Did the first flight on my KR-2 this morning after moving the engine 2-inches forward from the plans call-out. (This was the fourth flight on this aircraft.) Weight and balance measurements showed my take-off cg with me onboard and half fuel to be 12.6 inches from the stub wing datum. Plans allowable range is 8 to 16 inches. Seemed to have an adverse aft cg apparent at lift off. Thought it may have been the pitch trim. That was working, but not enough to trim out the stick pressure tending to pitch up. Flew around the airport at 3,000 feet for half an hour trying to explore the stall and handling characteristics. Stall was about 40 Kts indicated; definitely had a pitch up problem at any speed. So, did not do a full stall break. On landing wind was 4 Kts quartering from the left. Had some turbulence at touchdown with 50 Kts indicated airspeed. Instead of the nose pitching down with main gear touching as I had expected, the nose pitched up. I ran out of forward elevator authority as the tail skid touched down hard. That put the mains back on the asphalt hard. Bounced airborne, then did an ugly three point landing. I managed to keep it on the ground, but ran off the left side of the runway and stopped in the grass. The engine had stopped some time after the first touch down. Amazing how suddenly quiet it gets when nothing is moving. The entire landing sequence from first touch to full stop took less than 5 seconds, it seemed. The prop blade sticking straight up in front of me looked ok, so I restarted the engine and taxied back to the hangar. I am thankful for that 9-1/2 inch prop ground clearance.
Only apparent damage was a scuffed tail skid. Good news is the oil temperature never exceeded 162 degrees F. The new Revmaster oil cooler system worked ok. Will definitely revisit the weight and balance, and get the main wheels to the correct 20 inch location. Next flight will be in dead-calm wind conditions! Sid Wood Tri-gear KR-2 N6242 Mechanicsville, MD, USA
