Thanks for reminding us of what those numbers are Mark. 178 lbs. for an accessorized 2180 seems ridiculously practical for what these Ken Rand had in mind when he started this whole thing.
I often see references in magazine or blogs that refer to the state of composite construction as having started with Rutan. Easy enough mistake to make. There was a lot going on in those days and I know there were many involved in composite construction at the same time as Ken Rand and the Rutans came along, but somebody needs to be named for first having gotten a living, breathing project off the ground and it was Ken and Jeannete that did that so long ago at Oshkosh - creating quite a sensation there in 1974. More often these days though, instead of Ken and Jeanette I see the composite guru mantle given casually to the Rutans. I've nothing but respect for what Bert and Dick and Joanna Yeager have all done in life. . . their accomplishment with Global Flyer was a lot more difficult, complicated and courageous as what Lindbergh did, IMHO. Ken and his iconic creation seems to get forgotten too often as these millenials/gen-xers or whatever they are write their stories. Most weren't even born in 1974. At least those who visit Oshkosh will find Ken's KR in its proper place of honor (I hope). For the smoothness and extra power I would truly love to have a Corvair with an Ellison instead of my 2180 with an Ellison but I'm not planning any changes . . . just going over the numbers and thinking to myself just how relatively light and yet sufficiently powerful my GP 2180 has proven to be over the years. Truly the ideal engine for the KR as Ken envisioned it. As Lance Neibauer has demonstrated however, there's always room for some KR tweaks that might render some improvements :-). Speaking of Corvairs . . . I'm totally speaking out of turn in mentioning this so I'll not be going into any more details - if the seller is interested in selling the details can be gotten from him. Owner/potential seller has just moved back to the midwest and has his KR-2 sitting in his hangar here at Gillespie gathering dust. It needs to be moved, (I've offered to fly it back for him . . . I'm always up for some "free flying".) but so far all I've gotten is crickets. This person, besides having gone through the trauma of this major move, is also recovering from some knee replacement(s) and since he was not a very active flyer before these changes occurred in his life, he's not likely to become one in the future. Unless he just wants to keep it as a very nice reminder of something that he built - unlikely. It either needs to be sold here at KSEE or sold once it's back in the mid-west. Makes a lot more sense to sell it here. The plane has its airworthiness certificate, has it's N number, has some time in the air that Sparky put on when he did the test flights, has a meticulously built Corvair that (knowing the fact the owner has been an award-winning hot-rodder wrencher his entire life) has been retrofitted with the Dan Wiseman front end. The owner once monitored the KRNET . . . dunno if he still does and if he does he's probably fairly annoyed that I would be bringing this situation up for discussion. It is his place to be doing that, not mine . . . but maybe he's not feeling good these days and has lots of distractions. Maybe he's feeling a bit overwhelmed, or maybe I'm just being "too helpful". Time will tell. Anyway . . . there's a nice, well-built, KR-2S that's going to be needed to be dealt with sometime soon. I've offered to help. Avemco knows me well and I'll be happy to deliver this craft anywhere in the country, when and if that time presents itself. For someone wanting a well-done Corvair and not wanting to go through all the careful work that Mark documents so well at http://www.n56ml.com/corvair/phoenix/ and at the other priceless locations in his documentaries, this engine and aircraft I refer to is worth keeping in the back of ones mind. If no one hears from me for a while it's because I've been murdered. Mike KSEE ____________________________________________________________ Doctor: If You Have Nail Fungus, Do This Immediately (Watch) weeklypenny.com http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5e2a3763c3dcb3763574est02vuc _______________________________________________ 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
