Monday, November 24, 2008   Boulder Colorado

Having flown the Kitfox for over 90 hours since it was completed  in 2000,  it became apparent that we could hardly find time to take it up. It deserved a new owner who could fly it more often and have lots of fun with it. After having spread the news, we did find a pilot who was more than eager to give N4JU an interesting life with many more hours in the air.

Sadly it did not turn out the way we all had planned. During flight training, a take off was aborted and the aircraft struck a fence post . Fortunately the pilot could exit the aircraft before it was consumed by fire.  

Lesson to be learned

Every home built aircraft has the signature of its builder. Unlike the popular small aircraft built in large series Amateur built aircraft fall into the Experimental category and that permits the builder much freedom to tailor it to his liking. This raises the learning curve for second owners who easily can fall into the trap of "d�j� vu", I know it all. Unfortunately the new owner / pilot of N4JU was in a hurry to get home and overestimated his skill to handle the aircraft, not only in normal flying conditions but also unexpected situations. Flying the aircraft solo the first time he attempted a complex maneuver.

As it appears, the pilot decided to do a high speed taxi test on the 4100 ft runway and then, part way down the runway, elected to take off. Whether due to unintentional manipulation of the propeller-control on the stick or some malfunctioning the engine did not supply sufficient power to conduct the take off. Instead of performing a normal power off landing using the rest of the runway the pilot panicked, initiated a turn departing the runway and finally collided with a fence post.

Essence: "Don't ride a horse you are not fit to handle or it will take you for a ride".

Thus ends the story of our Kitfox IV,  N4JU. We are thankful for the many happy hours this aircraft gave us while building and in the air. We are greatly relieved that no lives have been taken. We would like to thank our family, friends and countless people who helped us to experience that great episode in our lives.

We shall always remember the sunny side and the difference we could make.

Now we continue our journey through this life however and wherever it may be.