It was windy with no shortage of gusts today, but I took it up for a lunch time flight.
A few details and observations: The Cloudcars 54x54 prop is a great fit for this plane. Turns 3150 static, climbed at 1k feet/min with the power pulled back to 25", 21" MAP and 3000rpms gave me a cruise of around 155mph. I have not done the math on the wing loading, but with my 165lb butt in it and 8 gallons of fuel it seemed much bumpier than the Sonerai would have been. Also, at that weight I tried to do a full power run up. The brakes held (with protest) but the tail came up before I could get to full power with the stick all the way back. Pete had recommended that I fly the pattern at 80, base at 80, slow to 75 on final and 65ish over the numbers. I did that on the first two flights but I just don't like going that slow that close to the ground. Today I flew the pattern at 140, slowed to 120 on base, 100 turning to final and down to 65 over the numbers. Same as the Sonerai but I shoot for 75-80 over the numbers. It settled in nice for a slightly tail low wheel landing. I kept the tail up for as long as I could, which seemed like forever, but I was not braking either. The only thing I am having a hard time getting used to is the sight picture over the nose in cruise. It seems really high to me. Do all KR's seem to fly with the nose pretty high in the air? For reference, this does have the new wing. After the flight I filled it up to capacity which is 22.5 gallons for my first cross country in it tomorrow. Weather permitting, I am going to race it in a SARL race in Columbus OH next Saturday. With the pace of progress on the Sonerai project I might end up flying it in the Airventure Cup as well... What a great little plane! Jeff Lange Race 64 - Skye Racer Blog: http://schmleff.blogspot.com Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/schmleff
