KRnet> KR Gathering 2025
Netters; Very interesting and inspiring to read about Chris Pryce's flight to MVN for this year's Gathering. I often sit with SkyVector and a few minutes of dreaming time to run some what-ifs and I had run something similar for next year in N335KC. It's roughly equal legs, three fuel stops, but who knows how long it might take to fly it from where I am in southern Oregon? Medford, OR (KMFR) to Twin Falls, ID (KTWF)- 429 statute miles via direct. Fuel stop #1 KTWF - Laramie, WY (KLAR)- 461 statute via direct. Fuel stop #2 KLAR - Marysville KS (KMYZ) - 486 statute via direct. Fuel stop #3 KMYZ - KMVN - 430 statute via direct. Total: 1,806 miles. If the plane could average 130 MPH over the ground (ambitious, to be sure), that would be 14 flight hours. No way I'm attempting that all in one day, especially since MVN is two hours ahead of Pacific time. Lifting off at maybe 5 AM here, it would already be 7 AM at Mount Vernon and 14 hours plus fuel stops would be out of the question. As Dirty Harry reminded us, "a man's got to know his limitations". Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR KR 1-1/2 N335KC "Sunbeam" -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> talent / expertise on the net
Very kind of Larry to have noticed and mentioned my little contribution to the Affordaplane project that Jon Croke at HomebuiltHelp.com undertook. Jon set his sights on building a no-foolin', honest, 254 lb legal ultralight and came within just a few pounds of making it. As the build progressed I have seen lots of places where weight could be trimmed to bring it within the limit, including (but not limited to) drilling lightening holes in metal angles where structural loading allows that; rounding the corners of pieces of squared-off metal angle since the excess metal adds nothing to the strength; using exact-length AN bolts to reduce the use of too-long bolts with stacks of washers after final fitting is done. Things like that. It's all do-able not only on the Affordaplane, but on most homebuilts if care is taken and attention is given. As Mark Langford says (and John Bouyea reminds me), "Don't think in pounds and ounces. Think in grams." It all adds up! Just for the heck of it and not that it's in any way transferable to the KR world, I've attached a .jpg of my CAD drawing of the basic engine mount configuration that I came up with for the beautiful little water-cooled Polini Thor 202 that Jon selected for use on his Affordaplane. The solid rectangle above the engine is the radiator, which played no part in the work that I did but it had to be accounted for. In closing and so as to keep this post KR-related, I'll put out a little teaser of a coming attraction. Very recently (last week) John Bouyea and I undertook a magical mystery tour that I'm going to call "Operation Sunbeam" that involved longtime KRNetter, KR owner, and pilot extraordinaire Mike Stirewalt. Stay tuned for more on this as the KR Gathering approaches, and go to krgathering.net for more information on the annual event that's coming up September 12-14 this year. More later on "Sunbeam"... Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Orange Crush
Jeff; I would have jumped at the chance to get a ride in Orange Crush last year... had I attended the Gathering. I can do bipes and open cockpits just fine, but the last time I was in a bipe was a long time ago. It was a sole-purpose mission in a Starduster that had just gotten a couple of new cylinders and the flight was to get the rings seated so it was a no-foolin'-around flight under considerable power and with very deliberate throttle operation. I was just along for the ride. My biplane ride before that was in a Great Lakes and was a lot more fun, wearing chutes. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> focusing to finish
John Shaffer wrote- >Thanks for your wisdom, Larry. A lot of us were hoping for some expert >advice, from someone with experience, and you seem to have it all together. Speaking for myself and maybe a few others of my generation (I'll be 73 in two weeks), we may have it all together but we just don't remember where we put it! ;o) I definitely need to take that training course on focusing to finish though. I'm now 26 years into building the Flying Squirrel that I started in the fall of 1998! Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Lipo Battery/Lithium wives tales
As a professional fire protection engineer (but not involved in end-user product development whatsoever), I can tell you that protection of stored and in-use lithium-ion and similar types of batteries is currently a very hot topic (pun intended). The phenomenon of thermal runaway poses new and significant challenges to prompt identification and suppression of fires caused by this type of battery, as does the need for positive and complete elimination of the possibility of reignition after extinguishment of a fire. Discharging a fire extinguisher onto a battery fire may snuff it, but if the core of the battery is still energetic, the fire can reignite and there will be nothing to discharge onto it a second time. The higher the state of charge of the battery when a thermal runaway occurs, the more difficult it may be to manage the event to prevent reignition or a resumption of the runaway. Oh yeah, and then there is the toxicity of the products of combustion or overheating of such batteries even if ignition and flame never occur. Not good things to have going on in an airplane cockpit, but locating the battery ahead of the firewall in the engine compartment potentially exposes it to higher temperatures and that encourages the development of extra thermal stress. These batteries are great for what they are, a lot of power in small packages. The trick is to keep the lions in their cages and the stronger and more compact they get, the more care we need to take to keep them controlled. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Batteries, final thoughts
I'll just jump in with my two cents on this discussion. I'm a licensed, registered fire protection engineer, also licensed in mechanical and electrical engineering. I'm not a battery expert but I hope I know enough NOT to be dangerous. Fire protection of all these new sorts of batteries is a rapidly emerging (and often confusing) challenge, but if you think about the science and physics of what these mighty little power packs are, you should realize that they contain a lot of potential energy in their chemical contents and it's designed to be released in a steady and more or less linear fashion, and that's why they're so compact and useful. What we sometimes think of as increasing the safety of using and storing them can sometimes defeat our purposes. For example, storing them in a traditional flammables cabinet (oftentimes sharing the same cabinet with cleaning fluids, alcohol, and even gasoline!), we can create a highly explosive environment inside the cabinet if a stored battery isn't happy inside the cabinet. And just because some types of batteries don't ignite when they begin to go into thermal runaway, the smoke that they emit can still be an explosive and toxic mixture of chemical compounds that are plenty dangerous in themselves, even without ignition or flame. In thermal runaway, ventilating the gases that are generated by batteries is important to reduce the hazard that they create. In short, they should all be treated with respect and we should be aware that it's not only overcharging or overheating them that can set off thermal runaway... physical damage, including striking them, dropping them, or puncturing them can also initiate the chemical process if the separator between the anode and cathode is compromised, and in those cases it can develop slowly over hours or even days. Using batteries that aren't tested, listed, and labeled by one of the alphabet testing labs means that you have no idea how well they are designed or which standards that they meet, if any. Or what their expected quality control for failure rate is, right from the factory. And it's not just dead batteries that we need to worry about, because the higher the state of charge of these batteries, the more energetic can a thermal runaway be if it gets started. Just sayin'. Oh, and Larry- thanks for bringing so much useful information on this to the Net! Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Mystery Motor
Mike KSEE, the light aircraft powerplants from "back in the day" were interesting, many of them completely hand-made or else they used parts from other types of engines to make aero conversions, and the builders were innovators and skilled in doing things themselves. One interesting character from that era was Les Long from up here in Oregon. His "Longster" series of lightplanes are of special interest to me and so is the horizontally-opposed, air-cooled, 2-cylinder engine that he made for the high-wing version of his Longster. He called that engine the Harlequin and it used parts from Harley motorcycle engines along with some parts from auto engines, all mounted into a crankcase that Long cast and machined. It developed 30HP at 2650 RPM, just about like a 1/2VW or an Ultravair but slower turning, and is a beautiful little engine that weighs about 90 lbs. It's obviously not got enough power for a KR since even a dual-port 1600 Beetle engine, which weighs about 160 lbs, can put out about 55HP for takeoff and 50HP continuous. Another version of the Longster used an inline air-cooled 4-cylinder engine from the Henderson motorcycle... rated 30HP at 3000 RPM, weight about 110 lbs. As you can see, these engines all weigh about 3 lb per HP, whereas a current Revmaster 2100D can put out about 75HP and weighs 170 lbs with 25% less weight at only 2.3 lbs per HP. The aero conversion 2700cc Corvair is rated 100HP and weighs about 230 lbs, so it's right there in the same 2.3 lb/HP range. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Vne for the Freebird
Netters; I for one would be very interested to learn how the FAA requires a certified aircraft's Vne be determined and also how aircraft designers work out that number and then flight test to it. The designer and builder of the prototype M-19 Flying Squirrel that I'm replicating said that he set the airplane's Vne to be 90 MPH based on his having flown the plane at 95 MPH for 3 minutes and it holding together, and then setting the Vne to be 95% of that. Knowing the designer and builder of that plane and knowing the era in which the plane was designed, built, and flown- I'm quite certain that the speeds he used are indicated airspeeds. I know that in my case at least, the airspeed indicator is what I would be watching if I was deliberately holding an experimental aircraft at an airspeed in excess of its redlined Vne for three minutes. However, I will grant that things happen MUCH faster at 200+ MPH than they do at 90+ MPH with a good example being that if I fly my plane at 90MPH for three minutes, I'll still be in our local training area when the time expires. At 200 MPH, a plane traveling in a straight line will have traveled 10 miles and will be completely out of sight when time expires. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC flying, Cont A75 power Flying Squirrel N7238B under construction, 1835 VW power -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> folding wing KR
Netters; I've removed and reinstalled wings on several airplanes several times over the years and my observation is that it's probably not something you would want to do if you could avoid it, but when you need to do it, it sure is better if it's designed to be done in the first place and it's even easier when it's designed to be done by one person working alone. One of my hangar neighbors owns and flies a beautiful Grob motorglider and he flies it a LOT. Very patient man because he handles the wing folding by himself every time he flies it. He uses a sort of rolling gantry crane in the process to lift and fold the outer wing panels to shorten the span and my assumption is that unless you run out of fuel, you shouldn't ever need to land a motorglider 'out' and trailer it back in with the wings folded or removed, he only needs to fold the wings because his hangar won't accommodate the plane with the outer wing panels extended. My point is that even with hundreds and hundreds of times of doing it, and the plane being designed for it, and having rigging that's designed to smooth the process, he spends a pretty good bit of time just preparing the plane for flight and then folding the wings back up to put it away. So while it seems like a peachy-keen idea to incorporate folding wings to make storage easier, my guess is that it would soon grow old and would turn into something that would make you put off flying the plane as much as if you didn't have to mess with the wings. Of more value, in my opinion, is devising a quick but safe way to detach the outer wing panels on a KR without cutting the wing skins or dealing with wing attach nuts and bolts that are difficult to access with regular wrenches and tools. This would speed up wing handling when transporting the plane without going to the trouble of devising a wing fold mechanism that may add more trouble and complexity than it adds convenience. Just as a side note, the M-19 Flying Squirrel that I'm building was designed to have wings that pivot and then fold back against the tail, and the horizontal tail surfaces are designed with hinges to allow them to fold up flat against the vertical stabilizer to enable the wings to tuck in back there. As John Bouyea can attest since he's attempted to do that with the prototype M-19, it looks good on paper but takes a while to dismantle everything in order to let that happen. It's definitely not something you want to do every time you fly! Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power, flying M-19 N7238B, 1835 VW power, under construction -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> stock KR2 firewall template
If anybody happens to have a .dwg or .pdf of the stock KR2 firewall, please contact me or email it. Thanks. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR taildrags(at)hotmail.com -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Questions about local KR for sale
Chris; you're in the Pietenpol facebook group, right? Send a PM about this KR to Scott Liefeld since he may know something about it. His stepfather, "Sparky" Sparks, was a KR owner & pilot and they both know people and planes in the Mojave area. Also, Mike Stirewalt here on this list may also know of this plane. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Air to air pictures at airshow
Hey Stef- what was involved in flying your plane from the Netherlands to Austria? Is it complicated? Is there $-€ that you have to pay? Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> water injection
I've read about slowly trickling water down into the throat of a top-mounted carb on a running gasoline engine to decarbonize the piston tops and chambers, although I've never tried it myself. I suppose it's the rapid expansion of the liquid water to gaseous phase that blows off the crud. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power Flying Squirrel N7238B, VW power -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Hapi engine wires?
