28 DECEMBER 2006

KR
A COLLABORATIVE

COMMUNIITY
COMMUN
Mark Langford’s diligence helps other builders fly

BY GREG LASLO ⎮ photos by Michael Steineke

A
few people are still milling around the airplanes
parked in the Hallmarks of Homebuilding area at
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006, though most are
finding seats for the air show, which has started
about 100 yards away. Already, some pilot or anoth-
er is gunning the airspeed before pitching up for a loop or around
for a snap roll.
Several of the lurkers have stopped about halfway down the row
dedicated to Rand Robinson KRs, in front of a red-on-white KR-2S
with half its shark-tooth cowl open. Bill Clapp’s airplane would
be a head-turner anyway, but presently, he’s explaining—shout-
ing—how he put a dual ignition system on the 100-hp Corvair
engine. “It’s a single-plug, dual-ignition system,” he says. “I flip a
switch on the panel between ‘A’ and ‘B.’ It’s the only single-plug
ignition system allowed in Europe, where it has to be able to fly
on five cylinders.”
As Clapp explains the workings of his ignition system, a thin
man with a quiet, southern accent stands watching from a few
airplanes away, beside a dull yellow KR that’s a little rough around
the edges. “That’s my airplane over there, with a nice coat of paint
on it,” he says, with not even the slightest touch of wishful think-
ing, or irony, or whatever else would cause a person to compare
the two.

EAA Sport Aviation 29

Bill Clapp’s red-on-white KR-2S hides a 100-hp
Corvair engine under its shark-tooth cowl.

30 DECEMBER 2006
 That’s because when you take away a few personal sketchy weight and balance, since the fuel cells are nearly
touches and some new-and-improved tweaks, Clapp’s air- dead-on with the airplane’s center of gravity.
craft—along with a couple of others parked nearby—are At the other end of the fuselage, Langford built a
clear descendents of an airplane that this man, Mark horizontal stabilizer that’s 6 inches longer than the plans,
Langford, has spent the last dozen years building and built it up with a different NACA airfoil, and changed the
refining. And while these aircraft flew before his was even tail’s angle of incidence, moving it up to negative 0.75
completed, Langford—and his builder websites—have degrees, or almost parallel to the aircraft’s longitudinal
become the go-to sources for builders of this type. axis—if he had it to over again, by the way, he’d add bal-
Truth be told, Langford’s KR still isn’t exactly done, ance horns to the elevator, at the recommendation of an
which is why it looks, well, not done. Langford hasn’t aerodynamicist, which is one of the places Clapp deviated
painted it beyond shooting a couple of coats of primer on from the program, the benefit of coming second. While
the top and a protective paint layer across the bottom to he was at it, Langford changed the angle of the wing,
keep the engine oil out of the fiberglass. It seems he’s been flattening it to 1 degree, which keeps the airplane from
busy, first, working with other builders documenting the trimming nose-down at top speed flight. Clapp, after his
entire building process for the world to read and, more first flight, reported the design to be dead-on right. This
recently, test-flying his KR to find out just what the little is his second KR, so he’d know.
airplane can do. It’s not a “Mark’s an engineer,”
stretch to say, then, that Clapp says. “He’s put out
part of the reason Clapp tons of information that
and others are finished and “This is really about a he’s learned.”
flying—including several Clapp points out that
on this row that arrived community,” Langford says. the time Langford spent
together in a group flight
from KR pilot Mark Jones’
“It’s an Internet collaboration of building his airplane saves
every other builder time.
place in Waukesha, Wis- people who really know what By following Langford’s
consin—is exactly because lead Clapp built his aircraft
Langford’s not done yet. they’re doing and have resources up from the boat stage in
only about 600 hours over
OVER AND OVER to bear, people who have their two years.

L angford calls his nearly

finished product the
next-generation KR-2S. The
own little area of expertise.” And speaking of the
wing, the original plans
called for wings covered
KR-2S, of course, being the with fiberglass. While build-
current derivative of the ing his airplane, though,
KR-2 originally designed in Langford went one further.
the 1970s by Ken Rand, which in turn grew out of the KR- He used the computer-aided design (CAD) drawing of the
1. That airplane is noteworthy for being the first to use wing to create an offset, to allow him to cover the foam
fiberglass-over-urethane-foam construction, which is why with fiberglass and then add two layers of carbon fiber.
it has its own section in the Hallmarks of Homebuilding That gives him a nice, rigid surface for sanding. “Now
parking area here. it doesn’t deflect out of the way when you go to sand it
So it’s not something to be tinkered with lightly. In with the long board,” he says. “Otherwise, you end up
building his airplane, Langford left the basic fuselage not having a true airfoil.”
shapes the same, but that’s about it. He’s using different Hang a set of split flaps off that new wing, increase
flight controls, different airfoils for the flight surfaces, the depth of the ailerons to 20 percent of the total wing
different flaps and ailerons, and an engine that’s about chord while reducing their overall length, and you’ve got
twice the horsepower of what the aircraft was originally a whole new airplane, especially if there’s a bigger, better
designed to carry. powerplant up front. Rand designed both the KR-1 and
To begin, as narrow as the KR-2S is—and it’s without KR-2 to fly behind a Volkswagen engine, and that’s origi-
a doubt an intimate fit in that cockpit—widening the nally what Langford intended to use. Once he’d spent
fuselage is a logical decision if one is looking to shake some time with the Corvair engine and William Wynne
things up a bit. But at 2.5 inches wider than the stock at his Corvair College, he changed his mind, which, of
plans, Langford’s airplane obviously outgrew the stock course, meant he had to design his own engine cowling
canopy. Fortunately, another KR builder recommended from the plug up—coincidentally, to the benefit of Clapp,
a Dragonfly canopy, which fit perfectly. Instead of a fuel who used the plug to shape his own cowling before
tank mounted in front of the cockpit, he installed wing switching last year to Wynne’s “holey cowl.”
tanks in the wings. That gave him longer range and a less And that’s really touching on the point here. The spe-

