Steve Phillabaum wrote: >>Mark greased it in on only one attempt and the questions came. (What kind >>of plane is that?) YEEEEEEHAAAAAA.<<
Steve's being more than charitable here...the questions were probably more like "what kind of gear is that to stand that kind of punishment"! When I arrived, the winds were high and gusty, but right down the runway. That landing wasn't too bad. But when Steve and I took off, the plane was all over the place, just like the day I broke my prop. I had the landing under control, but landed fast and had throttled back to slow down, but bounced and it started flying again, then dropped again...twice! It was comparable to what I subjected Ron Willett to at the Gathering in front of a crowd of KR pilots....a scary one! You'd think I could do better after 370 KR landings, and most of the time I do. When I got back I did a touch- n-go at MDQ and it was a squeaker, despite the 11/15 wind. A few minutes later I landed at my short/narrow field, but this time it was a 90 degree crosswind. The landing wasn't bad, but I used just about every bit of the runway. I'm going to try to avoid that kind of wind in the future. If the word "gust" is in there, and it's not right down my runway, I'll find something else to do until I get better at this. Steve's project looks great, but then he's been a woodworker for all his life, so that figures. He's got the next generation KR coming along, with AS5048/46 wing, widened fuselage, Corvair engine, Dr. Dean Hinges, aerodynamic elevator balances, and homemade fiberglass gear. It's looking great so far, and I'm looking forward to a ride in it next year... Mark Langford, with 146.3 hours on the KR see homebuilt airplane at http://www.N56ML.com email to N56ML "at" hiwaay.net
