Sat Aug 01, 2015 1:32 am
#1392558
My MK3 Kitfox costs have been:
Hangarage - a lot, because my Kitfox lives in the lap of luxury, but the last owner paid €50 a month for it to be kept in a byre with it's wings folded!
Fuel - I plan for 15 litres an hour at 70mph but I get nearer to 13lph and buy my fuel from the local ESSO garage at £1.26 a litre. £15 an hour for fuel
2-Stroke Oil - I use Castrol Power 1 Racing 2T which is £13.49 a litre from Halfords. At 50:1 that is £4.04 an hour, but you can get it cheaper mail order.
Spark plugs should be changed every 25 hours and there are four of them, costing £4.99 each from Halfords = 80p an hour
So petrol and oil, plus plugs costs £20 an hour, worst case at current costs. Those are your direct per hour costs.
My annual, plus some additional repair work on the fabric, de-laminated wing tip, fabricating a new oil reservoir, blasting the spinner cost £270, all carried out by my inspector as I didn't know how.
Insurance for a low hours pilot, with hull insurance for £12,500 and two additional named higher hours pilots as mentors costs me roughly £580 a year. Visicover, and I can't recommend them enough, but your quote may vary.
I've just had the full 582, 300hr rebuild and gearbox service, and elected for the 300hr kit, which includes all new leads, pistons and a brand new, later series crankshaft, which cost about £900 for the kit. My local Rotax engineer did the full service and rebuild for £1600 including parts, but you should budget up to £2500. Most owners don't go the whole way on the rebuild at 300hrs, but I'm a big scaredy so I did. I mentally allocate £10 an hour towards the next engine rebuild as every hour on the engine is a tenner off the resale value.
Other parts I've had to buy this year include a brake cylinder rebuild kit, £25. A belt sanded quad tyre at £160 (yes, I know, but I was in a hurry). New Lexan for the doors due to fuel damage, £80 and new bungees for the suspension at £155.
I've budgeted £1000 for a new radio with 8.33khz spacing as I will need that for next years annual. I'm debating a transponder too.
The big shock "cost" has been my time. I have a knowledgeable hangar mate with a full complement of tools who helps, but I've got no mechanical background or experience so I've had a steep learning curve, but would have had this with any PtF aircraft. I've spent nearly 80 hours in the last year working on the aircraft, for 32 hours of actual flying. I've enjoyed it, but it's only recently that my working pattern has allowed this. If you are a time constrained "road warrior" who wants to fly on the weekends then permit aircraft aren't for you. I can cycle to the hangar in 15 minutes and that proximity has helped immensely. I can easily do an hour or two after work.
Hope this helps someone who is considering the Kitfox. They are a cheap aircraft to buy and run, but like most permit aircraft require time to learn how to fly properly and to maintain.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
a friend has had many kit foxes and the mk4 is certainly more desirable but he has had a mk3 with a 912 and went all over in it and was a great machine by all accounts.
