It was almost a half dozen years ago I trailered home a little bird with the letters C-IGFV. I had thought about owning a KitFox for a number of years, but I just was not sure how I could make it happen on a limited budget. The Fox I found had been trailerd from Yellowknife on an open flat deck and by the time it got back to Alberta the back of the little bird was bent and appeared like it had a broken back. The KitFox was also in need of a complete recover as the plane had spent it’s life on the tarmac in the open sun and exposed to the elements.

After three years of my new plane sitting in the garage and me working on her when I had the time C-INJV took to the air in the fall of 2016. In case you didn’t notice I changed the Registration letters. NJV is Norm and Judy Vienneau. My thinking was at my age this could well be my last airplane. (Of course, now, in spite of how much I enjoy my KitFox I am always looking around at other planes.)

C-INJV had been transformed from a scruffy little fed Fox on the tarmac of Red Deer to Yellow SuperFox.

I was able to find a used 912 UL and combined with an electric IVO propeller I have an ultralight that is a 100mph airplane.

Of course, with fine pitch adjusted on the IVO I can get in the air in just a few hundred feet. One of the best things about the Kitfox is the way it handles some of the air bumps. I remember flying to Linden with Dirkjan one day and he complained that the ride in his Merlin was rough enough that it was lifting him out of his seat. My KitFox was giving me a mild burble ride. (I still don’t like rough air and try to do most of my flying in the early morning hours.)

I logged just over 200 hours this year, and that included the trip I always wanted to make, back to northwest Ontario into the Lake of the Woods area.

If there is one word of advice, I can offer to someone planning a trip like this it would be to make sure you make time to visit with the airport people along the way. I know that due to time constraints I missed some opportunities to enjoy the stories of fellow aviators.

Short trips included flights to Red Deer Forestry, Ram Falls, the Clearwater strip and many flights to the Red Deer River by Drumheller always followed with lunch in Linden. I made a trip to Red Deer to take my old RC instructor for a ride in the Fox. He smiled ear to ear on the inside. I also took a young lady for a ride when I did my trip to Ontario and enjoyed the way she giggled as we took to the air. There was a flight with one of my senior lady neighbours to the Red Deer River Valley and she giggled like the young lady in Northwestern Ontario.

I truly enjoy watching the thrill people experience in flight. President Ed has mentioned a couple of flights he has made with different passengers, and I have listened intently with some envy. With the KitFox I get to share flight with others. (My wife is still not a huge fan.) I have found the KitFox or SuperFox as the nose art says to be a great little airplane and more people are finding the same thing. We now have about a dozen KitFox in the area, and we are planning a KitFox Flyin this summer at CGB2.

Stay tuned more adventures to follow.