It is with great excitement to announce that another Chapter member has completed a First Flight.
On August 20th at Northwest Regional Airport N800GY took to the skies for the first time. On his builder’s log Greg said this about that day:
“Today is the long awaited day. First Flight! Thank you Norm, my ground crew. It has been a heck of a journey … I have turned from builder to maintainer & operator.”
Congratulations Greg!!
By Greg Schroeder
I ordered the Sportsman 2+2 tail kit from Glasair back in Nov of 2005. I started building and checking things off the list, then moved to Florida in 2011, then to Dallas in 2014 and saved the kit from a divorce. I have finished the roller coaster ride of building and completed first flight the morning of August 20th from 52F. There has been a lot of help from the Glasair Owners forum both online and in person. The factory sent irregular shipments of parts to replace the ones I screwed up from time to time and Dan Dudley provided me transition training to make sure I could fly the Sportsman. A few months ago I stuck my nose in an open hangar and met Tom White who became my building brother. We went through the last few months to first flight in lockstep. Jim Novak and Joe Migis fellow builders and chapter members who helped and cheered me on. Michael Stephan provided scales and support with weight and balance. It was then time to ask the DAR, Mel Asberry, if it was airworthy.
Mel worked me through the FAA paperwork and got me to airworthiness. The crew chief Norm Biron provided a second and third set of eyes on any squawks while I worked to get us to zero. Norm is a great mentor and ground crew member helping get the plane into the air and continues to be a sounding board for my steps through Phase I. In summary, I found out it does take a whole team of people to get an airplane completed.
I’ve had many rides in GlaStars and Sportsman owners/ builders. I want to thank all those who have patiently answered questions both simple and complex. I am looking forward to completing Phase I and return the favor of those rides. I will see you all at a Fly in, and join the formation into KOSH.
N800GY is no longer a project but a plane. I look back and simply can’t believe what it took to get to this point. Persistence, maybe stubbornness, are the only words that come close to encapsulating the experience. To other builders, stick to it. Keep making progress. The tasks do come to an end, and all that is left to do is fly it.
N800GY flew like a dream. I do have the heavy left wing and have to work on cooling. All issues others have seen with lots of potential solutions. I’m working on the Garmin VIRB cockpit video. I’m working through Phase I using the EAA Flight Test Manual task list moving toward Phase II.
