I've been looking for a while and it looks like I am making the move to a Kitfox IV 1200 with Rotax 100 hp 912, three blade prop, folding wings, everything I have been looking for. What are some concerns I might face purchasing an experimental kit plane? Do you guys have any recommendations of things to really look for before purchasing? The plane was built by an ia and a&p. It only has 50 hours on it total and was completed in 2004. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Make sure the paperwork is all there. 50 hours in 7 years isn't real good for a Rotax. Don't assume that because it was built by an IA that it's perfect. I've seen a lot of people get wrapped up on that. Just because you have a title doesn't mean you can build a plane. They are pretty simple airplanes to prebuy. They go like a rocket ship with the 100hp ULS. If you have never flown behind a 912 take the time to educate yourself on operating it properly it's a far different beast than a Lycoming. Post pics when you get her home!

Congratulations I have a model 4 1200 great plane for te money. 2004 is a pretty new considering most of these kits were sold back in the early to mid 1990's. Get the engine serial number, its on the back above the crank. Go to the rotax owner site and find the vintage of the motor. Check out what service bulletins apply. Go to kitfoxaircraft.com under the technical faq familiarize yourself with the service bulletins that apply to the model 4. The biggest weakness I've found is the non ethanol resistant fiberglass wing tanks. Good luck pm me for my number I would be glad answer any questions you might have.

Ask to see a copy of the weight and balance. A Kitfox built by the book with a 912 will not have a weight and balance problem, but some with everything including the kitchen sink installed are a little heavy.

if this kitfox is in fl, then i know the airplane, the owner and the builder. the builder is a retired pratt-whitney eng and a very meticulous mech. he is my neighbor and is restoring our 108-3. if you have any doubts about his abilities, just check out the stinson in the same hangar. as faar as the engine, so what the guys say that know the rotax, but one thing for sure, it is a rocketship with 100 hp.

Another thougt. Along with all the paperwork try to be sure and get the builder's manual to go with the plane. It's not a deal breaker if you can't but it makes maintenance a lot easier down the road.

Great thread on Kitfoxes.

This one really caught my eye:
http://www.barnstormers.com/classified_545287_KitFox+3+on+Amphibs.html

It is not a IV, but close enough I suppose.
So much bang for the buck with this particular airplane. Amphibious floats, looks clean, etc...
Only headache is the fact that it is in Canada...importing it will be a big hassle I think.

Yeah it is the one in fl. Here she is.
http://www.barnstormers.com/listing_ima ... 219c133e87
Just put together the deal. Anyone else have experience with the 100hp Rotax? Any ideas on cruise speed, climb, ect? I'm planning on having this plane for a long time and am very excited. I'm sorry 182, you were just chugging too much 100ll at $6.30 a gallon. I'm not sure if this is a way to rationalize the purchase but I will be saving about 10k a year on gas with the kit fox. It obviously is not ifr equipped ect ect ect, but I enjoy flying too much to get squeezed out of it by gas prices. On another note, cfi check ride tomorrow, gonna get back to studying and off the Internet. Thanks for the info on the builder and plane.

Not to burst any bubbles here, but a couple of years ago a friend of mine (who happened to be one of the owners of Kitfox the company at the time) built a IV with a 3300 Jabiru and supposedly some of the lightest amphibs on the market(can't remember the name right now). One 200# pilot on board, full fuel, 70* day = 200fpm climb and wouldn't climb over 6500'. He built it to take to Alaska and use it in the summer, but ended hiring somebody to take it to Oshkosh to sell it. He said it scared the crap out of him.

Hafast wrote:Not to burst any bubbles here..... full fuel, 70* day = 200fpm climb and wouldn't climb over 6500'.

Ehhhhh.... I've got two Kitfoxes right now, and that sounds wrong. I can get 1500ft/min out of them without any problem.
Something doesn't meet the eye there. Depending on the model and the empty weight, Full fuel could be over gross..... that
WOULD produce some low climb rates. This has little to do with the extreme functionality of a Kitfox - congrats on your new
acquisition.

~CRAZEDpilot

Hafast wrote:Not to burst any bubbles here, but a couple of years ago a friend of mine (who happened to be one of the owners of Kitfox the company at the time) built a IV with a 3300 Jabiru and supposedly some of the lightest amphibs on the market(can't remember the name right now). One 200# pilot on board, full fuel, 70* day = 200fpm climb and wouldn't climb over 6500'. He built it to take to Alaska and use it in the summer, but ended hiring somebody to take it to Oshkosh to sell it. He said it scared the crap out of him.

