Well, after getting tied up at a wedding all weekend two weeks ago, then helping out at the Omaha Pattern Championship last weekend (grill master), I finally managed to get the Goldberg Protege .60 ARF buttoned up and out to the field.

I still had to check the CG, do a range check with the new RDS8000 radio system, and break in the Thunder Tiger GP-61 and get it running. One of the best pieces of advice I've heard is new airframe = old engine, new engine = old airframe. The idea is that you don't want to have to cope with too many variables or unfamiliar pieces of equipment all at the same time.

I took the Protege .60 out to the field tonight not knowing whether or not I'd even be able to maiden it. The first big challenge, the CG test, turned out to be a non-event. I put my 600Mah NiCd pack right behind the fuel tank per the manual, and with the TT GP-61 on the nose, the plane balanced perfectly per the manual.

The next challenge was the radio check. The Protege is the first plane I've set up with my Airtronics RDS8000 radio system. I've been flying a Futaba 7CAF radio for the last four seasons, and I'm still learning some of the funtionality of the Airtronics radio. I took my manual to the field with me and range checked the system very thoroughly. I did 35 paces from the left and the right of the airplane with no problem. I had some friends hold the plane on it's nose on the starting stand and then tested 35 paces from the top and bottom of the plane. With the bind light blinking steadily to indicate I was in range test mode, the radio system never skipped a beat.

Ironically it was the engine break-in, the task I was least concerned about, that turned out to be the most challenging. The TT GP-61 was really tight and, while I had trickle charged the transmitter and receiver batteries for almost 20 hours, I hadn't charged up my field box battery for my starter. The GP-61 just didn't want to fire up at first. I kept spinning it and spinning it trying to get it to fire, but with the very tight pinch and the weak starter battery, the engine seemed to hydrolock quickly.

One of my fellow Omahawks took pity on me and brought over his 20 Amp motor cycle battery and high torque starter. I removed the glow plug and carburetor line to blow out the excess fuel, then the extra cranking power did the trick. We got the engine running and adjusted the high end needle to 1/4 turn rich of peek, and the GP-61 gulped down its first tank full of Magnum 10% sport fuel like a hungry calf.

After the first tankful of fuel, the GP-61 was much, much easier to start. It also idled down and transitioned surprisingly reliably. I couldn't drop down to full idle on the throttle stick, but I believed the plane was actually flyable at that point. I let the engine cool down for about ten minutes after the intial tank of gas. Once the GP-61 rested for a while, I topped it up and decided to take the plane up for a flight. Normally I'd do more tuning work before maidening a sport plane or pattern plane, but I was confident that a dead stick landing would be little drama for the Protege .60 ARF.

The initial flight started out a little hairy. I needed several clicks of left aileron and down elevator to get the plane even remotely trimmed out. The GP-61 after one tank of fuel on the ground was running reliably, but was far from turning the prop at the ideal speed. Even light on power, however, I had the airframe trimmed out decently and was flying loops and rolls and doing inverted circuits after a few minutes.

The roll rate is wonderful; I didn't reduce the throws on the ailerons and the big 6' wing rolls surprisingly well. The elevator authority is also very good. I wanted a nice big trainer that would be easy to fly but would be sporty enough to be fun to fly when I wasn't buddy boxing students. This Protege .60 ARF will fit the bill nicely! The red, white, and blue trim scheme displays nicely at altitude. It's nice to have a trainer that has a high visibility trim scheme on the bottom and the red and blue bars were very easy to see from the ground.

I flew the plane at altitude until it ran out of fuel. The initially out-of-trim elevator turned out to be a good test for the radio system during the first flight as the plane got much higher and further out from me than I'd intended it. The RDS8000 was rock solid at all angles and orientations with the quick response time of the radio system being readily apparent as well. The gentle glide path and smooth handling of the Protege provided welcome confidence as I glided the trainer in for it's initial landing after the engine ran out of go juice.

I enjoyed the initial flight and it was a beautiful evening, so I decided to fill up the Protege's fuel tank and go up for another flight. The GP-61 was running smoothly and reliably and the Airtronics radio system was crisp and responsive. I continued to enjoy more loops and rolls, I also decided to try a Cuban 8 just for fun. The big trainer rolled through the Cuban 8 so smoothly that I wished I'd finished it a week or two ago. I could have flown the Sportsman schedule with it in last week's pattern contest. My attempts at a wing-over turn left a lot to be desired, however, so maybe I should be glad I waited to maiden the plane.

I flew the Protege around again until the GP-61 drank the fuel tank dry once more. The big trainer glided down smoothly and gracefully once more, and with about half a dozen of my flying buddies looking on, I performed a nearly flawless landing. It looked like I'd been flying the Protege all summer. I proclaimed that the landing was all due to my expert piloting skills, but the guys knew better!

I will continue to work on fine tuning the control trims and the throttle linkage. I think the GP-61 will need several more tanks of fuel through it before it really begins to settle in, as well. Overall I'd have to say that the Protege is still a work in progress, but I'm really happy with how the plane is turning out. With the proper trim and tuning, this is going to be a terrific all-purpose flyer.