Development
When it was first flown in November 1984 from the Denney Aerocraft factory in Boise, Idaho, the first Kitfox was a two-seat short take off and landing STOL aircraft capable of flying from unimproved strips. The Model 1 Kitfox features folding wings and was intended to be towed home from the airport and stored in a garage. Originally the design was intended to use a new radial engine in development at the time and the early Kitfoxes had round cowls with bumps to accommodate the radial heads. The engine did not work out and the design moved to using Rotax two-stroke engines instead, but the popular style radial cowling was retained on many models. In 1984 a total of six Model 1 Kitfoxes were delivered and then the model range was expanded to include the improved Models 2, 3, 4, and Classic 4.
In June 1992 Denney Aerocraft sold the rights to the design to SkyStar Aircraft. Skystar started work on a new aircraft, the Kitfox Series 5. This aircraft was designed to be larger, with an increased useful load, cabin and cargo space. It was also intended to use certified aircraft engines. The Series 5 was produced as a conventional landing gear-equipped aircraft with the names Outback and Safari and also as a tricycle landing gear equipped aircraft, the Vixen and Voyager. An employee group took over SkyStar Aircraft in January 2000. The reorganized company launched the new Kitfox Series 6. Later in 2000 the company also introduced the Kitfox Lite Squared, a lightened version of the Kitfox Classic 4, as a two seat ultralight trainer for the single seat ultralight Kitfox Lite.
In 2002, SkyStar introduced the Kitfox Series 7. This aircraft featured cruise speeds of up to 160 miles per hour (257 km/h) and a service ceiling above 25,000 feet (7,620 m). The new Series 7 fit the then-proposed Federal Aviation Administration Light Sport Aircraft category better than the Lite Squared and became the company's model for this market. As the LSA rules were further developed and gross weights increased, it became evident that a special version of the Kitfox Series 7, to be known as the Kitfox Sport, would not be needed and that all three Kitfoxes then in production - the Lite, Classic 4 and Series 7 would meet the revised the LSA category definition.
In late 2005 SkyStar Aircraft filed for bankruptcy. In April 2006, the assets of Skystar were purchased by Kitfox Aircraft, a newly formed company owned by John and Debra McBean. John McBean is a former SkyStar employee, having left the company in 2003.
Read more about this topic: Denny Kitfox
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