I have read a different testimonial at another forums.
This Kitfox owner shares his opinions:

Ok, I'll give you the full run down as there is a lot to share with any potential newcomers to the seaplane world. The Kitfox is an excellent alternative to what is many times perceived as a rich mans sport...it doesn't need to be.

My cruise speed at 3.1 gph of fuel burn is 100 mph solo, and 95-100 with two people. Wide open throttle it will go 124 mph in perfect conditions solo. And no, that is not an error. I've verified it many times with GPS both directions. I think my Kitfox may be a bit faster than the average Kitfox, but aside from having an electric inflight adjustable prop (which really does more for reducing takeoff time than cruise), it is a standard model IV Kitfox. I do have some fairings on it to clean things up where I could, but I could significantly improve drag by adding some additional fairings.

My climb rate solo (on amphibs) is around 1000 fpm on a 75 degree day. The lowest climb rate I've seen was with two guys and full fuel (which is approx 9.5 hours of range) on a 90 degree day, still producing over 500 fpm.

My Kitfox is a model IV with a 1200 lb gross weight. It weighs 776 lbs on amphibs. So like most amphibious seaplanes, useful load is probably the worst characteristic you have to live with. But even though my Kitfox only has a 424 lb useful load, because I only burn 3.1 gph at cruise, I only need to carry 18 lbs of fuel weight per hour of range. So with two 175 lbs people (hey the FAA uses that number yet), you can still carry 4 hours of fuel. And if you build your own Kitfox you would most likely put the gross weight to the max for LSA which is 1430 lbs, which would provide another 230 lbs of useful.

So how does it fly heavy? It flies amazingly well. Stall speed will increase into the low 40 mph range, up from the mid 30's solo. Takeoff distance obviously suffers, but really not all that bad. At a recent event a friend of mine took off with another guy in his 550 powered 185 amphib, even though I had full fuel and a 215 lb friend with me, I was off the water in half the distance as he was, and cleared the trees on the small lake with hundreds of extra feet to spare. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not berating my buddie's 185. I'm just trying to show how capable the Kitfox is, particularly as a seaplane. Oh yeah, he has 300+ horsepower...I have 81 hp, 79 continuous. But without adding any weight I could increase my horsepower by 25%, which would turn my little Kitfox into a real rocketship. But honestly, I don't really see the need. I actually have a "spare" 100 hp Rotax 912 I could bolt in anytime I want, but I like my 81 hp amphib so much I'm leaving it just like it is.

Oh, and for the best part..... I have 25 grand in my whole airplane. I paid 18k for my plane in a flying state, but it was pretty ugly. I repainted it, made a prettier instrument panel, and added a set of used Aerocet 1100 amphibs. Total price complete, 25k. I only liability insure mine, and that is a bit more than 600 a year. Full coverage would be something around 2500 last I checked.

I can't imagine why it would be a big problem to get a loan as the loan should be smaller than most seaplane purchases, providing overall less risk to the bank. And a Kitfox is a pretty common airplane these days, so if you provide them with info on Kitfoxes they shouldn't have too much trouble valuing it (plus in a worse case scenario, the bank could park this in their repo lot and draw a lot of attention ) Now I have to admit, I have always used other collateral (e.g: real estate) when purchasing my airplanes, as I don't like being forced to buy full coverage hull insurance. Availability? There's one on the SPA forum classifieds right now, and another on barnstormers much like mine - 44k and 32k as I recall. (And worth every nickel)

One last feature worth mentioning. With the 5 minute folding wing (yes, really 5 minutes) you can keep the airplane at home, or launch at any boat landing. A really nice feature if you don't own waterfront property but want to own a seaplane.

and a followup:

I actually am not surprised to hear about a Jabiru powered Kitfox being a dog. It is a simple case of too short of a prop turning too fast. The Jab's run something like 3300 rpm for full throttle, making an efficient stol propellor go supersonic, so they run short little props. But that doesn't work well at slow speeds like STOL aircraft operate. I've yet to see a Jabiru powered anything on floats be a good performer. So I'm not surprised to hear about that Kitfox. Put a 912s or a 914 in it and everything will change.

Here is a IV on amphibs:

http://www.seaplanes.org/ppc/showproduct.php?product=86&title=kitfox-iv-1200-rotax-912-amphib&cat=3

It is more $ than the white one I posted prior, but I bet it has more useful load.

300TT-Like new, 2004---Call 954 673 1896 Rotax upgraded to 95 hp; Aerocet 1200 fiberglass amphib floats; Navcom; intercom; GPS Gizmo dock for X96

Flys great, off in 5 secs, larger 32 ft wing model,great time builder for new seaplane pilot, econimical to own and maintain for any pilot

Gross is 1550, empty is 830, holds 27 gal, 4.5 gph