Okay okay... this probably isn't the forum for this but this forum seems to be the one I end up in most of the time. I've mastered my trainer and feel I'm pretty profecient at my WM T-34, I did have some issues landing hot but after much advice here I got her done and it was stupid easy, should have never wasted ya'll's time on that one. Anyway, my wife got me a Hangar-9 Miss America and from what I've read it's a fairly forgiving bird, lands slow and takes off nicely. Now, the trainer and t-34 were one thing, but this plane is gorgeous, I mean, the maiden won't be until Saturday and I"m already freaking out about it LOL... what on earth can I do to combat this. I mean, I feel fully capable to fly it, and I'm positive I can but none the less I'm still nervous about it... I guess I just need to Get'er done... atleast I hope my old instructor will be out there to act as a wingman so to speak LOL...
It's a Miss America with a TT .61 GP for power... and by the way, that's the smoothest engine I have ever had the pleasure to own... once it started it ran like a fully broken in engine, and it's upside down... TT has surely sold me on their eigines...
anyway... guess I'll stop whining for now, thanks for listening... someone call the waaaambulance LOL
Casey
P.S. My wife's the bomb.. not only did she buy me the plane but she also hand painted my pilots helmet and seat...

Casey,

That is one sweet bird you have there. Your being nervous is understandable. I feel the same way. My level of nervousness increases proportionately to the cost of the plane. I chain smoke, do the maiden, and chain smoke some more , then I'm fine and cuss at myself for being so nervous. But you know, I go through it all over the next time I do a maiden. And that is just on my planes. Doing a maiden on a new students plane, I shake even worse but I have to control it better as it would be bad for a student to see that.

You'll do fine. If you really feel bad, really bad nervous, then it may be better to have another person do the maiden or have someone adjust the trims for you while you concentrate on the plane. Mustangs are great planes but can be somewhat of a handle on the maiden. I'm not trying to scare you, just speaking from experience.

Just in case, I'll call the medics once I know you are on the way and have them standing by with the crash cart to restart your heart

caseyh46 I know just what you mean. Ive got the same plane in P51 colors, The worst part about this plane is its nose heavy on the ground. If you are flying from a grass field keep taxi to a min. also if you have someone with you ive been told an assisted takeoff is a good idea have someone hold hte vert stab while you go to full throt. BE ADVISED I do not know if this works as I have never tried it but it comes from a very good source also keep the landing as soft as poss as the landing gear is a little week. if you are flying from asphalt then your problems are solved. One more thing RELAX!!!!!!!!!!!! This -plane is a riot to fly it handels GREAT!!!!You are in for one fun day good luck and have a ball.......... Pat D.

Wow.. thanks for the quick votes of confidenece.... I will be flying off asphault so hopefully all I'll have to do is manage that right rudder.... I tend to use long takeoff rolls compared to those big 4 stroke powered planes that seem to lift off in like 10 feet...

four things, casey (if you'll still listen to me. haha) 2 important:

1. land it hot!!! lol. seriously... even if you have done the stall test and know how slow it will fly... land it much faster than you need to. if that plane stalls on landing, you're in for a nice long rebuild.

2. as bubba mentioned, have someone there to help you with trims. you might be too nervous to take your hands away from the control.

and two optional:

3. a little elevator trimmed in. for all my planes (and anyone elses that wants me to maiden for them), i maiden with a little elevator so that no matter what, you know you are climbing. of course not to the point you might stall but at least you know it won't dive. i have had planes dive and roll right and that is a terrible thing to have to trim since you can't get your hand away from one of the sticks. if you fly mode 2 i guess this isn't as important since you can release your hand from the left stick quite comfortably since it is only throttle and rudder.

4. learn to use the rudder. flying the trainer and the T-34 may spoil you in the sense that rudder isn't mandatory. with warbirds and scale planes, using the rudder is important. true you can bank and yank (or is it yank and bank?) it at speed but it's slow flying characteristics generally require you to use some rudder for maintaining speed. it is particularly good to do so when approaching for landing when you are slowest in flight.

i also forgot.. it's your first tail dragger! do some taxiing around first. learn to keep the elevator up when taxiing so you're not nosing into the ground too often. also, dial in a lot of rudder. unlike trikes, the tail gear doesn't provide very solid steering. i don't recommend that you gun the motor from the get go. the torque will pull the plane left so if you gun it, it will veer left and you won't have any control. you need to get the plane to speed holding some limited up elevator in the beginning and as the speed increases be prepared to release some elevator so you don't take off and some right rudder so it doesn't veer off course. don't try to pull up too soon. you need speed so that you don't stall. unlike trainers and well trainers (T34) you just can't pull back expecting it will dart off into the sky. you need to gain some speed before you take off.

for maidens on taildraggers i generally have aileron and elevator on low rates, rudder on high rates. fly into the wind as much as possible even if that means taking a slightly diagonal path. take off well past what is "safe" and land it hot. i mean go for go around if you have to. but i don't try to land it in 20 ft per se on the first flight. oh yeah... an no retracts on the first run. that good looking stuff can come later :-)

okay, that was a lot more than a few points.

I've been flying for about 7 years now and I hope I never lose that nervous feeling when I take a plane up for the first time.

It's kind of scary but kinda thrilling too, just like.............. Oops, sorry drifting off topic


Good luck and don't forget to have fun.


Terry

I'm just finishing the "marie" version of the P-51, hopefully have it done by next weekend. I know exactly how you feel. Make sure to let us know what the outcome is....You should get some video if at all possible!