John G. wrote- >You'll want it right for flight, but you don't have to have it connected for >an engine test run. Glad to hear that, since I'm close to test-running an 1835 that employs a lawn tractor dynamo to charge the battery through a voltage regulator/rectifier and I don't want to mess with the wiring for the alternator and regulator for test runs. I connected the two leads from the dynamo to the regulator and also connected the ground from the regulator's finned cast metal body to the common grounding point on the firewall in case the regulator dumps excess energy from the dynamo to ground. I have no idea what the inside of the regulator/rectifier circuitry looks like since it's potted. The ignition will operate as a total-loss system with just the battery connected for test runs. My source (Mark Langford's N56ML.com website, instrument panel page) says that a points ignition pulls roughly 1A per 1000 RPM, so at rated max speed of 3400 RPM, the ignition should be pulling about 3.4A so even a little 9Ah UPS battery should power the ignition for a couple of hours at full tilt. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> KR2 N82KR, now in Canada
Anybody have any information on a KR2 that was originally registered in the U.S. in 1993 by Gregory Allison of San Antonio, TX as N82KR... later owned by William Walsh of Olympia, WA and sold into Canada in 2007 where it was re-registered as C-GRJL? Originally flew with a Mosler 82DX (VW conversion), 2160cc, dual ignition. I have some pictures of it if you may know anything about it; just email me. Thanks. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Canopy failure question
Mark wrote- >Note that there is a a "secondary" catch, a button that you have to slide up >in order to >flip the release lever down. This prevents inadvertent opening of the latch. >This sounds >obnoxious, but it quickly becomes second nature once you've operated it a few >times. I can vouch for that. My '02 Ranger has a small lever that has to be pressed in order for the ignition key to turn off all the way and release the key. Anyone who drives the truck for the first time is baffled when it comes time to remove the key, but honestly- I never even think about it. My Pietenpol has no canopy latch difficulties, being an open cockpit airplane ;o) Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Brake Fluid- just curious
Larry asked- >What do you consider a brake "overhaul" for your system?? Larry, I didn't build my plane and I had never had my wheels and brakes both completely apart before. In my case I had a nagging problem with a little drip on the hangar floor from one of the brakes. Of course my first thought was that it was just that the bleed nipple was loose, but that wasn't it. Closer examination showed an ugly streak of black goop around that brake from runway dust sticking to the leaking fluid, so at annual I decided to bite the bullet and tear into the brake. Bad O-ring was letting fluid get past and out onto the rest of the assembly where it was cooking itself into a stubborn crud, so the linings on that side were also dark with goop and dust and I decided to pull off both wheels and brakes and clean all parts down to ground zero. Good thing I did (as Jeff Scott knows, since he helped me locate the proper axle nuts for my wheels and in getting things right). The problem with these Clevelands from older planes is that there are umpteen different combinations of grease seal felts, stainless steel rings, and various other things that vary from plane model to plane model. Some planes have wheel pants, some have bare wheel retracts, who knows what else. Check out the Cleveland wheel and brake parts pages in the Aircraft Spruce catalog and you'll see what I mean... there are many variations and parts assembly sequences. To top it off, the ID tags on my wheels and brakes are nearly obliterated, so I had to piece the nomenclature together from what I could see on the tags. Mine are apparently off a 1970s Bonanza... TWICE the gross weight of my 1,080 lb max gross Air Camper! However, I've never gotten the sensation of having my plane want to come up on its nose when stopping hard, and being a slow plane on a big airport with a tower and a lot of commercial air traffic, on short final (the only kind of final I make in my low and slow flyer) I've gotten used to hearing "Experimental Four-One Charlie Charlie, no delay on the runway. Following traffic is a 737 on a five-mile final". I frequently brake hard to make the first turnoff on our 8800 ft long runway. Anyway, since the linings on one side were cruddy and fluid-soaked, I elected to replace the linings on both sides. Those turned out to be some of Rapco's cheapest linings, no big deal, and the rivets came with the linings and were easy to do with the right tools. The felt grease seals were black with dust and years of crud, so I got new ones of those. The inner stainless rings that sandwich those seals into the wheels were missing, so those are now new. The O-rings in the brake cylinders are new and I cleaned and lightly honed the cylinder walls before reassembly. Having everything off the airplane anyway, I took the wheels apart, cleaned and repainted those, and removed, cleaned, and polished the steel studs that the outer calipers slide on (they were pitted and slightly rusted). All that stuff got cleaned and repainted and all worked better and more smoothly. That's when I determined that the original builder had used the wrong axle nuts (castellated), which wouldn't thread onto the axles far enough to get the big cotter pin installed without overtightening the grease seals and bearings to where the wheels were binding. Jeff pointed out to me that there is another style of axle nut (Spruce part no. 06-00937) that slips inside the grease seals and rings and bears directly onto the bearing race without compressing the grease rings. Those did the trick and I was back in business. Long story long, to do all of that, and because the plane was in annual and taken apart, I drained the old brake fluid and refilled with fresh. I broke in the new linings per Rapco's brief procedure and was flying again after sign-off by my A&P who inspected my work. I love my brakes but yes... we don't fly these airplanes enough, or use the brakes enough, to require "overhaul" very often at all ;o) -Oscar -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Brake Fluid
Just my experience: my experimental amateur-built plane has Cleveland 6" wheels and brakes that came off of a certified aircraft. I choose to use the recommended and approved repair and replacement parts for them and I choose to use MIL-H-5606 aircraft brake fluid in my brake systems and it cost me $8.75 for a 32 ounce container from Aircraft Spruce. About 27 cents per ounce. Not automatic transmission fluid ($5.85 for a 4 oz container from Aircraft Spruce, or $1.46/oz), not DOT3 automotive brake fluid ($3.47 for a 12 oz container at Walmart or about 29 cents/oz), not DOT4 brake fluid ($7.97 for a 32 oz container or 25 cents/oz). I bought my 5606 fluid about 15 years ago and have completely drained and serviced my brake system three times for overhaul in that span of time because I choose to throw away a few ounces of well-used fluid when I overhaul the brakes. The fluid came in a plastic quart bottle with reasonably airtight screw cap that was taped shut when received. The last time I serviced my brakes was this past summer and the fluid in the container was still fresh, clean, bright, and flowed freely when dispensed from the container. Unairworthy 5606 is a gooey, sticky, dark mess and when it's got crud in it you can see it. My fluid remains airworthy to my satisfaction, and I haven't even used half the bottle. I can't imagine why anyone flying our size airplanes would buy a gallon of the stuff or why they would worry about the cost of buying the proper aviation brake fluid for aviation brakes. And I can't imagine why you would throw it away if it's still in the original container, still appears and feels fresh, clean, bright, and still flows freely from the container. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Pietenpol Air Camper NX41CC Cont. A75 power -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Prop balancing and analyzer
Luis; If either or both Mark Langford or John Bouyea are at the Gathering, they both know the Dynavibe analyzer operation intimately and should be able to help. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> A new wrinkle, now the FAA is involved
>My operating limitations has a paragraph that roughly reads: >Subsequent owners must contact the FSDO after a major modification >as defined by FAR 21.93a and receive a letter authorizing flight. The only thing the FARs require is that after a major change, the aircraft is returned to Phase I flight testing and that requires a specific test area. The FSDO must agree with the test area that you propose, nothing else that I can see. Your Phase I flight restrictions probably also list the required time that the aircraft must be flown under Phase I flight restrictions, but I don't believe the FSDO has to sign off your logs to return to Phase II when that testing is complete. I'm sure there are others who have had a different experiences with the FAA, but the nature of experimental aviation is that things may be changed, modified, improved, updated, and tweaked constantly without the FSDO's approval on everything, minor or major. PIREPS from others who have made major changes-? My own experience is that I changed engines on my airplane and if anything, the FSDO would have been annoyed if I'd bothered him with a request for authorization to fly after that change. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> KR component weights
George; I have the weights of bare, stock KR2 wing spars if that's of any help to you. Main centersection spar is just a tad over 8 lbs; aft centersection spar is 6 lbs. I know this because I weighed them for shipping to Colin Hales in the UK awhile back. I can weigh the outer spars as well, if that helps; they're sitting in my hangar. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KRnet> Instrument Panel for my KR2S
Sid wrote- >had to have a mechanical wet magnetic compass (with correction card) Get this: when my Pietenpol Air Camper had its annual condition inspection some years ago, and this was the first time I had taken it to this A&P for the inspection, one of the squawks that he wrote up was "No compass correction card noted. Install." My compass had the little slide-in window for the correction card, but nothing in it. First time that had come up since the plane got its airworthiness inspection years before. My A&P handed me a piece of card stock with the compass correction/deviation matrix printed on it along with a pair of scissors, and watched as I trimmed it to size and slipped it in. He signed the plane off, saying the regs just say it needs to have the card, not that any correction needs to be entered on it. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
Re: KR> Link to make KRnet subscription changes enclosed!
