We did not have to wait long for a calm evening after the permit to fly was received. However, the evening started a little dramatic when fuel seemed to leak out of the primer (this was the first time we had filled her up completely). So the first attempt stranded at holding point Alpha when I observed the regular drops every few seconds from the primer pump. Back at the hangar, Sander did his magic as always and about an hour later we were ready for a new attempt.
Nervous ? Oh yeah. Very. Not to die off course, but to do something stupid like a ground-loop on landing... that the engine would quit on me after a few minutes on full power... Nervous to damage this now spotless piece of living history.
With the fuel leak now fixed, run-up check passed (to the extent that it is possible to do an "extended run-up check" in a Cub...) and for the very first time reporting "Kjeller traffic, LN-MAV entering and backtracking runway 30". Heart beating in my chest as I entered the runway, however when lined up and ready, everything seemed to calm down. This was going to be a normal L-4 flight on a calm summer evening. The fact that it was the first flight after major restoration... well, it's always there in the back of the mind, but everything felt just right. "Kjeller traffic, LN-MAV rolling for departure runway 30 with a left turn out for circling the field at 2000 feet".
Final stick check - full free movement, trim set. Wind...checked calm. Full power applied gently... RPM checked. Airspeed alive... Tail comes off and Maverick suddenly feels alive in my hand!
The rest is technical. Climbrate, best cruise setting etc. We can get back to that later some time. I will let the following photos describe this memory for life. To my blog followers: thanks for taking part in this fantastic journey. The blog will be updated now with more flying adventures with MAV. A video from the whole restoration process, including testflights is coming here later... And as always, a big thanks to technical chief and best cousin in the world Sander.
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| Rolling runway 30.... |
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| Just airborne... |
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| "Conservative" climbout on the first flight. 1300m runway, so plently of that. |
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| When reaching target altitude 2000'. Very emotional moment... However as with flying: Takeoff is optional, landing is mandatory!!! But first 30 mins in orbit overhead Kjeller with safe gliding distance at all times. |
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| Thanks........ wish you could have come on the first, but Sander was "payload" during the testflight program when we needed MTOW. |
