Hi all. I had a great trip to the Gathering this year. You read that I was stuck in Trenton, MO when I made a no-go decision after looking at the weather heading up to Red Oak. I have been portrayed as a conservative pilot and that is a title I like. I enjoyed my time in lovely Trenton and the airport manager was great. I stayed overnight and then back to the airport the next morning to watch the clouds go by. About 2:30 in the afternoon, I had seen the cloud layer stay the same height for quite awhile so I thought it was time to see if I really had a 700 ft ceiling. I did and got out of Trenton and headed to Red Oak. I can't say it stayed that high the entire trip and if I was doing it over, I would have stayed in Trenton. However, I made it under the scud and on to a great Gathering. After arriving and the usual Hi's and initial questions, I unloaded the plane and went flying with Steve Alderman. We went for a few passes in formation and Steve told me he saw something fall off my plane. Since I didn't feel anything I thought it was probably one of the gap seals or part of one. They are made of a very light Mylar and have broken and come off in the past. I made another 200 mph missed approach and then came back around and made a 60 mph pass. I then landed and was looking for the missing gap seal. None were. What happened was I was missing an aileron counterweight. The weight didn't fall off, actually the aluminum L bracket broke at the manufactured corner and the weight with the arm fell off. This was something that you can't inspect because it is buried under the fiberglass. At 6:30 I tapped Mike Garbez and we went to his shop, made a new bracket out of 4130, made new weights, drilled the holes and brought it back to the hanger. I assembled most of it Friday evening and quit at 10:30. Finished it up in about an hour Saturday morning and declared it fit for flight after inspecting everything another 3 times.
Everything worked well so I gave rides to the people that were anticipating their first flight within the next few months. I was very pleased to do this and that is what I enjoy doing. Sorry about not jumping to give rides to those who are thinking about a KR or who are thinking about whether or not to finish one, that just isn't my thing. I have a passion for keeping people alive who are about to fly but I'm just not the factory giving rides for motivation or a new sale. The "new wave" will have to step in for giving rides next year. Anyway, the purpose of the message is to acknowledge that I no longer have a "plans built" KR. I have changed something so Mark, I guess I've come around. PLEASE think very seriously about changing your aluminum balance arms to steel. PLEASE. Take care. Jim Jim Faughn 4323D Laclede Ave. St. Louis, MO 63108 (314)652-7659 Email - sub @ for "at" jfaughn "at" socket.net Web Site http://jfaughn.com
