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From: Matt Reeves mattreeves@yahoo.com
Hello boys (who never grow up and never should have to) and ladies, (hee hee)
Here?s the most exciting email ever!! It was the Reeves Lancair Sacred First Engine Start Party
this weekend. All my brothers came over and we each were assigned a job. Two brothers on fire
extinguishers, one on ax duty, wives on cameras, kids behind Grandma with Puppy on a leash.
Blew the driveway out with super high power leaf blower for the 3rd time.
We pulled the airplane out, checked and double-checked all hoses, cables, connections, etc.
Removed cowling in case of any leaks or fire. Took out all spark plugs and spun the SKY TEC
starter to build up oil pressure - NICE. The prop spun so fast, I was amazed. Replaced spark
plugs. We don?t have brake fluid in the lines yet, so we tied the tail to hitch on Grandma?s car
? (never use your own in case of damage).
Chocked and blocked the chocks on all wheels. Fireman buddies on hand with hoses ready. Traffic
on the road stopped, not by cops, but by interest in both directions. Time to start. Climbed in,
closed canopy. Wow, this is it. Opened canopy, asked if everyone knew their job and was ready.
Everyone gives thumbs up. ?CLEAR PROP!!!? Closed canopy. Look at this panel, will is really
work? I?ve tested it but today, the plane will come alive. Today, it will breathe. Everyone
thumbs up.
Master on, mixture rich, fuel pump on. Instruments are all working, wow. Key start. Prop
spins, FAST ? twice around and it STARTS!!! Yeah! It started faster than I thought. The cockpit
is much quieter than expected. The prop is moving, the airplane is alive. The engine runs
smoothly, much smoother than any Cessna or Piper I ever rented or the Aero Commander I used to
own. I cannot begin to explain the feeling. It was sur-real. It felt like the first day the
gear retracted all by itself but better, much better.
I look outside, everyone is jumping up and down with thumbs up, cheering like I?ve never seen them
cheer. People in cars are waving. I time the run to 2 minutes and shut down to check for any
leaks. Prop stops. Everyone cheers. Cars start moving again. It?s now a different airplane
than it was 5 minutes ago. What a feeling to step out and look closely, no leaks, no problems.
Ran over to give high fives and hugs, looked back and the sexy Lancair actually smiled at me.
What a day. I couldn?t pull the plane back into the garage for several hours. I just couldn?t
stop looking at it in a whole new way. I looked at it from every angle, over and over again.
People brought kids and asked if they could take pictures of them by the wing. It was like
Oshkosh, only smaller. My RV brothers say it was the best day of their lives. It was the best
day of mine. Did I mention how happy I was with my rebuilt Sky-Tec starter? I?ve been
overwhelmed with the excellent customer service at Sky-Tec, without them, this day couldn?t have
happened. They rebuilt it for me in less than one day. I love them. They even asked for a
picture of my Lancair?s first engine run for their wall of fame!!
So, I still have a long way to go (sanding, sanding, sanding) till first flight, but first engine
start is one hell of a milestone.
Have a great day.
Matt Reeves
Rochester, NY
P.S. This is a STANDARD build 320 MKII kit all honeycomb, long mount, large tail, Lycoming
0-320-D3G 160HP Lancair Hartzell Constant speed prop. 0% farmed out. Slow builds put hair on
your chest - now I have THREE!!
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