It Flies!!
 

Yesterday I met a friend of mine out at the Marymoor Flying Field (Seattle) who made the first flight of my LT-40. It was a beautiful day in Western Washington and we even needed sunglasses! We went over the airplane and then did a range check of the radio. With a full tank of gas and the buddy cords plugged in and checked, it was time to fly. I had already ran 3 tanks of gas through the Thunder Tiger .40 so no break-in was needed. We fired up the engine and made a small idle adjustment. The LT-40 flew perfect. This really is a great kit to build and even better to fly. With the airplane 3 mistakes high, it was my turn to fly it. It was very fun, I'm definitely hooked! I did find it a little exhausting as the concentration was very high. I ended up running it out of gas and a dead stick landing was made. My instructor is a very good pilot and with the airplane so high, it was not a problem. We actually made 2 flights and both landings were dead sticks and uneventful. Keep building, it is definitely worth it! I will try and upload a couple of pictures, hope it works. Bob

RE: It Flies!!
 

bobmac Great job and welcome to the addiction.. It's a great
hobby, which can MT you wallet fast:) Dead sticks sometimes
are easier to land... Well as long as you can make it back to
the runway:-) But it does feel better under power.. Have fun
and practice..Practice and then some.... Enjoy....

RE: It Flies!!
 

Congrats!

RE: It Flies!!
 

Fine looking plane. Nice thing about deadstick landings is that they keep me from having to make a decision. "Should I land this pass or should I go around again?" Of course, as you progress to planes with a higher wing loading they become a lot less fun.

RE: It Flies!!
 

It is a great feeling and scary all at once watching you baby take to the sky. As you found out, it is so much fun that at times you will run out of fuel. Learning deadstick landings is a must, in my eyes, because there are other reason why the engine might quit

Congrats and welcome to the addiction :D

RE: It Flies!!
 

I get to fly my Superstar select MKII this wekeend. CANT WAIT! :D

RE: It Flies!!
 

Couple questions?

Did you time the deadstick? How many minutes? :) just kidding!

I actually do not like you people who can fly all year! Make me feel sick!! :)

Anyways, GREAT JOB!!!

RE: It Flies!!
 

Congratulations, and welcome to the dark side. From now on, the list of planes you want will always be longer than the list of the ones you have. No matter how many.

RE: It Flies!!
 

It actually did take a while. I was about 4 mistakes high when it ran out of fuel and my friend immediately took control. He made a long final and s-turned all the way down. He planned it perfectly and could have almost pulled a Duane Cole/Bob Hoover and taxied in around the fence and into the pits without power. This plane can fly very slow and stable. Just like I want it!

RE: It Flies!!
 

Welcome to the nuthouse!

RE: It Flies!!
 

Someone else hooked, that's always good to hear. Isn't Marymoor a ways to go to go flying? Just out of curiosity, is that the ARF or the kit version of the LT 40? I've heard great things about the kit version from a guy in MO(at least till his instructor crashed it[X(]) and am wondering how the ARF compares to it. If/when I get the time, I've got a set of plans for a Kadet Jr waiting to be used, so who knows, I might be joining you and your friend one day

RE: It Flies!!
 

Hey Minn,

Just a suggestion. Do you have a certificate for maiden flights for first time builders like you have for when people first go solo

I like the solo certificate allot and I also think building and flying your first kit let alone being the first flight period for the guy that built this plane deserves such a certificate.

Just a thought ;)

RE: It Flies!!
 

Congratulations Bob! There's a lot of things to enjoy in this hobby, first flight and the maiden on a new plane are two of them. :D
Dennis-

RE: It Flies!!
 

Ya, Marymoor is long drive, especially in Seattle traffic. I plan on joining the club south of Tacoma, Mt. Rainier R/C. It's is still a 25 mile drive, but it's in the country. I built the kit version of the LT-40 but I would probable buy the ARF if I was to do it over. Bob