> You're talking a purpose built airplane. Yep. I figured if this thought is rolling around my head, I should answer some fundamental questions before I start building.
I weigh just over 140, so I save some weight there. I could cut more weight in the wings by using CF, and maybe 30 lbs in the nose by substituting an Aeromomentum AM13 for my Azalea Corvair. I really appreciate your Marty Roberts story; I'd figured on redundancy but it sounds like I'd better plan around that potential issue from the beginning. Griff, I apologize if I've hijacked your question. I had hoped my pipe dream would help us both. Dave Klingler On Mon, Jan 9, 2023 at 3:12 PM Flesner via KRnet <krnet@list.krnet.org> wrote: > On 1/9/2023 2:05 PM, Dave Klingler via KRnet wrote: > > My long-term pipe dream is to attempt to follow Colin Hales' example. > > Does anyone have opinions about the maximum fuel capacity a KR-2S > > could handle if built for that mission? > > > > Dave Klingler > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > Dave, > > You're talking a purpose built airplane. It won't be the weight but the > distribution of fuel that will be the limiting factor. My KR is 760 > pounds empty (20 years ago), 0-200 / 100 hp licensed at 1350 gross. I > once made a trip to Oshkosh with passenger and all necessities (cloths, > laptops, cameras, etc) , probably 23 gallon of fuel and the airplane > handled it well although a bit tail heavy and my wings are 8 inches > shorter than stock. I never put it on scales but we had to be 1300 > pounds at least. The design G rating at that weight is still 4+ G's. > Even if your KR weighs 800 pounds and you weigh 200 pounds that would > still give you a fuel load of 50 gallons. At 6 gallon per hour fuel > burn and a 30 minute reserve and a 150 mph ground speed you'd have 1175 > miles between fuel stops. Lighter airplane, lighter pilot would give > even more range. It is simply a factor of math and how to maintain > proper CG burning off that much weight during the flight. Your fuel > could be located well off the CG if burned off evenly with a plan but > what happens in case of a component failure like a fuel pump. Marty > Roberts had that problem on a flight to one of the KR Gatherings years > ago. He had wing tanks that pumped to the header tank. His wing tank > pump(s) quit and as he continued to burn from the header tank the > airplane was getting more and more tail heavy. His anxiety level was > quite elevated by the time he landed. > > Many airplanes have been designed to do many different things and do > them well and your plan is certainly within reason. You simply need to > know all the limiting factors and have a plan to handle them safely. I > keep hearing "the worlds is getting smaller" so maybe if you wait a bit > your goal may be reached much easier. 😁 > > Good luck....... > > Larry Flesner > > -- > KRnet mailing list > KRnet@list.krnet.org > https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet >
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