Jeff said, "Despite Paul's criticism, the VW powerplant works pretty well. Mike Stirewalt, who will undoubtedly chime in here, owns the KR 1 1/2, built by Ken Cottle, then sold to Steve Bennett, then to Mike. If I recall correctly, it is a stock KR-2 that is narrowed a bit to make a comfortable single seat cockpit. I know Mike likes to fly it high and long and it performs reasonably well. Build it light and clean."
That's all true, almost. Ken Cottle built this KR-1? from KR-1 plans, widening the fuselage to 24" (I think it's 24" - could be 30" - losing my memory) at the cockpit. He lengthened it 7 inches ahead of the spar for additional leg room since Ken's a tall guy. I imagine the extra leg room is one reason Steve Bennett wanted this plane. Ken added 14" to the rear. Ken narrowed the stub wings a bit from plans and then used Diehl skins and tail feathers. Looking at receipts this afternoon I saw the receipt (3/2/86) for the wing skins - $800. Tailfeathers from Diehl were $450. Wingspan is 20' 8" and yes, this plane loves flying high thanks to the nice wing area and the GP 2180 has no problem with high altitude airports. It has an EFS-2 Ellison carb and currently a Sterba 52'x56" prop that allows the engine to run full throttle at 3100 at altitude (10.5 to 14.5) where it cruises at 149 MPH at 3.5 to 4 GPH. Fuel on board is 21 gallons. I've never gotten around to narrowing my cooling inlets so I'm carrying a ton of cooling drag - pushing air back out the front. Probably get at least another 5 MPH if I ever do that. I should have modified my cooling inlets a long time ago. There's nothing to criticise about the VW, either Great Plains or Revmaster. GP engines are less expensive to maintain since Revmaster is proprietery with some engine components. A nice Corvair with that additional bearing and an Ellison carb would be a truly wonderful smooth engine for little money. But my plane came with what it's got and it flies beautifully. Setting a KR-2 up as a single-seater is a great idea though. Look at George McHenry's adaptation for perhaps the most luxurious example. That extra room in the cockpit and on the panel is nice. My first KR, a standard KR-2 which I sold in 1989, had sling seats and a center stick. I used to sit in the center and enjoy the head room and space on each side for charts & other stuff. When I occasionally took someone flying in it, it was not much fun except for short local flights. I'm sure the S is a big improvement with two up. Mike KSEE ____________________________________________________________ Tax Slayer TaxSlayer average refund: $3,379*. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/54acbef0f16413ef03d95st04vuc
