KRnet> Three thank yous

To the kr net for introducing me to all of you, to Mike for suggesting I adapt a Subaru starter to my hapi engine and to Oscar for helping me balance my prop. I flew 81JM today and she's a joy to start & fly -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet

KRnet> Landing without power

Being a glider pilot, and a pessimist, I always land without power...going to idle at 700 ', turning base and final by feel. I got pretty good at it years ago. Now days I am finding it increasingly difficult to get stopped in the 2600' available. Probably getting old and cautious, unwilling to slow

KRnet> Eclipse

Thanks to the several of you for your offers of hospitality. A total eclipse is special! Anything less than total...not so much. If you can get to the zone of totality, please do, for the most remarkable three minutes of your life. Climb in a KR and see it from above. Gary Sack 81JM -- KRnet ma

KRnet> Inappropriate request?

My wife, son, & I will be driving ( 3 won't fit in a KR ) from northern California to the eclipse in Texas from April first through the fifteenth. Would any KR folk along the way trade dinner for a place to park a car & pitch a tent? Of course I would admire your airplane also. The reverse of this

Re: KRnet> Glide range

My interest is in gliders: minimum sink occurs just above stall. Longest glide is just above that. Years ago I took 82JM up high and shut the engine off. I generated a polar diagram which was published in the old KR newsletter. The two memorable things were best glide of 10 to 1 at about 80 mph

Re: KRnet> Help with Fuel shut-off placement.

On 81 jm, the valve was above my knees. Out of sight and unreachable.i replaced the valve handle with 18" of aluminum bar stock bent slightly to conform to the underside of the tank/ instrument panel. Works perfectly. I easily swing it all the way from the left (by the throttle) to the right. Prett

Re: KRnet> Canopy failure question

81JM has had cheap suitcase latches, like these but not as good, and a side hinged canopy for thirty years. Never a problem except when I forgot to latch. The canopy lifted a few inches at beginning of takeoff roll. I aborted, latched the canopy, and resumed takeoff. Most remarkably, my passenger w

Re: KRnet> Winglets

Thanks to all for your responses. I am awed by the quality of Stef's workmanship. Guess I will stick with my existing Hoerner tips as it appears I won't do much better. On Thu, Nov 24, 2022, 9:59 AM Stef den Boer via KRnet wrote: > Hi all, > I made my wintips with a 45 Degree instead the 90 deg

KRnet> Winglets

How about a new subject, or perhaps an old one revisited. I have always felt 81JM is span limited (though she sure fits into a crowded hanger nicely). Has anyone put winglets on a KR? Did it improve efficiency or low speed performance? Do they have to be "just right" or will flat plates help? How

KRnet> Bad landings

Ivan and I call it the "Hollywood syndrome". Any time we do something difficult (and this applies to timber falling as well as airplanes) if there is someone standing around with a movie camera...something is bound to go wrong. Gary Sack -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krn

KRnet> Operating handbook

When I checked out in 81JM I was told: Pattern at 80, over the fence at 60. This is my operating handbook and has served me well for years. -- KRnet mailing list KRnet@list.krnet.org https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet

Re: KRnet> (no subject)

I too have bicycle cable brakes on retractable gear. Workable, but never great. Putting on the expensive drums (research the KR newsletter) helped some, and replacing the bicycle brake cables with motorcycle cables would help a lot. Cable brakes are light, cheap, reliable, never need to be bled,

KRnet> Aft CG

Colin Hale sounds like the real deal. If he's written a book, it's next on my read list. When I read "When I left Alaska for Russia, laden with 220 litres of fuel on board, or 55 US gallons. I could hardly lift the tail wheel off the floor and knew already, without scales or maths or charts, t

Re: KRnet> First landing in a KR

The tail just seems to come up naturally. Then a conscious effort causes her to lift off & fly. (Solo - been so long since I've had a passenger that I don't remember) On Tue, Jul 19, 2022, 6:38 AM Flesner via KRnet wrote: > On 7/19/2022 1:57 AM, MS wrote: > > > > "As should be known, a KR is mis

KRnet> First landing in a KR

After getting my license in C172's, I bought a Stinson 108-1 which I never really mastered before trading it for 80 acres of swamp in northern Minnesota (forty years later I sold the swamp for enough to cover my daughter's education). What I really wanted was a KRII. I located one in Fort Myers Flo

Re: KRnet> WB some real numbers.