Dan and others; I successfully changed my email preferences using the link that Mark sent, https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet . It's a bit confusing when you first go there, but scroll down to the section that says 'KRnet Subscribers' and there are a couple of lines you can pick from. The first is only available to list administrators but the second line says "To unsubscribe from KRnet, get a password reminder, or change your subscription options enter your subscription email address:" Enter your email address and then hit 'Unsubscribe or edit options'. It'll send you an email and you'll need to have it send you a new password, which is just a random name that you can change later. Log in with your username and password and you'll get the whole list of subscription options, including changing from getting posts as they are sent, to getting a daily digest instead. Worked for me, and if you're reading this, it obviously lets me post to the list as well as receive posts. Oh shoot... I changed to the digest version, so I won't even know if this post went through until tomorrow morning! ;o) Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
KR>Engine failure video
John Bouyea wrote- >After seeing this graceful example video, I need to spend more time climbing >to altitude... With a turbocharged engine, you're leaving speed and efficiency on the table by not flying up in the thin air, amigo. Let those ponies loose! Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>KR 50th Anniversary
Larry wrote- >What a contrast to KR's built today with at least one winning the Lindy award >at Oshkosh. Would that have been the very sanitary white-with-orange-trim KR with Type 4 VW power? Can't remember the builder/pilot's name. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>50th anniversary Project
I have an old Rand-Robinson info pack at the hangar. I'll see if I can find it. I also have a KRNet decal, the ones that Mark Langford had made when the newsletter transitioned from paper to digital sometime around the Ross Youngblood era. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>50th Anniversary
KRNetters; Unless I misunderstand the regs, or unless they have changed recently, a KR1 being a 1-place aircraft (no passengers) does not and never has required that the EXPERIMENTAL wording appear on the plane, inside or out, but the pilot must still announce him/herself to ATC as "experimental November such-and-such" on radio calls. It also does not require the passenger warning placard in the cockpit. In addition, since 2004 (the KR2 was introduced 30 years earlier, in 1974) a KR2 or 2S does not require the EXPERIMENTAL wording if the registration markings on the plane also include X (for experimental) in the required registration markings following the leading N- in the markings. This is due to the airplane being an amateur-built aircraft with the same external configuration as an aircraft built at least 30 years ago. For example, my Pietenpol Air Camper is externally configured identical to the original 1929 Air Camper so instead of bearing the registration marks "N41CC", it bears "NX41CC" and I do not have the EXPERIMENTAL signage near the passenger entrance to the plane and I do not have the passenger warning placard. I am still required to notify passengers that my plane is an experimental. As another example, if he wanted to, Mark Langford could put the markings NX891JF on his current KR and do away with the EXPERIMENTAL lettering on the inside of the canopy on the passe nger side. I believe that Advisory Circular AC 45-2E, page 7, section 7.1.2 bears me out on the foregoing statements, but I stand to be corrected. One thing I have found out, however, is that when I communicate with ATC, I cannot announce myself as "experimental November Xray four-one Charlie Charlie". Only as "November four-one Charlie Charlie", despite the markings on the airplane. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>4-Seater KR?
Here's a link to the picture I was referring to, from the 2001 Gathering at Pine Bluff: http://krnet.org/pinebluff2001/01092324.jpg -OZ -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>4-Seater KR?
Sam; interesting proposition and it has come up at various times in the past, here and elsewhere. In my opinion, the KR was conceived as an economical personal hotrod, simple and light, for personal recreational aviation. In the case of the KR1, it's exactly that. When it widened to the stock KR2, just look at photos of how tightly the pilot and passenger are stuffed into the cockpit (there is an excellent overhead air-to-air shot of that "two goldfish in a very small bowl" arrangement somewhere in the KR Gathering writeups on KRNet but I don't remember which event). Different canopies have improved the headroom situation for some, but it's still tight for two. I think if you're looking for a 4-place, start with a 4-place or you'll spend more time overcoming design revisions and workarounds trying to make a sardine can into a tuna can. Don't get me wrong... it can be done and many other designs have made that transition and some are very elegant examples. Nat Puffer's Cozy Mk 4 adaptation of the Rutan Long EZ is one that comes to mind. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>Electric fuel pumps - final thoughts
Larry wrote- >Last, if someone has been injured or died from a single point failure of a >mechanical fuel pump >I suspect there is more to the story. Just my guess. Yes, there is more to this story. I don't know if anyone has been injured or died from a single point failure of the original mechanical fuel pump on the Corvair, but those pumps are certainly not the way to go on a flight Corvair conversion. They are a diaphragm type pump with fuel on one side of the diaphragm and the other side open to the crankcase where the actuating pushrod comes up from the eccentric that pumps the diaphragm. Failures of the diaphragm -a single point failure- have occurred, sometimes in significant numbers depending on the timeframe when those were manufactured. Raw fuel dumping into the crankcase through the ruptured diaphragm will not do anything to improve engine lubrication and pumping fuel vapor out the breather creates a fire hazard. Worse than a total rupture would be a tear or a hole in the diaphragm, which could allow the engine to continue running for a considerable time in that condition before it quit from fuel starvation, seized from lack of l ubrication, or something caught fire from the fuel being pumped around inside the engine and vented out the breather. In the early days of aero conversion of these engines, the simplicity and lack of need for any external power to operate the stock fuel pump made them attractive, especially for those on a budget. Just connect hoses and you've got pressurized fuel from a simple, low-profile, stock pump. Not a good idea on flight engines though. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power 164cid Corvair partially converted -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>Low cost ADSB Solution 2020 Compliant
Luis Claudio: please say again the weight of the TQ Aviation xpdr-? If it was $1413 for that little weight, it's getting up into the price of gold per ounce ;o) As a no electrics/nordo airplane pilot, I don't much concern myself with avionics, but I do watch prices and capabilities since the day will eventually come when Big Daddy wants to know where everybody is in the airspace, all the time, and I may have to bite the bullet. I'm thinking that will be after I'm pushing up daisies though. I think I'll pull the battery off my 121.5 Mhz ELT10 and have the transmitter and my E6B flight computer cremated along with my room-temperature body, too. Maybe have all my old paper sectional and WAC charts piled under me to get the fire started. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>Has anyone tried to put a kr2 or kr2s on floats
Not sure what the reference to 33KR is... I'm on the digest version of this list and I don't get images with the posts. The only image I was referring to from my little website is this one- http://www.flysquirrel.net/floats/krfloat.jpg -Oscar -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>Has anyone tried to put a kr2 or kr2s on
floats? [John Gotschall wrote] Well, yes and no. Jeff Scott played with the idea ;o) Scroll down a little way on this page- http://www.flysquirrel.net/M19float.html, from waaayyy back in 1999 when I was 22 years younger and thinking of doing crazy stuff ;o) And in September of 1999 when Jeff sent me those pix, we were just a few short months away from the dreaded Y2K catastrophe that was going to pitch the earth off its axis and send the world into total chaos. But to stay on topic, I don't think anyone has actually considered flying a KR on floats. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>electric motor for propulsion
Dee David asked- >Does anyone have any clue of electric airplane motor for 33-60 HP being sold There are some out there and they are very interesting... but not cheap. My understanding is that you'll be looking at about $10,000 for the motor and controller without the batteries. The motors themselves are quite small, constant torque like most electric motors of this type, so the throttle response is probably quite impressive. Check out emrax.com for motors, and DTI (Drivetrain Innovation) for controllers. The Emrax 188, their smallest, is listed on their website as 52kW max (about 70 HP) and the air-cooled version weighs 7 kg (under 16 lbs). Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>KR2S tail dimensions
As an info-sharing list for experimental aircraft designers and builders, this KRNet discussion about the proportions and arrangement of the KR empennage is the essence of why I'm still here after 28 years or so. This sort of discussion is what led to the development of the KR-optimized airfoils and other things specific to the KR, but the methodology is applicable to most other fixed-wing aircraft as well. Very useful, IMHO. Having worked as an engineer at an R&D outfit for 10 years and seen lots of things developed and refined in many different ways, I think I can summarize the way I see the two main forks in R&D as (1) analyze, design, and then test for verification; and (2) "try it and fly it" (also known as "that looks about right", or TLAR, or the duct tape method). Jumping directly to TLAR can get you very far ahead in the development process and then analytical refinement can pick up from there to get the anomalies and irregularities out of it to get to the finish line. Conversely, careful analysis and design using simulation and models from the very beginning are what got the KR airfoils to the finish line before anything was done at full scale and with someone's neck stuck out as a test pilot. On either of the two forks of R&D on the KR, there is a huge, huge benefit to having the testing done by KR pilots who have a lot of flight experience in these airplanes, because MY sense of "it started requiring quite a bit of forward stick to hold altitude when it got above about 150 MPH" may be somewhat irrelevant empirically if it's put up against a long-time KR pilot saying "they all do that". On the other hand, it also raises the question, "WHY do they all do that?". Obviously, builders who have their own completed and flying KRs are at an advantage over those of us who just sit here at the keyboard, running analytical programs and snooping through aeronautical testing reports to figure things out. On the other hand, how many KR pilots who have their own planes want to start hacking them up to try out some new change or modification or improvement? Sure, a wingtip scrape or off-field incident or something else can provide the opportunity to try something you've been thinking about, but it still takes courage to put the Dremel to that fiberglass skin or to start disconnecting your engine and accessories to pull the whole thing off the firewall just to make an improved engine mount with a few degrees of offset in it. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>flight home from Gathering
