At 09:38 PM 5/24/2006, you wrote: >but I do believe the KR taildragger is pretty easy, personally. >Mark Langford ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When I made the first flight of my KR I had a total of 13 hours of tailwheel time. While I wouldn't necessarily suggest this as the way to go, it worked for me. I had gotten comfortable with the ground handling through tail up to tail down on the high speed taxi and wasn't concerned about the takeoff. Once airborne, however, my biggest fear was the actual touch down on landing as I knew it would be at a higher speed than my taxi test. This "fear of the touchdown" caused me to flare a bit high and then I tried to keep holding it off the runway until the tail wheel touched first and slapped the mains down from 10 to 12 inches off the runway. It got exciting for a few seconds but the KR responded to control inputs and rolled out straight. After taxiing back to the ramp and releasing my pucker hold on the seat, the YEEE HAAA yell was born. Not all landings since then have be squeakers but I have found the (my) KR to be one of sweetest landing airplanes I've flown. After 200+ hours I no longer consciously think that I'm flying a tail dragger. Keep the nose pointed in the direction of travel, kill any drift, and perfect the Yeee Haaa yell. :-) Larry Flesner