Two comments: first, my thanks to Larry for moderating such a well mannered, interesting useful forum. Second, a KR becomes unpleasant to the point of unflyable at aft CG. Don't try it. For a first flight, do it by the numbers. After that, maybe by feel, but be very careful the first time you carry

Re: KRnet> (no subject)

t, in plain sight and easy reach. I still have twenty gallons of gas in my lap. On Thu, Jul 7, 2022, 6:01 AM Flesner via KRnet wrote: > On 7/7/2022 2:27 AM, Gary Sack via KRnet wrote: > > At least on 81JM, it is slightly complicated. There is a handle > > directly attached to the lan

Re: KRnet> (no subject)

At least on 81JM, it is slightly complicated. There is a handle directly attached to the landing gear spring bar, but atop it is a bar that must first be rotated to pull the locking pins out of the hinge lock holes. Then it is pushed down as far as the arm can reach and caught with the toe of your

Re: KRnet> Sterba Prop Updates

A small Sterba aside: when I bought 81 JM thirty years ago, the man selling her said "The prop is in the style of Ed Sterba". When I asked if that was good, he replied that Ed makes the very best props, that he thought it was a Sterba, but couldn't prove it. I now know why. This prop has run bette

Re: KRnet> Revmaster 2300

Thanks to all the KR folk for giving me so many good options. On Tue, May 31, 2022, 10:52 AM svd via KRnet wrote: > where in nor cal? > > eaa 1541 (lincoln) has a dynamic balancer and does it for a contribution > ofsomething like$100 > > > On May 31, 2022, at 12:06 AM

Re: KRnet> Revmaster 2300

Help! Yes, my prop is dynamically unbalanced and blindly sanding at guessed at locations has helped somewhat. I now know I need a $1500 Dynavibe balancer, which is a quarter what I paid for N81JM. Can these be rented? Does anyone in Northern California have one? Any suggestions? On Thu, May 26, 20

Re: KRnet> I chimed in..

The surest way to make a great airplane not-so-great is to make everything "one size bigger" (including the pilot) I would like to see a better way to make terminals. I solder mine. On Sun, Mar 13, 2022, 6:45 PM John Gotschall via KRnet wrote: > > About wire. > > A great video about things go

Re: KR> Stability and landings.

81JM is conventional retract, original (poor) drums, & cable brakes I have always flown off a 2800 strip and try not to use the brakes at all...they last longer that way. -- Sent from my Alcatel A405DL KRnet wrote: > I am not sure but I believe that mine is also a original KR 2 I am new to > t

Re: KR> Auto Pilot comment

what auto pilot did you use? -- Sent from my Alcatel A405DL KRnet wrote: > Just need to make one comment on this about auto pilot in a KR. > > I had one in my KR2, and definitely could have filled out my log book while > on AP. > > > Daniel R. Heath - Lexington, SC > > -Original Message

Re: KR> Tail feathers

maybe I have some input. At one time I owned two KR's. one a stock original retractable and the other a pretty turbocharged fixed gear KRIIS. Both handled about the same. Didn't need both. I have never regretted keeping funky old 81JM. Ken got it right the first time.-- Sent from my Alcatel A40

Re: KR> belly boards

years ago when I had 81JM upsidedown I used carbon and resin to connect the flaps under the airplane making a belly board and stiffer flaps. can't say it did much good, though it never caused any problems. Easy to do and still there..

Re: KR> Tricycles drive better. Tailwheels fly better.

As far as flying, I have been told on many occasions that you don't know the difference once the wheels leave the ground. I believe that. So, why would one fly better than the other? because the airplane doesn't have to drag a big stick with a round thing attached to it through the propwash and

Re: KR> PNW Mini FlyIn #2

Tricycles drive better. Tailwheels fly better. Gary Sack, 81JM, A retractable tailwheel On Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 11:55 PM Mike Stirewalt via KRnet < krnet@list.krnet.org> wrote: > Sam said, > > > "Moral of the story... Fly a tri-gear." > > I don't know if flying a tri-gear is the mora

Re: KR> CG tolerance

81JM is a joy to fly at forward CG and a miserable thing at aft CG. I haven't taken up passengers in a very long while for this reason. I once turned controls over to a CFI during a biannual and quickly took them back: "If I can safely get this thing back on the ground, will you pass me?" I d

Re: KR> Condition Inspection

I too would like such a checklist. Gary...81 JM On Sun, Aug 2, 2020, 10:08 Pete Klapp via KRnet wrote: > Netters > I’m hopeful that someone has a KR specific condition inspection checklist > that they can send me. I had one, I think came from Rob Schmitt but I can’t > find it. I’m meeting with

