Series 7 Super Sport - Rotec Radial R2800

[jdmcbean]

Many of you may have seen the Radial SS..

Just put this video on Youtube...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97dO-pq03Qs

[SkySteve]

Very cool. What a sweet looking plane. I love the paint job.

[RadialFox7]

Awesome!!! Can't wait 'till mine gets flying!

"MiniCoupeR" - N74DH (reserved)

Dave Holtorf

[piflyer]

I was excited to receive my March issue of Kit Plane, and find a feature story on the Rotec powered Supersport.

From what I read. Mcbean was not shy about saying this is not the perfect match performance wise, but is a very capable application for those looking into a more nostalgic cool capable Kitfox.

From what is published, the specifications pertaining to the Kit fox with the R2800 mounted are.
cruise 110 mph at 75% power at 6.6 GPH fuel burn. Stall 41, take off and landing were listed at 290ft.

the others like weights were generic basic numbers, I dont think pertaining to the Mounted R2800.

What I see is Fuel burn, weight, should not be a primary concern when you're building a COOL looking R2800 mounted radial. the old adage , you dont get something for nothing,

Firewall forward package was listed at $4295.00

I will still give it some serious thought for my Future KitFox.

Mr. Mcbean please fill in the missing specs for this Future customer.

Actual empty weight of the tested aircraft, and Weight and balance envelope.

climb rate. best rate and angle.

Oil burn with the R2800? if any?

Bryan

[Grant]

Looked at the kfox ss to build and found a flying avid which I bought.
I wanted to fly and genuinely thought that was the end.... Until I saw the yellow radial powered kitfox.
I'm working out how to "sell" this 2 aeroplanes, one to fly one to build concept at home
It's a mini lockheed vega! what more could you want?

[piflyer]

Still waiting for e-mail and response from KitFox and John?

[DesertFox6]

piflyer -

I just happened to be reviewing this thread when I noticed your entry (immediately below) from yesterday. You might want to direct your Rotec powered Kitfox questions directly to the factory since I doubt anyone there has time to read through all the various builder-blogs, including this one, on a daily basis. I doubt any of the other sponsors over on the left side edge do either, so you'd be similarly well-off to write them VFR direct about their products also. ;)

You can click on the Kitfox ad at top left side of this screen with your questions, but there's probably not much available to report just yet. In that KITPLANES article you cite, editor Marc Cook quotes John, on page 16, as saying they built the radial-Fox "...to see if we could." While builder response has been terrific, it doesn't sound to me like any extensive flight-test regimen has been conducted yet. We will all probably just have to wait for collaborative data from other Rotec-Fox owners anyway before we'll really know anything for sure. This is still pioneering territory! :) (but WAY COOL!)

That said, write the factory with your questions; they've been super about getting back to me when I call or write them directly; anything you ask them here is likely to get missed, due to the sheer volume of daily traffic and the subsequent archiving of threads into subject-specific sub-areas on a regular basis.

"E.T."
(Member, 3rd Tac Fighter Wing, Clark AB, 1976-1978!)

[GWright6970]

Excellent video! VERY well done. Thank you for posting it!

[Monocock]

piflyer

Does "pi" stand for "positively inconsiderate"?

You keep having a pop at the McBeans who, as expected, have responded professionally and courteously on another thread (despite not being obliged to) on this independent website.

If it weren't for having people like them owning and running the factory where we rely on our hardware and support, we would all be stuffed. Sadly, it is only people like you who would probably manage to ever make them question why they do it, especially having turned the business around into what it is today. Please can I politely request that you refrain from your little snipes and focus on your Husky that I understand will be arriving soon....??

If you are genuinely annoyed about not being able to get hold of the McBeans can I suggest you just call them to discuss the matter direct? Playground tittle tattle is hardly a mature way forward.

Whilst I am sure you are a hugely knoweldgable and experienced person who can bring a lot to this forum, I am yet to be convinced that you come here with positive intentions.

[DesertFox4]

Thanks Mono for the good words for Kitfox Aircraft. I know they appreciate it.
People with hidden agenda's usually don't put all the cards on the table. Seems that might be the situation here. Really don't know or care.
There was a claim of "multiple attempts" to contact Kitfox Aircraft. Not that correspondence can't drop through a crack now and again or get lost in email purgatory. It doesn't appear to have happened in this instance.

BTW- I deleted Pi's last response late last night to DesertFox 6's attempt to assist. It was not polite.

[DesertFox4]

Bumping the video so it doesn't get lost in all the postings.
It is a great video of one sexy Kitfox.:D

http://www.youtube.com/user/KitfoxAircraft

[DesertFox6]

Well (sigh) you can lead a horse to water, but...

I'd like to add to Monocock's all-too-often-overlooked assessment of the current state of affairs of our favorite aircraft manufacturer and its stunning turnaround in the business world. I'm reminded of another US manufacturer who was nearly driven out of the market before re-inventing itself and literally conquering the world that was about to bury it.

On my bookshelf is a copy of Peter C. Reid's 1990 book Well Made in America with the sub-title Lessons From Harley Davidson on Being the Best. It's written by a business guru who probably never sat on a Hawg, but the same self-reliant, user-family-oriented, attitudes that resurrected "The Motor Company" (forcing the Ford Corporation to HIRE Harley to show them how to run a parts-as-needed hardware flow and low-overhead manufacturing process!) appear in healthy doses along the banks of the Snake River in Homedale, Idaho. Those who've come to love the Kitfox name need to know how far the McBean's TLC has brought this remarkable company. That doesn't happen by accident nor by ignoring one's customer/fan base either! DesertFox1: Wanna write a book, Papa? I got new crayons for Christmas to do the illustrations! ;)

Monocock; DesertFox4; thanks for sharing your perspectives with all of us. I received the "not polite" response from the Philippines in the automatic e-mail reply alert from this website to my own address: DesertFox4 exercised his "administrative blue pencil" correctly. I agree: Such ill-decorum needs no harbor here...WE'RE TOO BUSY HAVIN' FUN!

"E.T."

(Of course, when I lived in the PI, over 30 years ago, there was a 16 or 17 hour time difference to the US west coast but we knew how to address that problem back then...AND we dialed the correct number!) :D

[Andrew G]

I have been fixing broken businesses since 1989... and rarely do broken businesses -- actually get permanently fixed... from all indications, the McBeans have done a fabulous job of not only fixing Kitfox, but growing it as well. A rarity in the business world. The feat is even more impressive after one considers that the recession occured right when any newly revived business needs a tail wind, not a recession-driven headwind.

I met the whole Kitfox family in AZ at the Copperstate Fly-in... and I learned that Kitfox is more than a company, it's a culture. John kindly took me for a ride and I was hooked by both the product and the company culture.

Kitfox is a lot like Harley in many respects, at a much smaller scale, but certainly in terms of how new leadership is percieved in the market. I also think the Kitfox product arrived at the right time in terms of older pilots, higher gas prices, the LSA/Sport Pilot designations, and aging plane stock. Just like Harley. The only difference is is that Harleys are priced much lower and financing is much more abundant, the skill level is far, far lower and manufacturing scale can be achieved much more easily.

I still don't have a Kitfox, because I am up to my eyeballs myself fixing a (formerly) broken business (in aviation) and every time I feel confident that I have the time and cash, my customers remind me that the cash and time have to go back into the business... and of course other wonderful life events get in the way too...

But I'll get one someday, and I am confident that Kitfox Inc and its great culture will be there when I am ready.