Hooked

I've been following your progress regularly but haven't really had anything to add until now.

Pigs Do Fly! Any they fly very well.

You may recall that I finished my Hog back in January but was waiting for suitable weather for the maiden. Somehow weather and schedule never seemed to converge, until today.

The Hog flies just great. I've only been flying for about a year, so saying it's the best plane I've flown doesn't cover a lot of ground (had a trainer, and have an Ultra Stick and a Cap 232, and some small electrics), but it was truly delightful.

A few observations:

* Even with the gear a 1/2 inch forward of plan, she wanted to nose over when starting to roll. (I fly off of grass, and it's no putting green.) Adjust elevator and throttle accordingly when starting to taxi.

* Ground handling was better than expected, but a little bit touchy.

* On take-off hold up elevator when starting to roll, then ease off and let the tail come up once you've got a little speed. Take-off was smooth and steady.

* Seems to be a lot of coupling with the rudder. I expect I'll need to do some mixing for that.

* Did some slow rolls that were very nice and predictable.

* Landing was as easy as it gets; keep throttle up a just a bit.

As I recall you're putting in a Saito 100. I've got a Saito 91 and found there was ample power.

You'll love it.