Waiex-B #21 (N21YX)

[Spaceman]

I finally got my plane in the air last weekend (June 12, 2022)!

It took me a while to find a good weather day that I wasn't busy, since it is extremely hot and windy this time of year here in West Texas. I was able to get in the air right after sunrise on a nice Sunday morning, when it was "only" 87 degrees F on the ground and about 10 knots of wind from relatively straight ahead.

Anyway, the plane flew great, super easy to control, only a tiny bit of left roll tendency which may not even be worth doing anything about, but no significant flight control issues noted! I wasn't sure how I was going to like the center stick but as soon as I took off I never even thought about it again. The controls seemed very intuitive .

The Aerovee Turbo didn't make the full manifold pressure, only about 35 in-hg, which was a problem I suspected I had but confirmed as soon as I took off. As a result of that it struggled to climb or fly fast, so the engine ran very hot and I therefore only flew for about 20 minutes. I've since replaced the wastegate actuator spring and now it makes 40 in-hg no problem, so looking forward to trying again!

I'll post some pics and data later, and any subsequent test flight findings. I'm about to move from Texas to California so I might not even fly it again until I get settled in, but at least now I know it flies!!

[Spaceman]

Here's a video of the first takeoff:



I had the flaps up, and raised the tail as early as I could, then rotated when it seemed like it was ready to lift off. Liftoff was pretty much on the captain's bars, so about 1000' ground roll even with the reduced boost I had. Takeoff gross weight was about 975 lbs for reference.

Here's the landing:



I put in 10 degrees of flaps at the perch and then just tried to fly around 60 knots down final. I think I ended up touching down in the mid-50's which was just about perfectly 3-point with that flap setting. Probably just lucky!! The engine died on the rollout so I pushed the plane onto the next taxiway and then it fired right back up so I could make it back to the hangar.

[Bryan Cotton]

Congrats! First flight is a big deal.

[daleandee]

Chris ... Bryan is correct. This is a BIG deal!

Congratulations to you sir!

Enjoy the skies ...

[jolson]

Congratulations Chris!

[WesRagle]

Hi Chris,

Congratulations!! That was a great first landing. I hate it that you are moving. I am based at KMWL in Mineral Wells and was looking forward to having an active Sonexer in the area.

Blue Skies,

Wes

[LarryEWaiex121]

Chris,
I have Waiex 121YX, legacy model with Camit 3300. Just flew through 1,000 hrs and she is performing great.
Keep up the flight testing and getting your new ride all dialed in.
Just a word of advice. Watched the landing on YouTube and it went pretty well. I would suggest you get in the habit of holding more elevator in the rollout. I could hear the tailwheel skidding and in any amount of crosswind your going to need that tailwheel planted or you will join that famous ground loop club.
Congrats on your success and keep going.
Larry

[Wood]

Congratulations on the first flight!

Mark