EAA Sport Aviation 31

Mark Langford has spent the last dozen years building
and refining, while his builder websites have become
the definitive sources for builders, He calls his own
nearly finished plane the next-generation KR-2S.

32 DECEMBER 2006
cifics of Langford’s airplane aren’t as important as what they’re choosing between one of several construction
other builders have done with his modifications. He’s options.
documented nearly every step of the process—the good, Even Langford—and, consequently, those who
the bad, and the done-over—online for other KR builders have followed his lead—has benefited from the online
to read, learn from, and comment on. “They tell me that exchange.
if you print it out, it’s this thick,” he says, holding his The “new” wing used by his aircraft is the result of a
fingers out wide enough to grasp a big-city phone book. member of the forum, Steve Eberhart, who worked with
“I’ve never done it.” a professor and graduate student at the University of Illi-
nois to design an airfoil and wing specifically for the KR-
ONLINE COLLABORATION 2S. The airfoil uses modern laminar-flow aerodynamics

“I think the inspiration for my website was that to achieve a greater efficiency than original KR builders
I had to build things two or three times, and it was could ever expect. “We took a wing that uses a 1920s air-
so frustrating that when I figured out how I did it, I want- foil, and now we’re using state-of-the-art,” Langford says.
ed to save other people the trouble that I went through,” “That airfoil was designed for an airplane that could do
Langford says. “People say, why do you spend so much 80 (mph). We started putting big Volkswagen turbo-pow-
time on that website; you could have been done years ered engines in [KRs], and we could go 120. Now builders
ago? It makes me feel better are putting O-200s in them, and
that I wasted all that time, we can go 200.”
because now I know how The theoretical results the
to do it, I can put it out Every time Langford flies, aeronautics experts predicted
there, and I can save 100
he carries a laptop, and the for the new wing, inciden-
people five hours apiece, tally, were tested by another
100 hours apiece. It makes computer is hooked into the member of the group who
me feel that my time has was in the process of switch-
been worthwhile, and engine information system ing wings on his KR. Put into
that I have done some- action, it proved a boost in
thing productive, rather (EIS) to record airspeed, engine speed against a known quan-
than trying to build it the
speed, and altitude. Every flight tity—the same airplane with
wrong way.” the stock wing.
Langford has shared he takes, he logs data and then That’s become something
most of his modifications of a hallmark of Langford’s
on his personal website, saves it at home. site. There are real people
but his other website is out there who have done the
of greater interest—and real deal and can share that
significance—to most KR knowledge. “If you’ve got a
builders. He’s the administra- question, you can post it, and
tor of the KRNet.org website, a clearinghouse of builder there are a bunch of people out there who have either
information from not only his aircraft, but also those of built it or flown it or both,” he says. “It’s a really good
other builders. community for facts, not just conjecture.”
The site acts as a forum for more than 650 builders— For most new projects—certainly those started in the
those who have flying aircraft, those who have existing last 10 years or so—Internet sites such as KRNet.org fill
airframes they’re interested in modifying, and those who the role the original builder newsletters served, only
are just starting out. It’s a place where they can share a lot faster. Yet, for all of its usefulness as an informa-
results to learn what really works, and what doesn’t. The tion resource, the Internet can offer hit-or-miss infor-
end result is that the collective knowledge of the group mation, often offered by less-than-expert sources. Too
is making a good airplane even better, in essence, picking often, online discussions become hypothetical tit-for-tats
up where Rand Robinson Engineering left off. between posters who spend more time e-mailing than
“This is really about a community,” Langford says. building.
“It’s an Internet collaboration of people who really know “The difference is, I’ve done it, and I’m proud of it,” he
what they’re doing and have resources to bear, people says. “I’ve learned a lot doing this one, and now I know
who have their own little area of expertise.” what I’m talking about. When I say something I can say,
For many builders, that’s priceless information—time this is proven. I know it works. As I refine it, I’ll know
is money, and, well, money is money. Unless the guy in more about what does and what doesn’t work.”
the next hangar is building the same type of airplane What gets Langford excited about the collective con-
as them, builders are often at a loss for how to proceed tribution is that, taken together, they’ve made a good air-
through a particularly confusing stage of building or if plane into a very good airplane, moving on from where

