What happened to the rearward retracting landing gear? I remember seeing them after they first started to show up at fly-in's with that gear, and I did notice the ones with that sat really low to the ground. I guess to lengthen the gear legs with that setup would put the wheels too far aft into the wing when retracted.
Thanks for your presentation and the information about the pitch sensitivity being better than the KR2. The KR2 is a hell of a strong plane . It is a joy to fly. Its absolute fun and quick handling . Im sure the VNE is basically limited by unbalanced control surfaces . Mine was up to 220 knots at 3 or so G's on a Split S pull out . At 55kts I could firewall it and zoom 500 ft at a gross weight of 1050# . Its a hell of a little rocket. And it had a super glide ratio. I flew for the fun of it and the KR2 was fun , my God it was fun.
@@bibrakc Absolutely My ailerons were mass balanced The rudder and elevators didnt need balancing. They were not dynamically balanced . I never had an issue with controls . Never had an issue with control flutter or vibration except when I was flying with out wing gap seals and then it would cause an advanced buffet about 55 knot. L flew it down to 40 kts indicated with gap seals in a 45 Degree altitude holding bank no flaps finally near 40 mph it would fall into a mush . It was not prone to stall. Spins at 50 kts and kick rudder . Elevator trim with bungy . A 3# weight on a 6 inch arm forward of the stick to give some stick pressure to help give stick pressure . The damn thing can can be flown with a thumb and for finger . I did a 3.5 to 4 G pull out at over 230 + mph in a split S before I realized I was still at cruise power . It is some kind of strong . As a trigear it will spoil you absolutely rotten. Its effortless to fly . As a tail dragger it can be a handful . Mine was a taildragger with Asuza wheels and drum brakes which always faded .
@@charleswesley9907 thanks for the details. I will checkout what a gap seal is. Also, do the plans provide details on dynamic balancing etc? I am not able to buy the plans and have been waiting on the Freebird planes to come online next year. Hope it covers all these topics.
@@bibrakc The wings bolt on a wing stub on each side and the reliefs that enables you to unbolt the wings have to be sealed . As trashy as it may seem I used Duct tape to seal the gaps for 15 years . Done neatly it was not terrible but wouldnt win awards , but I just wanted to fly. And it was very effective and didnt require you to punch holes in your wing to attach a wrap to close the gap. Do you have a KR?
@@charleswesley9907 no I don't have a KR yet. I am interested in the plane and waiting for the Freebird plans to be available so that I can study them and plan my built.
I had a KR-2S with an O200, IVOPROP and dragonfly canopy when I was 18. It was a rocket ship up until the moment I spun 3 crank bearings while doing some steep turns around a point. Just barely made the 5 miles back to the airport and glided in without mishap. The O200 was toast though.
You could have popped in a 2180 VW and been just as / no happier with the ability to get engine parts from various suppliers . You could rebuild it for the cost of 2 cylinders for your 0200 .
I am convinced! I am going to own one.❤🙏🏻 - This video you've made, has me thinking, and you have just started something real😅
I have some pictures of this Kr2s, just amazed by this one... Congrats about your baby, fly safe..
Awesome presentation John... looking forward to seeing you at the meet this year
Very nice presentation of a very nice plane. You really went all out to restore a historically cherished aircraft.
Great Plane! I am looking forward to seeing her at Oshkosh this year.
Thanks Rob. Sure had fun with you at MVN a few weeks ago. Until next time!
What happened to the rearward retracting landing gear? I remember seeing them after they first started to show up at fly-in's with that gear, and I did notice the ones with that sat really low to the ground. I guess to lengthen the gear legs with that setup would put the wheels too far aft into the wing when retracted.
Thanks for your presentation and the information about the pitch sensitivity being better than the KR2. The KR2 is a hell of a strong plane . It is a joy to fly. Its absolute fun and quick handling . Im sure the VNE is basically limited by unbalanced control surfaces . Mine was up to 220 knots at 3 or so G's on a Split S pull out . At 55kts I could firewall it and zoom 500 ft at a gross weight of 1050# . Its a hell of a little rocket. And it had a super glide ratio. I flew for the fun of it and the KR2 was fun , my God it was fun.
Can the control surfaces be balanced?
@@bibrakc Absolutely My ailerons were mass balanced The rudder and elevators didnt need balancing. They were not dynamically balanced . I never had an issue with controls . Never had an issue with control flutter or vibration except when I was flying with out wing gap seals and then it would cause an advanced buffet about 55 knot. L flew it down to 40 kts indicated with gap seals in a 45 Degree altitude holding bank no flaps finally near 40 mph it would fall into a mush . It was not prone to stall. Spins at 50 kts and kick rudder . Elevator trim with bungy . A 3# weight on a 6 inch arm forward of the stick to give some stick pressure to help give stick pressure . The damn thing can can be flown with a thumb and for finger . I did a 3.5 to 4 G pull out at over 230 + mph in a split S before I realized I was still at cruise power . It is some kind of strong . As a trigear it will spoil you absolutely rotten. Its effortless to fly . As a tail dragger it can be a handful . Mine was a taildragger with Asuza wheels and drum brakes which always faded .
@@charleswesley9907 thanks for the details. I will checkout what a gap seal is. Also, do the plans provide details on dynamic balancing etc? I am not able to buy the plans and have been waiting on the Freebird planes to come online next year. Hope it covers all these topics.
@@bibrakc The wings bolt on a wing stub on each side and the reliefs that enables you to unbolt the wings have to be sealed . As trashy as it may seem I used Duct tape to seal the gaps for 15 years . Done neatly it was not terrible but wouldnt win awards , but I just wanted to fly. And it was very effective and didnt require you to punch holes in your wing to attach a wrap to close the gap. Do you have a KR?
@@charleswesley9907 no I don't have a KR yet. I am interested in the plane and waiting for the Freebird plans to be available so that I can study them and plan my built.
that is a gorgeous plane
Looking good John.
Thanks Dan! It's all been fun, the importing, fixing and flying.
I’m going to a welded frame in place of the wood strong like bull
I had a KR-2S with an O200, IVOPROP and dragonfly canopy when I was 18. It was a rocket ship up until the moment I spun 3 crank bearings while doing some steep turns around a point. Just barely made the 5 miles back to the airport and glided in without mishap. The O200 was toast though.
You could have popped in a 2180 VW and been just as / no happier with the ability to get engine parts from various suppliers . You could rebuild it for the cost of 2 cylinders for your 0200 .
@@charleswesley9907 how is the vw conversion done?