At 05:32 PM 12/28/04 -0500, you wrote: >What I want to know is, has anyone ever heard of anyone ever loosing any of >the control surfaces on a KR? The only one that I ever heard of was when a >balance weight came off and the aileron fluttered, and that is only hearsay. >Daniel R. Heath - Columbia, SC ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The only loss of control surface I'm aware of happened several years to a gentleman named Ralph Smith. I think he was from Indiana. It appears he lost elevator control at or near the airport on landing when the elevator control horn broke. At least that's what I recall hearing at the time of his accident. He unfortunately didn't survive. Investigation of the accident indicated that all control cables were intact and the broken horn was not a result of the accident. I'm going from memory here and may not have all the facts correct. I met Ralph at one of the KR Gatherings in Tennessee back in the early 90's. He was a friendly individual that I ended up giving a ride to the motel and back several times. Stories like that caused me to be maybe a bit over cautious on building. I have a double elevator horn as I attached a weight to one of them. As far as losing an actual control surface, I've never heard of that. Losing the cable attach would be just as serious and put you in the same situation. Loss of control is loss of control, regardless of the reason why. Larry Flesner