Good Luck

Good luck with your maiden. The jittters nevery really go away. You can loose some by ensuring a good preflight and that the engine is running well, but when it comes time to open that throttle for the first time......
Get a trusted fellow flier who knows what he's doing to help you with the trims, and to drop a few words of advice when needed. That's one constant I've had for almost all my maidens... someone else out there to keep my head straight. Keep your maiden flight short, too.... just get it trimmed, stall it a couple times high, and ensure that when you do stall test your gear is down. Does no good to stall it clean... I try to keep aerobatics on the maiden to an absolute minimum.... but if the plane is flying well I do like to do a low pass..... Land it hot like forestroke said.... H9 mustang is one forgiving bird but why push your luck on first flight. And above all don't forget this hobby is supposd to be FUN! so enjoy yourself......

Andy

Also, on a maiden day, I always warm up with a plane that I'm comfortable with. I'll take up one of my existing planes for a spin, maybe even a couple of flights before I get to the maiden. That gets rid of some of the jitters--just to reassure youself that you CAN fly!
Fun fun!
I hope to maiden my twinstar this weekend. My dad will probably be more nervous than me, he's putting it together for me! :-)
What a dad!!!
(and I'm 33!)

whew thanks for all the kind words.... not sure if I'm more excited or nervous.. probably both.. and I agree, I already decided to take my t-34 up a few times to play before I get to it. I do have some taildragger experience, all be it a few years ago, hopefully I won't be too rusty...

2slow2matter your from Sulphur Springs? I'm from that area myself.. Egdewood actually, well, now rockwall.. the Navy has me out in Cali atleast until the summer. Hows Texas flying? I hear the weather is supposed to get better for tomorrow.. I hope so anyway so you can get your twin in the air...

Have an experienced flier maiden it for you. Once you KNOW it flies, half of the butterflies will disappear

I also will take up and fly one of my more seasoned planes before I do a maiden. On new year's day, I maidened my U Can Do.
I first flew my Tiger 2 a few flights before the 1st one with the U Can Do. I have a completely built Pete 'n Poke w/saito .56.
Never flown by me yet. I am waiting for just about perfect weather before I take it up. Actually, will be maidening a few birds
this year.

Dave...

I once stepped into a fire ant pile on a maiden flight. I think it was with my H9 AT-6. I cried out loud for some assistance from my buddies. They were working in a hurry to remove those critters off my feet and legs. I quickly landed with some sting on my legs. Maiden flight was perfect though. Gotta love it.

I know how you feel. I've got to maiden my Byron's CAP-21 in the next week or two. It's bad enough having to maiden a big gasser like this, but what's worse is the bad reports I have read on RCU about it. Snapping, tip stalls, all the good stuff. I figure I'll just wear a diaper for the maiden. And bring a big trash bag along. []

Hopefully I will fly it and love it. Sometimes flight reports are in the eye of the beholder. A bad habbity plane for one guy, may be the aero bird of choice for the next guy. I hope I'm the next guy.

I have a Hangar 9 P-51 waiting to be put together myself (ARF). Man I can't wait to get that bird in the air, but I too fear those jitters coming on. It's all the fun of new planes though! Maidened my Sig Something Extra two weekends ago. First flight was good, required little trim and she was flying straight and level, started to play with her a bit with some rolls and loops and funky type climbs and dives and the motor died (new saito 72). Dead sticked in OK. Retuned engine on ground and went up second time. Motor died again 5 minutes into flight and a rough landing on the tailwheel broke the rudder. It's a simple fix, but I haven't gotten to it yet.

I don't guess there's a moral to my story, guess I'm just sharing my maiden experiences! :LOL:

I agree with what Minn is saying. There are some people that like to maiden their own planes but I don't. You could get a more experienced flyer to maiden it and trim it out then hand you the controls. Like Minn said, then you know it flies and won't be as worried. Also get someone to check it out before it's first flight. You might miss something in the set up that will be noticed by someone else. I've seen that happen over and over where I fly. Yesterday at the field one of the guys had switched a plane to a new radio and had a control surface going backwards. Well he took it up and dumped it into the ground. Had someone else checked it out that may not have happened.

***UPDATE***
Took the Miss America up this morning... had my old instructor maiden it and I was amazed at how docile it looked. Landed, gassed up and I took the controls. This is my first true taildragger experience in a few years and I was amazed at the ground handling and takeoff. Absolutely amazing how easy this thing rolled out and ever so gently lifted off. Tracked straight as an arrow on the ground.... can you tell I'm happy yet? Flew some lazy circuits and was amazed at how easy it is to see this thing in the air, I have never flown a .60 sized plane and was amazed at how easy it is to tell it's attitude in the air. Gear down and turning on final for landing and the motor quite.. (need to break it in a little more) made the final turn and final leg to landing and this thing FLOATED forever... slower than my trainer while maintaining great control of the ailerons and elevator.. kissed the runway and rolled out about 20 foot to a halt. Thanks for all the words of kindness here and thanks to Rob for maidening it for me... great morning flying...

Congratulations. Remember though, they won't ALL be that easy, be prepared for anything. Above all else, have fun.

Casey,

That is great. And you didn't even need the medics

The Miss A really is a sweetheart. If you read my review, you know that my dad crew-chief'd P-51s and I told him I'd give him one if I ever got one for a review.

I'm damn sorry I made that arrangement now! [:@]

Oh well, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today (In more ways than flying - LOL )

that's great news casey... nothing feels better than a successful maiden.