"Halestorm wrote:Only publish it if it goes well!"... don't mater it'l make the news any way

Flew it twice on Memorial Day. Very docile in the air and well behaved on the ground, didn't scare myself too bad. Had to fool with the prop a little bit, had it set a bit too fine. Also had the elevator trim backwards, no biggie just switched two wires on the electric servo. Doesn't need trim at all with just me in it anyway. Still have the little tires on, no sense burning up the Air Streaks for the first few hours of pavement ops.

Really busy with work stuff right now, hope to get back in it soon.

Reversed trim was a contributing factor to my best mates fatal early last year so glad you picked up on that one.

Awsome news mate! Thats brilliant you got it flying! Cant wait to see videos!

DrifterDriver wrote:Reversed trim was a contributing factor to my best mates fatal early last year so glad you picked up on that one.

Awsome news mate! Thats brilliant you got it flying! Cant wait to see videos!

Thanks and sorry about your friend. I was playing all sorts of "oh crap" scenarios in my head at the time...did I rig the tail wrong...then it occurred to me to push the down button for up and all was well. The funny part was that 5 people including the builders and an IA who spent the better part of a day looking it over before the AW inspection all missed it. Never have too many eyes I guess.

gbflyer wrote:

DrifterDriver wrote:Reversed trim was a contributing factor to my best mates fatal early last year so glad you picked up on that one.

Awsome news mate! Thats brilliant you got it flying! Cant wait to see videos!

Thanks and sorry about your friend. I was playing all sorts of "oh crap" scenarios in my head at the time...did I rig the tail wrong...then it occurred to me to push the down button for up and all was well. The funny part was that 5 people including the builders and an IA who spent the better part of a day looking it over before the AW inspection all missed it. Never have too many eyes I guess.

Glad to hear of the flying beginning, am excited for you guys.

Thanks for bringing out the reversed control on the trim tab. Like the C5 crash short of the runway in Delaware that had several very experienced people on board, and a recent incident at work (fortunately no bad results), it can easily happen when you have a few sharp and trusted folks working on something. You don't look as critically at your own work or theirs' due to the trust in them. We all make simple mistakes or miss simple things occasionally.

Have fun and be safe exploring the new envelope, looking forward to hearing more reports!

Mark J

Got to see it fly today as the old man gave it a whirl. Sounds like a lawn mower, and the Aveo lights are bright.

Initial take away is that it flys similar to a light J3. I still have not found a good way to crawl in the thing as the strut is in the way, similar to a Maule I rode in one time. A big guy better be pretty flexible to mount up.

"I don't think the Empire had Wookies in mind when they designed her, Chewie."

gb, I agree that the plane is a little bit challening to mout/unmount for someone that is not young and flexible. When ever I finally am able to get different gear installed I plan on having a step put on to make getting in easier. Glad to hear that you are happy with the plane so far.
I had a hard time with the 'lawnmower' (I say weedeater) sound at first also. I seemed to pay more attention to the tach for the first few hours more than anything else. After a few hours though my worries subsided.

I find the S7 easier to climb in and out of than a Cub thanks to the big tall doors.

gbflyer wrote:Got to see it fly today as the old man gave it a whirl. Sounds like a lawn mower, and the Aveo lights are bright.

Initial take away is that it flys similar to a light J3. I still have not found a good way to crawl in the thing as the strut is in the way, similar to a Maule I rode in one time. A big guy better be pretty flexible to mount up.

"I don't think the Empire had Wookies in mind when they designed her, Chewie."

I have the 29's, and the way I get in is to step up on the tire, (and that's really the most awkward part) and put my butt on the door sill (forward of the strut), then one hand lightly on the lift strut and the other on the overhead headache rack and I pull my feet up to clear the door post. This part I do slow: I then swing both feet under the panel. For myself, I don't see the step helping at all, so I don't have one. I'm 5'8" and pretty limber (I can still bend over while on the chairlift and strap in my snowboard bindings before getting off, something some kids can't do ) not over weight but hell I'm 65, quite complaining! The hardest part for me is the swinging the feet in thing, you really have to crunch your legs tight. I have a very similar thing in how I get in my crane cab, (it can be very awkward depending on the boom rotation) I think both the plane and the crane help keep me in shape as in agile enough anyway. Granted, it's tight, but keep at it, you'll get a system down.

Thanks cg, that's good info. I tried it your way this morning. I like it best so far.

Filled the fuel tanks, it's still a rocket. By the 6th landing its not hard to get it stopped by the middle of the runway numbers touching down right at the end of the pavement without Jedi - type flying skills which I do not possess. I don't know how far that is but it's pretty short.

Right foot on the tire, grab an inside tube and swing your ass in. Hell I'm 78 and have no trouble at all. Course I think I'm 48.

I should add that I back in from in front of the spar, step on the tire, grab the spar and hoist my ass in. Simple and easy.

Crossed the 40hr mark a few days ago:

yeah look's damn good.

I'm with him, that plane looks SHARP!

Good looking plane, but I'm biased. That 40 hour mark is good to get behind you, 100 hr. even more, all the new airplane issues fade away and the fun really starts.