New list member Matt Lansford asked some questions and I don't think I've seen replies, so I'll give it a shot.
>1. How many hours does it take on average to build one of these babies? Don't believe the sales literature. If you had nothing else to do from sunup to sundown and/or were a professional builder, you could do one in 6 months. If you're like the great majority of builders, you'll put about 1500-2000 hours into it over the span of 5-10 years. >2. How well do they last over time? If you keep it in a hangar and take care of it, you'll be passing it on to your heirs. If you tie it down in the sun, you'll start seeing paint deterioration within a year or two, minor delaminations within a year or three, crazing in the windshield in a couple of years, and so on... but the airframe should be good for many, many years if it's kept dry and well protected. The materials are very rugged and if the construction is done right, should last a lifetime. There are KRs flying now that were built in the 1970's and still look excellent. >3. How much money do you invest in all the parts and materials it takes on >average? There is no "average", but you'll spend equal amounts on the engine and "firewall forward" as you will on everything else, maybe $5000 for firewall forward and $5000 for the rest... but there are HUGE variations on this depending on choice of engine, level of workmanship, how much you put into the panel, etc. Heck, there are airplanes that have $5000 in paint jobs alone. On the other hand, if you're a good scrounger and hand-fabricator, you can convert a VW or Corvair engine for $5K easily, build the airframe for another $5K, get yourself a couple dozen rattle cans of Rust-O-Leum, and go fly ;o) >4. Don't suppose there are any of you around south Texas? Bobby Muse's award-winning KR2 was located just south of Austin in the Wimberley area, but he had it up for sale last year and it may be gone. There are several others who have KRs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, central Texas, maybe one or two here in San Antonio under construction, but none that come immediately to mind. Oscar Zuniga San Antonio, TX mailto: taildr...@hotmail.com website at http://www.flysquirrel.net
