Tri-R KIS and KIS Cruiser

Trickel and company, moving in fast forward

Rich Trickel's life lately hasn't been one of lounging on the beach in Baja. Far from it. As the head of Tri-R Technologies, a composites concern that produces not only components for a variety of firms but also its own kit airplane, Trickel has been busy. In the past few months, he has overseen steady evolution of his first kit, the two-seat KIS, and the design and construction of a four-place derivative, called the KIS Cruiser — a fixed-gear single propelled by a 180-horsepower Lycoming O-360. At the same time, his Oxnard, California-based company has been busy shipping more than 80 of the KIS two-place kits. Evolution of a design is almost inevitable, and so it is with the KIS. Originally built with an 80- hp Limbach (a distant relative of the Volkswagen flat four), the airplane was later fitted with a Lycoming O-235; it can also house a Continental O- 200. When Continental announced American availability of a new engine, the IO-240, Trickel jumped at the chance to fit it to the KIS. In the interim, Sky-Star has shoehorned the small Continental into the Kitfox and Vixen, and Stoddard-Hamilton uses the engine in the new GlaStar.

Continental built the IO-240 out of familiar parts. A beefed-up O- 200 bottom end — replete with dry-sump lubrication system — anchors a set of four IO-360 cylinder assemblies. Bore, stroke, and compression ratio (4.438 inches, 3.875 inches, and 8.5:1, respectively) mirror standard IO- 360 practice. Power output, however, is only 59 percent of the hottest IO- 360's.

What's unusual for this end of the power spectrum is the presence of fuel injection. Continental makes its own system, and the IO-240's will be familiar to anyone who has worked on any of the Continental's other injected powerplants. It's a purely mechanical system that has had good service history in other applications. Homebuilders in the midst of construction might not appreciate the more complex fuel system required by the injection, but the improved mixture distribution should make up for the trouble. Without fluids, the IO-240 weighs a claimed 250 pounds, a bit more than a Lycoming O-235.

Ahead of the firewall, the IO-240 is a good fit in the KIS — the airframe pictured here used to be home to the Limbach, and save for the firewall-forward alteration is unchanged. As you might expect, the IO- 240's 125 hp gives the airplane a bit more performance than the 118-hp Lycoming version. Tri-R claims a 148-knot cruise for the Lycoming KIS.

In cruise flight at 7,500 feet (in conditions slightly warmer than standard), the IO-240-powered KIS posted a 158-knot two-way average at 76- percent power and a 143-knot average at about 63 percent. Climb performance was also quite good — showing just more than 1,000 feet from sea level, tapering to 800 fpm at 7,500 feet. These numbers were obtained at maximum gross weight of 1,450 pounds. The twin wing tanks hold a total of 25 gallons.

An additional 15 or so pounds at the front of the airplane, courtesy of the IO-240, alter the KIS's handling. The slightly heavier powerplant has balanced the control forces somewhat; the last KIS exhibited considerably heavier aileron forces than those in pitch. That kind of control effort requires a bit of pilot accommodation. However, the IO-240-powered KIS seems more balanced in this regard, although pitch forces are still moderately light — fine for a sunny-day flier.

Continental's latest powerplant indeed makes the KIS a spirited runner, but, as we sampled it, this is not a totally happy marriage. With the prototype's conventional O-200-style engine mounts, the IO-240 proves to be a real shaker in the KIS. It doesn't ever seem to completely smooth out, and it hits a particularly annoying rough spot at about 2,200 rpm under load. Trickel says his company's next order of business is to install a new style of engine mount that he thinks will help take the shakes out of the little Continental. He also said that a different prop — possibly a wood prop — will also help. To be fair to Trickel and the KIS, the IO-360, the not so distant cousin of the IO-240, is not known for its smoothness.

Entry fees for the two-place KIS start at $16,900, plus the cost of the correct engine mount for your powerplant of choice. Currently, Trickel says the KIS will house the Limbach 80-hp engine, Continentals from the C-85 to the O-200 (and, of course, the IO-240), Lycomings in the O-235 and O-290 family, the four-cylinder Franklin, and a handful of automotive conversions including the Subaru and Honda/CAM 100. Estimated construction time is 1,000 hours, and a fast-build option is available.

While a larger-engine version of the KIS is notable, the big news here is the quad-seat Cruiser. If its looks suggest a stretched, widened, and larger-winged iteration of the two-placer, a peek under the skin confirms it. In most respects, the Cruiser borrows liberally from KIS design concepts, including the thick, constant-chord wing, fixed gear and prop, and dual gull-wing doors. Save for individual wings mated to a hefty carrythrough structure, the internal workings would look quite familiar to a KIS builder; the smaller airplane uses a one-piece wing.

Inside, the Cruiser shows its greater size to good effect. Front- seat riders enjoy excellent visibility — both over the low-slung cowling and through the large side windows. Claimed cabin width is 44 inches up front and 42 inches in the back seats.

