I think one was tested to destruction on a rig in Aus (do you recall Phil?). The thing was the failure occurred at the fuselage -the Waf's were OK. Mac G-BVZJ
On Fri, Aug 29, 2014 at 6:36 PM, Mike Stirewalt via KRnet < krnet at list.krnet.org> wrote: > Sparky said, > > "I saw the Muses 2 kr2's at a KR fly in @ Covington, Tn. They both were > very nicely built. > I knew Brad Hummel who was killed in his along with Patty Helton.at Pope > Valley. Came apart in the air." > > ********* > > I looked back in the archives and found this description. > > I wonder if Brad Hummel was related in some way to Morry Hummel? > > Mike > KSEE > > > > ate: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 07:15:14 -0700 > To: <krnet at mailinglists.org> > From: "Robert X. Cringely" bob at cringely.com> > Subject: Re: KR> RE:WAF'S AGAIN? > > There WAS a spar failure of the GB-2, a rip-off KR-2 clone, at the > first KR Gathering in Pope Valley , CA around 1980. I'm not sure > this failure actually proves anything, but since I was there at the > time the story probably bears repeating. > > The GB-2 was a KR-2 with entirely pre-molded skins. Jeanette Rand > hired a guy to do some glass parts for the KR-2 (not the current > parts, by the way). He built molds, made some fairly lousy parts for > Jeanette (if you ever bought a KR-1 turbo cowl, you know what I mean > -- it was close to useless the trimming was so bad) but then claimed > ownership of the molds. Jeanette, who felt that she had paid for the > molds and ought to own them, was furious. Then it got even worse > when the guy announced his new kitplane, the GB-2. It used > ripped-off KR-2 plans, parts made from molds paid for by Jeanette and > additional parts from other molds. A few ads ran in Sport Aviation. > > Jeanette's response was to take her business to Jim Kern at Task > Research. She paid for a completely new set of molds (the current > ones) which were much better quality and which were clearly owned by > Rand-Robinson. > > Meanwhile, the GB-2 guy, whose name I forget, apparently decided that > the KR Gathering was a good place to introduce his aircraft and sell > a few kits. Alas, the Gathering was only six weeks away. No > problemo. He built a prototype GB-2 in six weeks using parts > gathered here and there and "flying off" the required test time with > a Bic pen. At the Gathering, the guy spent much of one day doing > fast diving passes at 240 IAS (I took one of those rides and that's > the number I saw). Understand that the GB-2 builder weighed > substantially over 200 lbs. In the afternoon, the wind picked up and > things got quite bumpy. Many people stopped flying, but not the > GB-2. I was standing next to Rex Taylor of Hapi Engines when the > GB-2 passed down the flight line and shed a wing, immediately rolling > into the ground and tumbling a short distance. There were no > survivors. > > The GB-2 builder was dead, of course, as was his female passenger. > So much for the GB-2. The crash investigation found that the front > center section spar had failed in compression on one side. The > problem wasn't the spar design and it wasn't the attach fittings or > the bolts. To make the Gathering, the GB-2 guy had used a center > section spar rejected by another builder who had made a mistake > drilling the WAF holes. The GB-2 guy HADN'T BOTHERED TO FILL THE BAD > HOLES and just drilled new ones alongside, weakening the wood and > leading to the compression failure. > > A few hardwood dowels and a little epoxy and that guy might be here > today. > > It is a testament to the KR over design, I suppose, that this guy was > able to spend a whole morning doing 4-G pull-ups at 240 IAS at least > 200 lbs over gross (I later heard the GB-2 prototype empty weight was > around 800 lbs.). It wasn't until a little turbulence was added > that the wretched thing finally fell apart. > > By the way, that was my second and last ride in a KR-2, the first > being an equally scary experience with Kenny Rand. Since then it has > been all KR-1 and the only idiot in the cockpit has been me. > > Bob > > At 8:45 AM -0500 7/10/02, Mark Langford wrote: > > > > > >I also think it's important to mention that there has never been a > reported > >spar or WAF failure on a KR (to my knowledge), and there are some pretty > >heavy ones out there doing some pretty amazing things... > > > ____________________________________________________________ > The #1 Worst Carb Ever? > Click to Learn #1 Carb that Kills Your Blood Sugar (Don't Eat > This!) > http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5400ba409ebb83a406822st04vuc > _______________________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://tugantek.com/archmailv2-kr/search. > To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to KRnet-leave at list.krnet.org > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html > see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change > options >
