When I checked the weather this morning I was pretty sure that I would not be flying until the weekend. Gusty winds all day and then bad weather moving in ahead of a cold front. Then about 4:00 I noticed that the winds were starting to decrease. Just a little at first. They were supposed to weaken after dark but it looked like it might be happening sooner. I left work at 4:45 and headed to the airport. Still the winds were too gusty. Jerry, another Classic IV builder and owner was out at the airport and he also thought it was looking promising. I decided to start the process.

A thorough preflight and inspection followed by the taxi drill that I have gone through about a half a dozen times now. Everything done as if I am going to fly except I taxi down the runway instead of taking off. After I got back to the ramp I decided to park on the grass and take some pictures while I waited.  I called Stephen and he was on his way out.

Stephen and Dave have spent the past month helping me finish up N90HS and prepping me for my first flight. They have given me training in three of their aircraft. One of which, a 1946 Aeronca Champ, is somewhat similar to my airplane. My friend Luz and her daughter, Isabela, had stopped by just to see the airplane and decided to stay and see what transpired. We also had Miles and Robert in attendance. Miles took the great photograph of me coming in for landing. Luz used my camera to take the other photographs I have posted here.

Stephen arrived and agreed that conditions were good. He said, “It doesn’t get any better than this”. The wind was now 11 knots right down the runway. He grabbed a parachute for me to wear and here you can see him giving me some final words of advice. Then there was nothing left to do but climb in, fire up the engine and get this done.

I taxied out just like before except this time it was for real. Did it feel any different? Yeah, the parachute made the seat much more comfortable. I went through my checklists, made a radio call, taxied onto the runway and lined up on the centerline. Noted the time, took one last look at the wind sock,  and advanced the throttle. We were off, after a few seconds I raised the tail and she climbed like a rocket ship. Well, it seemed like that to me as I’m used  to instructing in 30 year old Cessna 152’s that are about 600 pounds heavier with similar horsepower. I was 1000 feet off the ground before I knew it. What an experience. I climbed to 4000 feet above the ground and stayed over the airport while I kept a very close eye on everything. I reduced the throttle to 5000 RPM and trimmed for level flight. I then just took my hand off the stick and my feet off the pedals and she just flew straight and level all by herself. Stephen was wrong, It does not get any better than THIS. I then reduced power and slowed down to 50 MPH to see how she handled. I made some clearing turns and then reduced the power to idle and slowed to the first sign of an impending stall and then recovered with power and pitch. I repeated this a few times so I could get used to how she will handle in the landing flare.

I then reduced power and glided down to enter the downwind leg for landing. I brought her in about midway down the runway and made a fairly descent first landing. The airplane can be used again so based on that often quoted criteria it  likely qualified as an “excellent” landing.  I did pull back too hard on the throttle after touch down and the engine quit just as I rolled to a stop. On the radio I heard a joke from the ground crew about having just the right amount of fuel. I actually had full fuel tanks. Total flight time was just over 1/2 hour.

I taxied in and stopped in front of my hangar. Everything went well. There was  a lot of noise in the audio system that did not show up at the lower power settings I had used for taxi and I’ll have to sort that out. All of the engine gauges stayed right where I wanted them and the airplane was rock solid. I could not believe that a few minutes before  I was looking out the window and seeing the sun starting to set and the ground far below.

 For so long the only thing I saw when sitting in my airplane was the inside of my garage. It seemed almost surreal but it wasn’t. We put N90HS back into the hangar and removed all of the cowlings. Everything looked great. Tomorrow after work I’ll go over everything very closely to make sure there are no issues. Then, when the weather cooperates it will be time to fly her again and I can’t wait.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped with this project over the years!