Tired of trying to program the flaps on my ultra stick .40 and waiting for someone I trust to help me maiden, I just went ahead and did it. BUT I still don't know how out of trim it is because the wind was blowing WAY too hard for level flight.

I shoulda known better. The field was empty and it's never empty on Friday afternoon/evening. I gave-up on the whole flaps/flaperons/crow thing and Y'ed the flaps and ailerons together for one long aileron. I knew it would be bad when my hat blew off as I made my first take off roll.

The plane wanted to weather-vane even under-power, but it took off and got friggin man-handled by the swirling wind. I managed to get it back to the runway and made some trim adjustments on the ground...flew like that 2 more times before I decided it was tail-heavy, at least it flew tail-heavy. I removed the battery from the hatch I had cut in the rear of the fuse and put it under the wing behind the tank and secured it with some balsa scraps and CA. I flew it one more time and it landed MUCH better with the extra nose-weight.

I watched as plastic chairs blew accross the pits toward the runway and continued making adjustments to my plane. I figured I had done so many touch and go's and practiced landings for so long that all I had to worry about was the whole ...'earth to airframe interface thing', and I could handle that....so I did.

I was really happy to make my first maiden and, given the conditions, I got a real confidence boost from doing it myself and managing the wind. There was no wind direction, unless...'all of them' is a direction. I had to bang the sticks around to keep the thing in the air where it really had absolutely NO BUSINESS being in the first place. I noticed that my stick movements were completely automatic and that was a relief. I have spent hours practicing in the wind with my foamies and it really paid off. I recommend high rates for windy conditions as you will need them to correct for a sharp wing drop or shear.

Satisfied with my first maiden and not wanting to push my luck, I packed it back in the truck and left the empty field behind with a great sense of accomplishment and a renewed respect for crosswinds and tail draggers.

I wonder how it will fly in um... safe flying conditions.