Netters, I spent an hour or two yesterday morning writing up the story of my first flight in the KR for our local EAA chapter newsletter and decided to share it with the net. It's rather long so if you're not interested, just hit the delete key. I'm still trying to get the grin off my face.! :-)
Larry Flesner Carterville, Illinois +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE BIRTHING OF 211LF Thirteen years building, designing, changing, rebuilding, re-doing and assembly, and the KR2, in its highly modified form, was finally ready to fly. No point to put it off any longer. It either flies or it becomes a strong candidate for firewood. I know there are people more qualified than me to make this first flight but I have to prove it can fly and that I can fly it. I'm also hoping I don't have to pay the ultimate price for my foolishness. I've spent several hours on the runway doing high speed taxi test and have gotten comfortable with the handling to the point of liftoff but what happens after that? What's that old saying, "Pride cometh before the stall"! I'm setting in the KR in front of the hangar trying to strap myself in and getting mentally prepared for the flight as Bill Riggin approaches. Without his help I wouldn't be to this point right now. I can't recall later exactly what they were but he has some final words of advice, probably something like "don't do anything stupid". I acknowledge him with an agreement but I'm probably past the point of advisement. The engine starts right up and everything looks good. I try not to think too far ahead but stay focused on the moment. This is no time to overlook something simple. As I get to the runway I decide to do a short taxi run to get comfortable on the rudders and head up RW36 for about 1000 feet. It feels just like the thirty or more times I've done this before so I turn around and back-taxi for takeoff. A run-up confirms everything is ready so I go over the checklist one more time. The last item says, "ready for takeoff" and the reality of the moment sinks in. Today's the day! I pull back onto the runway and roll for lineup on the centerline. Once established I start to feed in the power. The airspeed builds and the tail comes up just like my taxi runs but this time I'm not cutting the power. In a matter of seconds the KR feels light and seems to want to drift left with the slight crosswind blowing today. Without looking at the airspeed indicator I decide it's time to fly. With thumb and two fingers I apply a slight backpressure to the stick and I'm airborne! It feels great and the KR is stable as a rock. After three or four seconds I realize I'm committed to flight. In what seems like a half frozen state I only move the stick to keep the wings level and the nose right where it's at on the horizon. A slight pressure with no real movement is all it takes. After 30 seconds or so I decide it's time for a left turn to stay in the pattern so I put a little side pressure on the stick. The KR responds without hesitation. It's at this point I finally remember to look at the airspeed indicator and I'm doing 80K's and climbing at 750 fpm. This baby is a natural flier! I make a wide circle of the field as I climb for altitude. All engine gauges are in the green and everything seems to be working fine as I level off at 3000 feet. I try some shallow turns and begin to feel it out for handling. I intended to keep the speed down to 120mph on the first flight but everything feels so smooth that after a few minutes I let it stretch it's legs for about thirty seconds in level flight at full throttle. The ASI creeps around the dial to 135K's and the tach needle is wiggling toward, but cant' quite reach, 2500rpm. (I later found the tach to be in error, reading about 75 rpm too fast). With no wheel pants and what appears to be a bit too much prop, I start to get the warm fuzzy feeling that this thing is going to fly just the way I thought it would for the past thirteen years. With that warm fuzzy feeling came the realization that I was also going to have to land this thing in a few minutes. Time for another reality check. I back off the power to a high idle and explore a little slow flight. Everything feels good so I start descending toward the airport. At 1600 rpm and 110K's I'm getting a very modest decent rate. This bird is really slick. Although I haven't tried it yet I'm feeling good about that speed brake hanging on the belly. I get set up in a wide pattern for landing. I don't want anything happening too quickly. The approach on final is nice and stable but as I cross the numbers I realize I'm a bit fast. I'm not used to that silly ASI reading out in knots. I bring in the power and start a go-around. I decide it's time to test the speed brake and climb back to 1600 feet. I slow to 80K's and get stabilized. I start to work the speed brake down slowly and note the handling changes if any. It feels good at half down with a very slight airframe buffet as would be expected. The controls feel good so I start lowering it towards full down, still noting how the KR responds. As the brake goes down the nose pitches down slightly. Good. At full down, 90 degrees, there is considerable airframe buffeting and a noticeable reduction in airspeed. Some gentle turns confirm that the rudder and elevator controls have not been affected. I bring the brake up and head back to the airport. Another long stable approach and everything is looking good. I bring the speed brake to full down on about a half-mile final and get stabilized. It looks good all the way down to the numbers. When it comes time to flare I make the mistake of actually moving the stick. The KR does exactly what I tell it to do and levels off about four to five feet above the runway. I compound the problem by actually moving the stick again to get the nose down. After a few seconds I'm starting to get the feeling that I may just be along for the ride here and all I doing is messing things up. I relax the controls with the KR in a rather nose high attitude and close to the runway. The tailwheel touches with the mains still about two feet in the air and that brings them down with a good solid bounce of about six inches or more. Several bobbles, a few wiggles, and I appear to be rolling down the runway somewhat under control and begin to think I might just pull this off. About that time it reminds me it is a taildragger and I slightly over control the last two directional wiggles. In a matter of seconds I have it down to a fast taxi speed and I'm ready to turn around and taxi back to the ramp. I'll be d*m*ed! I did it! As I taxied in to the ramp I was getting thumbs up from the few people that witnessed the event. Man, does this feel great or what! Congratulations and pictures were in order and I tried to savor the moment that I had worked so hard and long to bring to reality. It took days to get the grin off my face and I still get excited each time I get to tell the story again. I hope the feeling never wears off. I owe a special thank you to my family for their patience and support during the long building process and a thank you to the many EAA chapter members who helped me along the way with everything from parts to advise. I also owe a great deal to the many KR builders and fliers that have proceeded me to this point and also helped point the way. A special thank you goes to Bill Riggin who looked over my shoulder for most of the thirteen years of building time. His help and advice helped make my dream a reality. At this point I can only share with you the advice on a card that Sallie had been saving for years and gave to me before the first flight. It said, " If your dream takes flight - follow it". Mine has, I did, and IT'S GREAT! Larry Flesner (Update) After four flights, I've pulled the prop and sent it back for re-pitching. I'm using the downtime to do some engine work. I'm replacing all the intake hoses and gaskets, rerouting the fuel line, looking to build a cabin heat muff, attack some oil leaks and other miscellaneous details. I hope to have the KR back in the air by mid January. In the mean time I'll continue to scratch the flying itch with the trusty Ol' Tripacer. Hum, I wonder if there is a federal regulation against a bigamist relationship with airplanes. If there is I'm nailed.
