Mr. Brigadier General wrote: I am a former Marine General who has flown over 30 years, but I must admit that I am a novice at the building process and realize that the more I know, the better the plane will be. We want to include a BRS, a portable oxygen system, long range fuel tanks, transponder and GPS as part of the stock plane, not an option.
Reply: I've been reading all the hoopla about a factory for the Kr. I enjoy the KR Net. I receive great amounts of info. (Special thanks to Mark Langford, Dana Overall), If there is true intent to be conjoined with Jeanette R then Mr. Brigadier should be seeking a forum with her alone. My personal opinion is backed up by 20 years pure aviation. I have flown for the Military for 10 as a Chief Warrant Officer. I have flown literally half way around the world with 5 years over sea's even with the unfortunate experience of going down twice. I was responsible for saving the lives of my crew and most of my ship anyway. Of course the engine and transmission were toast. But those that flew with me as well as myself (obviously) are still walking Gods green earth. No medals, I did what the military trained me to do and I know I've received the best flight training in the world. I was trained by Vietnam veterans. I am licensed and qualified in both Helicopter (Huey's to the Apache) and fixed wing. I have been slowly but surely, building my KR2S for KR netters obvious reasons. I am not currently an engineer. But have been enrolled as a full time student for the past 20 months majoring in Aerospace Engineering. With the past 5 years as a Senior Technical writer within the Aerospace Industry. In my own experience, I have built them, fixed them, flown them till they broke apart "literally", studied them, and have been writing the books on them. I chose this aircraft for all the reasons everyone else has. Because I love to fly. It is not only what I do, but it is who I am. As it is for all those that love the experience and true freedom of flight. Being a military man I am not surprised if Mr. Brigadier is a general. First of all, to even think of putting all that garbage on a well proven platform until it is no longer a kit aircraft, until it is no longer simple to build, until it is so heavy that it can't get off the ground and finally until it is no longer affordable, is just like the military. Second, if Mr. Brigadier is a general, being a military man myself, I know the only thing he flew for the 30 years was a desk. He may have his wings, but that doesn't mean he actually flew. I know when my general got in my bird, I didn't allow him to even operate the radio, and I "was" in an aviation unit. This aircraft I chose because I wanted to create a flying machine that would incorporate not only the proven sound engineering of RR, but also my own knowledge of flight experience as well as my personality. A few Pre-fabricated parts are nice, but there still is the 51% rule to contend with as well. Lastly, my ethics, morality, integrity, character and tenacity to attempt to achieve flight by my own fabrication have been shaped by the purity of the love for flying and the machines that allow me to cheat the bounds of gravity. I believe that all those that are involved with this KR net forum, carry these same traits and would speak to them as brothers of a common and noble quest. To Mr. Brigadier, the KR is a bird whose feathers were meant to be shaped by the sole hands of each individual of whom so ever ventures to join in this quest of personal accomplishment in bringing out the eagle within us....as individuals. If all of us did want a factory built aircraft,.......we would......buy Cessna. The journey of building the KR to reach the clouds, is what makes playing in them, so great.
