I first ran into Stefan Coetzee and KFA at Aero Friedrichshafen, my favorite light aircraft show in Europe. I was caught by the clever name. Easy to say, “KFA” sticks in your mind like a catchy tune.

Kitplanes For Africa sounds like a company making aircraft that should have superior bush capabilities. It was a handsome aircraft and I felt readers would enjoy it but they had no American representation at the time so I filed the discovery away under: “Promising.”

The bigger and more accurate picture is that KFA is yet another light aviation success story for South Africa*.

Almost half-way around the world, South Africa fell out of many conversations once the apartheid struggle finally ended in the 1990s. Yet despite years of ugly headlines, the country’s interest in aviation has been strong and building. Companies are producing lots of aircraft. (The Aircraft Factory alone produces 20 Sling aircraft each month, and has plans to increase to 30, employing almost 500 personnel.)

KFA was begun roughly when apartheid ended, so it shares no history with that difficult period. However, this timeline also illustrates the 30 years in business this builder has been active. More than 300 of their Bushbaby designs were sold and Coetzee reports strong business today.

Welcome to America…via Canada

An early enthusiast in the Americas was Canadian Vince Scott, a six-foot-eight tower of a man… and yes, he fits. Even his entry looked straightforward. For someone of my average stature, Safari XL looks huge inside. Coetzee enjoyed referring to “Hamburgers,” hinting at Yankee pilots who enjoy a good meal or three every day. Those well-fed pilots will love this enlarged bird. In fact, I think most pilots would look admiringly upon the large interior volume of Safari XL.

The gray-over-black Explorer looks familiar to Oshkosh attendees. I overheard more than one person say it “looks like a Kitfox.” This comment is not original or accurate because even Kitfox started out as a modification of an Avid Flyer, the true original of this planform by designer Dean Wilson 40 years ago. Many other variations on the theme have been developed over the decades.

Coetzee maintains that while similarities exist, Explorer is different in almost every element, “I don’t believe any part on this airplane would work on a Kitfox,” he said. Over several iterations — Bushbaby to Explorer to Safari to Safari XL — the design evolved like many do when engineers find a way to improve.

Safari XL has a particularly interesting story, one that I think many Americans will appreciate.

The XL model, made to fit tall Vince is six inches wider, almost two inches taller inside and about 15 inches longer. People who know about these numbers realize that those few added inches make for a significantly larger interior. Climb inside and it feels spacious. Bowed-out doors help (many aircraft use this technique) but Safari would feel large even with flat doors. Then, consider the luggage area.

Loading luggage into many aircraft is often an awkward hassle but KFA created a luggage door large enough for a good size suitcase. A couple sets of golf clubs would fit, noted Coetzee, and you can see in the image KFA has also accommodated lengthy fishing poles (arrow).

While Explorer fits the LSA description closely at 1,320 pounds gross, Safari XL bumps that up another 100 kilos to 1,543 pounds. Until 2025 when Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certificates (MOSAIC) throws open the door, Safari XL will come to the USA as a kit. Explorer has met German standards and could likely qualify for special light sport aircraft (SLSA) status but this work remains in the future. The good news is that KFA has long been a kit supplier, so they see supporting builders as a normal duty.

When MOSAIC finally arrives, Safari XL will easily qualify, even if equipped with an in-flight adjustable propeller. An even larger model is well into development, Coetzee hinted, so his company—like many in the light aircraft space — is gearing up for the added capabilities we are getting with MOSAIC…assuming the final rule looks much like the NPRM proposal we have been studying in recent days.

Even though Safari XL must be Experimental Amateur Built, KFA is happy to support different skill sets with a variety of kit packages. Beside the basic kit that may consume 700 hours, the company offers at least two levels that are commonly called quick-build kits.

Coetzee’s humorous reference to “hamburgers” brings home the fact that even if you and your best flying buddy may not be large fellows or gals, extra space inside is almost always appreciated (except maybe by the go-as-fast-as-possible crowd). If you are built large, this airplane will fit. Six-eight Vince looked comfortable when I asked him to model his plane for me.

Safari XL — and its slightly smaller Explorer sibling model — offer another interesting choice for pilots and brings to the market a design refined over many years.

ARTICLE LINKS:

• Kitplanes For Africa, contact info and content on this website
• Website for North American distributor Drake Aviation Adventures (website remains under construction at publishing time)
  • Until their Drake website is available, contact info appears here
• Complete kit description of KFA kits in PDF form

* Just off the top of my head, I can recall these manufacturers… The Airplane Factory (Sling), SkyReach (Bushcat), Bathawk, Rainbow, and now KFA plus a business in South Africa worked closely with Jabiru to build those aircraft. I’ll bet I missed a few. Not bad for a country of 60 million located a great distance from other established aviation development centers.

