Today was my 2nd flight with "Shreg" (the green KR2). This time I was not so nervous. The fluttering that I experienced yesterday, after takeoff, happened again today and when I pulled the brake it stopped immediately. That is why you should do your after takeoff checks stupit. The rpm was 2800 on take off and the climb only 400vt/min. Straight and level the rpm went up to 3000 ( the book states max. rpm 3200) with throttle full open and the speed increased to 160 mph. Well obviously I need a finer pitch on the prop for a better climb but then I am going to slow down the cruise. So do I need a fast one seater or a strong slower two seater? I am going to replace the prop sometime later with the Hennie Malan Almost Constant Speed prop and will compare the results. We are at 1400vt above sea level and I am not sure if it will be safe to fly to the highveld as I may not be able to take off again.
Anyhow the 0.5 hour flight was great and I even took time to look at the scenery. The landing was again very fast on the approach and I could not get the speed below 90 by the time I crossed the fence. So this time I put the main wheels firmly on the ground at 80 and was about to take off again when the strong headwind helped to slow the plane down. I managed to turn around on the edge after the numbers. The starter motor packed up and we can not get the Limbach to start when it is hot. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Willie van der Walt" <touri...@intekom.co.za> To: "KRnet" <kr...@mylist.net> Sent: Friday, November 03, 2006 6:27 PM Subject: KR> My 1st flight !!!!!! > Hi to all you KR mad people > > Yesterday was a very special day for me. After I replaced the damaged > propeller ,that I reported about three weeks ago, I decided its time to do > it. The day everybody looks forward too. That 1st flight. > > I did about twelve fast taxi runs with the tail up over the last three > days. Yesterday at 17h15 the wind was on the nose at about 5 mph and runway > 01 is uphill. After my run-up checks I went onto the center line and opened > the throttle slowly and gradually until it was fully open. At about 60 mph > she started dancing and I knew she wanted to fly as much as I wanted to. I > pulled back on the stick and took off like a pro. The speed went up to 80 > mph and I kept it that speed during the climb. Just as I decided to turn to > downwind there was this vibration, almost like a buffeting, stuttering, > shaking that took place and I turned towards the field facing downhill, > looking for a place to crash. The Kruger National Park was right below me > and those Mopani trees are not nice to land in, not to mention the wild > animals. But just then it was as smooth as anything when I pulled the > throttle back to 75%. On the downwind leg the speed very quickly went up to > about 135mph. > > I turned base and pulled the throttle back. The speed did not want to > decrease. On finals I was still sitting at 120 mph. So on medium to short > finals I did a side-slip, that worked very well. Went over the fence and > numbers at 80 mph. Throttle closed and just flew the main wheels onto the > deck. One of the best landings I ever made. Shreg kept on running up the > runway as-if it was rocket powered. I was too scared to use the brakes. As > soon as the indicated speed went below 40mph I lowered the tail and pulled > the stick all the way back before applying brakes. I turned in the loop and > taxied back to the apron where a welcoming party was waiting. My legs were > jumping and there was no room for blood in my adrenaline filled vanes. I sat > in the plane with my friends standing around me, all talking fast, excited > and loud. Asking a lot of quistions and they did not know I could not get > out. > > Today the weather is bad and could not attempt another flight but I am > still on a high. I could not find the reason for the vibration. The prop > bolts are tight. The engine mounting is okay. There is no out of limits mag > drop. > > Regards Willie www.riversafaris.co.za > > > > _______________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp > to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html >
