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First Flight
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pj.ladd(at)btinternet.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 5:54 am Post subject: First Flight

Hi All,



I finally made it.



Last week the final paperwork from the CAA arrived and on Wednesday Wendy drove me to Doncaster where we spent the night.

Thursday morning she dropped me at the airfield the dealer, Mike Moulai, operates from and headed home.



Mike gave me a half a dozen check flights and we played with the plane all day. Mainly trying to get the oil pressure up. In the evening I did a couple of circuits solo with no trouble. I haven`t flown a tail dragger for years neither have I flown from concrete but experiencd no problem although my landings were a bit untidy. Friday morning around ten o clock having waited for the haze to clear I flew with Mike in the second seat navigating, nearly 200 miles to my home strip. Visibility improved as we headed south and the the thermals began to kick in. I have a glider variometer fitted and we were getting steady 8/9 knot bumps. The Xtra rode it all very well and felt extremely steady.



We refuelled at an airfield around halfway home and apart from trying to take off with the brakes on I managed OK.



The Jabiru performed faultlessly apart from the oil pressure,



Nearing home we flew through the local MATZ, with permission, something I had never done being strictly non radio, which meant that we approached my strip from the north, an entirley new  perspective for me and I had trouble finding my own strip. The fact the the field had been cut for hay since I last saw it didn`t help either.



It was a bit lumpy on the approach with a slight cross wind but around 55 mph on the ASI and  a full flap landing put us safely home around 12.50.



Unfortunately my hangar is still full of Challenger so I had the experience of de rigging the Kolb for the first time, on my own.  I shall do it better next time



I thoroughly enjoyed my first extended flight in the Kolb. She was easy to fly, Although that flap lever is a pain. She has much more arrow stability than the Challenger and held her course, feet off the pedals, easily.



Unfortunately we have had guests over the weekend and I have been unable to fly again and it looks as though it will be next weken now before the weather clears up again.

Thanks to everyone on the list for the knowledge they have contributed.



Cheers



Pat



do not archive

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:21 am Post subject: First Flight

I thoroughly enjoyed my first extended flight in the Kolb. She was 

easy to fly, Although that flap lever is a pain. She has much more 

arrow stability than the Challenger and held her course, feet off the 

pedals, easily.



Pat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Patrick:



Good for you.



I know you are happy to finally get some air time in your new bird and 

have it home to its roost.



Bet your oil pressure problem is the sender.  We have problems on the 

912's with oil pressure senders.  Seems the vibration tends to shorten 

their lives and scrambles their brains.



Take care,



john h



mkIII

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

tkrolfe(at)usadatanet.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:24 am Post subject: First Flight

pat ladd wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  Hi All,



I finally made it.



Last week the final paperwork from the CAA arrived and on Wednesday Wendy drove me to Doncaster where we spent the night.

Thursday morning she dropped me at the airfield the dealer, Mike Moulai, operates from and headed home.



Mike gave me a half a dozen check flights and we played with the plane all day. Mainly trying to get the oil pressure up. In the evening I did a couple of circuits solo with no trouble. I haven`t flown a tail dragger for years neither have I flown from concrete but experiencd no problem although my landings were a bit untidy. Friday morning around ten o clock having waited for the haze to clear I flew with Mike in the second seat navigating, nearly 200 miles to my home strip. Visibility improved as we headed south and the the thermals began to kick in. I have a glider variometer fitted and we were getting steady 8/9 knot bumps. The Xtra rode it all very well and felt extremely steady.



We refuelled at an airfield around halfway home and apart from trying to take off with the brakes on I managed OK.



The Jabiru performed faultlessly apart from the oil pressure,



Nearing home we flew through the local MATZ, with permission, something I had never done being strictly non radio, which meant that we approached my strip from the north, an entirley new  perspective for me and I had trouble finding my own strip. The fact the the field had been cut for hay since I last saw it didn`t help either.



It was a bit lumpy on the approach with a slight cross wind but around 55 mph on the ASI and  a full flap landing put us safely home around 12.50.



Unfortunately my hangar is still full of Challenger so I had the experience of de rigging the Kolb for the first time, on my own.  I shall do it better next time



I thoroughly enjoyed my first extended flight in the Kolb. She was easy to fly, Although that flap lever is a pain. She has much more arrow stability than the Challenger and held her course, feet off the pedals, easily.



Unfortunately we have had guests over the weekend and I have been unable to fly again and it looks as though it will be next weken now before the weather clears up again.

Thanks to everyone on the list for the knowledge they have contributed.



