I second everything Mark said about the handling characteristics. My standard length KR is a good flying airplane, but by any conventional standard lacks sufficient stick force at 1.3 lbs/g and easily demonstrates neutral to slightly unstable dynamic pitch stability. I added an elevator bobweight assembly to add nose down stick force and artificially increase apparent stability and damping. This brought stick force to 3.1 lbs/g and improved dynamic stability which has made it a more enjoyable airplane to fly.
Adam Deem KR2, 3.0 Corvair powered On Thu, Aug 28, 2025 at 8:21 AM Mark Langford <[email protected]> wrote: > Jim Faughn's KR2 is about as "per plans" as they get, and once you get the > hang of it, it's almost a "hands off" airplane. When I first bought it, > releasing the stick was a death sentence....it headed straight to the > ground while taking a hard left in the process! I thought I was going to > die on takeoff the first time I flew it, which was on my way home after I > bought it from Steve Bennett, because the runway was so incredibly crappy, > but that wasn't the plane's fault. When I got some altitude I started > feeling it out to figure out what it needed, which is when I discovered > this was an airplane that needed 100% attention to fly! > > I'm saying this not to say that the KR2 is inherently unstable (although > it certainly can be), but that it does take some getting used to, and some > small tweaks. My first order of business was to add trim tabs to elevator > and an aileron. Just a thin piece of bent aluminum held on with two #4 > screws each. I started out with some really good tape, tried various > angles and locations, within a week or two, it was a "hands off" airplane. > It still is to this day. "Sensitive" yes, but there's no porpoising, left > or right turning tendency, none of that. Of course even a small amount of > stuff in the "way back" behind the seat can lead to a very exciting flight, > so you have to keep that in mind too. > > See http://www.n56ml.com/n891jf/ for a lot more on Jim Faughn's KR2, and > modifications I've made over the years to make it a pretty sweet flying > plane, and as about an economical plane as there is to build and fly. I'd > hoped to fly N891JF to the Gathering this year, but have been bogged down > in other stuff that has slowed my progress on rebuilding the exhaust > system. Instead, I'll be flying an RV-7, which was my wife's idea, so she > can fit comfortably.....and because it has a "store bought engine" rather > than a VW or a Corvair. It's a fine airplane, but it burns more than twice > the fuel as the KR does, and isn't any faster. > > As for stick length, N891JF has fairly short sticks, and they work fine > for me. That's probably a preference thing, and is easily altered once you > figure out what you like. And yes, "moving the stick" is more like > "exerting slight pressure on it" to persuade a slight change in direction > or altitude, but you'll quickly get used to it, assuming the survive the > takeoff! Moral of the story is "kid gloves".....only move it slightly, and > you'll get better used to it shortly. > > Also, you absolutely MUST do a careful weight and balance on the plane > (with and without pilot and baggage) before it's flown. Not doing that is > asking for an early grave, maybe off the end of the runway..... > > Mark [email protected]http://www.n56ml.com > Huntsville, AL > > On 8/27/2025 10:25 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > Make your control stick as long as you can, without pinching your thumb > under the instrument panel, when keying the mike button, if it is on top of > the stick as mine is. My flight instructor flew my original length KR, and > said it flew like a mini fighter, Very responsive. He did not consider it > too pitch sensitive.. > > > > thx > > jg > > > > -- > KRnet mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet >
-- KRnet mailing list [email protected] https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
