01/31/2010. Remarks by Bernhard Klein: "Kenneth Rand of Huntington Beach, California, a flight test engineer with the Douglas Aircraft Company, designed and built the prototype of a single-seat lightweight sporting aircraft.

The design originated in 1969; construction of the prototype was started in 1970 and the KR-1 made its first flight in February 1972. Plans were made available to amateur constructors, and at least 6,000 sets had been sold, while over 700 aircraft were flown.

Rand employed a state-of-the-art foam-and-glass fiber composite construction method which has now become standard in homebuilt, commercial, and military aircraft. Its strength-to-weight ratio is superior to conventional construction methods, and the ease of shaping compound curves produces fast, clean surfaces that even the novice can master.

Initially the aircraft was powered by a 36 hp 1,200 cc Volkswagen modified car engine, later replaced by a 90 hp 2,074 cc example. The aircraft was flown with an open cockpit with a small curved windshield, with the shown partly glazed canopy and an all-transparent teardrop canopy.

In 1974, while returning in another aircraft from Sun 'n Fun in Florida, USA, Ken Rand was killed in a crash. His KR-1 N1436 is now on display at the EAA AirVenture Museum at Oshkosh Wittman Regional Airport, Wisconsin."