I made big plans for my first flight. My DAR gave me the thumbs up for the first flight. My paperwork was tucked away in the plane and I was almost ready to go. My big plans included following FAR 90-89 complete with Nomex fire suit, helmet, smoke hood etc. All these things were gathered in preparation but I did not take them to the hangar because I still had to re-time a mag. I had removed the mag to check ADs for my equipment AD evaluation list for my FAA inspection.
I had a fellow hangar friend come by (who just happens to be an A&P and BD-4 owner) and help me time the mag which ended up being off one tooth. When we finished we fired it up and it sounded really great. Tony (A&P) looks up and says "its a beautiful day for a first flight, it doesn't get much better than this".
Well, after his much instilled confidence in my plane and my flying abilities (he had taken me up in his BD-4 a few days prior for some T&G's) I said what the hell, why not. I taxied out to the strip and did my run up. Everything was looking good. I gave a thumbs up to Tony and full prop and red line rpm and down the runway I went. The tail responded right away and I danced on the rudder for the first hundred feet and at 1000 ft of runway I came off the strip a few feet but suddenly realized that it wasn't flying off the runway. Having only a couple of go no go seconds I decided to put it back down which left me about 1500' left to do it in. I got the plane back down and taxied back. I told Tony that it felt like it didn't want to climb. Tony asked me about the W&B and I said that it was well within the envelope so he said to adjust the trim tab. I adjusted the trim tab for take off again and off I went.
The same thing happened on the second and third attempt. I was starting to wonder what I did wrong when Tony said "you have tons of elevator left; use it".
So on the fifth time Tony turned to go back to his hangar and I sat there for 30 seconds on the runway and decided this was the time. I made it 1/2 way down the runway , 5' off the ground I pulled harder on the stick and up it went. (Later I realized that I have to literally fly it off the runway because it won't do it by itself like my T-18 used to) and I had only practiced touch and goes in my friends BD4 and had not done any take offs so this was a new experience for me. As I cleared the end of the runway I began looking for spots to set it down just in case and banked it into the pattern. Upon reaching downwind my scan working across the board noticed that everything looked good except for the creeping oil temp.
When I reached the end of downwind I decided to put it back down because I was close to red line (spent too much time on the ground running up and down the runway). Since I had a temp. airspeed ind. installed because my BD airspeed was being overhauled I decided to come in on the hot side. Instead of setting an attitude and letting it sink in I tried to coax it down quicker which ended up making me bounce a couple of times but I got it under control, braked and stopped in less than 1000'.
As I taxied back I realized that I had done it and I wanted to get out and jump up and down. Tony was standing at the taxi way with a big smile and a thumbs up. We talked about the oil temp and agreed I probably spent too much time on the ground and decided it was getting late and to fly it again the next day. Even when no one had visually gathered except Tony many were watching and listening. They came out from their corners where they had been hiding with fire extinguishers just in case. I appreciate those guys because I knew they were there even though I couldn't see them. Many came by afterward for congrats.
What a day. I didn't even tell my wife that I flew until I got home that evening. The next day I took the cowling off and inspected everything. I pulled off all of the inspection covers and checked all my rigging. I was glad I did because I found that one of the cables for rudder was loose which I tightened back up. I checked all fuel lines again and I was now ready for the next flight. Even though my flight turned out OK, God was with me because "I didn't plan the flight and fly the plan" like I had planned. That falls under do as I say and not as I do.
Shane Demmer
311SD
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