After 5 delays for various reasons, the weather was decent and the requisite family members and friends were present, and N16GN finally slipped the surly bonds! I bent the first metal in January of 2008, and I've got 1895 hours in the build so far, with the wheel pants and gear fairings still to go.
Despite the experience of my transition training with Alex, I still uttered a choice profanity in surprise as the nose broke ground and she started climbing like a homesick angel, the power to weight ratio gives astounding takeoff performance! After a few minutes to make sure everything was mostly copacetic, I determined the airplane flies most excellently hands-off, no heavy wing. I don't have my wheel pants or gear fairings on yet, but at 5500' and close to 65F OAT (I'll have to pull the data from the Dynon and look at it) I was running 25.5" MAP and 2640 RPM and showing 165KTAS. This is with an IO360 and WW 200RV prop, and a first-flight ramp weight of right at 1410 pounds. I will say that the airspeed is unconfirmed and that number seems a bit high for what I expected, and the air at this altitude was fairly turbulent, but that is indeed what I saw on the display.
Only two squawks - oil temperature climbed up to 233 at the 17 minute mark before I pulled power back and decided to call it good, I have the Niagara 7-row oil cooler and that may not be enough, or I might have a stuck Vernatherm. I'm running Aeroshell 100W straight mineral oil for the break-in. The oil temp did come down once I reduced power though, so it may just be an engine break-in issue. The other issue was noticed on the ground once I de-cowled the plane, I had just the faintest trace of oil on the bottom of my prop governor, not enough to say it was a leak versus remnants of a drip from an oil change, but enough to make me keep an eye on it. TTAF is now 0.4, I'll try to get more later this week.
Taxiing out to see if this thing will really work or not...
Breaking ground the first time. There is a dirt overrun behind me producing the dust from my prop blast. This is west Texas after all, we gotta have some dust...
I reached normal pattern altitude about the end of the 3000' paved runway - I love this thing!
And of course, the obligatory RV-Grin - finally!! It's been a long road getting here...
Despite the experience of my transition training with Alex, I still uttered a choice profanity in surprise as the nose broke ground and she started climbing like a homesick angel, the power to weight ratio gives astounding takeoff performance! After a few minutes to make sure everything was mostly copacetic, I determined the airplane flies most excellently hands-off, no heavy wing. I don't have my wheel pants or gear fairings on yet, but at 5500' and close to 65F OAT (I'll have to pull the data from the Dynon and look at it) I was running 25.5" MAP and 2640 RPM and showing 165KTAS. This is with an IO360 and WW 200RV prop, and a first-flight ramp weight of right at 1410 pounds. I will say that the airspeed is unconfirmed and that number seems a bit high for what I expected, and the air at this altitude was fairly turbulent, but that is indeed what I saw on the display.
Only two squawks - oil temperature climbed up to 233 at the 17 minute mark before I pulled power back and decided to call it good, I have the Niagara 7-row oil cooler and that may not be enough, or I might have a stuck Vernatherm. I'm running Aeroshell 100W straight mineral oil for the break-in. The oil temp did come down once I reduced power though, so it may just be an engine break-in issue. The other issue was noticed on the ground once I de-cowled the plane, I had just the faintest trace of oil on the bottom of my prop governor, not enough to say it was a leak versus remnants of a drip from an oil change, but enough to make me keep an eye on it. TTAF is now 0.4, I'll try to get more later this week.
Taxiing out to see if this thing will really work or not...
Breaking ground the first time. There is a dirt overrun behind me producing the dust from my prop blast. This is west Texas after all, we gotta have some dust...
I reached normal pattern altitude about the end of the 3000' paved runway - I love this thing!
And of course, the obligatory RV-Grin - finally!! It's been a long road getting here...
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Fly safe.