Re: KR> cht / egt instrument

Years ago I put a egt probe in each exhaust going to a four position switch and an egt in the panel. I doubt if I spent $100 and it has worked for years On Sat, Jul 25, 2020, 18:02 Flesner via KRnet wrote: > > After 15 years and 725+ hours on my KR I'd like to install a 4 cylinder > EGT and CHT

Re: KR> Instrument Panels - "circle cutter" links enclosed

Hole saws are the way to go. Good ones will cut through even thick steel. We use them for any hole over half inch in any material. On Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 08:30 Mark Langford via KRnet wrote: > Larry Flesner wrote: > > > I used what I think is called a "fly cutter" but man, that > > thing can d

Re: KR> Electric_Technical Report Idea

Sam; I'd like a copy sent to garys...@gmail.com On Sun, Jun 14, 2020, 23:57 Samuel Spanovich via KRnet wrote: > As some of you probably know by now, I love geeking out and researching > many things KR related (although sometimes I feel I can’t make “actual” > repairs and modifications to save my

Re: KR> Electric

I will go one further and offer 81JM as a test bed to anyone who can put together a credible plan to electrify her. She is currently flying with all basic instruments working. On Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 11:36 Mike Stirewalt via KRnet wrote: > > Someone in the initial thinking/designing phase of a KR

Re: KR> Cross country route

I bought 81 JM in Tampa and flew long legs (I was avoiding landings). Tampa to New Orleans...to someplace in Texas...to Winslow AZ...to San Carlos CA. Over a period of three days. Worked out pretty well. No high country or bad weather. Enjoyed the AZ meteor crater but missed the Sierras and Grand C

Re: KR> Two questions

Sounds like I need to move to Snomoish WA and join EAA chapter 84. James certainly answered my questions. Does anyone have details on what the tabs would look like? I suppose one on the elevator (I already have a little electric trim tab) and one on an aileron. I have always wanted an autopilot

KR> Two questions

I've enjoyed the comments concerning the autopilot. My question is: could the servos drive springs attached to the control cables. This has been done in aircraft for pitch trim and works pretty well. Seems simpler and more aerodynamic than trim tabs that work opposite of the desired result. Either

Re: KR> Glide Ratio

It didn't much matter, probably about pattern altitude, as I enjoyed flying quietly. My airstrip is long, wide, and totally unused. I always fly every pattern at idle, because the only landing that I will ever have to get right will be dead stick...might as well practice for it. It is worth knowing

Re: KR> Glide Ratio

years ago, I took to climbing 81 JM to 12,000 ft and shutting the engine off (being a frustrated glider pilot) and found a glide ratio of about 10 to 1 when the prop was vertical. Oddly, it was only 8 to 1 if the prop was horizontal. I made a fairly careful study and drew up a polar which was prin

Re: KR> cover material

I put an inch of dunnage over the canopy, stretched poly over that, and fiberglassed over the polyvinyl contacting only the fuselage away from the canopy. When the glass cured, I removed the dunnage and glued in felt. This made a perfect water tight canopy cover that will never scratch the glass.

Re: KR> awkward question

I have long amazed my self at how cheap flying a KR is. I pay $75 a month for a hanger, $3.00 a gallon for regular car gas, and do all my own maintenance. She burns about 3 gallons an hour. I try to go to the airport once a week, open the doors, pull her cover off, fly out over the farm, shoot t

Re: KR> airport selection.

My preference would be anyplace reasonably wide with a clear approach, clear departure, and somewhere to go in emergency for the first mile. I have a red Mark on my altimeter at 500 feet and always note it in climb out. You CAN'T go back till then. I also fly all my approaches without any power. Ju

Re: KR> KR Gathering.

I'm one of those guys. That's a long way to go, but one of these days. Regards from California. Gary - 81 JM On Tue, Feb 19, 2019, 8:03 PM John Bouyea via KRnet Mike, > What a great appeal to the email list members! Thank you for extending your > sincere invitation. I know others who attend the G

Re: KR> In ear headset.

I use a pair of yellow EAR plugs. They cost twenty cents and use no batteries. I threw the radio out years ago. Saves weight, power, and aggravation. Best thing I've ever done. On Wed, Feb 13, 2019, 10:18 AM Stef den Boer via KRnet Hi, > > I hope someone off you is using the new type in ear he

Re: KR> Tail Wheel Springs (but aluminium)

Don't know if I have anything to add. N81JM has always had a pair of short thin steel springs ending in an aluminum wheel bracket. Originally she had a hard rubber wheel that soon wore out. After several tries, I settled on a skateboard wheel which lasts about a decade (I'm on my third). This steer

Re: KR> Epoxy clean up.

