For those following, I bought a KR2 while over in Afganhistan... I'm on R&R now, and I flew down to FL to get started on making it flyable & set up the way I want...
Pics are posted at http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x198/dcacklam/KR2%20Pics/ (see sub-albums (left side of webpage) for engine & other details) Things I knew before I came down here: The plane came with no avionics. I have radios & a BMA EFIS One (yes, I know, they're out of business, but when it comes to scrounging an EFIS (or primary instruments) that will fit in a KR's panel, and my budget... ) to fix that... Also, the taildragger thing... Working on that too... The plane appears to have been painted with plain old rattlecan acrylic spraypaint (1986 variety)... Said paint is cracked & peeling off all over... So I'll be sanding it off & touching up with an epoxy-based paint.... The right elevator (as viewed from behind the plane) looks good - although I have a question as to weather the red-brown substance (See photo with my hand in it, in the 'elevator' album) chipping off of it is delaminated structure, or just red-brown automotive primer..... The left, OTOH, is a mess - a huge delamination bubble on the lower surface, plastic stuck to the resin & painted over, and the upper surface seems to have had almost no sanding before being painted... There's damage to the rudder from where the prior owner struck part of his trailer trying to load the plane up... Easily fixable though.... With that said, I have some questions for the community: 1) Can anyone help me identify which engine I have - both in CCs and manufacture (HAPI, Revmaster, roll-your-own-VW-conversion from an actual beetle)? All I can tell is that it's a VW-style with a diehl case & slick mag, and the carb is a POSA Supercarb (POSA + Mixture)... 2) The plane used to have a starter, now it has a block off plate... Do I have to buy the starter from Great Plains, or is there an alternate/common-automotive source for a starter that fits the Diehl case? 3) Is polyurethane resin (bondo-brand fiberglass resin) compatible with the adhesives commonly used to build the KR, or should I be thinking more in a boat-supply (eg West System - and if so which one/ones) vs auto-parts direction? I'm intending to fix the (small) glass/foam damage to the rudder using expanding foam & fiberglass cloth, and there are a few delaminations that need to be addressed.... Not having built the plane myself, I'm wondering what the consensus is on repair adhesives (epoxy vs polyurethane vs (something else))... 4) The crosspiece behind the instrument panel, shown in http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x198/dcacklam/KR2%20Pics/FE3B3553-orig.jpg, hits my knees... I assume this is an important part of the 'boat' structure, so it can't just be removed. I am wondering if replacing it with a taller board (and giving up some panel space), with 'arches' cut in it to accommodate a more comfortable flying position, would cause any problems... See http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x198/dcacklam/KR2%20Pics/KneeMod.png for sketch... If you've gotten this far, thanks... I know it's a long post, but it's 1 day worth of looking/planning/etc, then coming back to the computer to write it all up....
