parrthd

Alright guys and gals some of you know about it and others have no idea.....the original build thread is [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3561097/anchors_3561097/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#3561097]here[/link]....it was started by Club Skybolt #1 "Mods-R-Me" and now it's my time to add my installment of a maiden on this wonderful "beaut" of a bird.

Let me first recap the high points of the build. It started April 24, 2006 and now, 11 months and 1 day later, minus 2/3 of my right ring finger (work related), a nice write-up following the amputation of my finger (the first write-up of my working career), countless gripes and complaints from the wife, i lost count of the build hours around 14 hours in, less than that if you count the endless hours on RCU researching and reading up on bipes, but now we're here and SHE FLIES......not only does she fly, but she flies GREAT!!! i've found my new favorite plane.

After numerous problems arising and overcoming each of them my time was today. I didn't want a huge group of people around the first time i flew this bird as i figured i'd be nervous enough with it being my first bipe. Well guess what? We had more people at our field today than i've EVER seen there. Just my luck huh? Anyway i decided not to let that put a damper on my day. Everything was checked and rechecked. Range check was good this time. 50+ paces with antenna down, no jitter, full control. you name it, it was going good. I waited until everyone was on the ground late in the evening and announced "36 going hot" i taxied out to the middle of the runway, checked the wind sock, and throttled up. that big 1.20 roared to life and the skybolt lept foward. It gained speed a lot faster than i expected it to. After 35 to 40 feet, i hit a small bump in the runway and the plane jumped into the air about 4 feet. i wasn't expecting this and you can see a small bobble right after take off. i couldn't believe it. 8 months of build time was in the air. i was all smiles. after getting her to a safe altitude i saw i would have my hands full getting her trimmed. she was nosing down and rolling right. luckily i had enough trim to correct everything and i settled in for a nice smooth first flight. it was a bit different from what i had figured. the plane flew a lot faster than i figured it would. she needs a bit more aileron but i'll do that after a few flights of getting used to her. the elevator has LOTS of authority. she'll actually roll out of a full throttle tight loop. didn't get too wild but i couldn't resist the urge to try a couple snap rolls. WOW !!! that's all i can say. i was just getting settled in for some knife edge and stall moves ..........DEADSTICK......oh crap!!!!! I figured "this is it boys, keep the cameras rolling, this will be a short lived model....." did she ever make a liar out of me. the plane came around settled into a nice final right over the runway. she didn't slow down like i figured she would so you can see on the video, i kept trying to "flair" her out for a 3 point landing and every time i touched the elevator she wanted to go back up......i couldn't believe a bipe floated like this. everything i've read was "bipes DON'T like deadsticks." she didn't like it but she handled it VERY well. i don't think i could have brought my 300S in any better from a deadstick. Anyway i'll get over here and post the video link in a few minutes.