What Have You Done Today To Your Kitfox?

[desertdave]

With expert help from Desertfox4 today I got my spinner installed.

[desertdave]

Replaced the jumper wires between my circuit breakers with copper bus-bars. Definitely cleaned up a lot of wires and crimp on connectors.

[buckchop]

Ok ill try a pic hope it works. Hahahaaa

[Maverick]

Your approach to spending your dime is one way of looking at it. I go fishing in Alaska every year or two. The amount of fish I bring back means that my salmon costs about $45 a pound and halibut costs near $55. I could buy it a lot cheaper but, I'd miss the experience of fishing. I'd miss the fellowship of spending 9 days with good friends from around the country. Consider that you said you wanted a hobby and something to do with your son.

Building an airplane is either because you love to build OR you love to fly and want to keep the cost of flying as cheap as you can OR both. For those who just want to fly there are less expensive airplanes available than building new however, the building process is not experienced in that way. Building an airplane yourself and then flying it are very rewarding experiences for which one may find it difficult to put a price on. Especially those hours spent working with your son on the project. When you build it yourself, you build it to your liking as a custom one of kind version of a standardized kit/plans.

If you goal is to make money, remember that there is a cost to an airplane regardless of who built it. Unless you build something that is potentially a grand champion you may not get your cash investment back but at the same time, if you can fly that airplane for 500 hours at 1/3rd the cost of renting, you've recovered some of the cost of your build. And then, there is the father to son factor. At your point in life, you may not ever sell the airplane. It may be passed down to your son, particularly if he is involved in building it and is enamored with flying it. In the cost benefit analysis, don't leave out the intangibles. As a woman would say (don't hit me ladies) can you put a price on love?

I haven't met anyone that owned a Kitfox that wasn't enamored with it. A Kitfox is one of the most modern old school airplanes there are and flying one is worth every cent of the cost. There aren't too many airplanes that will, get up and down in length of a football field, climb like a homesick angel and, carry a significant payload at 5gals/hr at 100+mph. If you want to get jazzed, watch some of the YouTube videos on the Kitfox like the Trent Palmer Kitfox Videos. DesertFox4 has some good ones I like here in the desert.

Also, I want to address your concerns about it being a tail dragger. If you haven't progressed too far in the build, it is possible to make your airframe into a tricycle gear plane. As well, you can make it into a wide body adding about four more inches in cabin width. Don't think I'm trying to talk you into something you don't want to do but, don't abandon the idea until you've considered more than $$. If you do decide to abandon the idea, this is a great place to find a buyer for your project.

Regards,
Fred