Rand Robinson KR-1
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=KR-1 and KR-2 | image=Chris Gardiner's 1999 Rand KR-2S C-GKRZ photo 1.JPG | caption=KR-2S }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Homebuilt | national origin=United States | manufacturer=nVAero | designer=Kenneth Rand | first flight=February 1972 | introduced= | retired= | status=In production (2022) | primary user= | number built= | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
File:Chris Gardiner's 1999 Rand KR-2S C-GKRZ photo 2.JPG
The Rand Robinson KR-1 is a single-seat, single-engine sport aircraft designed in the United States in the early 1970s and marketed for homebuilding.Grimstead, Bob [https://www.kitplanes.com/flight-review-the-rand-kr-2/ "Flight Review: The Rand KR-2"], September 13, 2010, Kitplanes, retrieved November 13, 2020Taylor 1989, p.757Markowski 1979, p.286 A two-seat version is marketed as the KR-2. It is a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional design with an enclosed cockpit and tailwheel undercarriage.Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1987–88, p.696 As originally designed, the main undercarriage units of the KR-1 and basic KR-2 were manually retractable, folding backwards into the wings, while the KR-2T tandem-seat version had fixed tricycle undercarriage.Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1987–88, p.696–97 However, some builders choose fixed tailwheel or even fixed tricycle undercarriage for KR-1s and KR-2s.Cox 1995, p.22
Kits for the KR-1, KR-2 and KR-2S are supplied by nVAero of Mission Viejo, California/Corona, California, United States.Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 63. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 120. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. {{ISSN|1368-485X}}
Design and development
The KR-1's wings have a two-spar construction; the front spar of spruce, and the rear spar from spruce and plywood. The wing ribs are formed from polyurethane foam, and the space around them filled with the same material before the entire wing structure is covered with fabric impregnated with epoxy resin. Similar construction is used in the KR-2, with an RAF 48 airfoil cross-section (some later models have adapted the AS 5046 airfoil, for increased speed at the expense of poorer low-speed handling), and the wings are removable outboard the landing gear. Similar construction is used in the empennage and control surfaces.
The fuselage is built around a wooden framework, the lower part skinned in plywood and the upper part built up of polystyrene foam covered in epoxy-coated fabric. KR-1 builders have the choice of three different upper fuselage configurations: the "fastback" with a turtledeck behind the cockpit, the "pursuit" with a fighter-style bubble canopy, and the "sportsman" with an open cockpit and a small fairing behind it for rollover protection.Markowski 1979, p.288
The design has proved popular, with over 10,000 sets of plans sold, including 6,000 sets of KR-1 plans and 4,500 sets of KR-2 plans sold by 1979. From these, over 200 KR-1s and 350 KR-2sJane's All the World's Aircraft 1987–88, p.697 were flying by 1987. nVAero's founder Steve Glover reported in 2010 that over 2,000 KRs were flying, worldwide.
Plans and kits were still available in 2022.{{Cite web|url=http://nv-aero.com/|title=Welcome to nV|Aero! The Exclusive Manufacturer of the KR Series Aircraft.|website=nv-aero.com}}
Variants
- KR-1 - original, single-seat version
- KR-2 - two-seat, side-by-side version, 1900 completed by 2011.
- KR-2S - 16-inch-stretched-fuselage version of the KR-2, with 2.5 feet greater wingspan, made with composite sandwich construction, using the supercritical AS5045 airfoil. Standard engines include the {{convert|85|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Jabiru 2200, {{convert|120|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Jabiru 3300 and the {{convert|76|to|100|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Volkswagen air-cooled engine.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 113. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X The model includes a 3-inch higher canopy. 100 completed and flown by 2011.
- KR-2T - tandem-seat version of the KR-2
Aircraft on display
- EAA AirVenture Museum KR-1 N1436"Rand Robinson KR-1 - N1436"
- Queensland Air Museum KR-2 VH-XXS{{cite web|url = http://www.qam.com.au/aircraft/kr-2/VH-XXS.htm|title = Rand Robinson KR-2 VH-XXS The Beast C/N Q082 |accessdate = 22 September 2013|last = Queensland Air Museum|author-link = Queensland Air Museum|date = 23 August 2013}}
- Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum KR-1 N60BV{{cite web|url = https://wingsmuseum.org/museum/exhibits/aircraftexhibits/|title = Aircraft Exhibits|access-date = 7 May 2019|author=Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum|author-link=Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum|work =wingsmuseum.org|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20181023021427/https://wingsmuseum.org/museum/exhibits/aircraftexhibits/|archivedate =23 October 2018 }}
Specifications (KR-2)
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|cruise speed mph=150-175
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|stall speed mph=52-60
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|wing loading lb/sqft=14.4
|wing loading note= at 1150 lbs gross weight
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Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite journal |last=Cox |first=Jack |title=A Couple of KR's |journal=Sport Aviation |date=September 1995 |pages=22}}
- {{cite book |title=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1987–88 |url=https://archive.org/details/janesallworldsai0000unse |url-access=registration |publisher=Jane's Publishing |location=London }}
- {{cite book |last= Markowski |first= Michael |title=The Encyclopedia of Homebuilt Aircraft |year=1979 |publisher=TAB Books |location=Blue Ridge Summit }}
- {{cite web |title=nVAero website |url=http://www.nvaero.com/ |accessdate=2011-09-12}}
- {{cite web |title=Rand Robinson KR-1 - N1436 |work=AirVenture Museum website |url=http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Rand%20Robinson%20KR-1.asp |accessdate=2009-01-25}}
- {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London }}
External links
{{Commons category|Rand Robinson KR-1}}
{{Commons category|Rand Robinson KR-2}}
- {{Official website|http://nv-aero.com/}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20210506074222/http://www.nvaero.com/ Web Archive of the official website]
{{Rand aircraft}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1970s United States sport aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1972
Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear
Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear