Kiwi our admiration and salutations to your most tolerant wife.. May 2022
bring her peace and tranquility as we complete this project and thus no longer
a pest to her. .
Happy 2022
Luis
On Friday, December 31, 2021, 10:46:23 PM CST, kiwi faulkner
<kiwifaulk...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Quote:
"... It would be interesting to find out the details from Jeanette on when and
why the upgrade."
The devil makes work for idle flight crew on layover. It's the mid-2000's ...
maybe 5 or 6, and I was holed up in a hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg. Despite
the lush vegetation making a panoramic view and an inviting walk, crews were
not encouraged to take long strolls outside the 'compound' for fear of a jolly
good thrashing from the few members of the less friendly local population. Not
being one for malls (nor indeed, a thrashing), the only other option was to
confine myself to my cell and resort to that time honoured time-waster of
internet (aeroplane) porn.
The point being, I went through the old KR newsletters up to Mr Rand's
unfortunate passing in order to gain some insight into the evolution of N1436,
an aeroplane in which I had held interest since my teens. My own personal
'jottings' on the machine are cut and pasted below:
Before the KR Newsletter
Sport Aviation January 1973 ran an article on the KR-1 written by Jack Cox and
based on the 1972 Oshkosh event. N1436 had an open cockpit and Cox noted that
the powerplant was a 1200cc VW engine that “has had just a light lick or two at
modification for aircraft use”
KR Newsletter #1 – July 1975
Ken Rand is currently rebuilding his KR-1 to use the larger 1834cc engine and
other modifications.
KR Newsletter #2 – August 1975
The KR-1 was being readied for an 1834 cc VW engine and new cowling, hopefully
to be completed in time for the 'trip to Wisconsin'. Many other modifications
to the KR-1 have already been completed such as balanced ailerons, wet wings
(22 gal. in each wing), new instrument panel, and beefed-up fire wall.
Performance expected from the KR-1 is a cruise speed in the 170 to 180 range,
with a top speed of 200 + mph. Rate of climb should be approx. 2000 fpm. Much
of this expected increase in performance is due to ground adjustable wood prop
like the one Ken is now using on the KR-2.
KR Newsletter #4 – October 1975
Refers to an incident at Corona, September 1975, when the trusting Mr Rand
allowed ‘A.N. Other’ to fly his aeroplane. It would seem that N1436 had been
kept at Corona while FAA restrictions on the new engine were flown off. In
documenting his experience with the aeroplane, A.N. Other refers to a ‘1700’
however this is possibly a misprint or misunderstanding if the original
intention was to install an 1835cc engine. Anyway, the aeroplane was ‘bounced’
resulting in “…some minor damage to the wings caused by the landing gear
flexing too far…”.
KR Newsletter #11 – May 1976
Ken Rand was testing a new 3-blade prop on the KR-1. Static tests are noted to
be complete and very satisfactory. Flight tests at the time of writing had
accumulated four hours in the air.
KR Newsletter #13 – July 1976
Testing of the 3-blade prop are reported as running into a ‘snag’. All of the
three KR’s flight testing the new props had non-flying accidents. One jumped
the chocks during a run-up at Long Beach and “went over on its nose and wiped
out the prop blades”. Apparently Ken Rand's own plane had a similar accident
at Meadowlark while a cylinder compression check was being made.
KR Newsletter #15 – September 1976
Ken Rand & the KR-1 were involved in a serious accident.
The KR-1 had been modified to the limits of stupidity in order to appear in an
episode of a TV series and operated out of an airstrip “…bulldozed out just for
the purpose…”.
The day prior to the accident A.N. Other had the gear retract when brakes were
applied. The “extremely rough dirt strip” caused both latch handles to bounce
off their catches resulting in gear retraction and consequent “minor damage to
the prop & bottom fuselage skin”.
On the first flight after repairs were made to the KR-1, Ken Rand encountered
severe vibration in level flight so a return to the field was made. Due to a
reduction in visibility caused by modifications made to the aeroplane, Mr Rand
didn't see a tree on final approach and collided with it. The KR-1 side
slipped right wing low, into the ground and disintegrated, Mr Rand suffered a
broken collar bone, concussion and a back injury.
Many parts of the KR-1 were salvageable and consideration was being given to
installation of an electric starter and turbo charger.
KR Newsletter #25 – July 1977
Refers to N1436 no longer flying
KR Newsletter #36 – June 1978
It is implied that N1436 was being rebuilt with a turbo-charged engine but was
not completed in time for the Chino 1978 event so was trailered in as a static
display. It is noted that “The long nose and sliding canopy really made it look
like a little fighter”.
KR Newsletter #38 – August 1978
Notes that Mr Rand is flying the turbo KR-1 every day to get the hours flown
off.
KR Newsletter #39 – September 1978
Indicates that the FAA restrictions have been flown off the third rebuild of
N1436 which this time includes Revmaster 2100 turbocharged engine and Maloof
constant speed propeller. Ken Rand indicates a 2000fpm RoC and 240mph cruising
speed.
I would suggest that this latest version of the aeroplane is the example that
the wife photographed at Oshkosh 2007 and that I passed on for your edification
and entertainment.
My extremely well indexed and catalogued box of KR-1 documentation is now
splayed all over the dining room table (much to the chagrin of my most tolerant
wife) so if you're all willing to vote me "Nerd of the Year" then I might send
another picture of some random bit of N1436 for you to ogle, after I have
completed my chores about the house.
Cheers
Kiwi
________________________________
-Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html
-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 Bouyea's decades of archive at
https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
________________________________
-Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html
-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 Bouyea's decades of archive at
https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/
