Rick6a
Well Known Member
With 6977+ RV's flying it is difficult to do something no one else has done before. My IO-360 M1B, Hartzell equipped RV-8 took flight today with veteran DAR and high time tail wheel pilot Frank Baldwin at the controls. Just to be different, I left almost all the blue protective vinyl on the airframe intact. I'd like to think that is a first. Frank reported zero problems and was aloft for nearly an hour. After completing tasks called out on flight test cards, Frank continued to explore the flight envelope including a slow fly-by. Without the wheel pants installed, Frank still managed to extract 190 MPH GPS groundspeed at one point during its maiden flight. The standard kit plane, fitted with Grove Airfoil gear, Dynon EFIS, Trutrak autopilot and AOA was built and completed in 24 months but for personal reasons, did not fly until today...nearly two years after it was awarded its Airworthiness Certificate. My RV-8 shares hangar space with the standard kit RV-6A I completed in 2005.