? ? Joe Nunley wrote:
> Do I need my speed brake installed before my first flight? I have a mechanical speed brake ready to install but I am ready to fly. My thought was fly sooner, keep it simple with no additional items to effect the first flight. I live on a 3000 foot grass strip. I flew my KR 500 hours before I added the flaps, and have flown it another 650 hours since. As previously mentioned, it loves to float in ground effect, so some deployable drag is a good thing; especially when trying to squeeze into a limited field. I poo-pooed the need for flaps for a long time, but once I added them to the plane, I never land without them except for training purposes. The forward vision is significantly improved on the approach, the approach angle is better controlled, and the time transitioning from flying to rolling is significantly shorter. Those improved flight characteristics allowed me to expand the crosswind and tailwind capabilities of the plane, so the utility of the aircraft was significantly improved, and I now fly on a lot of days when I wouldn't fly before adding the flaps. -Jeff Scott Los Alamos, NM
