Joseph, Hello. I am sure you have received a ton of replies from well wishers. I want to add my two cents also.
I am an older pilot (65) with about 400 hours in Cessna type airplanes. I am building a KR-2 for my very own, and I love this little plane. There are two reasons, well probably more than two, but I want a fast cross country plane to make visiting my family easier, and the KR-2 and KR-2S are about the very lowest cost to build/own of anything out there. Cost, for me is a huge factor, as I really don't have any money. There have been recent articles on owning airplanes in many of the aviation magazines (Sport Aviation, AOPA Pilot, Flying, Kit Planes, etc.) and of some importance is the running cost. This includes hangar space, annual inspections, insurance, cost of operation, and maintenance. As a single item, if by chance, you should buy a factory built airplane, and the engine should go bad, you could face a repair bill way up in the thousands. Buying a replacement engine, brand new could easily run $50,000. I should think that it would be most difficult for you to truly know the extent of what you would use this home built airplane for, that you are considering. If you could be sure that you were only going to use it for week-end sky hops around your own airport, you could select a slow, simple (no gear retract, no turbo, no IFR instruments, etc.) airplane. The Pietenpohl Air Camper comes to mind. Again, a lovely small airplane, excellent for home shop construction. If you are into metal, a Zodiac, or Van's RV-8 would be excellent, but somewhat more expensive. To me, a lot of the cost is in the engine. When you are going to have to put in a Lycoming or Continental engine, the cost really goes up. I am going to use a Chevrolet Corvair motor, through the guidance of William Wynne, The Corvair Authority, and my engine cost will be 1/10 of that otherwise burdening me. The things to know about the KR-2 are: it is small. If you are 6'7" and weigh 280 lbs, you won't be able to carry a passenger, and you might have trouble cramming yourself into the cockpit. It is plans built, though you can buy some formed parts from Rand Robinson, like turtle deck, cowling and wing skins. These are excellent parts, and they will speed your construction a lot, though you could build these pieces cheaper, if you want to. There are several variations on power currently being used, VW being the original offering from Rand Robinson. It is the engine Ken Rand first used (so far as I know) in his original design of the KR. And I guess, the most obvious thing is that the plane is what is called composite The fuselage is primarily wood, with wood spars for the wings, and foam and glass everywhere else. Best wishes on your choice. Richard Alps . ----- Original Message ----- From: joseph Sent: Friday, June 17, 2005 11:39 PM To: kr...@mylist.net Subject: KR> Where to Start? Hello all. I'm new to the KR world, and find all of the information very helpful. I do however have a question that I am hoping someone could help me with. I want to build a plane because I enjoy all aspects of building ANYTHING. Here in lies the question I have never flown a day in my life, and would of course take lessons, would this be a good plane to own as a first for a novice pilot? I do understand that building this plane is not an overnight thing so I would have time to hone my flying skills. Any advice you may have to offer would be very helpful. Thanks again for all of the great information. _______________________________________ Search the KRnet Archives at http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html
