who lives at Independence has a 290D2 powered Pacer and really likes that engine. He just hung a newly-OH'd 74x53 Sensenich prop on it (replacing a 74x55 Mac) and says it hits the sweet spot for good performance from that airframe. I have a 74x54+ Sensenich on my 150/150 and that works pretty well for me. What prop are you running? I used to have a 74x52 Sensenich & sold it to a guy with a 290D powered experimental and it seemed to work pretty well for him.

Empty weight is 881lbs. I have a Props Inc wooden 74" propeller made in Newport, Oregon on it now, I may have it slightly re-pitched to obtain higher RPM. I can get 2600 RPM in flight, but the engine has a 130hp at 2800 RPM rating for 5 min, I can't get anywhere near 2800 RPM on take off and climb out. My cruise speeds are bumping right up against the LSA limit so a little de-pitching would work out well I think. Ideally for an LSA you would want your empty weight under 800lbs, but in my case I took over this project past the 51% point and the best way to get the repairmen cert was to go ELSA with the repairmen course. For resale it does offer the same advantage to the new owner if they complete the course. I usually fly alone or with one of my young sons, so useful load works out just fine. When I need to haul more I borrow Gramps C180. The experimental amateur built Kitfoxes are usually certified at 1550lbs unless the owner plans on operating under LSA rules. At 1320Lbs GW I can go two adults and 2.5 hrs fuel, or solo with tons of camping gear and 4.5 hrs fuel. It is nice to have the C180 option.

i believe its no accident that guys like things better with bigger round things on them....marketing...genius. and i gotta say, that KF is foxy looking....

I'm surprised that Kitfox told you not to go with a lycoming or cont. if it is to be used as an LSA. My empty weight is almost exactly the same as a Carbon Cub SS, except I can use all of my horses all the time. The useful load is the same, and they are selling like hot cakes. Just saying.

I think that 914 is a fantastic option. Especially up here in the high DA - full rated hp to 17k, if I recall correctly.

Now if they can just put a 50k price tag on it.

PHAT!!!

Kitfox5 wrote:I'm surprised that Kitfox told you not to go with a lycoming or cont. if it is to be used as an LSA. My empty weight is almost exactly the same as a Carbon Cub SS, except I can use all of my horses all the time. The useful load is the same, and they are selling like hot cakes. Just saying.

This was some number of years ago-- maybe they had a wagonload of Rotax's to sell, who knows? They just told me that it would not be possible to make the empty weight work out for a 2-seat airplane. Maybe the 7's are heavier than your 5?
So yours is registered an an E-LSA? Hard to tell from the reguistration database-- it just says experimental so I assumed ABE.

Kitfox5 wrote:Now if they can just put a 50k price tag on it.

On the 914 engine? They're working on it!

I don't understand why someone would set the gross weight at 1550 for a kitfox. It makes them extremely difficult to sell an lsa that isn't an lsa (meet the 1320 rule). Once set at 1550 it can never be flown by an LSA pilot.

Is there another reason that people do this? I can't imagine that the desire to operate above 1320 for a kitfox owner to be that great that they would rule out most of their market should the need to sell it ever come up - and it always does - if not by you by your heirs.

The original 1550 lbs GW was part of the series 5 through 7 design and this was before the LSA rule. I got lucky and finished mine in 2006 right about the time the rule had been put into place. I was the first ELSA for the Portland FISDO. You are right however that a 1550 lbs would be a bad idea for resale now, but if the new proposal to go to 180 hp with the drivers license medical exemption passes, we may see the 1550 lbs limit become more popular. We will also probably see some new twists on the kits that are available, taking advantage of the higher weight and horse power limit. Of course the repairmen certificate will still be an issue. I actually think that if the proposal passes it will hurt the LSA market a great deal.