Some of you may remember the story of my South African registered KR2, which transited through Tunisia (where I now live, and where aircraft are apparentlyt not welcome!), before ending up in Orleans, France. Well, last month, I did a trip to France in order to unpack the aircraft, prepare it for future inspection, and start the negotiation with the local airworthiness authorities. First job was to unpack the aircraft. Second job was to become a member of the local homebuilder's club, and to move the aircraft from my friend's pivate hangar to the club's hangar. Third job was to look for damages, and fix them. I was much concerned about the aircraft condition, since she went through two moves by container, and six months storage in a bad hangar at the Tunis harbor. Well, I found the damage to be fairly limited. Apart from the deeply encrusted pigeon sh**, that is. The tires were flat. I found a few corroded nuts and bolts, rusted disk brakes, rusted propeller hub. I inspected the inside of the engine cylinders, using a bore-scope that I had bought from Aircraft Spruce and had delivered directly to France. (I recommend that stuff. It's called Pro-Vision; it is a cheap fiber-optics bore-scope, that goes for about $250, depending on length and accessories, and works like a dream). Although I am no expert on engines, I found what I thought was only minor cylinder walls corrosion (even, and not too deep. I then sprayed liberally some WD-40 oil in the cylinders, turned the prop by hand many, many times over two days, then started the engine again. Works fine, sounds good. I also fitted the new throttle (this you may also remember), only to find that the cable does not fit anymore, and would have to be redone. Part of the plan was to drill inspection holes in the spars (another story you perhaps remember). Alas, my specially built long drill bits were lost by the airline, so, maybe next time... The French airworthiness inspectors were very helpful. We agreed on an inspection plan together, and I think there is good chance that I will be able to register that machine in France one day. Before I left, I preserved the engine again, spraying some more WD-40 in the cylinders, plugging all the holes, and fitting preservation spark plugs. These are home-made: I just fitted a tube to some spark plugs that I had emptied, then filled the tube with the best dessicant I could find (rice!), then plugged the tube. Then, somebody came along, asked a question about the ignition, so to show how the ignition works, I turned the prop... and the compression popped a tube open, and even popped the exhaust plugs! Compressions are still OK, then! Another job was to remove the South African registration marks. These being painted on, that proved to be a mission. But the local club is well equipped, so I could borrow an orbital sander, and it worked fine. But it is now obvious that I will have to repaint the bird. >From now on, until it gets a new registration, I will refer to my KR2 as "Kilimanjaro Cloud", the name my wife chose for her. French registrations for homebuilts are F-P***, and you can choose the last three letters. I hope F-PLAY has not been taken yet! Anyway, to those interested, I have plenty pictures of the aircraft, the most interesting ones being of the engine, the interior, and the instrument panel.
Serge Vidal KR2 ZS-WEC - Taildragger, VW powered (2.4 liter, dual electronic ignition) - Total aircraft time: 390h - Aircraft hangared at: Orleans, France - Pilot moaning in: Tunis, Tunisia E-mail: serge.vi...@ate-international.com <mailto:serge.vi...@ate-international.com>