This post isn't really about a flight home from the Gathering at Lee's Summit... it's about a drive home from there. KRNetter and KR owner/pilot John Bouyea being the quiet and unassuming person that he is, he'd probably never mention this as anything special, but he just drove close to 5000 miles from his home in Oregon to Norman Indiana on a long-distance errand, then to Lee's Summit for the Gathering and back to his home and down to mine and back- to recover a piece of aviation history that was going to be lost. As some of you who were at the Gathering already know, that piece of history is the prototype and only example of the Barnard M-19 Flying Squirrel ever to fly. The significance to the KR community is that the Flying Squirrel employs exactly the same composite construction techniques and VW engine power that were pioneered by Ken Rand when he designed the KR, and for the exact same reasons: durability, ease of construction, affordability, and versatility. Marvin Barnard (now deceased; died of a heart attack, not aviation related) claimed that he built his airplane, complete and flying, bit by bit with a lot of scrounging and for less than $3,500. He flew it to Oshkosh on several occasions, often went around barefoot since he was a country boy who lived that lifestyle, and constructed the airplane in his back yard using mostly hand tools. A humble man, innovative, a straight shooter. Today John and I hung the wings and tail surfaces back on the airplane outside my hangar, smiled and took pictures, and I've attached a picture below. Not much kinship with the KR is apparent when you look at the strut-braced high-wing Squirrel with its boxy lines, but beneath the latex-house-painted wet-layup fiberglass skins is the same type of wood trussed frame with extruded foam panel infill, and the wings have wood spars and foam ribs with glassed foam skins. It's a construction method that worked for Ken, it worked for Marvin, it's worked for KR builders for years and years, and it's working for John and I as we build our own Flying Squirrels. I've often said that my Squirrel is a "KR construction trainer" so I could get familiar with composite construction techniques on something simple before diving into a KR project, and maybe that will be the case. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR [cid:9c6ef29a-9fd8-485f-af3c-689c5838648f] -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>airplane use statistics (was flight home from Gathering)
Dr. Hsu wrote- >Out of 100 GA enthusiasts who own aircrafts (either homebuilt or certified): In response, I've changed 'aircraft' to 'sailboats' to make a point here- >#1, About 10% or less of the folks use their sailboats as truly a >transportation vehicle, and they sail to anywhere as they want, >and feel as easy as driving on the road! >#2, About 30% or more who simply leave their sailboats tied up at the marina >and paying rent without even touching it for months or years. >#3, About 40% or more who simply sail their sailboats as entertainment or >hobby on the weekend or during leisure times, and they hardly use it as >private transportation tool. >#4, about 20% or more who are builders and they keep building and repairing >sailboats >one after another but hardly sail much of their sailboats at all...!! My point is, it's human nature and it's the same for golfers who have nice golf clubs and golf carts; car restorers and racers; fishermen; skiers; photographers; and every other hobby you can name. You can't really change the statistics because there's really nothing wrong with them. In my own case, part of me is in all four of those categories and that's the way I want it to be and the way my available time and priorities allow things to be. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>Sensenich
Larry: you're absolutely correct, of course... I erroneously plugged in the prop length instead of the pitch. Makes me feel much better to know that my prop is running at a very respectable 84% efficiency ;o) Wheel pants? I know who wears the pants in my family, and it ain't my Air Camper ;o) I wouldn't want to scare myself flying at the high speeds that some streamlining would produce on my Piet ;o) -Oscar -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>Sensenich
The KR is certainly an efficient airframe with an efficient airfoil. If I run the same efficienty calc as Larry ran, using my Continental A75 turning 2450 RPM (redline is 2600) turning my 72x36 Culver prop, theoretical 100% efficiency would move the airplane through the air at 167 MPH. I'm just a little off that pace though. I cruise at a comfortable 70 or so, which means the prop is only 42% efficient in pulling the plane through the air. The rest of its work is spent beating the air into submission while dragging a strut-braced, wire-braced, open-cockpit wood-and-fabric 1929 design through the air and burning about 4 gallons of avgas per hour to do it. Most any KR is at least twice as efficient. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR>seat belts
It is both correct and truthful to state that the harness/belts are for an off-road vehicle. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
KR> KR2 - KR2S Logo
Some years ago, I cooked up a KRNet logo that I used to make up some polo shirts for the Gathering. What I did was take the logo from the Rand-Robinson promotional literature from an info pack that I got many years ago and did a cut-and-paste (literally; scissors and tape) onto a piece of paper with a catalog cutout graphic of the earth, then used my French curve and felt-tip markers to create the swoosh of a KR leaving the earth and going out into cyberspace and filled it in solid. The KRNet. I took my artwork to the local shirt shop at the mall and they cleaned it up for embroidery after I selected the color for the airplane (red!), and the result was also used in some vinyl decals that Mark Langford made available from somewhere, somehow. I still have two of those; the envelope that Mark mailed them to me in is postmarked 29 March of 2004 so I suspect he sent them to me following the 2003 Gathering, which was held in Red Oak Iowa that year. My guess is that that is the year that Mark presented a forum on the new AS50xx airfoils at the Gathering, since Troy Petteway flew his new wings in 2001 and Dean Selby and Bill Clapp soon followed. Anyway, I still have the R-R promo literature with the KR image on it if that might suit for seat upholstery graphics. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Why have wing Tanks?
If you've been around either the CorvAircraft or Pietenpol groups for any length of time, you've more than likely heard about William Wynne's experience with fuel in the cockpit. The original design for the high-wing parasol Pietenpol Air Camper has the fuel tank in the centersection of the wing, directly over the cockpits, with a fuel line leading down into the cockpit from the tank, along one of the cabane struts, and then forward to the engine through the firewall. Most builders end up with something like 12-14 gallons of fuel capacity up there, and it provides great gravity feed to the engine for a simple fuel system and a couple of hours of endurance. William was the passenger in his aircraft (front cockpit) when the pilot stalled it in a low-altitude turn and it spun in and crashed. In the crash, the wing shifted forward and the structure collapsed enough to rupture the fuel line coming down from the tank, and William and the plane were doused in fuel with no way to stop the flow. Despite having his clothing on fire, he got out of the airplane somehow, pulled the pilot out of the rear cockpit and away from the plane, rolled on the ground enough to stop his clothing from burning, and survived the crash but spent a lot of time in hospital and with many skin grafts and rehabilitation. The airplane burned to a crisp, although William later recovered the engine after the FAA and NTSB had their time with it. My Air Camper has a 16 gallon fuel tank up in front of the passenger, under the cowling behind the firewall. So, while a fuel leak from my tank wouldn't normally get on me till it flowed aft to the pilot's cockpit, it really won't matter because gasoline burns hot and fast, and so do glued-together wooden airplanes with fabric covering. For somewhat of a simulation of that kind of scenario, view a little 1:30 video of a fellow splashing some gasoline on a brush pile and lighting it off. The link is below. My Air Camper would most likely burn as rapidly as the brush pile in the video. Notice the quantity of gasoline that is splashed onto the brush pile and on the little "fuse" that he sets fire to. Couple of gallons tops, right? Isn't that just a little 2 or 2.5 gallon jug he has?. My airplane holds 16 gallons and will make a big, hot fire if it gets out of the tank and catches fire. How much will your KR's fuel tank hold? Here's a link to the video- https://youtu.be/Hi7tZVV-o8A . Notice that it's not just where he pours the gasoline that burns... it's where the vapor gets out to, and if there is any wind or any motion around spilling gasoline, the vapor can be burning energetically a fair distance away from where the liquid is. The stuff is unforgiving, you won't do much to it with a little portable extinguisher or even with one of the larger ones that they tote around on golf carts at fly-ins. As has already been written here, educate yourself on the risks, choose how you will arrange your fuel in your airplane, know the upsides and downsides, and most of all- treat gasoline with a lot of respect. And as a disclaimer about why I am interested in this, I am a fire protection engineer. I fly a plane with what amounts to a bomb up in the cockpit in front of me but it's a welded aluminum tank with a brass shutoff valve and braided 3/8" fuel hose feeding out of it through a stainless steel firewall to the gascolator up front. No barbed fittings, no plastic fittings, no plastic tubing. I understand my risks and you should understand yours. Oscar Zuniga Medford,OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Challengers, etc.
