Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/378679
EAA Experimenter 29 Glen had already shaken down the plane as much as pos- sible. Many hours of taxi testing, including high-speed runs, led up to this point. There was nothing left to do but to fl y it. He told his ground crew that he would do a "land back" (crow hop), and then if all went well, he'd taxi back to the depar- ture end and take of for fl ight number one. The hop went as expected, so Glen headed to the departure end and taxied into position. As he eased in the throttle, he was quite surprised at the acceleration. "Wow! That 85-hp Revmaster is pulling re- ally well," he thought as he eased back on the stick to take the weight of the nose wheel. Glen fi gured he'd wait a bit to rotate in order to build some extra speed, but the next thing he knew he was of and climbing like mad. Glen had estimated that by the time he would be at the end of the runway, he'd be at 500 feet above the ground, but when he arrived there, he was stunned to see that he was at 1,000 feet! His plan was to conduct a standard right-hand pattern and return to terra fi rma. As he headed along the downwind leg, already at pattern altitude, he had a short moment to relax and check his instruments and was shocked to see his fuel pressure gauge was reading quite low. He should have had 2 psi or better, but he was showing less than 1. "Almost certainly a sending unit issue," he thought, since he had both mechanical and electrical pumps going. But this was the fi rst fl ight of a new plane—why chance it? Prudent thing to do was to expedite his landing. Glen was set up for a "normal" pattern, but his decision to expedite now placed him a bit high, so he pulled carb heat, cut power, and banked toward the runway for a short fi nal. This is when Glen discovered the CX5's gliding ability. So a slip was executed all the way down to fi nal. According to Glen, it felt a lot like the CX4 in which he has almost 200 hours, so he felt at home. The landing was very smooth and uneventful, so he taxied back into smiles all around. Mr. Thatcher seemed quite pleased and said it sounded and looked great! A short fl ight for sure, but it told Glen that the plane handled well, was predictable, climbed like a rocket, and landed just as it should. It's no coincidence that the Revmaster R2300 looks at home on the nose of the CX5. It was selected as the engine of choice from the beginning.