It flies ... and LANDS

It is now a reality. C-GFAB is offially an airplane. 

Until it flies, it is just a "project", or an expensive lawn ornament.

The flight was great. Uneventful, which is the way a pilot likes it.

I left the gear down for the fist flight.

It makes it easier to control the speed so it doesn't go too fast.

Here are some pics.

The first liftoff.

The first climb to circuit altitude.

Set up for landing. On short final.

and...

Touch down!

Here is the big kid, with the thoroughbred.

A big day for the Hildebrand family.

Everyone has worked hard and sacrificed a lot for this one.

Taxi Test.

The taxi test was successful. I almost took it up.

However, the landing gear switch is still not working perfectly.

Here is some video of the taxi test on the runway.

Test Flight is Scrubbed!

Yesterday, during a taxi test, the brakes would not release properly.
Seems the problem is in the master cylinder.
I removed an o-ring that, according to the diagram,
should not have been there.
That appears to have resolved the issue.
Another set-back. Landing gear hydraulic system malfunction.

I think the problem is a faulty gear down pressure switch.

I'll try to look at it tomorrow.

Getting pretty tired of this. I want to do something else.

Maybe it's time to buy a new motorcycle. Hmmm.

One step closer!

I received my papers today. I am officially legal to fly the airplane.

So, I took it out and taxi-ed over to fuel it up. 

As I tested the brakes, and brakes, the brakes heated up. Now they won't release completely.

The good news it that I can fix it. The bad news it that it will take me a day to take everything apart.

I hope to have it back together by the end of tuesday. Maybe fly wednesday.

The plan is subject to change without notice.

C of A has arrived

The next step is complete. The Certificate of Airworthiness arrived on friday.

 However, I'm still not there. The Lancair is considered a High-Performance aircraft in Canada. It has a wing loading of 24 pounds per square foot of wing area. As a result, it requires a special endorsement on my pilot license. To get the endorsement typically a pilot must receive training from another commercial pilot or flight instructor who has the special Lancair "LC20" endorsement. I can't find anyone in western Canada who is qualified to do the instruction flight. So, I have to work it out with Transport Canada to see how to get the endorsement. I hope to have that answer by wednesday. 

Stay Tuned.

No Flight Yet - Still Waiting

Everything is ready for the first flight. All the paperwork is in place, EXCEPT the Certificate of Airworthiness. It is my understanding that it has been issued. 

However, it was MAILED to me, from Manitoba. Aghhh! 

Hopefully, it doesn't take 3 weeks to get here, like mail sometimes does.

Nothing I can do be taxi around a little, and wait.