Larry; the guys standing in green grass over on this side of the fence always want to be in the green grass over on that side instead, and vice-versa. I'd love to be able to fly cross-country in a 160 MPH fast glass airplane with an enclosed cockpit and cabin heat, up at 10,000'. Instead, I rarely get over 2500' in my open-cockpit, 70 MPH Pietenpol that I can only sit in comfortably for about 2 hrs. Many of the benefits that I get from owning and flying my experimental are the ones that you're looking for in your Challenger. I fly a Light Sport aircraft under Basic Med, I enjoy the sights and smells flying slow down low, the high wing on the airplane lets me see everything down below, behind, and ahead. My certified Jeff Scott-built A75 burns 4 gal/hr of anything I care to put in it (but I fly it on 100LL exclusively). Liability insurance is one dollar a day. I have no battery, no starter, no electrical system, no ADS-B or transponder, no radio except a handheld. My takeoff and landing checklists are three items long, and any passenger who can stuff themselves into the front cockpit is good to go because they sit directly on the CG and cannot over-gross the plane if they can fit into it. If I'm careful and it's not too hot or high, I can land and take off in the length of a football field. The plane stalls power-off at about 35-37 indicated. Thousands of examples of the design have been built and flown successfully and inexpensively since 1929. What I can't do with it is do my own annuals, go fast, fly high, or stay warm ;o) Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> tired of the mask/ back to the airport
I was at the airport yesterday and didn't see anyone wearing a mask. Larry, the rhyme and meter of your "politically incorrect" poem just can't seem to fit the long version of David Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair", but I'm trying to work it into the long version of Boz Scaggs's "Loan Me A Dime". Maybe some rearrangement and some beer and I can make it work. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> cht/egt instrument
Larry: if I remember correctly, the G2000 in the plane that I flew has a backup battery somewhere in the back, because part of the preflight checks involve testing the backup power source. Maybe that's what adds extra weight when the system is installed in a certified aircraft. Everything relies on the glass panel, so it's got to have redundant power for IFR operations. I'm just guessing though. -Oscar ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> cht / egt instrument
Count me as another steam gauge pilot. I turn 69 tomorrow and have been flying since I soloed in a 40 HP Cub in 1971. The last flight review I took was in a then-new Skyhawk with a Garmin G2000 panel in it. I spent a week with an introductory DVD and the manuals just to learn the basics of the system before I was even confident enough to schedule the flight review. As someone else mentioned, the time and actions it takes to bring that system up and check the backup to the backup was longer than it would take me to start up, strap in, and taxi to the runup area in my "no electrics" Pietenpol. I don't remember how many fuel system sump drains that Skyhawk had, but it's more drain points than I have fingers on my hand. I have a considerable number of hours in 172s of various year models and I can fly them, love to fly them, but flying that new Skyhawk with glass panels and dozens of checklist items was an ordeal for me. Incredible amount of information and capability available on the panel and it was really cool to fly the HITS down through our thick wildfire smoke that day to a pretty darn decent instrument approach under the hood, but I could never remember how to fly that panel today. I strongly dislike vertical 'tape' readouts and digital readouts, as they take too long to analyze and they're never constant... they are always changing unless you're in smooth air and have the autopilot engaged. I think that's how they want pilots to fly these days anyway. Make me a little space on the steam gauge pilots bench, Larry. I'm too old to learn this stuff too, and much prefer to fly the airplane instead of the panel. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Electric
Rather than dump info onto KRNet, I'll just summarize what the electric Pietenpol experiment ran. HPEV-50 3-phase induction motor, rated 71HP at about 3300 RPM. 100 volt, 115 lbs. Batteries: lithium ion polymer, 100 amp-hour with Curtis controller. Ivo prop, abut 4-4.5 degrees of pitch got it to about 210 lbs of static thrust. I'll attempt to attach a little pic of what the firewall forward setup looks like (76kb image) Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Electric
I have a writeup on an electric conversion on a Pietenpol that has been run tested and pull tested, but not flown. Showed promise with the amount of thrust that it developed in the pull testing. The author/developer gave permission to publish it in Contact! Magazine but it has not been yet. Gary Sack, I'll get with you offline to discuss since it sounds like you may be interested. Oscar Zuniga Medford OR Sent from my iPhone X ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> climb to cruise transition
As long as there is a discussion about climbing to cruise, here's one for you high-altitude cruisers. It's a discussion that I've seen several times over the years but I figure people like Langford, Jeff Scott, Mike Stirewalt, and others with a lot of hours and miles in cruise might comment on. The basic premise is that when climbing to cruise, some pilots have reported that they get into level cruise quicker and easier if they slightly overshoot cruise altitude, drop the nose so speed builds up and altitude drops back to target altitude, and then reduce power, adjust trim, and let it settle in. Like getting a powerboat up on the step using full power, then walking the throttles back to a nice smooth cruise once it's on plane. This is opposed to the technique of gradually reducing climb trim (or back pressure on the stick) as the target altitude is approached, never actually overshooting target altitude but rather, creeping up on it and then letting speed build up while holding altitude. Has anyone experimented with these climb-to-cruise transitions? My comments on the subject aren't worth much, since most of my time in the last 20 years has been in airplanes that climb at 55 and cruise at 65-70 ;o) Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> hoop pine (was C-19. God bless America)
Phil; thanks for the words of compassion from Down Under. However, it seems like only yesterday that your own outback was all ablaze and you had your own catastrophe underway and out of control. I hope that's ended now, or at least come under control. So, on an aviation topic, how common is hoop pine and is it approved by the aircraft certification agency for use in aircraft? The Pietenpol builders Down Under have the same difficulty as KR builders do... finding aircraft-grade wood when spruce is not readily available. Oscar Zuniga Medford, Oregon Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Langford's KR
Has Mark Langford's KR sold yet? Last I saw, the bidding on it was past $25k and he said he'd deliver it anywhere in the Lower 48. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Yes I fly again
Stef; you may want to investigate motorcycle muffler/silencers that slip inside the end of your exhaust pipe. For example: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/vance-hines-big-radius-quiet-baffle-for-harley is one that will fit inside a curved pipe. I can't tell whether the end of yours is straight or curved, but there are many to choose from. -Oscar ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Yes I fly again
Stef; Here's a suggestion. In our business, we have a number of very accurate instruments and one of them is a sound level meter. It is calibrated and we use it in our engineering work for measuring sound levels from equipment. A couple of years ago I was checking something with it and decided to download a free sound meter app for my iPhone and compare the readings. Nu breekt mijn klomp! The little phone app gave exactly the same readings, with excellent accuracy! So, download one of the many free sound meter apps that are available. Find out what the Dutch aviation authorities use as a standard of measurement that they will require when they check your airplane. For example, 90 dB at 100 ft from the airplane on the runway in full-power takeoff- or whatever it is. Take some measurements of airplanes that are certified, and then have your Dad or a friend take the same measurements of your airplane in the same conditions so you can get an idea of how close you are to the limit. Record the conditions so when you make a change like the catalytic converter or a different silencer, you can take new readings under the same conditions to see if there is an improvement. Try different things until you're satisfied so you don't end up having to pay for a followup test by the inspector. As an example, when my friend Paul Martin had his KR2 with 1835 VW engine, it had 2-into-1 exhausts on each side and he wanted to see if he could get it quieter. We tried installing exhaust pipe tips from a standard VW engine onto the ends of the pipes on each side using worm drive clamps and took measurements before and after. After multiple test runs to verify results, there was just a slight improvement; not worth it. Paul was going to continue experimenting using motorcycle exhaust baffles that slip inside the ends of the pipes, but he sold the airplane before we could try that experiment. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Echo...echo..echo
Well, since the list is slow and I rarely post here anyway, I thought I'd burn just a little bit of bandwidth by posting a (lousy) picture of me climbing out of Paul Martin's VW-engined KR2 after my first and only KR ride ever. This was in about 2000 or 2001 when I had a 30" waist and weighed about 130, so getting in and out was a breeze and Paul & I fit comfortably in the airplane. The plane was a taildragger when he got it, but he converted it to trigear and also had to do a lot of work on the gunked-up molded fuel tank that it had when he got it. Conventional Rand-Robinson fuel tank under the top cowling and with the molded-in recess for a COM radio. Auto fuel must have gotten to it; gigantic mess. The big smile on my face in the photo is very genuine. The ride was exhilarating! Paul let me fly it from the right seat all the way down till short final. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> A65 Starter by Dennis Dyer
If this is the starter that employed an electric screwdriver, technology on cordless tools has advanced very, very much farther than back when that one was designed. I have the plans for it somewhere, but seem to recall thinking that today's tools would make it much easier to rig a similar setup, and with more starting oomph. I fly a hand-prop Pietenpol with A75, previously powered with an A65, both of which are quite low compression and relatively easy to start if the mags are strong and the plugs are good. I was toying with a way to rig an add-on electric starter since almost all of my flying is solo, as are my engine starts. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Yamaha Rx1
Regarding the engine and kit in the ad that was linked, I live about 12 miles from Ashland where it's located, and I know the family of the owner. If anyone is interested in eyes-on the project, PM me and maybe I can help. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR taildrags (at) hotmail.com ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> rodeo ride
I agree with what Jeff said about the T-tail in the propwash effect... when I was doing my fight training back in the 70s, there was a Tomahawk on the line and I flew it quite a bit. There was always rumor and buzz about how the T-tail made the airplane dangerous, especially as a trainer, and that sooner or later it would bite me. It never did. Had fun flying it with the doors off, too. Jeff owned and flew a Tomahawk, so he knows whereof he speaks when it comes to the T-tail, and his description of the effects of power-on propwash over the horizontal stab and elevator are right on. -Oscar ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> How to get started building?
