The Tri-Pacer flew today! Had great weather today and could not resist the opportunity to get it in the air. The first flight was without incident and I flew a total of six flights from 10 to 1 minutes each. I will post some airbourne pictures to the picture gallery as soon as I get them scanned.

With the gear spacing that is made into the gear wires provided the plane is very prone to tipping over on the wing tips. You have to be very quick with the steering to keep it on the wheels. It took me a couple flights to get the feel and remain steady on the wheels. I think I will bend new wires and allow about three more inches in track.

I was warned that the Tri-Pacer has a quick sink rate and must be flown to the ground. This is a fact. Throttle must be carried all the way to touchdown. Without some throttle it comes down quick and flat and the elevator is not sufficient to keep it from pancaking into the runway. It can be flown down at a high angle of attack without gaining speed. Flaring for touchdown is very easy with a gentle touchdown.

The flaps are very effective and fun to use. With flaps at 30 degrees the nose really pitches up. I added about 20 percent down elevator through radio mixes and that was a tad to little.

I also mixed in about 20 percent aileron to rudder for coordinated turns. Also not enough. I will probably increase to about 40 percent.

I set the CG at the very front of the range shown in the plans. The plane seemed a bit tailheavy at that point and sensitive to pitch.

I flew it with an OS120FS-E with a Master Airscrew Classic 16x6 prop. All-in-all it was a lot of fun to fly and very scale.