Jim Faughn's KR2 is about as "per plans" as they get, and once you get
the hang of it, it's almost a "hands off" airplane. When I first bought
it, releasing the stick was a death sentence....it headed straight to
the ground while taking a hard left in the process! I thought I was
going to die on takeoff the first time I flew it, which was on my way
home after I bought it from Steve Bennett, because the runway was so
incredibly crappy, but that wasn't the plane's fault. When I got some
altitude I started feeling it out to figure out what it needed, which is
when I discovered this was an airplane that needed 100% attention to fly!
I'm saying this not to say that the KR2 is inherently unstable (although
it certainly can be), but that it does take some getting used to, and
some small tweaks. My first order of business was to add trim tabs to
elevator and an aileron. Just a thin piece of bent aluminum held on
with two #4 screws each. I started out with some really good tape,
tried various angles and locations, within a week or two, it was a
"hands off" airplane. It still is to this day. "Sensitive" yes, but
there's no porpoising, left or right turning tendency, none of that. Of
course even a small amount of stuff in the "way back" behind the seat
can lead to a very exciting flight, so you have to keep that in mind too.
See http://www.n56ml.com/n891jf/ for a lot more on Jim Faughn's KR2, and
modifications I've made over the years to make it a pretty sweet flying
plane, and as about an economical plane as there is to build and fly.
I'd hoped to fly N891JF to the Gathering this year, but have been bogged
down in other stuff that has slowed my progress on rebuilding the
exhaust system. Instead, I'll be flying an RV-7, which was my wife's
idea, so she can fit comfortably.....and because it has a "store bought
engine" rather than a VW or a Corvair. It's a fine airplane, but it
burns more than twice the fuel as the KR does, and isn't any faster.
As for stick length, N891JF has fairly short sticks, and they work fine
for me. That's probably a preference thing, and is easily altered once
you figure out what you like. And yes, "moving the stick" is more like
"exerting slight pressure on it" to persuade a slight change in
direction or altitude, but you'll quickly get used to it, assuming the
survive the takeoff! Moral of the story is "kid gloves".....only move
it slightly, and you'll get better used to it shortly.
Also, you absolutely MUST do a careful weight and balance on the plane
(with and without pilot and baggage) before it's flown. Not doing that
is asking for an early grave, maybe off the end of the runway.....
Mark Langford
m...@n56ml.com
http://www.n56ml.com
Huntsville, AL
On 8/27/2025 10:25 PM, shafferj45...@twc.com wrote:
Make your control stick as long as you can, without pinching your
thumb under the instrument panel, when keying the mike button, if it
is on top of the stick as mine is. My flight instructor flew my
original length KR, and said it flew like a mini fighter, Very
responsive. He did not consider it too pitch sensitive..
thx
jg
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