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Old 5th Jul 2014, 20:15
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carlmeek
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Brighton, UK
Age: 45
Posts: 77
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Mine's a 912 Kitfox, G-PHYL.

I find her an absolute delight to fly, but the handling is definitely quirky. Several pilots who have "had a go" have found her a handful. It's the rudder - aside from the fact some pilots don't know what it does, on the kitfox there is very little directional stability, so with feet off, it WONT return to in-balance, often doing the opposite! You can end up kind of hanging in a sideslip, requiring a big boot to get out of it. I had to take control back from the pilot having a go and fix it! This is not a criticism, it's a lovely machine to fly, but takes a little bit to get used to.

The aircraft climbs like a bat out of hell, takes off and lands on a sixpence. A 'go around' is like magic, throttle in, aircraft up like rocket. Puts many aircraft to shame. I can reliably land in under 100m with no wind.

It uses 11LPH, cruises at anything from 70 to 95mph, with it feeling 'right' and nicely stable at around 80 odd. Massive tyres, can land in long grass no issue. I landed it in standing water mud many times, it was the only aircraft operating at the strip.

Mud Flying - YouTube

In summary, buy one!

Edited to add- I also fly a Tecnam, and recent helicopter lessons showed that the kitfox is a good tutor for helicopter skills!
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