I got to fly this morning, it was a beautiful day here in Chicago. I got the engine running much better and had 3 good flights on it. I'm still breaking in the engine, but even after a few flights (today was the 3rd, 4th and 5th flights on this engine) I could tell that it is idling better, and running better in the air.
I also had a fellow club member help me with the control surface alignments; I fine tuned the ailerons and elevators; the rudder was already spot on. The third flight today was the most fun I've had so far - I was finally confident enough in the plane and the engine to start doing some maneuvers - simply loops and rolls for now. The CG is right on target, and with the controls trimmed, it was great fun.
Need to work on landings...the carbon fiber landing gear is pretty bouncy, which helps absorb some of the landing, but it (I) bounced it a little too hard on the third landing and the prop struck the ground...I wondered why the engine died on landing because onthe earlier two flights the engine remained running, and I was pleased with how the engine was idling. Once I got the plane back to the pit area, I noticed that 1/2 of the Xoar 18x8 prop was split.
I just finished ordering two new props from VVRC. ouch. So today was a bad day for props but otherwise, a good flying day (finally!)
I took a few videos last Saturday but still haven't had time to post them...look for a follow up report soon.
Cheers,
Mike
p.s. Happy Father's Day (one day early) to all of you fathers out there. This is a bittersweet holiday for me this year because I lost my dad to cancer in April of this year.
Spend time with your fathers while you can!