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MiniMax Eros in Australia

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Beragoobruce

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
96
Location
Blue Mountains, AUSTRALIA
I 'finished' my build on the Max back in May, & transported it to its new home at my local airfield. Since then I've been doing lots of little jobs; gone through the W&B testing; endured the protracted process of jumping through the various registration paperwork hurdles, & become proficient at tail-up taxiing on the tarmac strip (I can hold the tail up for 5000', though the line isn't always very straight:).

Unfortunately, until last weekend, the grass strip I wanted to do my initial take offs & landings on has been closed due to unusually high winter rainfall. But it opened on Saturday! And the forecast for Monday was for calm weather early morning.So Sunday I put some fresh fuel in both tanks, & did yet another full-on preflight.

I arrived at the airport early, & wheeled my plane out. I chocked the wheels, warmed up the engine, then ran it to full power. All good.

I did a couple of tailup taxi runs the length of the grass strip. Partly to check out the runway (bumpy), partly to test the new composite tailspring I'd just made (works well), & partly to see if I could still do it (much easier on grass).

Then I lined up for a fast taxi/crow hop. After a few yards I was going quite fast, & when I hit a small hillock, I let the plane take off. I flew for maybe 100 yards, at up to 3 feet altitude. Then I slowly eased her back onto the grass. It went ok.

So I turned round at the other end, & tail up taxied back to 02. Checked everything 8 more times. Lined up, gave it some gas, gritted my teeth, and took off. :))



I climbed at about 600 fpm, maybe 3/4 throttle, about 55 mph. The plane was very steady - much nicer to be in than all that lurching about on the ground! At 1000' agl I turned crosswind, & kept climbing. I stayed in the circuit pattern the whole flight. At 3000' agl I tried a stall, but I must have had too much power on, because I got to a crazy angle of attack, down to 30mph ias, with no nose drop. So I levelled off, & did some turns, left & right, maybe 40 degrees of bank. Then I did some slips, left & right.

The plane was totally predictable, felt very smooth & steady, with tiny control inputs. The pitch trim is very sensitive, & the plane responds quickly to throttle inputs. The cht's & egt's were all below limits.

I tried a very gentle dive at 5500rpm (max 6000), and saw 80 mph on the ASI. It all felt good. The air was very calm, no clouds in a very blue sky. Wow!!

After a couple of descending circuits, I came in for a touch & go. I had to slip it a bit to lose altitude. The view over the nose at 55 - 60 mph is excellent - no danger of not being able to see the runway. I held a steady descent, and held off to let the speed decay. But by the time I settled (ok, bounced) onto the ground, I was too close to the end of the runway, so I made it a full stop. I turned round, taxied back to 02, & did another circuit. I made it a bit bigger all round, but still had to slip to get to 600' on turn to final. It slips very controllably: no drama at all. There was a bit of low level turbulence on late final, but it was easily dealt with due to the very powerful ailerons.


My landing could kindly be described as 'fair', about halfway along the strip. It was sort of a 2.5 pointer - neither 3 pointer nor wheeler. I think perhaps I stalled it about a foot too high. I don't really remember. Anyway, only a minor bounce that soon stopped. I was so excited about my flight that I lost concentration, & did quite a large swerve. Fortunately I managed to catch it before it ground looped, but it was a good reminder to keep flying until the engine is off.

Having been flying for 40 minutes, I decided to quit while I was ahead. I taxied back to the hangar, took the cowl off, & had a good look over the engine. I took 2 spark plugs out - they look a little rich to me, & my temps were all below limits, even in a long descent at small throttle opening. But I will leave the jets & needles as they are for the moment - better rich than lean.

I'm stoked to have finally flown my plane, after the long road from thinking about building, to doing it, then eventually getting to make my maiden flight. I am very impressed with how beautifully the Max flies: it is so controllable, & gives a great feeling of confidence.

I flew another couple of circuits and 3 more landings on Wednesday, before the forecast thunderstorm arrived. A mate of mine took the attached (rather shaky!) videos.

I have a lot more flying to do to get to know the Max: stalls, steeper turns; deadstick landings, etc. But I am very favourably impressed with its flying qualities - it really is a fun aeroplane to fly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it74hbo8hwQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBQOXiggUC8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ele8eeMETjQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjIFwnasJwQ


Bruce

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