Cheers



Pat



do not archive 

  




	


Pat,



Way to go!!!!!  All the hard work has paid off for you.  Enjoy!!!!



Terry -  FireFly #95

slyck(at)frontiernet.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:44 am Post subject: First Flight

 	  Quote: 	
		  

 I finally made it.

 Cheers



 Pat



Pat, here's an attaboy from western New York state.
	


fly safe.

BB  do not archive

Ralph Hoover

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 206
Location: Central Ohio

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:35 pm Post subject: Re: First Flight

Pat, I am pleased for you! Soon! Soon, I too will be up there in mine. It is ready for me and within the next several weeks, I will exit the Challenger and enter the Firestar.



Lately, with the air warming up early in the day, I have been getting wind effects from the side about twice the heigth of flair. They have caused me to do a great deal of moving of hands and feet in order to come down in the center and keep the nose up. Why, one time I had to spit out my chewing gum cause I forgot which thing to concentrate on more! The air seemed calm but not at that altitude. I thought it was only me, however the State Patrolman / student after me also had more difficulty than me. Callengers and full flaps, both something I won't need to tackle soon, very soon.



Steady as she goes, and center bubble Ohio Ralph

biglar

Joined: 14 Jan 2006
Posts: 457

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:53 pm Post subject: First Flight

Congratulations, Pat.  That's the best news I've heard in a long time. 

Lar.                   Do not Archive.



---

_________________
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, CA
Building Kolb Mk IIIC
"Vamoose"

Bob Dalton

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 68
Location: Manteca, Ca

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:55 pm Post subject: First Flight

Congrat's Pat!



 



 



Bob D.



Do not archive



 



--

_________________
Bob Dalton
Manteca, Ca.
wiserguy@comcast.net

Kirk Smith

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 78
Location: SE Michigan

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:47 pm Post subject: First Flight

Jolly good show old chap!!!!

Hi All,



I finally made it.



Pat

esteuber(at)rochester.rr.
Guest

Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 5:17 am Post subject: First Flight

Pat, 

      Good Show Old Chap ! Sorry , I could not resist the remark !

      I think you will find the Kolb in comparison to the Challenger has a more balanced feel in relation to the way the rudder and aileron ratio is  , although the Challenger flys well .

       Now ...if I can just get the last coat of dope on the Ultrastar I too can have some fun ...although I was working my AgCat this morning spraying  the top of a 30 acre greenhouse with water soluble paint...(filter light for light sensitive crops)..but that's not the same...that's work !

                           Have fun with your new toy...

                                                                             Ed in Western NY

herbgh

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 145

Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:15 am Post subject: First Flight

Ed



    margiewanna that light sensitive??   sorry, could not resist..!! 



   My good wishes to Pat and his Extra also.. Many great hours of

aviating... 



   I would like to have  Pat give us a flight comparison between his

Challenger and the Extra.    Herb 



    Do not archive. 



  

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:15:14 -0400 "Edward Steuber"

<esteuber(at)rochester.rr.com> writes:

 	  Quote: 	
		   

 <esteuber(at)rochester.rr.com>

 

 Pat, 

       Good Show Old Chap ! Sorry , I could not resist the remark !

       I think you will find the Kolb in comparison to the Challenger 

 has a more balanced feel in relation to the way the rudder and 

 aileron ratio is  , although the Challenger flys well .

        Now ...if I can just get the last coat of dope on the 

 Ultrastar I too can have some fun ...although I was working my AgCat 

 this morning spraying  the top of a 30 acre greenhouse with water 

 soluble paint...(filter light for light sensitive crops)..

Ralph Hoover

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 206
Location: Central Ohio

Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:55 am Post subject: Re: First Flight

Amazing. "herbgh"  asked the same question I wanted answers too also! Comparison of Challenger to Kolb. But even better, a NEW Kolb flier. You would be more sensitive to the variations.



Ohio ralph

Bob Griffin

Joined: 22 Jan 2006
Posts: 34
Location: Slingerlands,NY

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 2:52 am Post subject: First Flight

Good for you Pat !  Hope you enjoy many hrs. of flying your Kolb.

Fly Safe

Bob Griffin

Upstate NY (not everyone lives in the city)    ha / ha.

_________________
Fly Safe
Bob Griffin
Slingerlands, NY

pj.ladd(at)btinternet.com
Guest

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:41 am Post subject: First Flight

I would like to have  Pat give us a flight comparison between his 

Challenger and the Extra.>>



Hi All,



I think that a real comparison is a bit premature. After all I only have 

four solo landings in the Kolb to my credit. A couple at the dealers field, 

one at the refueling point on my home flight, and one at my home strip.



