Congratulations, Dave, that's wonderful. Next time I'm at the BLC I
expect a ride. BFG

If things stay on schedule (they never do) I'll be able to trade you
rides BFG


On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 19:02:29 GMT, Dave Hyde wrote:

:I (finally) made the first flight of my RV-4 today.
:12 years of building, 0.3 hours of flight time g
:Everything was pretty much as expected. After
:quite a bit of thought I decided to make it short
:and circle a few times over the field just under the
:STL class B floor. The temptation to leave the pattern
:and actually do something was strong, but I stuck to
:the plan :-)
:
:Max speed ~140 KIAS, max altitude 1500 ft.
:
:Heavy right wing, and I'll need to put a tab on
:the rudder. No _major_ squawks, a few other minor
nes. Other than the rigging it feels fantastic
:both in the air and on the ground.
:
:Takeoff was, uh, exhilirating. I knew from the taxi
:tests that it would lift off early, and was ready.
:I was almost ~1000 ft AGL before the end of the runway.
:Pretty good nose-down attitude at 120 KIAS to hold
:altitude, too. It feels like it will really move
ut when the time comes.
:
:Slowing down for landing was more difficult than
:in the -6s I've flown, but once I got it below
:flap speed everything felt the same. Slight crosswind,
:steady approach speed, a few bounces. I'll take it.
:Cockpit video to come.
:
:For those of you still building, keep at it. I can
:finally say it was worth every hour and dollar I spent.
:It was fun building, now comes the *really* fun part.
:
ave 'wired' Hyde