The Kitfox

Last year my friend Moose approached me about flying his Kitfox.  He didn't have the time to fly his airplane as much as he felt it needed to keep the engine fresh. Airplane engines, like most engines, are cheaper to maintain if they are run periodically. I was happy to take him up on his offer, but I wanted to get a proper checkout to learn the specific dynamics of the small tail-wheel airplane. At the end of March I finally landed a long overnight in BOI and used it as an opportunity to visit Kitfox specialist Paul Leadabrand at Stick and Rudder Aviation.

Paul's Light Sport Turbo Kitfox

I met Paul at 9:00 a.m., when the airport was still basking the warm light and calm air of an early spring morning. When Paul's yellow Kitfox emerged from the hanger, sitting on comically large tundra tires, it looked more like a caricature of an airplane than the real thing. A closer examination of the 3-bladed carbon fiber prop, faired engine cowling, gull wing doors, and jet-like fully integrated electronic flight information system (EFIS) and primary flight display (PFD) instrument display meant this machine was all business. Climbing into the plush "Kitfox" embroidered seats I found the airplane was surprisingly roomy. The deck angle on the ground put my knees nearly level with my chest. Seeing over the nose was reserved only for in flight. Taxi, takeoff, and landing were all done in a nose high attitude, in part to the large tundra tires and short fuselage. Luckily, the door was made entirely of a Plexiglas material affording excellent side visibility and adding an open cockpit feel.

Tundra Tires = Steep Deck Angle

Carbon Fiber Prop

Cockpit

Plush Seats and 5-Point Harness

View through the Doors

View Over the Cowl

EFIS, PFD, and MFD Display

Unlike some tail draggers, whose engines spit, sputter, and rumble to life, the turbocharged Rotax and gearbox-driven prop started and settled into a clinical idle like a finely tuned race engine. Squeezing 115-horsepower out of an engine barely larger than a flight bag it's easy to see why. Paul pointed out that below 2000 RPM's gearbox chatter would resonate thought the fuselage cueing the pilot to increase their idle speed. The gearbox facilitates a 5500 max continuous engine RPM. Monitoring engine parameters like manifold pressure, RPM's, coolant temp, oil temp, oil pressure, and turbo boost through the digital EFIS display was more BMW than Piper Cub.

After a quick run up we were cleared for takeoff on runway 10L. We were airborne in less than 300 feet and climbing through pattern altitude abeam the tower on our early turnout to the south. Once we cleared Boise's airspace, the vast open desert along the lower Snake River afforded us the opportunity to safely and legally fly the Kitfox as it should be flown -- low and slow. Following the contour lines of the high desert to the rim of the Snake River Canyon was a blissfully rudimentary flying experience. It wasn't quite as organic as hang gliding, but similar enough that I couldn't help noticing a dozen turkey vultures and a pair of red tail hawks turning shallow circles in the weak morning thermals. Once we reached the canyon, the blue-green water of the Snake River earned its name carving a slithering path through towering rock walls. The Kitfox's full span "flying" ailerons and a slow-speed turning radius that rivals some luxury cars made the following the river a breeze. 

Me Flying from the Right Seat

The Snake River Canyon

(the prop lines are from the rolling shutter iPhone camera)

Course Reversal

Paul instructed me to break left into a side canyon and climb UP to the pattern altitude of nearby Murphy Airport. With a runway length of 2500 feet, Murphy had tons of runway to spare. Landing was straightforward. The ailerons double as flaps, dropping them requires a slight pitch trim. The recipe was simple; throttle idle, 65 mph, fly it to the touchdown point, flare into a 3-point attitude, and maintain directional control with rudder. If you can see the runway over the nose, you're too flat. Sub-500 feet ground rolls were possible even with my rusty tail-wheel skills. Add power, neutral initial stick, raise the tail slightly, lift off nose high, and repeat.  After a few laps we moved on to a proper Kitfox runway where Paul showed me a backcountry approach and landing. Final is flown in level flight to the touchdown point on the elevated uphill strip. Once we touched down, we had to add considerable power to get to the top of the hill. The take off was similar in its brevity.

