Maiden Flight Today

[n85ae]

Climbing through 3000 feet in N85AE on test flight four, I reduced power to
level out, and the engine went "woof" and it was really quiet. Good fortune
and a tailwind got me back to the airport. Don't be too Chuck Yeager.

Regards,
Jeff

Today I readjusted the trim ballscrew to give about 1/2" more nose up travel at the leading edge of the horiz stab. Also I backed out the right lift strut rod end 1 full turn at the trailing edge to help bring down the right wing which wanted to ride a little high. I'll see how these two adjustments pan out on the next test flight. Will keep you posted, however the weather is getting dicy again.
This is really interesting and fun to be a test pilot and aircraft mechanic, to try to tweak an already good performing airplane to be even more perfect. I will be following the FAA AC 90-89A Phase I flight testing advisory circular for my test flights. In some ways it is too conservative for a well proven design like the Kitfox, but hey you need something to do while you're doing circles in your local area for 40 hours, and it makes you feel like a Chuck Yeager or something wringing out a brand new prototype Super X-1000 Mega Fighter.

Jim

[SkySteve]

Jeff, we're hanging at 3,000 ft with you. What happened?