Well folks it finally happened, our baby took to the sky at 2.45 this afternoon
for the first time, big grins all round.
Light Westerly wind, + 4=B0 C flown by senior CAA test pilot Paul Mulcahy (fine
fellow tests everything from 757's to microlights and everything in between)
---From Rayne near Stansted Essex. After general handling, all of which went
almost
faultlessly, the first flight was completed. This represents 3200 + hours of
work and it almost seemed worth it !!
The pilot was extremely impressed with all functions and said it was sweet to
fly,
smooth engine response and apart from low temperatures all looking good.
Their was one problem though. The geardown operation strikes fairly solid
resistance
about 2/3 of the way through the gate. The pilot first wondered if it was
air pressure / over tight bungee, but then decided this was a little moor than
that. It apears that if you select gear down, reach the resistance, move the
selector partly up the gate, then all the way down, it locks down. We had a
good look but couldn't find any evidence of problems so will have a good
inspection
tomorrow, anybody experienced similar problem ?
Prior to the first flight the gear had been cycled 50+ times without hitch.
Looking forward to you all sorting my problem for me before I get back to a cold
hanger floor tomorrow morning !!
ATB
Tony.
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