I began to build the KR2 in 1996 I believe and finally had it finished and out
to the Moncton Airport for final inspection and testing in the summer of
1999. After the inspection there were some minor snags and a couple of major
ones too. Since I was unable to put the plane in a hanger to work on it, I
decided to bring it back to my garage for the winter. Again in the
spring I was working on finishing the plane once again, and finally I was out to
Moncton agin and began the testing, following another inspection. At
the end of the day I ran through half a dozen further difficulties before I
was able to take the plane into the air.
That fateful day I flew off runway 24 in the early dawn light, and
really enjoyed a few moments of utter happiness. The little plane
looked and flew beautifully. The the gas contamination and some other
decisions began to catch up with me. I had no sooner lifted off the runway when
I was asked by the tower if I would us Mc Ewen airfield as a practise site.
I said sure and flew off over the country side away from the security of
the 8000' runway, friends and firetrucks. Next thing I knew I had been
flying about 15 minutes and I was experiencing engine irregularity. I had
kept to about 2000' because I was negative transponder. Didn't want to cause
any problems for anyone, right?
I radiod my situation and began to look for a place to set the bird
down. I found the best choise of a number of bad ones and began a
controlled desent into a blueberry bog. I got away without a scratch
and a helicopter ride to boot. Unfortunitely the little bird I had lovingly
built was broken, not dead just bent a bit. Lessons learned?
1. Always ware a helmet during testing flights.
2. Never divert from the planned flight for any reason after the flight
is begun.
3. On early flights and each spring, besure that you have quality
and quantity fuel on board.
Sumitted by Jim Sellars, Moncton N.B.