However first impressions are that ther Xtra has much better longitudanal 

stability. Quite a lump of X-country was flown with my feet off the pedals. 

I don`t think that would work of the Challenger. Of course it is difficult 

to judge as you cannot take your feet off the pedals in the Challenger as 

there is nowhere to put them  Certainly it was nice to be able to stretch my 

legs so I suppose that comfort must be a plus for the Kolb. Kolb seats are 

better than the Challenger. Ailerons didn`t seem too heavy.



It was quite thermic flying home. Lumps of 8/9 knots on the vario. and it 

was really no problem. In the Challenger, being a lighter machine, it would 

have been quite rough.



Landing the Kolb has not been any more difficult than landing the 

Challenger, so far. The tail has just touched down before the mains but 

quite gently. The flap lever is awful. Having to reach across my body to the 

right side  with the left hand is just ridiculous. There has to be a better 

way but it is very very difficult to change anything that major without 

almost going through the entire engineering process again that I guess that 

I shall just have to get used to it.



Being in the Kolb enclosure gave a quite spurious impression of safety 

against the Challenger which I built without doors.



Bad part is that I have had the Kolb home for over a week now and have been 

unable to fly as I have been to the coast. The weather has been great (of 

course) and I was expecting to fly tomorrow, Sunday. However Wendy has just 

told me that we are out to lunch tomorrow so that more or less b--gg---s up 

the whole day as I have the plane folded up and rigging, flying and then de 

rigging again is going to take too much time.

I really thought I had sold the Challenger and would be able to use my 

hangar for the Xtra but the sale just fell through.!



Further reports in due course as I learn something about flying Kolbs.



Thanks to everyone for their best of luck messages.



Cheers



Pat



do not archive



--

jbhart(at)onlyinternet.ne
Guest

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 12:45 pm Post subject: First Flight

At 05:39 PM 6/24/06 +0100, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  



.......................................
	


 	  Quote: 	
		  ...................... Ailerons didn`t seem too heavy.



.......................................
	




Pat,



How does this compare with the Challenger?



Jack B. Hart FF004

Winchester, IN

pj.ladd(at)btinternet.com
Guest

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 10:29 pm Post subject: First Flight

How does this compare with the Challenger?>>



Hi Jack,

this was regarding ailerons.  It is not just the weight of the ailerons. The 

Kolb will be heavy in roll without the use of rudder.. The Challenger wont 

go round AT ALL without a bootful of leading rudder.



On the other hand a Challenger will sideslip beautifully. I think the Kolb 

with full flap will go down almost as steeply I just haven`t the ecperience 

yet, but I like to sideslip.



Cheers



Pat



do not archive



--

pj.ladd(at)btinternet.com
Guest

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 10:29 pm Post subject: First Flight

Bet your oil pressure problem is the sender>>



Thanks John,



we tested that. Also putting an extra washer under the spring and switching 

to a different viscosity oil. No joy. It may be the instrument itself. We 

will make it in time. Seemed to make no difference to the engine .



Cheers



Pat



do not archive 



--

rlaird

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 373
Location: Houston

Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:34 am Post subject: First Flight

S'ok, Pat, you can say "buggers"... most Americans don't understand

it*, anyway.  



On 6/24/06, pat ladd <pj.ladd(at)btinternet.com> wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   told me that we are out to lunch tomorrow so that more or less b--gg---s up


	


*  I mean, we know what it means, but it doesn't have that same raw

feel that it does to you Brits.

_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert Laird
formerly: MkIIIc w/ 912ULS & Gyrobee
current: Autogyro Cavalon w/ 914ULS
Houston, TX area
http://www.Texas-Flyer.com

tkrolfe(at)usadatanet.net
Guest

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 7:50 am Post subject: First flight

Gene,

 

 Cool pictures!   Didn't know about the Easy-Riser, what year was that?

 

 Terry

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 1:00 pm Post subject: First flight

Thanks Terry,



It was Spring of 1980.



Hope to meet up with you in the air again soon.



On Jul 2, 2006, at 11:48 AM, Terry wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   Gene,



 Cool pictures!   Didn't know about the Easy-Riser, what year was that?



 Terry

lcottrell

Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 1494
Location: Jordan Valley, Or

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 3:58 pm Post subject: First flight

My first flight as PIC????????? was in my current Firestar II. To my 

surprise, I survived it since it was not intentional.

Larry, Oregon



Do not archive

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