First, for more information on this subject, than you will ever want to have search the archives.
I have relayed this story several times, so you will see it there. My first KR, the Little Beast, started off with retracts. I never made it past the taxi testing, because, as was found out later, the person who started the plane, had used KR1 gear legs on the KR2, and they snapped right in the middle. So, I bought real KR2 gear legs and put her all back together. The next time, I was landing, and the bolt that was holding the safety catch, bent and the gear collapsed again. Well, being the stubborn sort of person that I am, I put it all back together again, only to have the aluminum that the catch hooked on to, to rip out and it collapsed again. Well, I might be stubborn, but I ain't stupid, well, not REAL stupid, so I found a "Grove" type gear and installed it, and never had another problem. When I started on this KR, it was a Retract, and the first thing I said to the person that I was in partnership with at the time, was that there was no way that gear would stay on the plane, if I were to finish it. This time, the Diehl gear was installed, and I love it. Taking the old gear out is fairly simple and is easier if you turn the plane upside down as shown here: http://krbuilder.org/BrakesAndGear/index.html I wish I had documented this better, but I did not have a digital camera at the time. First KR: http://krbuilder.org/beast/beast.htm The Grove gear conversion is, by far, the easiest of the two. It can be gun drilled" to make a neat installation for your brake lines, and you always have access to all the attach points, which you don't with the Diehl. However, it is more expensive and heavier. Between the two, I think I like the final result of the Diehl gear conversion better. So it is really a matter of how much money and time do you want to spend and are you willing to have a little weight penalty. The question that it is NOT, is: "should I convert?" Just look at the KR Gathering photos at: http://www.krgathering.org/ How many do you see with the retract gear? That should give you a clue. See N64KR at http://KRBuilder.org - Then click on the pics See you at the 2007 - KR Gathering There is a time for building and a time for FLYING and the time for Flying has begun. Daniel R. Heath - Lexington, SC -------Original Message------- can someone please give me some info regarding, retractible configuration. how sturdy is that landing gear???. I am just wondering if it's a forgivin on hard landings and the possibility of callapse. if I decide to turn it into fixed gear, how difficult is it to do ??? do you recommend the change ??
