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Thread: Kitfox of the Month for April 2010 Daryl Hansen and Aaron Whitaker

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    Administrator DesertFox4's Avatar
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    Default Kitfox of the Month for April 2010 Daryl Hansen and Aaron Whitaker

    I have always loved flying. I got my pilot’s license when I was 23. After flying a few years, I got married, built a house, and flying took a back seat. My little sister got married and my new brother-in-law (Aaron) loved flying as much as I. We got into building and flying RC planes and had a great time. The next thing I knew 15 years had passed without flying. Then both of us had the chance to sit in the back seat of a Piper Cub and dump candy out for the Elwood Town 4th of July celebration. The bug bit. Aaron wanted to get his license and I decided to get my biannual done. We both really wanted to own and build a kit plane. spring 2010 026.jpg

    To cut costs and because we live only 1 mile apart it made sense to build and own it together. We rented planes for 5 years while we saved money. During that time we studied kit planes and decided on the Kitfox. In 2005 my wife said that her family reunion was in Wisconsin and it just happened to be at the same time as Oshkosh. I was happy to go to the reunion that year. EAA Adventure was great; my wife enjoyed it as well. In October of that same year, Skystar went belly up, so I started watching ads. In December of 2006, I found a Series 6 in Oregon that was purchased from Skystar in 2001. After being worked on for 2 years, it sat in the shop for 4 more years and was only 20% done. The price was right. The McBeans had bought Kitfox and we knew we would have factory support. We made the 15 hour drive, loved what we saw, and bought the kit. We made the trip back home, proud owners of the kit. Being on a tight budget we decided on traditional instruments. We were able to pick most of them up on eBay and Barnstormers from people who were upgrading their instruments. It took us 2 years and 600 hours to build. During our 2 year build, we took advantage of the factory fly-in to talk shop, see Kitfoxes, take pictures, get ideas, eat great food, and see all the Kitfox family. I would highly recommend the fly-in to help keep you motivated. The first flight of our Series 6 Kitfox 730WH was Jan 3, 2009.100_4462.jpg

    The McBeans supported us 110%; they were great. Thank you John and Debra.
    100_4464.jpg

    Here is how we have our Kitfox set up. Rotax 912 ULS, Grove gear (Tri) all speed mods, just got the wheel pants installed. We are both tall, so adjustable rudder pedals are a must. IvoProp ground quick adjust prop, day and night VFR with GS-air led lights and strobes. The landing lights are bull led, installed in the wing tips. Because this was my first paint job, we chose the poly-fiber poly-tone which was as easy to spray as they say. The heater kit from Kitfox Aircraft keeps us nice and warm during the winter months. For the cargo bay we went with the baggage sack. The panel includes: Garmin 196 GPS, Icom A200 com, Garmin 320a transponder, and Sigtronics sport 200s intercom. After seeing the bubble doors at the factory, I splurged and upgraded. I must say I love them. All in all, we had a great time building our Kitfox and it is a blast to fly. Very special thanks to our wives and families for their understanding and allowing us to live our dreams.
    N730WH Kitfox Series 6
    Daryl Hansen Aaron Whitaker


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    Administrator DesertFox4's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kitfox of the Month for April 2010 Daryl Hansen and Aaron Whitaker

    More photos:
    100_5805.jpg


    DesertFox4
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    Default Re: Kitfox of the Month for April 2010 Daryl Hansen and Aaron Whitaker

    Great looking Six Daryl and Aaron. Thanks for sharing. Congrats.


    To see more photos of this sweet model 6 visit their photo albums:
    Daryl and Aaron's photo albums.


    DesertFox4
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    Senior Member SkySteve's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kitfox of the Month for April 2010 Daryl Hansen and Aaron Whitaker

    Aaron & Daryl,
    Congrats on KOTM! You do have a great looking and sweet flying plane. Remembering the day flying over Brigham City and hearing you on the radio. We had a fun time flying together from there to Logan and beyond. This spring we'll complete those air to air photos. Stop by Ogden hangar 2980, North ramp, anytime.
    Steve Wilson
    Huntsville, UT
    Kitfox 85DD
    912A / 3 Blade Taper Tip Warp Drive
    Convertible Nosewheel & Tailwheel
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