> Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 6:35 PM
> From: "Mike Stirewalt via KRnet" <krnet@list.krnet.org>
> To: krnet@list.krnet.org
> Cc: laser...@juno.com
> Subject: KR> Jeff's KR
>
>
> Jeff said,
>
> "My former KR is now home in Vancouver."
>
> Congratulations on managing this major transition of yours so smoothly
> and successfully - this in addition to the other projects you've been
> successfully handling in recent months. You're an amazing person . . .
> Los Alamos lost quite a treasure.
>
> ********************
I don't know about losing a treasure, but they pay me a lot of money to stay
away. :o)
With regards to transitioning my KR to it's new owner, it's probably worth a
few lines to write up the process.
Every time I have ever bought a plane, I just showed up and flew it home always
figuring I'd learn the plane on the way. That almost brought me to grief a
couple of times as the planes sometimes had some issues I had not found during
the quick pre-purchase inspection.
Although my KR really didn't have any issues, like all planes, it did have its
quirks and oddities. Part of the deal with the new owner was that he wanted 10
hours of dual with me in the plane. With all the weight I have lost in the
last year, the W&B calculations put us at gross weight and right at the back of
the CG range (the 6" recommended range, not the 8" RR range listed in the
plans). In addition to that, the buyer had roughly 350 hrs total time and had
never landed a conventional gear aircraft. We did one demo flight so he could
see the performance of the plane and feel it out a bit, then spent two days
tearing the plane apart and did a spinner to tailwheel full inspection. He
drew an oil sample for oil analysis when I changed the oil and we cut the
filter apart to look for metals. The engine and airframe both checked out
good, and the oil analysis came back with complements and high recommendations
from the folks that did the analysis. Then we got serious about training in
the KR. We flew a total of 8 hours of dual in the KR with me in the left seat
and him learning TW and landings from the right seat with no brakes. I did
sent him out a few times to taxi the plane around to feel out the brakes and do
some fast taxi work once he had the TW steering under control. Following our 8
hours of dual, he went to a flight school for 3 days of intensive Tailwheel
Training with three different instructors in a SuperCub where he got to
practice the techniques he had learned with me, except in slow motion in the
SuperCub. He came back with better TW and landing skills, and ready to apply
his new found knowledge in the KR. I told him if he could land the plane at
gross and the aft end of the CG range, it would be easy once I got out of the
plane. We flew two more hours of dual at a nearby airport with long wide
runways. He showed me three good landings, then asked me to get out and let
him fly it by himself. He did three more greaser landings, then flew me back
home. That turned out to be my last ride in my KR. Over the next week or two,
he flew another 20 hours locally polishing his skills and waiting for better
weather along his route home. Once he felt that he was ready, he headed home
anticipating a couple of days of weather delays. But he also felt that he was
ready to deal with the winds and altitudes in the mountains, which seemed to be
a big concern to him. With all the training and practice up front, his trip
home was fun and uneventful.
My observations during his training was that there is good reason why the
insurance companies have 10 and 25 hour thresholds for dual and training in a
new aircraft before they want to insure it. I could see very marked
improvements in his skills as his training time progressed in the plane. That
training time made a big difference for his safety with the plane. It was my
goal to see that both he and the plane would be safe for the trip home.
-Jeff Scott
Arkansas Ozarks
Check up on my latest projects at <http:jeffsplanes.com>
_______________________________________________
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
