How to land a Kitfox

Описание: Landing an early model Kitfox 1. There are differing opinions about how to land the Kitfox. Here is how to do it smoothly:

Slow your approach.

The earliest Kitfoxes have a lot of wing twist. The original build manual called for 1-3/4”. This one measured at 1-5/8”. You might find a Model 4 with as little as 1/2” of twist, but that’s still significant. The thing about having this much twist, is that it never really stalls the whole wing. I can hold the stick back all the way, for a sink rate of over 600 fpm, which is way too much for landing, but the plane will still be flying.

Use full flaps.

The best thing about the flaps is that they help you see over the nose. Pulling full flaps will give you better visibility, allow a slower landing speed, and yes, lets you make a steeper approach. On that note, I may have offended someone by saying that the Kitfox doesn’t have great short field performance. Well, it’s pretty good, but the flaperons are a limiting factor. This plane is set up to deliver maximum flap travel. No stop to limit its travel, and no “reflex” to trim it nose up. It still only has 17° of flap. That’s the most you can get out of it. Even as draggy as it is, and as slow as it flies, you can’t make as steep an approach as you could with a Cessna, Maule, or Super Cub, or basically any plane that has a normal amount of flap travel, unless you slip the plane. But, they still work effectively. And, you can slip the plane safely with full flaps. Hard. Use the flaps. They give you a much better view of what’s ahead, and it’ll help keep the plane from slapping the tailwheel into the runway when the main gear is still three feet off the ground.

Use the rudder.

The rudder and elevator of my plane have been lengthened. Subsequent models all have similarly enlarged control surfaces. One reason some people don’t use flaps, is because of adverse yaw. It doesn’t take much to get used to. When I started reading about flying Kitfoxes, I saw a note about “control reversal” when using full flaps. Basically, it said that the flaperons stall, effectively reversing the controls. That is nonsense. What they were experiencing was the well-known effect of adverse yaw. Correct it with rudder. The rudder is also very effective in helping to lift a wing. Try it.

Slip it.

One great thing, about the Kitfox, is the way you can slip it. If you’re coming into a short strip, over some trees, shove that stick over and use opposite rudder to lose altitude fast, without gaining too much speed. Always keep the downwind wing low, if there’s a crosswind, and you’ll be straightening it out into more of a headwind, besides being properly configured for a good landing.

Use power to arrest sink rate.

The two biggest problems people have, landing their Kitfox, are floating down the runway, and plopping it down too hard. Add the effect of porpoising, bouncing down the runway, to either of those scenarios. If you’re floating down the runway, you’re going too fast. It’s not a Cessna. 50 mph is a fast approach, in a Kitfox. Mine flies off the ground at 35, and that’s about the speed I touch down. It’s no problem to land it at 60, but you really need to touch down softly, or the tail will drop, and you’ll be ten feet off the ground, before you correct. No need to land that fast, though. Come over the fence at 45, no more, unless it’s really gusty, and let it come down to 40, as you’re over the runway. Then, forget about the ASI, and watch your sink rate, through the windshield. At proper touchdown speed, the ground will be coming up fast, unless you arrest the sink rate with a bit of power.

So, come in slow, using flaps, slip it down to the ground, kick it straight with the rudder, and give the old two-stroke a quick burst of power, easing it onto the ground. In this video, you can see all of that at once, as I slip a little to lose the last ten feet, while adding power to arrest the sink rate, then holding back on the stick while applying brakes. If you try to three point it, by holding back, or yanking back the stick, you’ll be flying up if you’re too fast, slamming down, if you’re too slow, or just slapping the tailwheel down, and slamming down onto the mains, if it’s almost right. Just let it land naturally, and use the power to do it softly.