Kitplanes for Africa is a manufacturer of light aircraft based in Petit Airport (FARA) near Benoni, Johannesburg, South Africa. The company was established in August 1993 and began producing the Bushbaby aircraft, which gained a reputation as a reliable and affordable bush plane in the Microlight and Light Sport Aircraft category. With more than 300 Bushbabies sold, it became South Africa’s best selling light aircraft. The Bushbaby is still in production today.
In 2003, the company introduced the Explorer, an upgraded version of the Bushbaby. The Explorer features changes to the tail area and an increase in engine size to accommodate the 135hp KFA turbo engine. In 2008, the Safari was added to the line-up, which is the largest of the three models with a maximum takeoff weight of up to 750kg (Experimental), but restricted to 600kg in the LSA (light sport category) with a Rotax 912 ULS engine.
KFA has produced more than 600 aircraft to date. In 2018, the process for achieving German type approval for the Bushbaby Explorer began with a decision to use the German DULV (a local German Recreational Ultralight Association) as the certifying body and the LTF-UL 2019 certification standard as the basis for approval. The Bushbaby Explorer was renamed the EXPLORER UL-600, and in December 2019, the type certificate for the KFA Explorer UL-600 was issued, certifying it as a 600kg UL aircraft in Germany.