> "What are your crosswind limits?I always have crosswinds at my airport."
I suppose there is some unusual conditions, like cyclones and tornadoes coming through, that would make it impossible to put it on the ground, but Pueblo, CO can be counted on to help you find your limits if you don't already know what they are. Jeff Scott may know of an even better place for wind fighting . . . and it is a fight. There's nothing gentle or graceful in dealing with this kind of stuff. Being nice will get you wrapped around the beacon tower. There's no "going with the flow" type of nonsense. Colorado Front Range winds will pick you up and throw you to New Mexico if you happen to be taking things for granted that day. The good news is with an engine with quick response (like with a nice Ellison carb) and control surfaces with full travel, there's not anything except a cyclone that you can't beat with a KR. Since I've had the fixed-gear KR these last eleven years, I operate without regard to wind . . . other than I never let it get behind me on the ground. The retractable plans-built is severely limited by how low one can drop the wing, but going to fixed gear solved that problem. Ken Rand and Stu were wise to give us plenty of rudder since if you're not going to worry about crosswinds, you're going to sometimes have to use every bit of aileron and rudder we've got. With my (Ken Cottle's) KR, I've never come across anything this plane can't handle. A bigger problem than getting it on the runway is keeping it there. Letting the wind get behind you on the ground can be disaster if full forward down elevator can't stop the tail from coming up. I've had to walk the plane backwards, nose into the wind, to get to the ramp. That happened in Hesperia, CA. There's been other places I should have but didn't . . . & got away with it but knew better. It's very doable, operating in those conditions, it just takes complete concentration and not doing something dumb. Our light little KR's can turn into a kite really quickly. Also, (sorry old timers for sounding preachy) it's extremely necessary to be careful with the canopy (for sure if side mounted. With other mounts probably not as vulnerable) in such conditions. A careless moment and the wind will rip it right off the plane in the blink of an eye. Exiting the cockpit in such conditions requires strategic thinking. Heard tell of a fellow in Wyoming who was trapped in his KR for over 12 hours. Finally, around midnight, the wind died down enough for him to slither out of the cockpit and quickly lock it closed. Could just be a tall tale but I can easily imagine an hour or more. Mike Stirewalt KSEE ____________________________________________________________ If You Have Constipation, Bloating, And Fatigue, Watch This Gut Health Research http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/593ddae67f3be5ae66575st04vuc _______________________________________________ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org
