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Hi Earnest,
At the time I was at that stage (way back in 97) the FAA had an Advisor Circular (forget the designation - but its probably still around), that outline a lot of basic things to do - bottom line was to PLAN your approach to your first flight and subsequent test flights. Two schools of thought (at least back then) on moving test. Some advocated short hops down the runway - others advocated getting airborne and high for the flight test. There was some arguments that the short hops down a runway could be more dangerous than getting airborne. I think it would depend a bit on your runway available.
I did not do short hops, but I did do a number of high speed taxi test, including measuring the time it took to accelerate to 40 MPH IAS. During the high speed tests I did rock the wings with the ailerons and did confirm the elevator would lift the nose.
I then got six guys for my flight/crash crew - stationed 3 off each end of the runway with fire extinguishers, small axes to break canopy if necessary and radios. I briefed them on my flight plan and what I intended to at each phase of take off and flight should a problem develop. Deployed them to the ends of the runway and fortunately did not need them, however, it was very nice knowing they were there.
Probably one of the best things you can do is to ensure that YOU are flight ready - many of us let our flying skills erode during the years of construction. Fortunately, I was in the process of learning to fly with one working eyeball in order to get the FAA wavier and was as proficient as I had ever been since student days. All went well - well, other than the excessive oil temps that would curtailed the flight after one circuit around the pattern and I could not get the flaps down.
I personally would recommend staying in the pattern or within gliding distance of the airport for the first flight or two. I had planned on 5 circuits around the pattern in order to get familiar with how the RV handled - fortunately it handle so well that my first landing was a grease job.
I also placed large red tape marks on airspeed and altimeter for the first flights. The red tape on the airspeed was my absolute minimum airborne airspeed. I planned never to let the airspeed indicator get below that mark unless on short final. Once I had determined what my stall speeds were, I then removed the tape.
Really think about what you are going to do if something goes wrong at each phase of take off and flight - BEFORE you fly. Ask yourself what your are going to do at each point should the engine quit (probably the worst case), at lift off, 100 ft in the air, 400 ft in the air, 1000 ft in the air. If it quit on cross wind, downwind, etc. A lot will depend on your airport and runway. I prefer to get the aircraft back on the ground - my personal philosophy is that I would rather go off the far end of the runway doing 20 mph than end up airborne with a problem and no place to go but down (and likely not a spot of my choosing).
FWIW
Ed A
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ernest Christley" <echristley@nc.rr.com>
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2005 11:52 PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: NOMEX- Wear it!!!
Russell Duffy wrote:
Greetings,
He just got he airworthiness certificate today, . . . He managed to take off in about the first third of the runway,
I really don't want to sound abrasive or like an I-told-you-so smarta$$. This is one of those times when email just doesn't cut it. But a good friend was over today helping me weld axle plates onto my gear legs. (Gas welding 1/2" steel plate to 1" round bar requires help!) We got on the subject of flight testing, and this very subject came up.
The FAA publishes a circular with very detailed advice on flight testing. Their method includes lots of slow taxiing, with speed slowly building over many runs, and then several hops before first flight. It was stated that a lot of people ignore this advice and just sort of 'kick the tires, and light the fires'. So I have a couple related questions.
Did your friend do ground testing get before recieving the airworthiness, or was it a kick-n-light procedure?
What is the general consensus within this group about how much testing is necessary? Do you lean more toward being fairly cavalier, or have you/do you plan to follow the FAA guidelines and increment taxi speeds at 5mph per several runs until the plane reaches flying speed and then do several hops before an actual flight? Most important, how do you know when the plane really is ready? Is there clear signs, or is it just a gut feeling?
-- This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."
Homepage: http://www.flyrotary.com/
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