Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: lml
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 22:42:58 -0400
Message-ID: <redirect-1711251@logan.com>
From: "Skip Slater" <skipslater@earthlink.net>
References: <list-1710944@logan.com>
Subject: Re: [LML] Re: Test Flight
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My .02 from an observation I saw during construction of my plane-
   A IV-P builder that completed his plane as I was starting mine wanted to
do his own test flying too.  He was a retired 747 Captain and certainly
qualified to do it.  His flight was successful, but he had several nagging
problems that he couldn't identify or resolve over the next several weeks.
Among them was the inability to pressurize above about 1.5 psi differential
and an excessively high dirty stall speed.
   A couple of months later, Orin was in town to do an inspection and first
flight on a 360 that was completed in the shop where I built my ES.  Once
done with that job, he agreed to go up in the IV-P with the problems.
First, he ran the engine and identified a problem there that, with a simple
adjustment, produced considerably more power.  Then he hopped in with the
owner and taxied out for takeoff.  Orin immediately noticed that the door
seal wasn't working.  They made found a loose wire and quickly fixed the
problem.  After takeoff, with the door seal now working, pressurization was
normal.  On approach, when Orin lowered flaps, he looked outside and told
the owner that they were only coming down about 60% of normal travel.  They
returned to the shop and after a few hours of adjustments to the flap
mechanism (which had somehow gotten out of whack since the DAR's
inspection), full travel was restored and the apprach and stall speeds
returned to normal..
   The moral of the story is that the guys we pay to do these flights for us
know the aircraft and can immediately recognize things that we can't.
They've also likely experienced problems that we haven't and are certainly
better qualified at that stage to handle them.  Finally, they are the best
bet out there to check us out in the planes.  In fact, my insurance insists
that I be signed off by a Lancair approved instructor before I'm allowed to
solo in my plane.
   I have over 14,500 hours of civil, military and airline time in my log
book and the thought of doing my own first flight never entered my mind.
The cost of having Orin do my first flight was some of the smartest money I
spent.
   Skip Slater
   N540 ES