Sammer: Fortunately for you, it shouldn't be a problem getting anything you need in the way of wood. You are right in the area of an excellent wood purveyor, Edensaw Woods, http://www.edensaw.com/ . They have stores in Tacoma and Port Townsend. I got some excellent, clear, straight-grain Western red cedar planks that I ripped all the stringers for some skin-on-frame kayaks out of, and marine grade plywood for the formers and bulkheads. Ordered through a local specialty lumber shop here in Medford (Beavertooth Oak, coincidentally located on Fir Street!) but I believe it came from Edensaw. My guess is that if you made a couple of visits to one of their stores to snoop around, they might get to know you and ask what you're looking for. "Oh, I could really get everything I need out of a 4 ft plank of spruce if you have one laying around"... and get a couple of cutoffs out of their scrap bin just for the asking ;o) Be sure to tell them it's for a cabin cruiser or something besides an airplane. It will be the truth! Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> radio work
Jeff wrote- >fly the KR over into the class C airport and demonstrate for all to hear on >the radio just how rusty I am in dealing with ATC. >Actually, embarrassingly rusty and ended up just being pleased to leave >without getting gigged by the FAA I am based at a tower-controlled airport with four commercial airlines flying regularly scheduled flights in and out, and in summertime, often with air tanker traffic added to the mix into and out of the tanker base on the field. Also have Erickson Aircrane flying all manner of rotary-wing craft in and out of their base on our field. I keep my radio on tower frequency when I'm at the airport messing around in the hangar so I can hear what's going on and keep my radio skills up as best as I can but I, too, sometimes botch things up on the radio or forget some procedural thing that the tower bunch has to watch carefully. Example: I fly a low and slow aircraft and my main objective is usually to get clear of the active since my final and rollout take so much longer than that of other traffic and I don't want to hold people up. So one time (but never again!), I swung off the active runway and made my call to let them know where I was going on the ground. I called "Medford tower, Experimental four-one-charlie-charlie is clear of the active, taxi to the north hangars". I received a stern correction that four one charlie charlie is NOT clear of the active until crossing the hold lines at the taxiway entrance. Gulp... the controller was right, I had physically cleared the active runway but had stopped at the runway side of the hold lines instead of leaving them behind me. I still blow it with our ATC people even though I hear the radio chatter for hours and hours and hours, all types of chatter, and I know what to say and how to say it- but sometimes it just doesn't come out right or I miss conveying some important info to the controller. Oh yeah, and then there was the time when I took off my helmet and put it on the control stick while I pushed the airplane back into the hangar. I went to retrieve my handheld and noticed that it was warm to the touch when I turned it off. Well duh-! My flying helmet was holding down the PTT on the stick and it had been transmitting for a couple of minutes, obviously blocking the ground frequency with my "stuck" mike-!! Yes, I held my breath for awhile, wondering when the "tower police" were going to come and get me... Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> fun day!!!
Tiger and Talon-? Where'd you find them? -OZ ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> engine work
I just want to second what Larry and others have said about Jeff Scott. He is experienced and knowledgeable on a lot of things, but especially so on Continentals and Lycomings. He has helped me immeasurably on the care and feeding of my Continental A75 (and the A65 that I previously had on my Piet). He and Doug Reid may not have brought my A75 into this world, but they did a complete makeover on a rescue core that I found in a widow's garage where it looked to all the world like a complete piece of junk but which is now my pride and joy, dry and tight and running like a top. Continental gold paint with black cylinders and trim, "Powerful as the Nation". Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> fuselage dimensions
Donald wrote- >Just for comparison my Taylor mono plane is 28.5' to the back of fire wall >and 103.5" to the front of tail post from front of main root spar. Measured >from datum line at the bottom of fire wall to tail post. Some Netters on this list may not recognize the connection here, but it's useful information if you realize that the KR1 was loosely based on the Taylor Monoplane, a 1956 design that obviously pre-dated the KR1. The family resemblance can be noted here- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Monoplane#/media/File:G-BEVS_Taylor_JT.1_Monoplane_(9706092553).jpg and here- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Monoplane#/media/File:Taylor_JT.1_G-AYSH_SYW_01.09.12R_edited-3.jpg , but of course Ken Rand translated that design from wood to composite and used a turtledeck instead of a straight back with a bubble canopy as the Monoplane used. When you further realize that Taylor was a Brit and his Monoplane utilized the RAF45 airfoil, you begin to see why the American KR utilizes a British RAF airfoil ;o) Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, not a KR ;o) ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Pacific Northwest Mini Gathering?
Pete- you make a good point. I fly a low & slow aircraft and there I was, coming down on final at Independence with carb heat on and power at idle, 57 MPH on a stabilized descent and the numbers smack-dab in my windscreen, when a Cardinal cut right in front of me and took the active! The wake turbulence from his fully-deployed flaps and rapid overcontrolling to jockey in front of me caused me to have to get both hands on the stick and add power to arrest my descent and stabilize for a go-around. Rude! Do you know who that idiot spam can driver was?? Wait... doesn't Bouyea fly a Cardinal? -OZ ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Pacific Northwest Mini Gathering
Bou; I like to limit my flight legs to 2-2.5 hours, which translates to roughly 120-150 miles (depending on winds). As far as places to hold a PacNW mini fly-in, I don't know what the rules might be for Independence Airpark (a publicly-owned field) but I sure found it to be a nice aviation-friendly place for the fly-in the weekend before the total eclipse in August of 2017. EAA Chapter 292 is based there and they hosted that event. They are prolific builders and always have plenty of projects under construction on the field. The single main asphalt paved runway is 3142x60 ft. There is an eatery on the field (Starduster Cafe), as well as an FBO with fuel. If you want to go looking for trouble, head out from Independence on a true course of 039 degrees and after you've covered 29 NM on that heading you'll be at KUAO and in enemy territory. Aurora is where Van's Aircraft is headquartered ;o) Wear sunglasses... the glare from all that polished aluminum can be blinding ;o) For me, the flight from MFR to 7S5 would be about 150 nautical if I could rocket up to the flight levels and fly direct like you KR guys can do. However, following Interstate 5 and weaving my way through mountain passes, it's more like about 175 nautical and I would probably stop in Roseburg to make it in two hops. -OZ ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> MOFOCO 041 Head Update vs Panchito
This should make Mr. Langford happy... [cid:eea44528-a5a8-4b50-a654-38b1e5707b51] -Oscar ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> N133RM
Wait. WHAT-??!! Bou, you're the owner of the one and only, iconic, poster-child, Roy Marsh's KR2S?? How in the world did you finagle that? Last I heard, it had been purchased by someone in Australia or New Zealand and had left the country. My understanding was that three-three-Romeo-Mike wasn't a true prototype of the -2S because it used the NACA 23012 airfoil and had some other serious mods that didn't represent what the plans showed. Popular lore also has it that the the cruise speed performance of 3RM demonstrated the number that Rand Robinson used in the promo literature for it. Rarely achieved, but some have hit that magic 180 MPH number in cruise. Well, you've got a little piece of history there. Probably good that you take care of it. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> KR2S plans NVAERO......etc?
I'll add a little something here. I've been on KRNet since sometime in the early 1990s, although I owned a set of KR2 plans that I had gotten from Jeanette Rand some years before that. Mark Langford has been on the net considerably longer than that, and has worked tirelessly to advance the state of the art in building and flying these airplanes ever since. He moderates and manages the KRNet without dues, fees, or annual whines- but it's not free at all. I've never been to a KR Gathering in the 25+ years that I've been on this list, but I have from time to time sent Mark some money to help with the costs and time that he spends maintaining, supporting, and troubleshooting the KRNet. If I think back, I can count on the fingers of one hand the times that there has been any sort of glitch, hiccup, or transfer of list hosting in the years I've been here. It all happens behind the scenes, and Mark handles it promptly and transparently. I get to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Gatherings via Mark's writeups and photos of the events afterwards, and I get my daily fix of airplane stuff via this list and a few others, and that's about the cheapest entertainment I can think of. All of which is to say, if you're like me and you enjoy this list, consider sending Mark a check or a Paypal donation to keep him in the game. There have been a few times when he has gotten fed up and has come pretty close to slamming the door behind him on his way out, but I'm sure glad he hasn't. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Pietenpol Air Camper NX41CC, Cont. A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> KR-2 makes emergency landing
I'm curious to know if the pilot was cited for anything by the traffic cop. The KR is, after all, a motor vehicle and is subject to all of the rules and requirements thereof... Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> cover material
Rick wrote- >I used a table pad that goes under a table cloth >Felt type backing and a vinyl top As one Texan (me) to another (Rick), I hope I can say this without fear of getting something thrown at me, but when I read that, I pictured the perfect redneck KR canopy cover... red and white checkerboard table cover from Walmart ;o) That's what I call "country class". I'm not laughing too hard though, because I just picked up a mesh cargo net at Walmart for the pickup truck I'm driving. I'm on my way down to the Eureka California area to deliver some spare KR parts to KRnetter Gary Sack and needed something to keep the stuff in place back there. Oscar Zuniga Native Texan, adoptive Oregonian ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> N886MJ engine failed
As Mark and others like to say, "your mileage may vary" as far as the FAA, NTSB, or other agency's response to a flying accident or incident goes. My response would be "it depends". My Pietenpol experienced carb ice and the carb heat was too wimpy to deal with it, so the pilot (not me) put it down in a rough unimproved field after it began losing power and then died. He's a high-time crop duster pilot, instructor, and commercial pilot with a lot of tailwheel time but none of that helped him when a bad weld broke on the landing gear and wiped it out, which dug the nose in and put the plane over on its back. Guys loaded it onto a flatbed, took it back to the hangar (he's the airport manager where it happened), sort of propped it up so it was back on its own legs again, and called the feds to come take a look. Anybody dead? Nope. Anybody seriously hurt? Nope. Law enforcement on the scene? Nope. Any major structural damage to the airplane? Well, come and take a look for yourself. They declined. No report needed. Hope you get it back in the air again. Things can happen to certified engines too... and my Continental A65 had a certified Stromberg carb on it with a certified Champ carb heat muff on the certified Champ exhaust stack. http://flysquirrel.net/piets/incident/incident.html has a few pix. If you scroll down to the first shot of the bent and busted cabane struts about midway down the page, look at the underside of the wing over the rear cockpit and you can see dried blood from the only injury. That's from where blood dripped from the pilot's forehead as he tried to unbuckle himself from the harness, hanging upside-down. The ignition key on my airplane is top dead-center of the instrument panel. Yep, right where your forehead would hit in a sudden stop. The pilot's forehead snapped the ignition key off; we never found it. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> 2008 KR Gathering 3 blade prop questions
Ken wrote [about the Porkopolis Pig]- >Continental A65... and max engine rpm of 2540. Now that's pushing the ol' A65, alright! Standard spec for redline on the A65 is 2300 RPM. The A75, which has holes drilled in the rod caps to provide additional lubrication but with the same bore, stroke, and compression ratio as the 65, is redlined at 2600 RPM with a recommended cruise of 2350. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> VW engine fogger
Pete wrote- >Just remembered that Stabil makes a fogging oil for storage of 2 cycle engines >that spray >into the intake prior to shutdown for storage, probably would be okay for 4 >cycle engines as well. If I remember correctly, 2-strokes use oil in the gasoline to lubricate the moving parts and the mixture is compressed in the crankcase on the piston downstroke, so introducing fogger through the intake works fine for those engines and besides the cylinder walls, it will get to the underside of the piston, the crank, and bearings. In 4-strokes, nothing that comes into the intake ever sees anything below the piston rings (or shouldn't, anyway), so putting fogger into the intake won't do anything to coat the lower end. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> taxi testing
When I got my Pietenpol, it had recycled Cleveland masters (10-34s or similar, off a Cessna), and the builder had installed a Bowden-style cable on each side of the cockpit to actuate the parking brakes. Those old-style brakes such as were used on older Cessnas were very simple steel tabs that slid on the shaft of the actuator and the parking brakes were set by braking firmly, then pulling on the parking brake lever to 'jam' the tabs on the shafts to hold the brakes locked when the brake pedals were released. The builder of my Piet used the parking brakes to hold the plane while it was prop-started, but I never liked the hokey setup and when my Cleveland masters grew to be unreliable, I replaced them with Matcos and ditched the parking brakes. There are times when I wish I still had them though, for hand-propping. My airplane has no electrical system. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Airwortiness sertificate
Stef: PS, if I left my home airport in my airplane and headed east at the same time that you left your airport in the Netherlands in your KR and headed west, we might arrive at Oshkosh at the same time but only because I would probably have a tailwind. Oh, and I would need about 15 fuel stops and 120 gallons of fuel to make the 1,720 mile trip ;o) Your machine will be MUCH more efficient! -Oscar ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Airwortiness sertificate
Stef- best wishes to you and your Dad as you make the fiberglass boat into a real airplane! Did you know that from Rotterdam, you can just take off, climb to altitude, put the compass on about 270 degrees, and fly your KR for about 16 hours and you will see Newfoundland? Take a nap, fly another 8 hours, and pretty soon you will see Oshkosh coming into view ;o) Oscar Zuniga Medford, Oregon Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> I have this green foam board...
