First Flight

[Soleair]

My plane has been at my local airfield for several months since I 'finished' the build. I have used the time in finishing all the little fiddly bits, making some improvements, running the engine, etc. I've also learned to taxi it, using the 5700' tarmac runway. Eventually I got to be able to taxi tail-up the full length of the runway (though not always in a particularly straight line!).

 

But I did not want to do first flights off tarmac, which is of course much less forgiving than grass for low hour wannabee taildragger pilots. But by the immutable Law of Sod, the grass strip has been closed for months due to unusually high winter rainfall. So I resigned myself to waiting until it was open to go beyond taxiing for my new build.

 

Last Friday it was at last opened - hurrah! And the forecast for yesterday morning was for calm weather early morning.

 

So Sunday I put some fresh fuel in both tanks, & did yet another full-on preflight.

 

I arrived at the airport early, & wheeled my plane out. I chocked the wheels, warmed up the engine, then ran it to full power. All good.

 

I did a couple of tailup taxi runs the length of the grass strip. Partly to check out the runway (bumpy), partly to test the new composite tailspring I had just made & fitted (works well), & partly to see if I could still do it (much easier on grass).

 

Then I lined up for a fast taxi/crow hop. After a few yards I was going quite fast, & when I hit a small hillock, I let the plane take off. I flew for maybe 100 yards, at up to 3 feet altitude. Then I slowly eased her back onto the grass. It went ok.

 

So I turned round at the end, & tail up taxied back to the downwind end. Checked everything 8 more times. Lined up, gave it some gas, gritted my teeth, and took off. :))

 

I climbed at about 600 fpm, maybe 3/4 throttle, about 55 mph. The plane was very steady - much nicer to be in than all that lurching about on the ground! At 1000' agl I turned crosswind, & kept climbing. I stayed in the circuit pattern the whole flight. At 3000' agl I tried a stall, but I must have had too much power on, because I got to a crazy angle of attack, down to 30mph ias, with no nose drop. So I levelled off, & did some turns, left & right, maybe 40 degrees of bank. Then I did some slips, left & right.

 

The plane was totally predictable, felt very smooth & steady, with tiny control inputs. The pitch trim is very sensitive, & the plane responds quickly to throttle inputs. The cht's & egt's were all below limits.

 

I tried a very gentle dive at 5500rpm (max 6000), and saw 80 mph on the ASI. It all felt good. The air was very calm, no clouds in a very blue sky. Wow!!

 

I did a couple of descending circuits, & came in for a touch & go. I had to slip it a bit to lose altitude. The view over the nose at 55 - 60 mph is excellent - no danger of not being able to see the runway. I held a steady descent, and held off to let the speed decay. But by the time I settled (ok, bounced) onto the ground, I was too close to the end of the runway, so I made it a full stop. I turned round, taxied back to the start , & did another circuit. I made it a bit bigger all round, but still had to slip to get to 600' on turn to final. It slips very controllably: no drama at all. There was a bit of low level turbulence on late final, but it was easily dealt with due to the very powerful ailerons.

 

I did a fair landing, about halfway along the strip. It was sort of a 2.5 pointer - neither 3 pointer nor wheeler. I think perhaps I stalled it about a foot too high. I don't really remember. Anyway, only a minor bounce that soon stopped. I was so excited about my flight that I lost concentration, & did quite a large swerve. Fortunately I managed to catch it before it ground looped, but it was a good reminder to keep flying until the engine is off.

 

I'd been flying for 40 minutes, so I decided to quit while I was ahead. I taxied back to the hangar, took the cowl off, & had a good look over the engine. I took 2 spark plugs out - they look a little rich to me, & my temps were all below limits, even in a long descent at small throttle opening. But I will leave the jets & needles as they are for the moment - better rich than lean.

 

I'm stoked to have finally flown my plane, after the long road from thinking about building, to doing it, then eventually getting to make my maiden flight. I am very impressed with how beautifully the Max flies: it is so controllable, & gives a great feeling of confidence.

