Greetings,
 
Just a non-rotary note to announce that my latest RV-8 is now flying.   I
flew it twice yesterday, and the only issue was the rubber channel coming
loose at the left wing root seal.  Makes a lot of flapping noise when that
happens, but it doesn't hurt anything :-)    Total construction time was 1100 hours, over 9 calendar months (7.5 really,
since I was out of town for about 6 weeks).   As much as I like rotary
engines, you can't help but appreciate being able to just bolt on a Lyclone,
crank it up, and go flying.  It's sure a time saver, but not quite as
interesting.   The most notable feature of the plane are the Bill Dube' LED position
lights.  Everyone who sees the plane stops and stares at them.  I'm not sure
how many times I've been asked to turn them on for someone, so it's a good
thing they don't draw too much current.  Everyone stares right at them while
I turn them on, which can be interesting, since they're pretty darn bright.
On occasion, when someone makes negative comments about all the little
LED's, I "accidentally" turn on the strobes while they're watching for the
LED's to come on :-)   There are a few pics of first flight day, and a very short video of the
first takeoff on my web site.  I might actually have some time to finish the
web site now that the plane is flying.  Gotta get back to the ducted fan
single rotor gyrocopter planning.
 
Cheers,
Rusty (survived 4 "first" flights now)
http://www.radrotary.com