Netters; I salvaged a KR2 project that's about 20-25 years old that included all the "KR kit" foam board required to build the airplane. It consists of a stack of boards that are something like 18" wide by maybe 8 ft long and in two thicknesses. Color is sort of greenish and the stuff is somewhat delicate and lightweight. I'm not kidding when I say that you can take a piece of this board and use it to sand down another piece of the board. I have no idea what it is or if it's worth hanging onto. Anybody know what it is? Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Vibration
I have Larry's old Matco tailwheel on my Pietenpol. Before that, I had an old Scott 2000 that was worn out and I too had experienced the nut loosening on the bolt that held the Scott to the tailwheel spring. Same deal, I had the tail of the airplane up one day so I could work under the tail easier and I noticed that the tailwheel was loose on the spring. The old nylock nut had just been reused too many times, and operating off of grass and dirt strips had loosened up the assembly. When I installed the Matco, I went with a drilled bolt with castellated nut. Now, when I preflight the plane, all it takes is a quick glance to see if the cotter pin is still in place through the castellations and the assembly should be nice and tight. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Videos
Mark J wrote- >My wife even told me to stay in the shop and get her finished. ...and I'm sure some builders out there are wondering if your wife has a sister :o) Oscar Zuniga Medford OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> slip skid indicator (ball)
I'm wondering if the fact that Craig's airplane has a Corvair engine might have something to do with the ball being off-center to the left due to the direction that the Corvair rotates compared to Lycs and Continentals. If all/most of your previous flying was behind one of those engines and you hop into something with a Corvair or VW that rotates in the opposite direction, does it take some conscious effort to start using left rudder instead of your right to counteract the yawing tendency due to propeller torque and P-factor or is this a nothing burger? Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Got motre training done yesterday
Craig; don't mind me... I'm just watching the videos and having fun, and it's easy for us in the peanut gallery to toss peanut shells ;o) However, is it just me, or maybe the angle of the camera, or do you have a heavy foot on one side? Almost everywhere and in all flight regimes in the 15 minutes and 5 circuits that you did in the video, the ball in the slip-skid indicator is off to the left. "Step on the ball" with a little left rudder to center it and see what that does. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> KRNet digest - reading HTML posts
This is just for you netters who get the digest and not the individual "live" postings, and who occasionally see posts that seem to be empty but down at the bottom say that an HTML attachment was scrubbed. I think it's just the Digest that strips off the HTML, not the live postings. These days, most of Jeff Scott's posts to the list seem to go into that bucket and it's too bad because they are all worth reading. Jeff is among the high-timers on this list, he's got a gorgeous and high-performing KR, he's attended the vast majority of the KR Gatherings, he's a prolific builder and very active pilot, an A&P, he shares his knowledge freely, and he just has a lot of good sense and airmanship. It's worth your time to hit the link at the bottom of the post where it says the attachment was scrubbed and that will take you to the KRNet private archives site where you can get to the post to read it. It just takes a few seconds to enter your email and password and you're in. For example, Jeff's post in the current Digest on normalizing welds on 4130 was informational and useful. Mark Langford's was just as useful because it pointed out that you may not need to spend much time messing with that process depending on what you're welding, what process you used, and what the conditions were when you did the work, while Jeff's post explained the problems he faced on a weld-up and how he dealt with those. I'm not a welder, so all of this was just another chapter added to my mental book of "I didn't know that!", and that's why I hang out here. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Separating fixed forward deck
Mike wrote- >Thinking of the Piet I can't visualize "runway zooming up" >unless the parasol wing has fallen off." There's a reason that Piets don't need flaps, belly boards, or any of that other stuff to scrub off airspeed on landing or make steep approaches and short landings... they have generous amounts of drag working in their favor ;o) I can throw it into a slip with the stick all the way over into my thigh and the rudder almost to the stop to lose altitude and that will really bring it down, but even just flying it power-off slower than about 42-45 means that most of the parasol wing has all but "fallen off" and the airplane is coming down right now ;o) It's a really fun, simple, and honest airplane to fly though. -Oscar ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Separating a Fixed Forward Deck
Bou; my guess is that once you get the upper deck separated from the airframe and see how everything goes together under there, you'll be making various other improvements and modifications as well. All good, all good, but there is a fine balance between making improvements and doing a complete overhaul (as I'm sure Jeff Scott can attest from his recent fuel tank rebuild experience), but as someone once said, "do it right the first time and you'll only have to do it once". In my case, completely different setup but the one thing I do know is that there are areas up under the fuel tank in the front cockpit of my Piet that I'm not sure I could ever get myself out of if I were to get a muscle cramp while stuffed under there. I've come close to becoming a permanent part of the front cockpit a time or two after pretzeling myself in under there to work on the fuel shutoff valve and rudder pedals and like to have never gotten myself out. A readily-removable access door or panel would really help. Piet builder/pilot Kevin Purtee cut a square hole in the floor of his airplane up between the rudder pedals in the front cockpit and installed a clear Lexan cover over it with screws just for that purpose. Interestingly, it can also be used by the front cockpit passenger to see things under the airplane and watch the runway come zooming up into view on final. Adds that extra dash of exhilaration, and in the case of the KR, looking down through a view panel on landing would probably seem like the plane was about to make a gear-up landing, they sit so close to the pavement ;o) Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Mogas Blues... One last update
Jeff: interesting about the fuel-soaking tests that you've been running. I've been using "EZ Turn Fuellube" on my threaded fuel system fittings rather than any sort of pipe dope or Teflon tape, but then again I've got a gravity fuel system on my Piet... very low pressures in the system. EZ Turn is supposed to be non-hardening and impervious to fuel and oil, resists high temperatures, yadda yadda. I'd be curious to know how it does in your tests, if you happen to have any around the shop. The stuff is a bit messy and will get on anything that it touches, but a little goes a long way so I don't have to mess with it very much. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> canopy
I have a set of original KR retract gear, an original canopy, premolded engine cowlings (for the VW), a rudder, and other original KR2 parts from Rand Robinson. Located in Medford, Oregon... halfway between Portland and San Francisco. Contact me OFFLINE, not to this list, if you are interested in any of these. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Wing Leveler
IIRC, elevator trim tab flutter was what led to the crash of Jimmy Leeward's P-51 "Galloping Ghost" at the 2011 Reno air races. Leeward was killed along with 10 people on the ground, and another 69 people were injured. I have no idea how the P-51's trim tab was actuated. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Info needed to size a prop???