 

I'll build on this first flight, & try some more stalls, steeper turns & slips, power off landings, etc. But for now I'm on the beer! A very happy bunny, me.

 

Bruce

 

 

 

[flyerme]

Well done Bruce. Congrats on a great achievement

[KRviator]

Well done Bruce! It wasn't until I was putting my -9 to bed after the first flight a few months ago that the enormity of what had just happened hit! It's a terrific feeling. Good luck with your Phase I.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Congratulations!!! I love stories like this. Hope you have many hundreds of happy flying ahead of you.

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

Fantastic! Well done Bruce.

 

In my mind there are very few things that are quite as satisfying as flying a plane you built yourself.

 

Wishing you many years of happy flying and enjoyment of the social side of aviation, after the long times you have spent confined to the workshop.

 

 

[Soleair]

Thanks, chaps, for all your kind words, awards, and wishes. I hope to get as much fun from flying as I did from building - seems like every chance of that.

 

Cheers

 

Bruce

 

HIC: true - except perhaps for one you've also designed yourself! I hope yours fulfils it's potential.

 

 

[planedriver]

Well done Bruce, so happy for you mate. Bet I know what you'll be dreaming about tonight. "Hang on honey, I've gotta land this thing, wait until tomorrow"

 

By the way, your bird looks great, so you must be proud of all the effort you put into building it, and so you should.

 

Kind Regards

 

Planey

 

 

[Soleair]

I flew another couple of circuits yesterday before the thunderstorms arrived. My mate shot a few shaky video clips, linked here, to show the Max really does fly!

 

 

 

[IBob]

Great writeup of the great event....thank you & all the best....)

 

 

[Guy s]

There's something awesome and hard to explain feeling on flying a plane you built yourself and well done on a great achievement.

 

The MiniMax looks great Bruce.

 

 

[Yenn]

Great write up and my congratulations on joining the builder flyer group. There is nothing like a first flight of your own plane. my only regret with mine is that I have never seen or heard the Corby flying. Nearly 400 hours and nobody else has ever flown it.

 

 

[WayneL]

Congratulations Bruce. Sounds like it went well. As I have said before, I am keen to here how the engines goes for you. How did the prop go, was it a good match? Did she fly in trim? Like the enclosed canopy too.

 

Wayne

 

 

[Soleair]

Thanks Wayne!

 

Still early days on the engine - I've only done 2.5 hours in the air (I need low winds/crosswinds until I'm better at low level handling). But thus far, I'm very favourably impressed with the MZ202 engine. It has way more power than I need; it runs very smoothly, & starts first go on the electric start.

 

As to engine/prop match, my initial results show a climb of some 1100 fpm, with a level speed of 85 mph. So I'm quite happy with those results: they imply the prop/engine/airframe are all working well together.

 

I am staying in the circuit pattern for my first 10 hours, & won't stray far away for the first 25 hours. So I'm still mainly doing circuits, to get my landings consistent. Bearing that in mind, I did a 'full tank to full tank' measured fuel consumption after my last 60 minute flight. I used 7 litres of 95 Mogas. I don't know what to expect at sustained cruise speed, but given I don't need full throttle I'm guessing 10 -12 litres per hour. I'd be well pleased with that consumption if it were so.

 

Trim is fine: a very gentle stall at 34 mph, as you'd expect from a thick, bluff wing. Trim tab is way too powerful, so I'll reduce its area & change the control geometry to use more range on the quadrant. Stick forces are very light, with very small inputs required in normal flight. Again, with the large control surfaces this is what I would expect. I haven't used my flaps yet.

 

I'll reply to your p.m. later: I'm on floor-laying duty at the moment :(

 

Bruce

 

 

[Soleair]

I've been playing around with a GoPro camera mounted in the cockpit. Still haven't got it right, but here is a video from inside the cockpit. I look like Mr Grumpy, but I am enjoying the flight, honest! It's just a bit of circuit pattern at 1000' agl, so nothing happens. . . Seen the first 30 secs, you seen it all. I'll try & capture some takeoffs & landings soon (which may be marginally more exciting. Like having an extra spoon of sugar in your tea, say).