Well guys here is my first flight report.

Date: 1/12/05

Before I get into the flight report let me add my $0.02 about VF. Yes I was a litlle agitated for the delay in my order. But Chuck at VF answered every question that I asked about my order. He was always upfront and honest. He did not have to volunteer the info that my order was pushed back in order to satisfy the last-minute Chrsitmas shoppers. He could just as well as continued to tell me there was a backorder. His honesty is proof in the principles that VF stands for. They are the only company that I have dealt with in the R/C industry that is as straight forward as they are. Now that I know that they produce such a high quality aircraft, I would wait 2 or 3 months for another plane. I would rather wait and have a near bulletproof plane, than get one in 1 week that can't even stand up to your average hangar rash. The product that they produce is second to none. The price is a bargain compared to other companies. Look at Seagull Models Edge 540. They are almost identical in dimensions to VF, yet they cost $20 more and I guarantee that their quality is nowhere near the level that VF is at. I am 100% satisfied with my plane and I know that 99.9% of flyers that decide to purchase one will be too.

Ok enough of that, now on the meat and potatoes of this thread...

I packed up and headed to the field immediately after my last post. I was half way there (about 20 minutes into the drive) when I realized that I left the belly pan on my workbench. As you can imagine, I was cursing myself out with just about every word I know. I turned around and made it home in half the time it took me to get there. Yes I drive really fast, that's one of the perks to being in law enforcement (and no, I didn't run with lights on... ).

I got to the field at about 4:30 pm and unlocked the gate. The road to the pit area was still water logged and I got stuck in the mud. After several tense minutes I was able to get out. I reached the pit area and setup my table and stand. I was running out of daylight and quickly assembled the plane, only to realize that I forgot to connect the aileron leads. Maybe all this was a sign that I shouldn't have went out there today. Anyway I quickly attached the aileron leads and placed the plane back behind my safety stakes. Can you tell that the anticipation to get her up was causing me to make several mistakes?

I fueled her up and she cranked on the first blip of the starter. I let the engine warm up for a couple of minutes and then range checked my radio. Just as I was getting ready to taxi out, the wind picked up considerably (I told you mother nature doesn't like me ). I looked at the wind sock and it was blowing straight out at about a 35-45 degree angle to the field. Oh great, a strong crosswind on my first flight . The wind was approximately 15-20 mph and gusting, but I had flown in higher winds. I really wanted to get her up in the air.

I taxied out and positioned her in the middle of the field into the wind. I checked the surfaces once more and made sure that low rates were on for the ailerons and elevator. Now or never..... I slowly advanced the throttle and she leaped into the air at about 1/3 throttle with only a 40-50 foot rollout. I added more throttle and brought her to altitude (about 150 ft. for this flight). I turned her around and noticed that she kept wanting to climb. I leveled her out and began adding down trim. I turned around again and she was still trying to climb. By the time I got her to fly level, I had used up almost 3/4 of the down trim. I attribute this to a few things that I changed (like the wing-fuselage gap mod) and didn't rebalance her.

Due to the strong winds it was impossible to check the rudder trim because she kept weathervaning with the wind. Aileron trim seemed dead on, but again it may need minor adjustment. Trying to trim in high winds is not the smartest idea. I made a few circuits on low rates. I did a couple of rolls on low rate and she lost a bit of altitude.

I clicked the high rates on and her response to my inputs was immediate. Rolls were very crisp and axial. I almost dumb thumbed her in. I forgot that she was on high rates and made a climbing turn. Everything was fine until I realized I pulled too hard on the elevator and was now heading straight down. I pulled her out and throttled down (phew that kinda scared me) at about 50 ft. I made another circuit and heard the engine sputter for a second. This, combined with the hig winds, was a sign that it was time to land.

I flew around and entered the landing pattern. On the downwind leg, I throttled back to about 1/4 just before I made the final turn. As I made the final turn to line up, I continued to reduce the throttle. Just as I reached the beginning of the field, I chopped the throttle. I had to add considerable right rudder to counter the crosswind. She floated in nice and gentle and touched on the mains, with no hop, almost right in front of me. 10 feet later the tail wheel came down. I turned her toward me and taxied back. I was losing sunlight rapidly and knew that I would not be able to put her up again. I parked her between the safety stakes and continued to let the motor run at about half throttle.

Man were my knees and hands shaking the entire time. She is extremely responsive. Be prepared because she will go where you point her. As stated in many other posts, these planes are very pitch sensitive. It seems that the recommended elevator throws wouldn't be enough. Trust me when I tell you that there is plenty of authority with the elevator on hig rates. On low rates, she flies very gently. I cannot wait to really wring her out.

The first flight, although brief (about 6 minutes total), was a complete success. The onyl thing that happened occurred while breaking down the plane. After I unscrewed the belly pan, I turned to put something in my trunk and a gust of wind caught the rudder and blew the plane out of the stand on my table and onto the ground. She hit the rudder and landed on the wheels. The rudder broke off at the hinges due to the impact, but nothing else happened. I have already rehinged the rudder with Robart Hinge Points .

I hope I provided enough detail on my first flight. I promise that the next one will be much more beneficial and longer. Until next time.... Happy flying.