Finally, the weather cooperated Sunday, and after only the previous 4 runs, a replacement for the ST glow plug using a Fox Miracle plug was installed, and the Skylark got it's maiden flight. The ST .45 out turning the Fox .40 on the plane I used for my first flights of the day by almost 200 rpm on an APC 10-6.

Very good flight, very smooth, as expected from a Carl Goldberg design, just a little bit of trim needed to be cranked in. Would probably profit from coordinating a bit of rudder on the turns. Loops and vertical manuvers at 2/3 throttle. Landed on the fuel left in the feed line, engine ran dry during the taxi back to the pilot station. quite a good glide path and smooth landing, Very satisfying flight, even though I didn't actually build the plane. My next comparison is to probably fly an original kit built Skylark in my posession that has a TT .25 just for comparison.

During the clean-up and dissassembly, got hit by a feeling of Deja Vu. The port landing gear leg was wobbly. Apparently, the block that supports the torsion stub split. Based on my previous experience with ARFs, I really wasn't surprised. Now, I'm going to have to open the underside of the wing covering and repair and reinforce the blocks on both sides.

Am I dissapointed? Not really. Would I buy another? Maybe, although not necessarily the same design. I think, after this, I might prefer an ARC (Almost Ready to Cover) rather than an ARF, just so I can have some confidence in the components and construction, and could more easily strengthen obvious weakness before finding the hard way.

Have ARFs improved over the years? Definitely. Are they better than what I can build from a kit or scratch build? Close, but no cigar. Did I have as much satisfaction assembling pre-built components as I would have gotten from kit or scratch building? Only in the context that I was recovering from a stroke while assembling the plane, and would have had some frustrations with traditional building.

Am I knocking ARFs? No!! At least, not the better quality ones. They fill a need and have a purpose. And their quality has definitely improved over the years, at least from what I would think of as a quality company.

Keep 'em flying!

My next question is, will this plane hold up as well as planes I've built myself? Only time will tell.