ps.  The RV8 you built was superb, and I hope the -3 will be as great!!
Only problem is you can't ride me in this one...:-)
-----------

===>  I appreciate the comments Tommy.  Unfortunately, the -3 won't be as
nice as the -8, since it's such a combination of old and new kits.  These
things were practically scratch built 20 years ago, and I just can't believe
some of the things the original builder had to fabricate.  Now of course I'm
trying to make current production parts fit with an old kit, and it doesn't
always work as well as I'd like.  Structurally it will be fine, especially
with the new -3B wings, but cosmetically...  Fortunately, I'm not real
concerned about the cosmetics, since this plane is purely an engineering
project for the engine.  Also, I can blame anything that doesn't look right
on the original builder :-)

As for first flights, I'm certainly not rushing you.  When you're
comfortable with everything, that will be the right time.  Just make sure
you invite me to the event, and I'll do the same.

When I made my first flight in the RV-8, I called Pensacola tower by phone
and explained what I needed to do.  My plan was to climb to about 5000 feet
without stopping, and I knew that I wouldn't have time to contact them by
radio prior to entering the 1400 ft floor to their airspace.  They gave me a
squawk code, and cleared me to climb to 5000 ft just South of the airport,
and a pre-designated time.  That allowed me to concentrate more on flying
the plane, and less on rushing to contact them.  You might want to consider
doing the same thing, if you haven't already thought of it.  Of course when
I flew the -8, I didn't realize that Whiting is closed on Sat and most of
Sun, which means the class C lobe over Milton is eliminated.  The RV-3 first
flight will be on a weekend, so I won't have to worry about airspace issues.


Cheers,
Rusty