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First flight



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 24th 04, 08:02 PM
Dave Hyde
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Default First flight

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
ones. 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
out 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.

Dave 'wired' Hyde

  #2  
Old January 24th 04, 08:41 PM
Daniel
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Default


"Dave Hyde" wrote in message
...
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


Oh God, the first flight!!! I damn near died the first flight on my plane.
Everything looked OK. and all I was planning was a VERY short liftoff and
land on the 5000' strip I trailered it to. Just a quick off the ground and
back down, just the least I could do and actually fly!! Well, I pushed the
throttle open, no sweat. IAS at 55; rotate..... OH MY GOD NO!!!!! I was
instantly subjected to the worst series of up and down oscillations ever! If
not for the seatbelts (way too loose) I'd have been thrown out. I hit my
head on the canopy many times, some hard, some not so bad. Finally, I was
back on the ground, I taxiied out the rest of the runway and back to my
start point. On video there was nothing to see, the plane rose, flew a few
hundred feet and landed, looked very "to plan".

I re-rigged the tail to provide less travel, and sat longing for a beer for
while and decided to give it one more try. I really didn't want to, I
seriously considered finding an expert on this plane and letting him have a
go. The secind trip was not fun but was less painful. I called it a day.
After a few of these short trips I had started to gain a sense of control
and have since learned to fly my plane. I have now accumulated over 1000
flights hrs and still love the plane but the first flight was a true
*******.


  #3  
Old January 24th 04, 09:32 PM
Rich S.
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Default

"Dave Hyde" wrote in message
...
I (finally) made the first flight of my RV-4 today.


Congratulations, Dave. They say there are only three things in life worth
remembering:

Your first "time" (You know what).

Your first solo flight.

Your first flight in an airplane you have built.


Now go take a bath. You have the distinct aroma of sweat! ;o)

Rich S.


  #4  
Old January 24th 04, 10:02 PM
RobertR237
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Default

In article , Dave Hyde writes:


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.

Dave 'wired' Hyde




FANTASTIC! Congratulations Dave, that is great news.

Now try to wipe that grin off your face before it freezes that way. :-)


Bob Reed
www.kisbuild.r-a-reed-assoc.com (KIS Builders Site)
KIS Cruiser in progress...Slow but steady progress....

"Ladies and Gentlemen, take my advice,
pull down your pants and Slide on the Ice!"
(M.A.S.H. Sidney Freedman)

  #5  
Old January 24th 04, 11:27 PM
Dptate
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Default


I (finally) made the first flight of my RV-4 today.
12 years of building, 0.3 hours of flight time g


Congratulations Dave. I remember it well. Great feeling isn't it? Especially
after that first landing.

Dave Tate
  #6  
Old January 25th 04, 12:00 AM
B2431
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Default

From: Dave Hyde
Date: 1/24/2004 1:02 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

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
ones. 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
out 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.

Dave 'wired' Hyde



Gee, Dave, cheer up, willya? g

Congrats. Now make with the pictures.

Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired
  #7  
Old January 25th 04, 12:28 AM
wmbjk
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Default

B2431 wrote:

Gee, Dave, cheer up, willya? g

Congrats. Now make with the pictures.

Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired


Way to go Dave! Here are some pictures of Dave for Jay's site
http://www.karen.hart.net/psychokats.html Hey Jay, don't forget to
announce the additonal photos, those "save the bandwidth" threads need
feeding. ;-)

Wayne


  #8  
Old January 25th 04, 02:02 AM
Frank
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Posts: n/a
Default

Dave Hyde wrote in :

I (finally) made the first flight of my RV-4 today.


YAAY Dave!
  #9  
Old January 25th 04, 02:20 AM
Del Rawlins
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Posts: n/a
Default

On 24 Jan 2004 10:02 AM, Dave Hyde posted the following:

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.


Congratulations, and thanks for the encouragement Dave.

----------------------------------------------------
Del Rawlins-
Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email.
Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:
http://www.rawlinsbrothers.org/bhfaq/
  #10  
Old January 25th 04, 05:16 AM
Richard Riley
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Posts: n/a
Default

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


 




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