I hope I’m not stepping on anyone’s toes, having not built my own aircraft, however knowing what (little) I know now, here are a few areas I would look for on a KR;
1) Overall Condition - how does the airplane look overall? Are there obvious defects and cracks in the fiberglass or is it as smooth as can be? Is the paint faded/flakey or is it bright, crisp and shiny? Look inside the cockpit; is the panel neatly laid out or is it a big scary mess of a shot gun panel? Is the wiring neat or are there loose wires everywhere? The overall condition may not look like much, however it will give you an idea of the overall level of craftsmanship that went into the airplane. 2) Engine (my favorite part) - what kind of engine is In the plane? Most likely it will be some type of VW conversion, or a Corvair. There is a plethora of information on this site about each type so I won’t dive to deep into it, however I would at least ask the owner about the following (at a minimum). -Type of conversion (AeroVee, Revmaster, GP, etc.) -Cylinder Heads - stock or aftermarket, and what brand? -Ignition - Magneto (single or dual), or Electronic Ignition? -Engine Equipment Installed (steam gauges or an engine monitor?) - Alternator - condition (if able); has it ever been replaced? - Type of carburetor/Fuel System - gravity fed? Fuel pumps? If so, how are the pumps powered? Condition of fuel line? - Number of hours since engine overhaul (including the magnetos; even if the engine had a recent overhaul, a lot of times the Magnetos aren’t always included). -Any real “trends” (running hot, valve failures, weird noises, etc). If it is a Corvair, having never ran or owned one, I will allow somebody else to post their expertise on it, but check the engine logs to see if the owner has put any upgrades into crankshaft. It should, at an absolute minimum, have a 5th bearing in the engine. 3) Landing Gear - ask the owner the last time he has changed the brakes, tires, and greased the axles. Visually inspect everything. Remove the wheel pants if needed; don’t bite off on everything being okay simply because they are installed. 4) Body (fuselage) - little tough to determine since it is a fiberglass airplane, and (again) somebody on here can provide more insight, but carefully look for deformities and stress fractures in the wings and fuselage. A few here and there are okay, but if there are cracks at virtually every crooked, or “non-level” surface (where the vertical stabilizer meets the fuselage, etc.) that could indicate improper glassing techniques and may be a cause for concern. Also, conversely, check for “bubbles” or glass de-lamination on the wings, indicating the wing skins are separating from the foam. 5) Radios/Avionics - find out the models of each and conduct some research to see if they are likely to hold up overtime. My radio died within the first year of owning my airplane and needed to be replaced. These wouldn’t necessarily be a dealbreaker, however it might give you an idea of what could go wrong later on and also what you may have to save up for in the upcoming months. 6) Propeller and Spinner - Run the engine and see if the propeller/spinner combo feels balanced. Some vibration is natural, however it should not be jarring. Do not accept any cracks/defects in the spinner, and do not accept any unbalanced combos. Just because a spinner/prop is “new”, doesn’t always mean it is balanced. 7) Inspections - Last ELT Inspection/change of batteries? - Last Transponder check? - Any issues during last conditional inspection? 8) Owner knowledge - If the seller is the original builder, then he should know pretty much everything about the airplane. If the owner is not the original builder, naturally there may be some things he/she is slightly unsure of, but they should still be able to paint you a good overall picture of what the plane has gone through over the years. Regardless, if there is something you are curious about and they don’t have an answer for, don’t settle for anything less than finding the answer. The sellers overall knowledge about the plane goes a long way. In my case, when I bought N6399U, the seller knew the airplane better than I knew myself, and that really helped put my mind at ease considering it was the first airplane I ever purchased. The trust was there, and we are still friends to this day. On the contrary, when I was looking at Cessna 150s (before I purchased my KR2), some guys had anything from lost logbooks, not complying with ADs (and excuses to go with it), didn’t know if their airplane had stock Continental or Millennium cylinders, didn’t know if the registration was valid, and the arguably the most laughable of them all........didn’t know the last time the oil was changed. Naturally, I didn’t go through with any of those. If you are considering paying somebody to do a pre-buy for a KR2, personally I wouldn’t spend the money; I didn’t get one when I purchased mine. Most pre-buy guys are not familiar with a KR2 (unless you get someone that is a dedicated KR2 owner/flyer). The plane is extremely simple, and you could get a pretty good idea of it’s condition by seeing it for yourself, talking with the owner, and then asking around on here. I hope this helped, even if a little bit. Please PM me if you have any questions at all. V/R Sam Spanovich N6399U 74S, Anacortes WA _______________________________________________ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change options. To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to [email protected]
