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.
Kitplanes For Africa… Where Bushplanes Are Big — Really Big — and Capable
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. Stefan 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.Stefan Coetzee shows the large luggage door on Safari XL.
Arrow points at fishing poles sticking back into the mostly empty aft fuselage.
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
Rotax's 915iS installed on Safari XL. They have also installed the 916iS. Up front is a constant speed prop assembly.
* 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.