Pete asked- >My engine is a 3.0 liter Corvair that dyno'd at 95 HP at 3100 RPM >what other info do I need to supply to a prop manufacturer. Give them the prop diameter and that will help the prop supplier zero in on the pitch based on the individual prop builder's blade design and recommendations. Prop diameter on KRs is fairly consistent given the required ground clearance and the airframe geometry that sets the thrust line, but there are variations between the original retract versions, the tri-gear, and the KRs with the longer main landing gear legs. When you actually order a prop they will of course need to know that the Corvair turns the opposite of "normal" aircraft engines, and they'll also need to know about the counterbore through the hub for the safety shaft, drive lugs if your prop hub has them, and the bolt pattern. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> tailwheels
Larry wrote- >I'm guessing you run your cables a bit on the loose side >I run tailwheel cables as tight as possible for instant response I run my tailwheel cables snug with no slack. I, too, like more precise response when taxiing >I also don't normally go to the "free swivel" point when pulling >on to the runway for takeoff. I've always been taught to scan the traffic area before pulling out onto the active when I'm not on a controlled field, and kicking it into free swivel to give it a spin is the way to do that. There are other times, such as when maneuvering to a parking space or to the fuel pump, that kicking it into free swivel is useful. Like I say, I've gotten used to it. >I hope the unit is still giving you good service. Oh, absolutely! It's a rugged unit. -Oscar ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> kr2 wheels
Bud; can you be more specific about which mechanical brake wheels you're looking for? Many different types have been used on KRs over the years. I have a set of the wheels and tires that came with the original spring-bar retractable landing gear. Contact me offline at taildr...@hotmail.com if this is what you're looking for. I can send pix. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Engine Rebuild
Before he was a Vairhead, Mark Langford was a VW specialist. There is PLENTY of VW rebuild info on his website at n56ml.com, most recently the overhaul of the VW engine in N891JF, the KR that Mark bought from Jim Faughn. Excellent info, particularly the study of various cylinder heads and CHT control. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> C90 for sale
C90-12 for sale. Major in ‘72. New .020 cam. 50smoh. TT 176.1. Last flown by Tom Aberle in ‘89. Full logs from day one in 1960. Completely disassembled, inspected, cleaned and reassembled. All insides were in great shape. Will install intake tubes and spider. No carb or mags. $5000obo. Great stock cruiser or back up engine. 775-750-5867 . See pictures on Facebook at homebuilt.aircraft.exchange I am not the seller... Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> KR2 project for sale in N. Calif.
For sale is a very original KR2 project in the "rolling boat" stage. Includes several premolded RR parts, RR hardware kit, wing spars and tail surfaces built but not mounted, VW engine mount. The project is located near Trinidad, CA (north of Eureka/Arcata, home of Lost Coast Brewery and the famed Emerald Triangle). The project was started by Christopher Selvage's father, who passed away, and Chris just wants the project to go to a good home where it might continue on its journey to get into the air in his father's memory. Pictures and contact information for Chris are on this page at KRNet.org: http://www.krnet.org/krs/selvage/ Although I took the photos and put up the narrative and contact info for Chris, I don't know much more about the project than what you see on the webpage. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> breakfast flight
Jeff wrote- >I'm very centrally located in the country, which is one of the many reasons >why I moved here. Just checked out your location on the map and I guess I had forgotten my geography. I keep thinking Arkansas is in the south-south, but your location is indeed quite central. Your KR will now be almost like a North Korean ICBM... not much of the US will be beyond its reach ;o) Being from south Texas, I've flown near sea level most of my aviation life. Tell you what, Jeff- once you master the art of flying near sea level, let me know how to master that retirement thing. I'm 66 and retirement seems to be nowhere in sight for me... Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Airfoil and Speeds
IIRC, Roy Marsh's plane, the 'poster child' for the original KR-2S promo literature, used the 23012 airfoil, which some of the Beech and Taylorcraft aircraft have used. Per NACA airfoil nomenclature, that makes it an unreflexed 12% thickness airfoil. I have no information on how Roy's plane performed other than I believe it was the basis for Rand Robinson's claim that the KR-2S was a 180 MPH airplane. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Airfoil and Speeds
Samuel wrote- >has anyone used thinner than 15%. Would thinner mean more speed? I don't know about the speed, but I can tell you that there was a considerable amount of credible and documented (and flight-proven) study and research done to arrive at the AS50xx-series of airfoils that are specifically tailored to the KR2/2S. Although you may get higher speed by tweaking the airfoil to get lower induced drag, you'll be giving up something else in the exchange, either in stall speed/sharpness, higher approach and landing speed as a result, or something else. It sounds like you're already familiar with the development of the AS50xx airfoils, but you may want to revisit the design goals and achievements here- http://www.krnet.org/as504x/ . As to using a thinner wing, I believe one of the objectives of the AS airfoil development was to utilize the stock KR spars so that there would not need to be a whole new structural analysis done and so that the airfoil could be retrofitted to existing KRs without modifying the spars. Bear in mind that the RAF48, the original KR/KR2S airfoil, is a 15% (actually closer to 14.9%, but you get the idea), and that the strength of a spar in bending generally goes as the square of its height (tallness). As an example using numbers that are easy to deal with, let's say that a box beam spar is 5" tall and 1" wide and it's constructed in such a way as to result in its having a section modulus of 4 in^3. If we reduce its height by 1", all else being equal, the section modulus is reduced to 2.56 in^3 or a reduction of 36%... more than a third. Just to continue down this theoretical line, let's say the 15% airfoil spar was designed for Normal category, +3.8G, with a 50% margin of safety (5.7G ultimate). If you reduce that by 36% you now have a spar that is at ultimate loading at just about 3.7G and your margin of safety is gone. You'll want to redesign the shallower spar to try to restore the margin of safety. Disclaimer: the numbers above are simplified, they are not specific to the KR box spar, but I hope I've made the point. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Get it done!
During the repair and rebuild of my Air Camper I maintained a list of things that needed to be done as I encountered them or wanted to add them. It was a long list. Some evenings I would sit at home and review the list and modify it as needed. Then one fine Saturday at the hangar, I had just finished installing the air filter and connecting the engine controls and it dawned on me that there was nothing preventing me from attempting an engine start right then and there. Prop was on, bolts torqued and safetied, plugs cleaned and gapped. I looked everything over again and got excited. Why not?! Aeroshell 50 in the oil filler, fuel in the tank, chocked and tied down, and that day became one of the most memorable days of my life as my own hands prop-started the engine to life on the rebuilt airplane and engine. No, it didn't start on the first couple of blades, but that's OK. That night I took my old list and transferred all the listed items onto a fresh page with two columns instead of just one. The column on the left only listed items that were essential to the safety of flight and airworthiness. The column on the right listed "nice to have" items that the plane could fly without. The airplane made return-to-flight progress MUCH quicker after that! Instead of dreaming about where wiring could run to wingtip strobes or whether to reupholster the passenger's seat, I focused on what was needed to get me and the airplane into the air. I think that's a very useful shortcut to "Get it done!" Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> transporting your airplane
Mark L. wrote- >Given the complexity and the transportation considerations, I wouldn't do it. >Trust me...you'll have to trailer or truck it home from somewhere, sometime, >and I can only hope it's not as far from home as I've had to bring mine home. >Others on this list will agree with that... I sure will agree with that, and sometimes it has nothing to do with an engine-out landing or anything other than simply relocating to somewhere else in the country... only convenience. However, my Pietenpol had to be retrieved after carb ice put it into a rough field dead-stick and a weld broke on the main landing gear. That trip was only a few miles on a trailer, but then on another occasion bringing the airplane 2300 miles from TX to OR was a whole other adventure. Neither of those repositionings would have been as easy with a 1-piece, 28 ft long, 60" chord Air Camper wing instead of with two removable outer wing panels with wing attach fittings at the center sections. The KR wing is smaller, but you get the picture. Details here: last pic, http://www.flysquirrel.net/piets/incident/incident.html , and here: http://www.flysquirrel.net/hangar.jpg after the move to Oregon. Much easier with removable wing panels. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR [http://www.flysquirrel.net/hangar.jpg] ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> KR Spin restraints
Hennie; I don't believe Mike's comments were that it was either safe or recommended to fly a KR (or any aircraft) *outside* the aft CG limit. Rather, I read his comments to be that the plane flies more comfortably -lighter controls, better response- in the aft end of the CG envelope. "Aft CG" does not necessarily mean "aft of the CG limit". I own and fly a draggy, high-wing Pietenpol Air Camper with a 5" CG range, forward-most to aft-most... a little narrower range than the KR, but then again the Air Camper has a constant 60" chord wing, a lot more wing area, and lighter wing loading than a KR. My airplane has a 16 gallon fuel tank up ahead of the passenger, just behind the firewall, and when it's full of fuel the aircraft feels much less responsive and a bit more ponderous, as I have to hold aft stick to keep the plane straight and level for about the first hour or 90 minutes of flight. As fuel burns off, the control forces get more harmonious and the airplane requires less attention to pitch control. With the fuel on the longitudinal axis, roll sensitivity doesn't change much as fuel burns off and neither does rudder authority, but the aircraft becomes more balanced as the CG shifts aft. Perhaps this is what Mike meant... NOT that operating with the CG *outside* the aft end of the envelope was a better experience. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR Air Camper NX41CC A75 power ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> KRnet stickers for sale at the Gathering - KRnet fundraising
Heh... I still have the original sticker that I bought from Mark when he first had them made up. I don't remember who made which first, the stickers or the polo shirts, but back in the day I had a batch of polo shirts made up with the KRNet logo embroidered on them, the same logo as the stickers except without the lettering across the logo. If I remember correctly, the logo was devised by using the KR airplane straight off of the old Rand-Robinson promotional brochures, with the trailing swoop drawn in using a French curve and felt-tip pen, combined with stock artwork of an image of the earth. The tech at the shirt shop cleaned it up and converted it to production-ready artwork that was used to embroider the shirts. All of that happened just about the turn of the century, when Y2K was the big buzz. Good memories. Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
KR> Rotax 582
Mark offered choice no. 1 for dealing with a light engine as "move the engine forward". I think the classic example of this that I've seen over the years is Mike Ladigo's turbine-powered KR 1.5, here: http://www.n56ml.com/97bb.jpg . I have no idea what the firewall-to-prop-flange distance is on the airplane, but it's got to be close to 4 ft. I also have no idea what that engine puts out or what it weighs, but it must weigh less than a VW and put out just a bit more power ;o) Oscar Zuniga Medford, OR ___ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