EAA Sport Aviation 33

Clapp’s Corvair power is driven by single
plug, dual ignition system. It’s the only
single-plug ignition system allowed in Europe.

the designers left off. “The KRs have been refined by 280 hours, which in and of itself creates something of a
builders,” he says, by members of forums like his. problem. “If you’re flying 280 hours a year, after a while
you say, well, I’ve seen everything around here; today I’m
BUILDING ON SUCCESS going to see what speed I really fall out of the sky at a 45-

L angford put more than a decade into building his

airplane and actually got to fly Clapp’s KR-2S before
he even flew his own. That flight was a pretty important
degree bank,” he says. “How slow can I really go?”
Every time he flies, he carries a laptop, and the com-
puter is hooked into the engine information system (EIS)
moment. It shifted his energy from building for the sake to record airspeed, engine speed, and altitude. Every
of building into building to fly. flight he takes, he logs data and then saves it at home. “I
Yet, the airplane is still in primer. Actually, he shot a can look at any slice of time,” he says. “If anything ever
new coat on it just prior to flying to AirVenture this year. happens, I can go back and look.”
He hasn’t painted it yet because he’s not done. Just as Those results also allow him to stop the at-large specu-
building took years—the process described on his web- lation by providing real data. In fact, when a list member
sites—flight-testing it may take a long time, too, and for offered to provide expected performance information for
the same reasons. With a completed airframe, Langford a spreadsheet that listed propeller and engine combina-
defaulted to test pilot to find out what the airplane is tions and their performance, Langford politely suggested
capable of and to document what performance changes that real data—once the airplane was flying—would be
occur when the airframe is modified with different add- more credible and therefore more useful.
ons. On his own, he’s gathered more specific performance
First and foremost, Langford’s discovered the airplane measurements. He preemptively offers that he’s doing
that occupied his shop for so long is a lot of fun to fly. A these tests so that he can more effectively—and correct-
lot. “This is a really inexpensive way to have a lot of fun,” ly—answer members’ questions when they post them to
Langford says. “I don’t know of anything else that gives the site. Who knows what someone might ask, and when
you this much speed for the money.” they do, he wants to be prepared.
During the first year he flew, he logged more than When a KRNet.org member asked about what altitude

34 DECEMBER 2006
he should land straight ahead in the event of an engine attitude. Esoteric information, to be sure, unless you’re
failure, and when he could turn back, Langford could the one who wants to know.
answer because he had actually done that the day before. “What we’re trying to do now is gather performance
He was able to sort through hours of computer tracks information, and then we’ll know how much difference
to find the right one and say, more or less definitively, they make,” Langford says. “It’s neat to go back and look
that above 500 feet the airplane will make the runway, at the numbers and know that I’m not just whistling
provided it’s powered by the same Corvair engine and Dixie.”
has his split flaps to slow down in time to land, ambient Eventually, he wants to test whether various accessory
weather conditions notwithstanding. configurations help or hinder the cause. He’s curious
Prior to a prop change, he did some speed and climb about the pros and cons of such add-ons as wheelpants
tests so he could compare the old prop’s efficiency to and wingtips—and not just if they improve efficiency,
the new one once it was installed. He timed runs with a but also by how much. With a methodical, change-
stopwatch, altimeter, EIS, and GPS on four different runs. one-part-at-a-time approach, he hopes to gather specific
The results were 157 mph for a 75 percent cruise with quantitative data on each, to see what effect each tweak
the Sterba, while a new Sensenich pulls him along at 170 has over the aircraft’s previous performance. After all, if
mph; certainly toasty, considering how dirty the airplane it makes the airplane better and helps other builders, it’s
is without wheelpants and gap seals. worth doing.
With the throttle wide open, he’s calculated fuel burn “I just followed his lead,” says Jones. “Mark is abso-
to be 5.1 gph. And, according to his numbers, a 2050 lutely the best in KRs. There are only a handful of people
rpm power setting is the minimum the airplane will fly who are keeping up.”
in level flight, and at that, the fuselage is at a 10-degree GO DIRECT
angle, up from the 8.1-degree angle it rides at while
climbing out and the 9.2 degrees it peeks up when tied
Http://KRNet.org — The website provides a wealth of 
Internet information about KRs as well as the mailing list
down. At engine idle, the fuselage is at a 6.8-degree angle devoted to helping KR builders and pilots construct and fly
with the flaps down and an 8.2-degree angle with the their KR aircraft more safely and efficiently.
flaps up. At its full-bore speed, it’s at a 0.5-degree nose-up

36 DECEMBER 2006