The post Kitplanes For Africa Bush Planes Are Big. Really Big. appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

I took the microphone—a breather from my duties as crew chief for Steve Henry—with Juan Browne (from the @blancolirio channel on YouTube). The grandstand fans and live streamers received the play by play as the Straight and Level Television documentary film crew followed along to help tell the story of the fastest growing segment of general aviation. 

Racers Take Your Marks

Pilots lined up on the recently graded dirt track going head-to-head down the 2,000-foot course after the famous “3-2-1, See ya!” signal given by STOL Drag organizer Kevin Quinn to launch their aircraft toward the turn-around point. Several pilots quickly learned that at Reno’s altitude of 5,050 feet msl, their aircraft were not performing as well as they would have liked and this—coupled with a density altitude) of 6,500 feet—meant that much more ground distance was used up before they typically lifted their wheels from the ground. 

In some cases, the taxiway that crossed the track had to be used for a launching ramp to get into ground effect as the heavier Cessna 182s and lower-powered light aircraft were eating up much more ground than they were used to. Many pilots were making adjustments to their aircraft to try and compensate. 

The 2021 reigning champion Toby Ashley did not show this year, robbing Steve Henry (his toughest rival last year) of the chance to demonstrate his upgrades against Sarge.

Tim Schelhorn debuted his new aircraft #73 Psycho Billy—a CubCrafters Carbon Cub which was meticulously built for this style of racing—in the gold bracket. However, being so new, bugs popped up preventing him from running it to its full potential. He still performed well enough to secure the No. 2 spot in the gold bracket over #48 Eddie Sanches in Devil Girl—who worked his way through the entire field to secure the No. 3 spot in the gold bracket. 

• READ MORE: Outlaw STOL Competition Heats Up Out West

Psycho Billy will definitely be an airplane to watch at the upcoming STOL Drag World Championships during the High Sierra Fly-in at the Dead Cow Dry Lake in October.

Another new aircraft on the scene was #85 LunaC—or Luna for short—another custom CubCrafters Carbon Cub built and flown by Cathy Page. She was still learning its intimate flight characteristics, which are vastly different from the Piper Clipper she flew last year. 

A Section 3 Spectators favorite was #66 Big Tuna, the Zenith 701 STOL flown by Jon Hakala at Reno, for various reasons. The  #221 of Brian Steck, a beautifully painted and meticulously polished Legend Cub, got a taste of the desert when a fist-sized rock was kicked up by his tires and sent through his horizontal stab, which was quickly (albeit temporarily) repaired.  

A great time was had by all as the STOL Drag racers were the first class to qualify and race in the mornings throughout the week. This was fantastic, allowing for the tailwheel aircraft not to have to fly with a tailwind in either direction for their runs. However, the sun in the morning shone directly in the eyes of the pilots on the first half of the run, making it difficult to judge the line they had to land across, causing more scratches than at any previous event. But, that’s racing! 

In the end, Steve Henry’s turbocharged Yamaha engine on the Wild West/Just Aircraft Highlander—#44, Yee-Haw—was the airplane to beat, with its screaming 10,000-plus rpm echoing throughout the stands and hangars at the far end of the field. The noise drew people to watch this most unusual-sounding aircraft. 

The slogan of “under a minute to win it” proved true, as 59 seconds was the time to beat at this altitude. Steve broke the minute time solidifying him as the 2022 National STOL Drag Gold Champion at Reno. Congratulations to all.

Results:

1. Steve Henry #44, Highlander

2. Tim Schelhorn #73, Carbon Cub

3. Eddie Sanches #48, Highlander

4. Bo Ellis #80, custom Legend Cub

5. Harry Beaupre #27, Kitfox 

6. Hal Stockman #3, Rans

7. Ty Ferkin #22, Kitfox 

8. Brian Steck #221, Legend Cub

9. Kevin Palmer #21, Kitfox

10. Cathy Page #85, Carbon Cub

11. Collin Caneva #43, Carbon Cub

12. Jon Hakala, Zenith

13. Brent Womack, Rans

14. Dave Kerley, Highlander

15. Tony Sanches, Superstol 

16. Joe Dory, Custom Pacer

The post Reno’s STOL Drag Class Offers a Great Community Feeling appeared first on FLYING Magazine.