First flight

August 15, 2006

It was nice of the gentlemen at Cincinnati FSDO to drive two hours to Portsmouth to inspect my airplane. It also saved me a few hundred dollars from hiring a DAR for the inspection. With the airworthiness certificate in hand, I spent the rest of the day putting cowling and all the access panels back.

August 16, 2006

It is a beautiful day to fly. I only told a few people about my plan. I asked Josh Blair to be my camera man. He used his compact digital camera for both the photos and videos. Chris, Josh's brother was the lineman that day. He fueled the airplane for me. I put on my Nomex flight suit and and here goes.

Engine run-up, check instrument, lock canopy, system is ready to go. Sitting at the end of Runway 36 I am a bit nervous but definitely ready to go. Full throttle, hold the stick back, do everything just like what Mike Seager has taught me in a RV-6A two weeks ago. N103LF flies straight and gracefully. After one circle in the pattern, I came down and landed normally. What a thrill! A few airport friends came over to take a look. My big RV grim can be seen from a long way.

First Flight Videos