I went out to the flying field yesterday, Memorial Day, and had a lot of good company since a lot of our club members had the same ideas for the holiday. In the back of my pick-up, in its custom-made PVC carrier was my Nitro Models Cessna 337 Skymaster, out for its maiden voyage into the wild blue.

There was no wind. The runway needed to be mowed, but with two 4-strokes, I anticipated that to be a non-issue. After firing up the Magnum for the first time, and it started right way, I started the O.S., which had about 1 hour of run-time on it in a different aircraft. Both fired up with no problem, although the O.S. seemed a little rich on the low-end. I ran the Magnum rich all around since it was new.

With two helpers, one on each wing, the 337 was lifted off the bench and set down on the edge of the runway. A little engine run-up, a little high-end adjustment, and I ran out of excuses to keep her on the ground. I put the controls on low-rates, conducted one final surface check, and taxied onto the runway. I wasted no time and put the throttle to the firewall. The Magnum came to life instantly while the O.S. lagged behind but slowly gained RPM's. The 337 lumbered in the tall grass but, at about 25 MPH, began to lift off with some elevator coaxing. It sailed gently into the air and needed only slight aileron trim and moderate elevator trim. On the downwind leg, I felt confident, and the 337 looked great! I decided to tempt fate with an aileron roll and watched as it rolled much more on the axis than I had ever imagined. I heard people talking about it immediately: "Look at the way it rolls!!" No one could believe it.

The rudders showed to be near useless, but better than nothing.

I landed with the nose up, flaps down, and it was absolutely beautiful. Here are some pictures of us at the field...