kitfox gross weight upgrade

[adam.rigden]

I am looking at a kitfox 1050 and I would like to know what would be involved to upgrade the gross weight to 1200lbs. It does have a rotax 912 80hp engine.
Is this even doable.

[Esser]

Not to be rude but you probably won't get many answers as this has been answered 20 times. Try the search function on the top blue bar.

Short answer, buy a 1200 if you need more weight. It would be much cheaper

[wt93205]

If it is the one in Estes Park, CO for 17k that guy does not have any build logs as he was not the one who built it, and it was purchased from the older Kitfox company not the new one. So if you read on the new Kitfox website they have a letter to the FAA clarifying they are not the old company. You would need the original builder to sign some paperwork bill of sale who has since deceased so that plane is probably never going to get an airworthiness certificate. The 912 engine is the only thing of value and he won't sell that separate probably for a reason.

[jonstark]

If it is the one in Estes Park, CO for 17k that guy does not have any build logs as he was not the one who built it, and it was purchased from the older Kitfox company not the new one. So if you read on the new Kitfox website they have a letter to the FAA clarifying they are not the old company. You would need the original builder to sign some paperwork bill of sale who has since deceased so that plane is probably never going to get an airworthiness certificate. The 912 engine is the only thing of value and he won't sell that separate probably for a reason.

The bill of sale / ownership paper trail is important and the FAA wants it right. That said these challenges are not insurmountable. They just need to know you didn’t steal the parts or plane. I had a similar experience and got it done. Clear explanations of the situation in written form to the registration branch (keep copies) are a good start. They’ll give you some hoops to jump thru but actually nothing too hard as long as former owners or heirs of the “kit” (it’s not an aircraft yet) can be found. My original purchaser (a couple owners ago) was unwilling to sign a proper bill of sale but we had an old one on a bar napkin that was finally accepted.

The bigger hurdle on this project is proving that it was amateur built and that the build is safe. Far easier before cover.

If you want or need a 1200 you’d best look for one. I love my 1050.

Jon