Appraising a partially assembled KitFox?

[40angst]

Argh... typed in a whole long message and then the website wouldn't accept it. Would a professional aircraft appraiser be able to give a reasonably accurate estimate of value if the kit was never fully assembled?

Elderly parents, dad is now in a nursing home and Mom needs to sell assets to help with expenses. Plane has been sitting in the garage sans skin for some years now. Unsure of the exact model but I do have the manual and packing list at home, I believe they purchased the kit in the late 1990's.

Thanks, Laura

[avidflyer]

I would suggest you get more info available and post it up here. Don't know if a professional appraiser would have much experience with experimental homebuilts. Let us know what you have, pictures would help a lot. Is there an engine with it, what is it's condition, type, ect, ect, Prop? Instruments? Fabric and chemicals for the fabric? Lots of people have bought or know of others who bought kits that have sat for a while and so might be able to give you some ideas on price. This topic has come up many times on this and other Kitfox related sites. You can find more info in the achives if you search for it. Best bet though is tell us what you have. Take care, Jim Chuk

[rogerh12]

I have purchased 9 kits, or partial kits so far, so I can go ahead and give you a good estimate. But note, demand is down for 1/2 built kits right now, better to wait until Spring to sell.

To get a good estimate, please provide the following information:

The model version and gross weight (example: Model-4, 1200 lbs)
State of wing assemble. Box of parts, or framed out or fabric covered?
Engine mount, installation kit or engine included? What model engine?
New in the box radio and flight instruments, engine instruments?
Window Glass, door glass included?
Fiberglass cowling included?
Landing gear and wheels included, and if so, is it a tail dragger or have aluminum spring main landing gear?
Other extras, such as landing lights (new in the box is best)

That should do it
Roger

[40angst]

Finally got some pics, I'll have specs and details later this week. Note that this is sitting in the garage which is also full of junk so I couldn't get nice clean photos.

This forum won't let me insert pics into a thread so I'll see if I can attach them

Here are pics of the engine and prop. Bombardier engine.

[40angst]

Here is the instrument panel and cockpit, I need better pics tho

[40angst]

Wings are attached and folded back, the flap things are hanging on the wall

More pics to come... are these helpful?

Laura

[40angst]

Mom says that he never bought the skin. There is a bunch of stuff underneath in boxes but I haven't had a chance go to through it.

Wheels are on the plane, I'm sure they are dry rotted tho, and it has a little wheel at the tail. (I remember they were excited to be able to tow it to a little airport about 5 miles away.) The frame seems complete, I think the seats are molded plastic. Unsure about window/door glass, the packing list is about 10 pages long so I will have to go through it and compare what's in the boxes.

Laura

[rogerh12]

Laura;
Well the good news is you can pull the plane out of the garage, unfold the wings, and it looks pretty much like an airplane, as opposed to a big pile of parts. Though the engine is minimal for this plane, it is mounted and does have a prop, so this will add value to the sale price. However, I am unsure if this is a model-4-1200 or a one of the lesser gross weight planes. Flyable model-3 can be had today for $11,000, and those are completed and registered planes. In general, the market is well stocked with older partially build kitfox planes (though the newer and larger versions are still hard to come by on the cheap)

If it is a 1200 lbs gross weight plane, then I would put a Spring price tag on it of $9,995. However, at that price you will be waiting awhile to sell, and be bombarded by endless tire kickers and other callers “wanting to know more”, trying to make a trade, and of course upset if you can’t give them an "exact" count of what is missing from the kit. However, at a price of $7,995, it will be sold more quickly, purchased by a guy knowing a few things might be missing. At $6,995, it will be sold in a week or two, no questions asked….
Hope this helps
Roger

[avidflyer]

Quick glance, looking at the rib tails, I can see it's not a Kitfox 4. A model 3 or earlier. It should say on the packing lists and other paperwork what model it is I would think. Jim Chuk

[mscotter]

Wing ribs look pretty clearly to be under-cambered airfoil. This would definitely make it not a model IV, right?

[Av8r3400]

It's either a 2 or 3. The door openings eliminate a 1 and the wing eliminates a 4.

[tommg13780]

This definitely is a 3 or earlier. It has the knuckle joint in the flaperon linkage so it will fold without disconnecting. That feature went away with the model 4.

[jeffcoaj]

Kit looks identical to mine. I have kf2.

[dholly]

40angst-

Clearly your Dad was special person to undertake building and flying his own aircraft, and it is always sad when dreams go unfulfilled. I am sure someone here will be honored to pick up where he left off and get his Kitfox out of the garage and into the air where it belongs. I'm sure that would bring a smile to his face!

You have either a Model 2 or Model 3 Kitfox, the necessary identifying items are not visible in the pics posted. Here are a few of the 'tells' you can look for...

Lift strut outside diameter increased from 3/4" o.d (M2) to 7/8" o.d (M3)
F/R Wing spar carry thru tubes increased to 1" o.d. (M3)
Aluminum drag/anti-drag tubes in wing increased from 1/2" o.d (M2) to 5/8" o.d (M3)
All new steel brackets added for drag/anti-drag tubes in wing (M3)
Float and cargo container brackets added to fuselage (M3)
Adjustable rod ends added to all Lift struts (M3)
Additional hinge pin added to rudder: 3 pin (M2) vs. 4 pin (M3)
Horizontal stabilizer brace tubes increased from 3/8" o.d (M2) to 1/2" o.d (M3)

Last, the Vertical stabilizer and rudder height increased 3" from (M2) to (M3). I'm not certain of the actual respective numbers, but if you post your measures I am sure someone will confirm.

Hope that helps. If your Dads workmanship passes closer inspection, you should have no trouble finding a good home for this aircraft.

[40angst]

Thanks everyone for your input and ideas. Mom said that back when they purchased this plane, they spent at least $13,000. I know she is thinking it should be worth more just based on the purchase price, but she doesn't understand how the market works. She wants at least that much out of it, what sucks is that I will have to be the one to advertise it and deal with all the tire kickers... ugh.

Your help has already been invaluable and I will have more questions once I can get some of the paperwork around.

Laura

[Danzer1]

Laura,

A few things might help you get more money:

If you can find his build logs and describe how accurate/complete they are.

If you can identify/photo other major parts with it, IE: wheel pants, upgrades like fairings etc, avionics not installed (whether new/used or rebuilt).

Model and serial number of engine and prop and whether new, zero timed, used (and hours) and log books for those if not new.

More clear and detailed photos not to post here but for the interested parties.

The more you can show or describe to a potential buyer, the less answering you will have to do with the "tire kickers"

Good Luck, Greg