Backcountry Practice Strip

(free of backcountry obstacles)

Approach, landing, and Take Off

On the way back to Boise we stopped at Nampa Airport for more practice landings. My 3-point attitude was consistently slightly flat, which was due to wheel landing the Mustang II tail-wheel I had flown last. I was able to roll on a few greasers, but the ginormous tundra tires surely played a role in that. In level flight the double-cambered wing of Paul's Kitfox will do 120 mph, a considerable speed advantage over my friend's single-cambered style airfoil. On approach to Boise we set up a full power descent to 10L behind a Horizon Q400 and were on the ground in less than two hours. 

More Kitfox Pics

Tundra Tires

Laminar Flow Cowling / 3 Bladed Prop

LED Landing Light

Full Span "Flying" Aileron / Flaps

Greenhouse Style Cockpit

The Kitfox is one of the most enjoyable airplanes I've flown. It's intuitive, honest, and has no negative tendencies lurking to surprise the unsuspecting pilot. The tactile, low and slow, hands-on flying experience was a refreshing contrast to the highly automated and regimented professional flying environment I am used to. It brought me back to the basics of what drew me to aviation, which can easily get lost in the modern air transport system. I highly recommend it to anyone at that finds himself or herself in Boise. It's an affordable way to take to the sky in way that is all too often lost in modern aviation.

Back In Boise

A few weeks later I took Moose's Kitfox up for a spin.  Moose's airplane is a Franken-Kitfox made from the combination of a few variants.  It flew a little different, but it didn't take long to get the hang of.  I'd like more landings, but in tail dragger that's always the case!

Moose's Kitfox

My Takeoffs & Landings

The Story Behind the Top Gear Caravan Airship

In Top Gear (UK - the only real Top Gear) Series 14, Episode 3 James May and Richard Hammond continue their ongoing war against road-clogging caravans by trying a new technology to remove them from the road.  The idea was to make an airship out of a small caravan.  The aviation minded James May would pilot the airship in a race with Richard Hammond driving a special addition Lamborghini Gallardo.  In the episode James May "accidentally" penetrated the controlled airspace of Norwich International Airport while Richard Hammond chases him from below in a one of the few rear wheel drive modern Lamborghini's.  The footage is wonderful, with cuts of the giant red airship billowing in the wind as it drifts above a landing Q400 and is later intercepted by a police helicopter.

In actuality, the scene was well planned along with the construction of the airship.  It was built and piloted by by Lindstrand Balloons and certified by Britain's CAA.  The story behind the science and construction of building the airship compliment the Top Gear episode perfectly.  Check it out.

New Year's Day Ouray in Style

Since its beginning Phoenix Multisport has done a winter trip to Ouray, Colorado. It includes ice climbing, snow shoeing, skiing and snowboarding, hot springing, and hanging in the charming mountain town of Ouray. For several years the trip was a highlight of our winter. There is no better way to take in the new year than sipping Martinellis in a natural hot spring in the Colorado Mountains. We missed it last year and I had to work until late on New Year's Eve this year. The only way to get there would be to fly. The last commercial flight into Montrose left before I finished work. I thought about flying myself, Jo and Lisa in a rented Cessna, but a major wind storm ruled out that as a possibility.

Getting a taste of the mountains was looking bleak, but the first day of 2012 was a new day. Enter Jon. I met Jon through a friend at work. He owns a modern Piper Saratoga II TC (TC stands for turbo charged) and is enthusiastic about flying as well as life in general. I can tell we are going to be great friends. The windstorm had been replaced by a stable high pressure system and Jon was excited about taking a day trip to Ouray on the most beautiful day of the year.

