Guest ron dunn Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 The bird being my Evans VP1 that took almost 5 years to build ( make that read refurbished) First flight was on Monday 26 March for a duration of .7 hours and all went well. When I purchased the aircraft it was in a sorry state, having been stored for well over a decade and the engine had been sold. The restoration went well with a big time delay in the WV conversion that I purchased. It was not up to scratch so I canned it and installed a low hour Jabiru 1600. I am glad I did as I now have a quiet running engine with electric start and it produces as much or more power than the 1600 VW would have. The aircraft has a turtle deck and full canopy and looks quite neat with the Jabiru style cowl. Climb rate at this early stage looks to be around 450 - 500 fpm and may improve a little when I finish the wing root fairings. Indicated airspeed shows 80 knots at 2850 rpm so am fairly pleased at this stage. To all those that are still building - keep at as it is really worth it! Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planedriver Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Well done Ron. Bet you're still smling from ear to ear. Always good when things go well after a lot of hard work. When you get a chance, how about a few pics of your new toy. Kind Regards Planey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 congratulations. I am sure you are in for some great flying over the next few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ron dunn Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 It's good to be back in the air again with your own plane. I tried to download a photo but it told me the file was too big. Will keep on working at it. If anyone is interested in some photo's - e.mail me at - [email protected] Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 create an account on photobucket.com dead easy to use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Congratulations Ron...show us some pictures in the Photo Gallery here on Aircraft Pilots...let me know if you have any probs with uploading them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planedriver Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 G'day Ron, I'm no computer guru, but if I have a photo with a large file that I want reduced in size, I email it to myself and am normally asked if you want to reduce it in size to email. Once received, save the file in your photos file, and attach that one. Hope that helps. Kind Regards Planey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ron dunn Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Thanks for the photo tips - will have a go again tonight. Build a couple of planes but a bit of a danger with the keyboard! Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinfrost Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Congrats Ron. Good to see you in the air in your own A/C again. Can't get away from those Jabby motors can you. 80 kts is good. What's the VNE on the Volksplane. Frosty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ron dunn Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hello Kevin - thanks The book VNE is 104 knots but I have limited mine to 100 knots due to max ASI limit. Will have to do some GPS runs to confirm the AIS - but the airspeed indicator is new and shows 80 knots. There could be some pitot tube error though. I have a 50 mile limit for flying off the 25 hours and hope to get down your way as soon as this is out of the way. Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddy-jake Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Congrats on the rebuild Ron. Seems we're all keen to see photos. If you save the photos and but go to 'save as' then you should also be prompted to save the format also. JPEG is most common and good compression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit12 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Pictures please! I have a very soft spot for the VP1. 80kn is pretty good, that may be as a result of the Jabiru engine because it certainly doesn't often cruise at that speed with a VW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pookemon Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Woot! Congratz! May you have abundant blue skies and many, many hours of fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil_S Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 The bird being my Evans VP1 that took almost 5 years to build ( make that read refurbished) First flight was on Monday 26 March for a duration of .7 hours and all went well. Hi Ron, Well done! You must have a great sense of satisfaction from such an achievement. Like all the others - I would like to see some pix! You can always upload pix to www.flickr.com - it's free, then just put the link in here. Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ron dunn Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hi all. Finally got a photo below to have a look at. Will try and get a photo of the bird in it's sad and sorry state when I first picked it up. Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ron dunn Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I agree with VP1 cruise speeds generally of around 65 kts - although there is one in S.A with a 1700 VW that was stated to cruise around 80 kts. I have the advantage of a full wrap around screen and canopy plus I think the Jabiru would be putting more horsepower to the prop than the standard 1600 VW. A few runs with the GPS will tell. Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piet Fil Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Well done Ron, Must be a great, satisfying feeling. It looks nice and tidy. Be proud and enjoy flying your little gem. Congrats Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ron dunn Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I thought some might be interested to have a look at the photo below of the VP1 in it's sorry state at the start of refurbishing. Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddy-jake Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 It is in a sorry state, but great testimony to the job well done on the restoration. Since you've got photos worked out next will be video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j230 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 The bird being my Evans VP1 that took almost 5 years to build ( make that read refurbished) First flight was on Monday 26 March for a duration of .7 hours and all went well.When I purchased the aircraft it was in a sorry state, having been stored for well over a decade and the engine had been sold. The restoration went well with a big time delay in the WV conversion that I purchased. It was not up to scratch so I canned it and installed a low hour Jabiru 1600. I am glad I did as I now have a quiet running engine with electric start and it produces as much or more power than the 1600 VW would have. The aircraft has a turtle deck and full canopy and looks quite neat with the Jabiru style cowl. Climb rate at this early stage looks to be around 450 - 500 fpm and may improve a little when I finish the wing root fairings. Indicated airspeed shows 80 knots at 2850 rpm so am fairly pleased at this stage. To all those that are still building - keep at as it is really worth it! Cheers Ron Hi Ron Its great to see you have your plane in the air at last you must now be a free bird. If i had known when the maiden flight was i would have flown up for the event, You must have been like a kid at xmas time when you landed , i bet the grin was from ear to ear. Will fly up soon to see you on a Saturday morning when the weather is fine. Regards Ray rhyne J230 Kadina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herm Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Not only do you have a great plane, but you have a real connection with it. Good on ya! Really a great thrill. Enjoy it Mardy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planedriver Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Well done Ron, it looks great mate, especially with the full chipmonk like canopy. Hope you get many, many hours of safe flying fun as a reward for all your hard labour. Rgds Planey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ron dunn Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Hi RonIts great to see you have your plane in the air at last you must now be a free bird. If i had known when the maiden flight was i would have flown up for the event, You must have been like a kid at xmas time when you landed , i bet the grin was from ear to ear. Will fly up soon to see you on a Saturday morning when the weather is fine. Regards Ray rhyne J230 Kadina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ron dunn Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Hello Ray, Yes...good to have your own plane again - even if it is only a single seater! Have flown around 5 hours test flying now but have only just resumed after a couple of months waiting for a new prop. The jabiru prop was OK but not really suited to my type of aircraft (slow and draggy) Have fitted a Brent Thompson unit. 58 x 30 It has given me another couple of hundred revs on take off. The ground run has decreased by around 20 percent and the initial climb rate has gone up to 650/700 feet/min - cruise has not suffered too much and is now around 72 knots. Say G'day to all down there for me and will try to get down in a month or two. Cheers Ron dunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j230 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Hello Ray, Yes...good to have your own plane again - even if it is only a single seater! Have flown around 5 hours test flying now but have only just resumed after a couple of months waiting for a new prop. The jabiru prop was OK but not really suited to my type of aircraft (slow and draggy) Have fitted a Brent Thompson unit. 58 x 30 It has given me another couple of hundred revs on take off. The ground run has decreased by around 20 percent and the initial climb rate has gone up to 650/700 feet/min - cruise has not suffered too much and is now around 72 knots. Say G'day to all down there for me and will try to get down in a month or two. Cheers Ron dunn Hi Ron Top news will be up there in the next 4 weeks will let you know so you can give us a demonstration flight. Will let you know when we are coming up so it works in with you. Cheers Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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