Preparing for the First Flight

The most exhilarating….and dangerous…flight of a homebuilt aircraft is its first flight. The elevated risk continues through the first several hours of Phase One. But, the risk can be minimized by careful planning, training, and execution. While some “fly the hours off” during the mandatory Phase One period, the wise pilot uses the time to carefully explore the new aircraft’s capabilities and its envelope of performance. Editor-in-Chief Paul Dye and regular contributor Vic Syracuse provide advice on how to plan, train, and execute a thorough flight test program for a newly built airplane. Our “New Guy”, David Boeshaar, says that he has paid the price for his tool addiction….buying wrong tools, overpriced tools, and tools of such low quality he’d be embarrassed to give them away. But, he’s a man who learns and likes to pass on his hard-won knowledge. This month’s article provides ten tips on what to buy, when new is important, and when borrowing others tools might be the ticket. Filling out the issue are news stories, the KITPLANES® Photo Contest, and our monthly aviation-based cartoon. I hope you enjoy this issue and encourage your friends to obtain their own free subscription to The Homebuilders Portal. Louise Hose has built and flies an RV-3 and is currently building a Sonex Xenos motorglider and a Tundra Dream bush plane with her husband and their build partner. She lives in Dayton Valley Airpark near Carson City, Nevada. You can write to her at: louise@kitplanes.com.