Rand Robinson Engineering KR-2
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The KR-2 is the two-seat development of Ken Rand's 1972 KR-1, a plans-built design that first flew in 1974 with spruce spars, foam-and-fibreglass skins and a Volkswagen conversion of about 80 hp. The designer's figures are 156 knots in cruise, 480 lb empty and 900 lb gross for a 420 lb useful load, on 35 gallons, with mains that retract by hand.
With plans at $205 and a materials kit around $15,000 before the engine, it is about as cheap as 150 knots gets, and the aircraft's quality is entirely the builder's, from the glue joints to the engine. Finished KR-2s have come out anywhere from about 430 to 750 lb empty, with gross weights set from 900 to 1,300 lb, so a heavy example has very little useful load and the published range figures are not credible for any of them. The cockpit is 37 to 38 inches wide, which is tight for two average adults. It is pitch-light and sensitive to loading rather than fast on approach, the accident record includes stall-spin losses of control, and many builders fitted fixed gear rather than the manual retract. Wood and foam demand a dry hangar and an inspector who can judge rot, glue failure and delamination; the design is still being built from plans, so examples range from new to fifty years old. The owner may maintain it and an A&P, or the builder-repairman, signs the annual condition inspection.
Variants of the Rand Robinson KR-2
- KR-2 · 1974 · 93 active · this page
Also consider
- Rutan Aircraft Factory VariEze (Model 31)Score 17.7/50 · 2 seats · 143 kt
- Aviat Aircraft S-2CPartial 12.1/30 · 2 seats · 152 kt
- Sonex / Sonex-BScore 27.1/50 · 2 seats · 130 kt
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Put Rand Robinson Engineering KR-2 side by side with up to three other models.
- Rand Robinson Engineering KR-2
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Volkswagen 2100cc conversion |
| Horsepower | 80 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1974 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 156 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | — |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | — |
| Stall speed (Vso) | — |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 420 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 900 lb |
| Empty weight | 480 lb |
| Usable fuel | 35 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $205 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 667 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 93 |
| Median year built | 1991.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 21.51 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 21.51 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 8 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 8.6 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 93 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 93 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 93 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0.2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 2.5 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 3.4 of 103 |
| Support | 5.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 11.7 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 31.56 · 197 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 1,000.75.
- Support: class median 89.
- Liquidity: class median 19.74.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30