Rob Priddy wrote: "Which woods/foams/glass are the lightest variants that could still be structurally sufficient? Those are the things I'm looking for. Techniques that lighten it, not money spent that lightens it."
Well the yuckings aside - I don't think anyone has such a list - the best way to get a light KR in my opinion 1. Do not add any extra wood but don't reduce sizes from the plans. 2. Forget any tanks over @ 17 gallons and go with a gravity flow header tank. 3. Use the minimum instrumentation - maybe a Dynon instead of steam gauges. 4. Use Mahogany ply instead of Birch 5. Plan on vacuum bagging everything you can - will cut down on your epoxy usage and cut down on some of the sanding and filling. 6. If one or two layers of glass will do, don't use 4 7. Make it a tailwheel aircraft 8. Minimum upholstery (seat cushions only) 9. Only enough paint for protection 10. Probably a VW for power or a Jabiru if you can afford it. 11. Handheld radio/GPS 12. Side mounted Canopy If you do all that you might be able to keep at about a 525-550 lb empty weight. Looking at the above it looks like I'm saying stick with the plans. Some of the above choices will cost you a bit more money - example Mahogany over Birch, Vacuum bagging over hand lay-ups, so there is no free lunch. Good Luck Rick Human N202RH Houston, Texas