Vinegar also cleans epoxy amazingly well. On Thu, Feb 7, 2019, 10:36 AM Mark Jones via KRnet I have found that rubbing alcohol will clean up epoxy from hands, floor, > table top or anything else with ease of just a wipe or two. Of course the > epoxy has to be uncured. It will not affect dried ep

Re: KR> Airfoil vs brakes

Sounds like Richard and I are on the same page. My 81 JM is also an original retractable light KR II. My instructions when I bought her 30 years ago was to fly the pattern at 80, over the fence at 60, touching down something below that. Works for me. Although I've tried three point landings, they d

Re: KR> Fixed lending gear.

How high have I pushed my gross weight? My KR ll is a joy to fly when light...unpleasant towards dangerous when overloaded which makes smooth landings more difficult. I did once fold up the gear. It was the end of a long day, I had my wife, camping gear, quite a lot of fuel and after bouncing my la

Re: KR> Fixed lending gear.

Yes, more reliable! I doubt if fixed gear with fairings is much lighter than the spring bar, and if fixed is faster, why do so many fast planes use retractable...beginning with the DC3. There must be people out there who have made the change...how about it, was your finished airplane lighter? Faste

Re: KR> Diehl Landing Gear : Where to Obtain.

I still like my retractable gear. Why are people going to the considerable effort to replace it with fixed gear? What is the performance before and after? Has anyone ever really tried to seal up the retractable wheel wells (I have to some extent) it should make a big performance improvement. On Su

Re: KR> Mogas Blues... One last update

Not too quiet. After not going to the airport in some time, my battery was down so I prop started my KRII. Of course I tied the tail, but this time it was easiest to tie it to the trailer hitch on the Subaru. WARNING! Don't do this. When she came to life, her tail lifted and ground down my pretty w

Re: KR> HAPI 1835 Questions

I have flown the HAPI engine for many years and found it to be very reliable. My problems have been with modifications. Interesting to know that I am only getting 50 horsepower. That makes the KR II design even more special. One thing I have always wondered about...when the engine is warm, it

Re: KR> Mailings

Yes, I was the last owner of Roy's plane. I bought it damaged at the request of a friend, fixed it, flew it, and sold it to him. I bought it back from his widow when he died of cancer. I preferred my funky old 81 JM and sold RM to a fellow named Rudy in New Zeeland. The rest of the story will be

Re: KR> KR's for sale

I did join because of your mailing. Didn't know KRnet existed before. Other than RM, which I owned for a while, I have never seen another KR. Living in Northern California, the gathering is a long ways away. Probably would have done it when I was younger and had more time. I Still feel the KR ll is

Re: KR> Mogas blues... Update

I had the same problem with my KR II built in 1981 of unknown materials. Went to the airport one day to find the fuel had drained through the cockpit. I cut the top off, made a cardboard template, and had my son weld up an aluminum tank to fit the space. I lost a couple of gallons capacity: I had 2

Re: KR> Prompt response!

very light. My KR2 is a 2064cc turbo, streached and > weighs 600 lbs empty. That is still very light compaired to todays corvair > powered fixed gear streached KRs. > Hopefully someone else can help with the CFI question. > Happy flying > > On Tue, Sep 25, 2018, 1:35 AM Gary Sack via

KR> Prompt response!

Thanks to Richard for the starter info. Two more questions... Is there a good quality brake drum to replace the cheap pressed sheet metal ones stock on KR retractable wheels. Is there a CFI willing to work with my son, either in his KR, or in mine. If in mine, he ought to be fairly light as I

KR> New, old member

Hi all, I am Gary Sack and have flown N81JM a retractable KR II for thirty years. I used to correspond when the KR newsletter was on paper...I'm not much of a computer person. My question is...does anyone know what starter will fit on HAPI 1834 case? Ideally, a modern geared starter? One c

Re: KR> Heat shielding the cowl

I wrapped my entire exhaust system in fiberglass cloth, saturating it with silicone instead of epoxy. This has worked well for many years to lessen the heat in the lower cowl. Ordinary household silicone can take a lot of heat. Use the high temp stuff if you like. On Jul 24, 2018 5:56 AM, "Teate,