Kitfox Model III
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The Kitfox Model III is the 1990-91 generation of Dan Denney's folding-wing two-seat kit, the structurally revised Model II built to take the 80 hp Rotax 912 as well as the 64 hp 582, with a 1,050 lb gross weight; 466 kits were produced before the Model IV replaced it.
A Model III is a thirty-year-old fabric kit plane whose only hard figure in this research is its gross weight, so the aircraft's own paperwork - weight-and-balance, engine logs and the condition of the welded fuselage, flaperon hinges and covering - is the whole basis for a purchase. Engines are the dividing line: a two-stroke 582 example is light, cheap and needs an owner who understands two-stroke care and limited TBOs; a 912 example is heavier at 1,050 lb gross and correspondingly tighter on useful load for two people. It is a slow, short-field, folding-wing aeroplane that trailers home, and it flies like the Avid Flyer it descends from. The owner may maintain it and the condition inspection needs an A&P or the repairman certificate; Kitfox Aircraft supports current models and some legacy parts.
Variants of the Kitfox
- Kitfox Model I · 1984 · 34 active
- Kitfox Model II · 1989 · 82 active
- Kitfox Model IV (4-1200 / Classic IV figures) · 1991 · 370 active
- Kitfox Series 5 · 1994 · 111 active
- Kitfox Series 6 · 2000 · 21 active
- Kitfox Light Sport · 2004 · 30 active
- Kitfox Series 7 Super Sport · 2004 · 236 active
- Kitfox Model III · 115 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
Compare with…
Put Kitfox Model III side by side with up to three other models.
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Rotax 912 (80 hp) or Rotax 582 (64 hp) |
| Horsepower | 80 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | — |
|---|---|
| Range | — |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | — |
| Stall speed (Vso) | — |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | — |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,050 lb |
| Empty weight | — |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 224 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 115 |
| Median year built | 1996 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 43.481 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 43.482 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 31 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 26.963 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 115 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 115 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 115 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.3 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 6.5 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 6.1 of 103 |
| Support | 6.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 29.3 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 7 · scores Sep 30