First Test Flight and
“RV-Grin” ;-)
First Flight,
After 4 years of steady progress on our RV-9A QB Project,
N119WB flew for its first time over
Paine Field Washington on Halloween day October 31st,
2004. The air was clear, crisp and
Chilly with a slight breeze and a bit of vertical air
movement aloft. I knew the ship was
ready,
And it had just received its airworthiness certificate two
weeks prior with no problems found.
Vivian, my exceptionally supportive wife, fellow builder and
private pilot was the ground crew
with her handheld radio.
To prepare for the test flight, I completed my biennial
flight review in a Cessna 172 and flew
the intended mission in the X-Plane PC Simulator using the
RV-9A that Andy Goldstein and Gary
Newsted created. I
was a bit nervous at initial engine startup as I requested taxi for a
full-length
takeoff on 16R (The same 10,000 foot runway that Boeing uses
for the 777 initial flights). After a
complete run-up and systems check, N119WB was telling me
that she was ready and willing to go.
This gave me the confidence to request my takeoff
clearance. Once out on the big runway
centerline, I pushed the power up to full power, and N119WB
accelerated quickly, tracking the
centerline perfectly.
At 45 knots, I slowly started adding backpressure, and before I knew it,
I
was airborne 60 knots and climbing.
In moving up into the sky for the very first time, no trim
necessary, and she flew out perfectly.
Accelerating briskly to 100 knots, I climbed to the assigned
altitude of 2600 feet and started
flying wide circuits directly above the airport. The air was somewhat choppy, but she was
telling me she was in good shape and wanted to show
me. All engine and systems indications
excellent, and at that point, I could tell she had some very
fine designers. After 30 minutes
into the flight, I slowed her down to 70 knots indicated
with full flaps, and to my delight, I
found she gets even more stable in the landing
configuration. I then knew I could
handle
the first landing and started to relax. Applying 65 percent power, and accelerating
back up
to 136 knots indicated, I could tell she was a truly
efficient craft.
48 minutes into the flight, I requested reentry back into
the pattern and descended to Earth
wishing I could stay longer. I was number two for landing, as I started cycling the flaps down
until I was at 70 knots with full flaps. This configuration felt “solid as a rock”
over the fence
as I slowed to 65 knots and then down to 60 knots at the
round-out point. I then held the nose
in a landing attitude, and to my satisfaction, the mains
softly touched down. After the nose
slowly kissed the ground, I carefully applied brakes, and I
continued to track the runway
straight ahead.
Pulling off of runway 16R, I requested taxi to parking and
thanked the tower for their help.
On the way back to the ramp, I reflected on my first landing
-- it felt like I had just landed a
Boeing Jet. It’s
hard to describe how incredibly stable the RV-9A is on approach to landing
and landing. It was
the best landing I had ever done in my 25 years of flying! The airplane
just kept telling me what she needed all the way down to
landing and touchdown. At the ramp,
I could tell Vivian, with a big smile on her face, looked
even more relieved than I was. And,
we both then entered the final phase of the flight—“The RV
Grin” ;-).
May your First Flight be as delightful as ours!
I would like to thank Bruce Reynolds and Gus Funnell for being so kind and
patient in answering
all of
my technical questions and also to Tom Green for the inspiration to complete
the project.
In addition,
I would also like to thank Vivian's family for being so supportive
during our project.
John and
Vivian,
Builder
90119