Entry and exit benefit greatly from outsized doors and, thanks to folding upper seat backs, gaining access to the aft perches is simple. Passengers accustomed to a Piper Cherokee will find the Cruiser larger and considerably airier at all stations. Thanks to the carrythrough structure, however, rear foot room is limited. Trickel says slight changes in the spar layout, which are ongoing at press time, will offer greater roam room for your Hushpuppies. Also, the gull-wing doors' latching hardware creates a somewhat obtrusive longitudinal hump in each door, right at elbow level.

Comparisons to the Cherokee, and the Piper Archer in particular, seem only natural. Power is the same — from an Archer-spec Lycoming O-360- A4M — although at maximum gross weight the Cruiser is 150 pounds lighter than the Archer. Predictions post the homebuilt's empty weight as 400 pounds less than the typical PA-28-181. (It happens to be a whopping 558 pounds lighter than the Archer III we tested in November.)

Thanks to the light projected empty weight — and homebuilders take notice: you are in control of this number; keep it in mind — the Cruiser's payload is Arnold Schwarzenegger-large. With a useful load of 1,200 pounds, you can subtract for full fuel (50 gallons usable) and still get four FAA-standard 170-pounders inside with room for 220 pounds of bags.

While the Cruiser stomps the Archer in payload, it similarly walks all over the Piper in performance. With full fuel, 360 pounds in the front seats, and 50 pounds of ballast in the baggage bay, we flew the Cruiser some 490 pounds under maximum weight. Initial climb from near sea level was 1,300 fpm; listed climb is 1,100 fpm at maximum weight. Twisting through what Trickel says is a climb-oriented prop, the Lycoming pulled the Cruiser to 7,500 feet smartly, showing 1,000 fpm just before level- off.

We sampled cruise performance at three power settings — 2,500, 2,600, and 2,700 rpm — at 7,500 feet. An outside air temperature of 53 degrees Fahrenheit gave us an 8,870-foot density altitude. With a Proptach showing 2,500 rpm, the Cruiser chugged along at 123 knots indicated, 141 knots calculated true, and 139 knots average on a two-way GPS-verified speed run. Without a manifold-pressure gauge aboard or knowing the exact pitch of the Cruiser's prop, it's a bit difficult to determine the exact percentage of power being made at each engine speed and altitude. According to the Archer books, however, those setting would get 65 percent and a true airspeed of 121 knots in a PA-28.

Cranking up the power brings expected increases in speed. At 2,600 rpm, the Cruiser's two-way run averaged 148 knots. Turning 2,700 rpm, the Lycoming pulled the Cruiser along at 155 knots. For comparison, 2,600 rpm would have netted 70-percent power and 126 knots true in the Archer, and 2,700 rpm should yielded 76 percent and 128 knots true. Fuel consumption, according to the Lycoming books, should be about 10 gph at 75 percent and 8.7 gph at 65 percent.

Alacrity is always welcome, but the Cruiser mixes that with docile, predictable handling. Pilots having flown their whole careers in Archers will feel right at home in the Cruiser. Control forces are conventional, with response and authority as good as or better than most production airplanes in this class. As it's true of the two-place KIS, roll forces are greater than those in pitch. Trim stability is good, and the airplane will readily pick up a wing with the rudder.

Stall characteristics are almost absurdly benign. With the power off, the airplane offers substantial aerodynamic warning and culminates with the nose bobbing and the airplane sinking moderately. Power on, the pitch attitude more resembles an Atlas rocket than a mom-and-pop conveyance, but there's no apparent nasty break or tendency to drop a wing.

Back in the pattern, the Cruiser continues its friendly ways. Two notches of flaps — for 13 and 26 degrees' extension — are available to add drag and lower the pitch attitude. Good touchdowns from the slightly stiff solid aluminum main gear come after 60- to 70-knot approaches. Positive nosewheel steering makes tracking the centerline a snap.

At the time of our visit, Trickel had just the prototype flying and was, in fact, busily completing molds for production kits of the Cruiser. So far, 14 people have plunked down the $23,900 for the Cruiser kit — as is typical, this figure does not include an engine, prop, electrical system, interior, or paint. Cautious types will double the kit's cost in budgeting for the completed airplane — said to take between 1,200 and 1,500 hours to build — although the thrifty shoppers might well come in under that. Powerplant choices range from the 160-hp Lycoming O- 320 to, possibly, a 200-hp IO-360; we think getting the angle-valve engine to fit might require some cowling mods, however.

As with the smaller KIS, the Cruiser is constructed from high- temperature prepreg E-glass fiberglass. Prepreg (or pre-impregnated) means that the fiberglass cloth has been wetted with epoxy by the composite maker, greatly improving the critical ratio of glass to glue and reducing weight. Trickel uses some graphite in the spar caps, longitudinal cabin surrounds, and roll-over structure in front of and behind the doors.

Between the IO-240 KIS and the Cruiser, Trickel and company have turned out a tremendous amount of product for a relatively small kit manufacturer. And, naturally, the work on the Cruiser is not yet complete: Trickel hopes to have the last components of the kit rolling out the doors as you read this. After all this hard work, we think Rich Trickel has earned himself a vacation.