This morning at 0845, N188PD left the ground for the first time under her own power. Wow!!! There is no doubt in my mind that I picked the right airplane!!
The weather was perfect, with no wind, temps in the high 60's, clear and a million. The only problems were a bad comm cord on my helmet and the RPM only reading 1800 at full throttle. Believe me, she's turnign more than that! (Must have something set wrong in the EIS or EFIS.) Approach to stalls were benign, slow flight comfortable, and the landing was smooth. No leaks, drips, or oil stains anywhere.
I'm going to go watch the Snowbirds do their show at the Wings Over Houston airshow, then head back out for an evening run in the RV. Oh goody - tomorrow is a holiday for us Govmt types....I can fly it again!
Many thanks to ALL of the people that I have met- a few in person, and most on the web - that have contributed advice and help during the build process. For the record, my log shows 1040 hours spread over 18.5 months since the tail kit arrived. Of course, she still needs paint before I'll call her finished, but now I can start looking for a buyer for my Grumman.
Did I say Wow!!!! This thing goes like a scalded cat - my chase pilot in his C-205 asked "who's chasing who?!"
Paul Dye
RV-8 N188PD - Flying!