If more KR Planes would show up at major fly-ins the popularity would grow I really like to see this post every now and then, because it gives me the opportunity to vent my frustration at the selection date for the KR gathering each year. The last gathering that I attended was in september, similar to the date for the upcomming gathering. After all the drivers departed for home, we, the KR flyers who attended, were stuck, weathered in, sitting in a valley in Ky not able to go home til Tuesday. Some may view the following as excuses, but here goes. 1. If you have a job or something ealse to do, you can't take the chance on encountering the kind of weather where you can't get home. 2. Equally as bad is making an adventurous skud run under low cloud cover to get home. 3. In late September encountering a temp/dew point spread of less then 3, where the temp at altitude is in the 30 something range, is an invitation for carb ice, which most KR are ill equipted to handle. The voters who are attendees at the current event, for the most part are not KR flyers. (I assume this because very few KR's show at the gatherings.} A lot of the attendees are still impressed with, or still feel the must do urge to go to Mecca (Oshkosh). They are not about to set the gathering date near to that other date because of the conflict with the big event and, or not being able to get two quick succession kitchen passes, or the money won't allow two such event during the heat of summer. As much as I have enjoyed Oshkosh, the scope of the event so overshodows our little KR that if being with and learning more about the KR is your goal, there should be no question as to which event you should attend. A lot of the KR owners that I talk to have been to Oshkosh enough that the novelty has worn off. Most would rather spent quality time with other KR builders and flyers. The vendors and suppliers within our group are partially driven by money and need to attend both. Personally if I had to choose only one event to attend for the summer, and the gathering was only one of two choises, it would win. Here are a few suggestions: 1. Perhaps the privelege to vote should be should be given to the flyers only 2. Future gathering dates could be linited to between 15 June and 30 August 3. Setup an online survey of all KR owners and those within a few months of the first flight and see when they want to have a gathering.
I invite both comments and crtizism. I feel this is a subject that need discussion. Orma L. Robbins Southfield MI 19 Years flying KR-2 N110LR http://www.aviation-mechanics.com .
