acerc

Wrong thread.

acerc

Well guys, that day has come. This is not much because I just like to get the trim cleaned up and I actually did not intend on taking off at this particular moment. But needing down trim it did not take much speed to lift off. And it is a good thing it is overpowered with this take-off. And at about four hours later I still have the shakes.







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kaXO7n_pTA

mrdhud

My Feedback: (48)

Congratulations on the maiden flight Robert the Pitts looked and sounded great.

Melchizedek

Wooooooo HOOOOOOOOO.

Oh what joy. Hardy congratulations Robert.
My wife Laura sat here and watched with me. She say's " oh that is so pretty " If you knew her, that is high esteem.
Well done my friend. The joy must be uncontainable at this time.

Kevin

Cub Flyer Fresno

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Fantastic! And... it really is Monday! Far out!

acerc

Thanks Dan, Kevin, and David. That was a nervous I have yet felt, but was a fantastic feeling at the same time.
Here is a few shots from the photo shoot.

stevegauth30

Oh what a feeling it must be. Congrats brother.

cubcrasher

My Feedback: (6)

Really nice job there Robert.

John_M_

Congratulations Ace, Well done.... tell me what you felt when she took off and you made the first turn.

She flies beautifully, more like a rocket with that 170 in it, not to mention how real that scheme looks in the air.


***EDIT***

Just watched the video again ... the tail came up quickly, nice and straight down the rwy.... also noticed some torque roll to the left as you were flying around, not surprised with the bite that prop has.

I could tell you were nervous, and rightfully so... now the worst is behind you, once you get her trimmed and dialed in, should get better with each flight.


John M,

acerc

Thank you Steve.

Thank you CC.

Thank you John. What I felt, uhhh, something like "Oh sh....", like I said that was not a take-off run but rather suppose to have been a "lift the tail and see how it tracks" pass.

John_M_

Too late once the tail lifts Ace... with that kinda horse power, she was going to takeoff whether you wanted it to or not... told you she would tell you when she was ready... it was more like, she took charge... typical of a woman, LoL.

I enjoyed that maiden / video as much as you did... that was a heck of a ride you took us all through... right from the beginning of the first pieces being glued together on the build table, to a fantastic First maiden flight !!... I can only imagine what you're feeling.... what an accomplishment !!!



John M,

stevegauth30

Funny, the same kinda thing happened to me the other day. Only it was an ARF. (SHHH, dont tell anyone.) I went to the field just to do some taxing around to see if anything falls off. Tried to lift the tail to see how she tracked, and just like you, it was off. No turning back then. Well, at least thats done with, right?Good job.

acerc

Thanks guys. Actually that was the first time one took off without me, willingly anyways. After getting it trimmed I know why, it took about ten clicks of down elevator to get her to level off. For a nose heavy plane this should not have been so I need to look into the wing incidence. All in all it was a great day, I am ecstatic about the end results. And by the way so is Jacquie, she loved the video. I am going to take it to a friends garage tomorrow afternoon so as to check the wing configuration. I may need to do some shimming to get them to where they need to be, all I know is that with about 4° of down elevator something is amiss.

John_M_

Could be just in need of some more down thrust Ace... the wing will lift with a small positive angle of attack... wing incidence effects more the attitude of the fuselage in level flight... don't forget, she was flying a lot on the prop... talk about unlimited 3D, damn... I think she could pull a tree stump straight up out of the ground. !


***EDIT***

Maybe the incidence relationship between the top and bottom wings.


John M,

flyingagin

Well done, Awesome. I put the vid up on the TV. My wife was grinning also.
Man that engine sounds so darn good.
Ya flew like a boss

Ken

R/C Art

My Feedback: (38)

Robert

Congrats! Man oh man ....... I know the feeling. I did the same thing with my 1/3 scale Fokker E1 a few years ago. It had a full flying stab and I missed the neutral set up a bunch - the test hop, like yours, turned into a test flight. Just too much fun!

This project has been special from the start and has had surprises around just about every turn.

.........and the legend begins!

Cheers,
Art

acerc

Thanks Art, it has been about everything one could want and then some.

squirrly

My Feedback: (3)

Alright...Alright...Alright!!!!!!! Great job Robert, you did it!!! All that great work turned into a beautiful bird that flies and looks Awesome. Congratulations!! Now that you got passed the nerves of the maiden I hope you have a lot of fun with it. Looks like the adjustments you made to the tail wheel also worked out well. NICE JOB BUD!!!

Jeff

acerc

Thank you Jeff. Before you know it you will be feeling it to. Yep, the tail wheel was better but not quite as well as I like but I will remedy that here soon.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Well that concludes your stress test for this year! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

After that flight we can't call this bird a hanger queen! I think from now on she is going to fly regularly!

VincentJ

Robert, I am so happy for you! Your hard work has paid off in spades. When your jitters end, I think you are really going to enjoy flying this plane. Thanks for sharing this thread and the video with us...

John_M_

Its amazing when you watch that video; that plane weighs 50+ pounds !... I have a 50 lb press plate that I use as a counterweight for my engine hoist... I can barely pick that sob up... to see Roberts Pitts fly around so effortlessly like that, really boggles the mind at the strength of the airframe and the power of that beauty.


John M,

acerc

Or until the next flight anyways.

Thank you Vincent. I very much respect and appreciate your opinion.

It will be 50+ once adding the figure and maybe nose weight to correct the stab.

acerc

I spent four hours in a friends garage today checking all the angles. Everything is right on the money so I am going to wait until I get a couple more flights and maybe some acro style to see what gives. It may be perfectly fine, I dunno, all I do know is I have never in 35+ years had an airframe require down trim for level flight.

John_M_

Ace it maybe just the dynamics of that 34" propeller... out of curiosity how much down thrust do you have built in, or setup with that 170?... I think once you get the feel for the throttle power / power management, she may not want to climb to the heavens so readily... the 3 bladed prop, with its smaller diameter may not have the same tendency to nose up at higher throttle settings... but there's no doubt, shes well powered, better to have more, than not enough .

John M,