First flight in a Legal Eagle what is it like?

[Bob Wood]

I am getting ready to fly my XL. ( next week ) Done some hops but not blasted off yet. Lots of little issues to solve.

What were your first flights like?  After years of flying Pipers and Cessna's. taking off and landing at 60 MPH.... Got to be some good stories out there to help me get ready.

Thanks,
Bob

[leshoman]

Getting it off the ground and into the air  is similar to any tail drager, It can happen very quickly but no surprises, once in the air control forces are very light and very comparable to other aircraft, Cub, Aeronca, Champ, ETC.  The biggest thing to be aware of is when you pull power it slows down, in the air no problem but close to the ground, like landing, it can be a problem.  you are wanting to fly along, say about 35 mph as touch down approaches, everything looks and feels good, so power is pulled off like in above mentioned aircraft.  Machine stops and falls out of air.  That big brake up front, when power is pulled, is trying to slow you to about 12-16 mph and it works very well.  There is not much weight to keep the momentum up when power is pulled.  Might consider flying it on until a feel of this is achieved.  with the mains on runway very good directional control in cross winds or as needed and by the time tail will not stay up any longer almost stopped.

[Tom H]

Been a few years.  I did the first flight in LEU Treehugger (before it was named Treehugger), and experienced severe pucker factor as I cleared the trees at the far end of the runway.  But, our LEU was not the best example of the mark.  It was way under powered and too heavy, and climb was marginal when I flew it.  Lighter guys had better results.

The main suggestion I would make is don't let the airspeed get too low and don't let the nose get too far up.  At least for the first flights.

[Bob Wood]

Thanks for the comments and tips!

I had my first real flight other than hops on Friday at 6:30 AM. Finally got all my bugs out, leaks stopped.... and my 37 HP XL hopped off the ground lots faster than i expected. I held the stick steady all the way up to 500 ft and leveled off . I have 3100 static on ground, and my weight is 253# with no paint over primer....
Excellent feel and the aileron trim seems perfect. I think i need a little down elevator but will fly as is for a while.

After i got to 500 ft I pulled the power back to 1/2 throttle leveled off and flew a bit and gradually flew it back onto the runway. I felt like i had to push in a little down elevator after the power reduction and expected to loose altitude as soon as I  cut the throttle to 1/2 without pushing the nose down. Is this normal ? I really did not pull up elevator much at takeoff sort of jumped off and held steady to 500 ft. It felt really good, not like out of trim during climb, not too steep of a climb, not like I had to hold forward pressure to prevent too steep of a climb, but not what I expected... Any comments welcome.

All my hours are in a Tripacer where i gently pull up elevator at takeoff and cut throttle with no forward yolk pressure for the initial altitude reduction when landing.


I set up my horizontal stab 2 degrees down at the rear hinge, and level with the fuse in the front of the stab.....Thinking of taking a washer out in front. Am I on the right track?

These are really fun to fly, i guess i just need some tips on what to look for to adjust trim....

Seem like what I have is: a slight climb trim at full power and level flight
at 1/2 throttle. Can't believe I lucked out on trim on the first flight... but it feels really good...

Thanks,
Bob

[Kiwi55]

Congratulations...

[Dan_]

I think i need a little down elevator but will fly as is for a while.


Seem like what I have is: a slight climb trim at full power and level flight at 1/2 throttle.  Can't believe I lucked out on trim on the first flight... but it feels really good...

Since no one else has chimed in...

If I have understood you correctly, it sounds like the horizontal stabilizer is set perfect...  Perhaps you will like it better after a few more flights.

Thinking of taking a washer out in front.  Am I on the right track?
Thanks, Bob

If  you mean you want less "climb-trim" and taking a washer out will raise the leading edge it sounds right.  

To take nose up trim out, you will want to make the tail "fly more", by raising the horizontal stabilizer leading edge.  

To put more nose up trim in, you would lower the horizontal stabilizer leading edge.

I hope I haven't made a useless, self evident observation...

[PropMan]

Congrats Bob! 

How about some pictures?

[MrG]

Congrats Bob 
Did my first flight a week ago with a 50 min flight yesterday, nice to fly