Tom,
About 15 years ago Jeannette Rand and I did an investigation regarding a
retract-gear KR-2 that had been trailered from the Seattle area to Alaska on
the ALCAN highway by the buyer. The previous owner had checked out the new
owner during several left-seat flights at Seattle. An independent A&P had
checked the aircraft on a pre-sale inspection - no gripes.
The new owner had removed and securely crated the wings. The box was strapped
on the trailer. No problem with that. The fuselage on the gear was placed on
the flat bed trailer and secured with 2-inch nylon cargo ratchets running over
a single 3/8 inch bolt at the stub wing attach brackets on each side. The tail
wheel was secured at the spring with another 2-inch cargo ratchet wrapped
around the spring. The new owner stated that the landing gear was deflected
"one or two inches" and felt that was firm enough to prevent shifting. After
arriving with the KR-2 on the trailer at home in Alaska, several cracks were
noticed on the exterior skin at the lower left firewall. Closer inspection
revealed cracks all around the plywood fire wall. The VW engine, prop, mount
and firewall were making early preparations to depart the aircraft as a unit.
So what caused this sad situation?
The problem with the rig was: A 600 pound KR-2 was hard mounted at the main
spar on a tandem-axel flat bed trailer rated for 6,000 pounds. Then it was run
over hundreds of miles of gravel roads through Canada and Alaska at about 60
mph. The stiff trailer springs and its rock-hard tires had put who knows how
many hard landings on that defenseless KR-2.
Moral of the story: If you are going to trailer your KR, let the little Lamb
tires and spring gear do their job. Secure the fully inflated KR tires with
the right sized tire straps. Use a light weight trailer appropriate for the
job. No one needs to set land speed records with a KR.
Regards,
Sid Wood KR-2 N6242
Mechanicsville, MD [email protected]
-----Original Message-----
One thing I do want to make clear is that it was never MY
intention to fly one of these birds to Alaska. I was thinking
about professional pilots who fly cross country all the time
who would fly the KR to its new home. I guess even pros would
trailer the plane home.
Since towing by trailer is the way to go, how difficult is it
to take the wings off and put them back on again? Does this
damage the plane in any way?
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