Jon's Saratoga II TC

We met up at Erie Airport and loaded up the Saratoga. I've flown some nice planes over the years, but for a cross country machine, Jon's Saratoga is one of the nicest. It has six leather seats, a turbo charged Lycoming IO-540 engine capable of delivering sea level power up to 18,000 feet, 180 knot true airspeed at 75% power, and touch screen Garmin avionics. It is like the BMW 7 Series of the air! We took off and cruise climbed to 12,500 feet. In no time we were over South Park approaching the Collegiate Mountains. With multiple peaks over 14,000 feet, the Collegiates are a formidable obstacle. The winds aloft at mountain top were about 30 knots. In the stable air that was conducive to light mountain wave formation, but the worst of the wave was forecasted to be north of the I-70 corridor. We aimed for Monarch Pass at the southern end of the Collegiates.

Jon and I Up Front

Jo Enjoying the View

Mt. Princeton in the Collegiate Range

I approached the pass from the south side of valley giving us the widest berth from any rotor lurking in the lee side of Bald Mountain. It also gave us plenty of room to angle out of the pass if we hit strong sink. The ride was smooth as glass over the pass and the views of Monarch Mountain Ski Resort and the Monarch Crest Trail were amazing. The remainder of our route took us over Gunnison, Blue Mesa Reservoir, and The Black Canyon where Jo and I began feeling the affects of Venti Latte's. Our bladder's decided that any touring of the beautiful scenery would be cut short by landing as soon as possible. The Saratoga was firm on the controls, but landed smoothly. An airline pilot trying to land a small plane is always good for a laugh, but I kept the drama to a minimum. They will get better with practice!

Monarch Pass

Monarch Mountain Ski Resort on the far side of Rt. 50, Monarch Crest Trail on the near side

Looking Back from the West

The Rim of the Black Canyon

Landed at Montrose

Jonny V met us at the FBO and drove us into the northern San Juan Mountains to Ouray. We hooked up with Scott, Sean, and few other Phoenix Multisport people and had lunch at the Timberline Deli. Jon fit right in with crew, like he'd known everyone for years. Ouray is situated in a box canyon with cathedralesque rock walls on three sides. The sun was already getting low on the snow caps, but the light reflecting off the east valley wall painted the town in rich late-day light. I wandered off for a few pics. The low sun was our cue that we should keep on the move. We met up with Matt and some Colorado Springs folk for a quick hello then headed back to the airport.

Ouray

After a preemptive emptying of our bladders we took off on runway 31 and turned south for Ouray. I cruise climbed up to 11,500' and looked for the right box canyon in the silhouetted peaks of the San Juans. We followed the Uncompahgre River, which lead us straight to Ouray. Even from our high altitude the box canyon was massive with peaks still thousands of feet above us. We were nothing but a spec, a tiny pixel in a 3D landscape that enveloped us. I entered on the west side of the canyon, ensuring we had enough room to turn around (a bad problem to have in a box canyon). I slowed down slightly to keep our turn radius tight and put Ouray just off the left wing. Once directly overhead we did a few 360's waving at our friends thousands of feet below.

Ouray from Above

The View Out the Front

The sun was really getting low now, it was time to head east. We climbed up to 13,500 feet and crossed over the jagged peaks of the Uncompahgre Wilderness in the northeastern San Juans. I fly over these mountains regularly at work and even after countless of hours of looking down I have yet to get bored. Seeing them out the window at eye level was even more dramatic. The pastel pink alpenglow framing the snowy peaks painted a serene picture that betrayed the danger of flying a small plane over the mountains at night.

The Northeastern San Juans in the Uncompahgre Wilderness

Pointing the Nose Eastbound

The Most Beautiful Mountains in Colorado

Jon and I worked well as a team and the Saratoga flew like a dream. He had recently installed a Garmin Touchscreen Avionics package. The moving map display showed our course, terrain, traffic, weather, airport information, and XM satellite radio on a touchscreen iPad-like display. Night flying through the Rockies had nothing on us. Faint apparitions of the mountains lit by a sliver of moonlight passed under us at 200 knots with a tailwind. The ride was smooth up to Kenosha Pass, but even then the bumps didn't last long. Before we knew it we were on the ground in Erie after my smoothest Saratoga landing yet. It was a perfect New Years day spent with friends - old and new.

Touch Screen Garmin Avionics