N277CK - First flight - 5.30.2010

CJones

Final Approach
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
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Jawjuh
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Display name:
uHaveNoIdea
What started as this:

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... on Sunday, May 30, 2010 completed its transition to this:

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As after most first flights, this is what follows:

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Getting strapped in for flight number 2:

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The builder and his 'fleet' ;)

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My favorite pic.. This just says "Ready to fly"...

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No major squawks on first flight. Between both of us, we put another 4-5 hours on it on Monday. This thing flies like a 'big' -7 - stable and ready to go. It was hard to keep the thing on the ground with half fuel and minimal interior. Roll over to a 30* bank and you can literally fly it hands off. It's going to be a great cross-country machine!
 
Re: N277CK - First flight

very nice!
 
Thanks for all of the congrats, folks. I didn't put as much sweat equity into the -10 as I did the -7, but still managed to pinch a few fingers with the bucking bar.

Wow Chris, I am in awe!. Which one do you get to take to Georgia ?:D

Well, I brought the -7 back with me on Monday, but that's just so we could stay later on Monday without having to spend 3 hours getting ready for an airline flight. It'll be back in Iowa once we get time to get the logistics worked out.

Wow. YOu guys don't waste any time building airplanes.

Ha! My sister got married 3 years ago and moved to Texas, so this was dad's way of dealing with 'empty nest syndrome' - mom wants to shop, dad builds airplanes. ;)
 
Chris -- how long from the shipping crate arrival to first flight?

Tail kit arrived Sept 7, 2007. That puts us around 2 years, 8ish months. Not as fast as we had first thought, but last year had dad travelling a lot for work which slowed things down considerably. The -10 also has a lot more fiberglass work than the -7 which is as time consuming as you will let it be.

Chris,

Not sure if you frequent the Purple Board or not, but you might read this sometime.

http://www.purpleboard.net/forums/showthread.php?t=19431

We had followed that story on VansAirforce. Bad deal with a couple of lucky/blessed people involved. We had several full-sized fire extinguishers around outside as well as inside the plane with no expectation of saving the plane, only to give us enough time to get out if necessary.
 
Congrats. It's a gorgeous bird. Looks sleek and fast too.

This man dreams of one day purchasing an RV-6A....it's got my "mission profile" written all over it :D
 
Man alive, that 10, like the rest of its clan, is a beautiful design. So spare and elegant of line.
 
What a wonderful accomplishment. I'm envious of having the time and resources to be able to do something like that. Enjoy your hard work.
 
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