The Rand Robinson KR-1 is a single-seat, single-engine sport aircraft designed in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the early 1970s and marketed for homebuilding.Grimstead, Bo
"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.

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 The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...

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-2s''Jane'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.

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

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Jabiru 3300 The Jabiru 3300 is a lightweight four-stroke, horizontally opposed "flat-six" air-cooled aircraft engine produced by Jabiru Aircraft. The engines are direct drive and fitted with alternators, silencers, vacuum pump drives and dual ignition sy ...

and the

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.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 The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...

KR-1 N1436"Rand Robinson KR-1 - N1436" *

Queensland Air Museum The Queensland Air Museum is a not-for-profit community-owned aviation museum located at Caloundra Airport in Queensland, Australia. Its mission is to collect and preserve all aspects of aviation heritage with an emphasis on Australia and Queens ...

KR-2 VH-XXS * Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum KR-1 N60BV

Specifications (KR-2)

Notes

References

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External links

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Web Archive of the official website
{{Authority control 1970s United States sport aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1972