gschuld
Well-Known Member
I have been researching and planning the build of a KR2 for a while now. I am interested in having the capability of flying for extended periods at a time. I realize that this is generally something that is rarely done in practice, even for those who have the capabilities to do it.
I have spent a bunch of years going between Wilmington NC and the New Jersey shore. Owning property in both places, I have driven back and forth many times, usually in my trusty hauling/Home Depot run vehicle, a very low mileage mid 90s F250 with the full HD towing package and a cloth bench seat. Between the harsh ride of the HD suspension/tire package and the bench seat, it would be considered vehicular turture to many. The truck has big dual tanks, nearly 40 gallons, and I typically drove the 11plus hour trip with one stop, usually just for fuel. I suppose that many would put me in the "iron butt" category.
I may very well be purchasing and relocating to a property about 800 miles from my current primary residence(and some investment property), and where the bulk of my extended family live. So the thought of being able to travel back and forth by plane seems interesting. Plus general longer distance traveling interests me.
In my searches I have read many opinions regarding longer distance traveling, by small plane. Here are a some of them.
-Side by side seating: (I am married, I adore my wife, and she wants to fly with me)
-Very carefully designed ergonimically correct seats that include an adjustable (even removable) headrest.
-Center stick. This allows more squirming room for both the pilot and passenger. It is also much, much easier to use the pee bottle without an extra stick between your legs:nervous:.
-A modern glass panel with an integrated Auto Pilot(such as an MGL Odyssey with its two axis built in AP and a good pair of servos) Also key in both general fatique and functional use of the pee bottle.
-Having an "auto pilot friendly" aircraft. That is, not overly pitch sensitive, etc, etc.
-Having the fuel capacity to sustain longer flights with a proper reserve and placing it in the aircraft(wings) close enough to the CG as to not allow the aircraft to be outside of the W/B limits from full to empty, regardless of the other weight sensitive factors.
I'd like to get as many opinions as I can on the subject.
Thanks in advance:
George
On a side note: It's been a while since I posted last. Life has been strange lately. As a result of a lot of though, I have decided to refrain from going the elliptical wing/full retract gear route. It pains me, but in the end I felt it too unproven for my application for me to procede with it.
I have spent a bunch of years going between Wilmington NC and the New Jersey shore. Owning property in both places, I have driven back and forth many times, usually in my trusty hauling/Home Depot run vehicle, a very low mileage mid 90s F250 with the full HD towing package and a cloth bench seat. Between the harsh ride of the HD suspension/tire package and the bench seat, it would be considered vehicular turture to many. The truck has big dual tanks, nearly 40 gallons, and I typically drove the 11plus hour trip with one stop, usually just for fuel. I suppose that many would put me in the "iron butt" category.
I may very well be purchasing and relocating to a property about 800 miles from my current primary residence(and some investment property), and where the bulk of my extended family live. So the thought of being able to travel back and forth by plane seems interesting. Plus general longer distance traveling interests me.
In my searches I have read many opinions regarding longer distance traveling, by small plane. Here are a some of them.
-Side by side seating: (I am married, I adore my wife, and she wants to fly with me)
-Very carefully designed ergonimically correct seats that include an adjustable (even removable) headrest.
-Center stick. This allows more squirming room for both the pilot and passenger. It is also much, much easier to use the pee bottle without an extra stick between your legs:nervous:.
-A modern glass panel with an integrated Auto Pilot(such as an MGL Odyssey with its two axis built in AP and a good pair of servos) Also key in both general fatique and functional use of the pee bottle.
-Having an "auto pilot friendly" aircraft. That is, not overly pitch sensitive, etc, etc.
-Having the fuel capacity to sustain longer flights with a proper reserve and placing it in the aircraft(wings) close enough to the CG as to not allow the aircraft to be outside of the W/B limits from full to empty, regardless of the other weight sensitive factors.
I'd like to get as many opinions as I can on the subject.
Thanks in advance:
George
On a side note: It's been a while since I posted last. Life has been strange lately. As a result of a lot of though, I have decided to refrain from going the elliptical wing/full retract gear route. It pains me, but in the end I felt it too unproven for my application for me to procede with it.
