That's very diplomatic, Jon (Minnreefer). More on that later.

I had written a detailed flight report Friday night, but lost it with a computer glitch. Oh well. Here's a revised version.

Took Friday afternoon off work and headed out to the field with my father-in-law. I got everything set up and checked out. Did a range check, which went fine. Fueled it up and started it up for the first flight. The engine was running pretty well, although it stumbled a bit in transition. It was very flyable, so I decided to get a few flights in before any fine tuning. Taxied out to the runway and took a deep breath.

I had already adjusted the nosewheel, so it tracked straight down the runway. Because I advanced the throttle very slowly, I used the whole runway. It lifted off nicely and I was immediately struck by two things: 1) It was trimmed almost perfectly straight out of the box and 2) it flew so SLOW, even at full throttle.

I only had to move aileron and elevator one or two clicks to get straight and level flight. It was incredibly stable, even at very slow speeds. And speaking of slow speeds, the three-bladed prop really keeps this thing from building up any speed. I was a skeptic at first, but I think it is a great idea for teaching beginners. The Alpha flew slower, well, than any trainer I have ever flown before. Before landing, I did a few basic trainer aerobatics and it performed them just like a basic trainer. The aileron throws are set pretty low, so rolls were doable, but a challenge. Adding rudder really helps out. Plenty of power for loops, Immelmans, split-s, etc. Inverted is also possible, again, as good as any other basic trainer.

I then landed and hooked up the buddy box. I then had a couple of great training flights with my father-in-law, who had never flown before. He had a blast and did a great job. By the second flight, he was able to take control for at least a few minutes at a time without me having to take over.

I have trained people on my old Kadet Mk II and on Nexstars and I can honestly say this is the best-flying trainer I have used yet. I am finishing up an LT-40 with a student, so that may change after we fly the LT-40, but I was very pleased with the Alpha.

Up next: More flights and . . . disaster!