To all first flight of the KR or any aircraft keep in mind that you are attempting to lift off an aircraft that has never been in the air before.
Expect the unexpected and plan for it. Keep your first flight short and do a thorough inspection before and after this first flight. Check things like loose bolts, burnt wires, hinges, canopy attachments, excessive control surface play and control stops. Ensure exhaust systems are properly secured, prop bolts are properly torqued, landing gear bolts are safe tied and that nothing has changed after your first flight. Double check your center of gravity with everything in the plane as it will be as you lift off. Check for a smooth dry lake in your area to use as a first flight runway, there is a reason the Air Force chose Murroc dry lake (Edwards AFB for their flight test center). Have emergency personal with you to observe and be ready to assist in case things go wrong. Ensure these people are equipped with proper communication devices and are well briefed on your first flight intentions. Do NOT assume by standers will know what to do if things go south, you may not be able to give them instructions after the fact. Take the time to get as much ground handling experience on your bird as possible to get a good idea of acceleration, stopping distance, braking effectiveness, p factor , odd tendencies, tail lift off speed, pitch sensitivities . Much can be learned about controlling the Kr without ever leaving the ground, especially if you have a large dry lake that doesn’t require you to stay within a 50’ wide 5000’ long runway that other aircraft are also using at the time. Most southern desert states have numerous dry lakes that are ideal for first flight testing, look around, investigate, plan and prepare. I am fortunate to have several of these dry lakes that I used to test and accomplish my first flight of N54 PB here in southern Nevada. These dry lakes were invaluable to my introduction to becoming my own test pilot. Good luck and stay safe. Signed A Vietnam era veteran Parley Byington N54PB. Kr2 with retracts Henderson Nevada Sent from my iPhone ________________________________ -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -To change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Boyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
