Day: April 16, 2011

After nearly 3 years. Today was the big day. I got involved in getting PW sorted for re-permitting over 2 months ago. It’s been a long haul, but it whizzed through inspection except for a couple of minors 2 weeks ago and today after getting the exhaust back on after a little bit of welding it was signed off by the Inspector for its check flight. I had already got the same check pilot who flew MYRO for me standing by on a phone call’s notice and after taking the main wheel spats off PW temporarily because we found they were binding a bit on the new (apparently slightly larger) tyres, I found myself taxying out for its ferry flight over to Stoke.

Brilliant feeling when I took off and began to climb away. As this was not only PW’s first flight since July 2008 it was also the first flight since the engine was completely overhauled, so I did a climb up to cruise height while keeping close to the field just in case. But everything was going like clockwork, so off I went. The X’air is obviously from the same family as the AX3 except it’s a bit bigger and heavier so it’s not quite as lively in the air. It’s still a stick and rudder type aircraft that needs you to fly it all the time though, but not to the extent of the AX3.

The old Icom A3/Comunica comms set up that’s installed wasn’t performing that well so I had to join overhead to find out which runway was in use as I’d forgotten to ask before I took off. Typically, as this was my first flight in the X’air and my first landing in it, it had to be runway 24 that I’ve never landed on before. Chris had a student up in his Quantum so I slotted in in front of him in the circuit. Compared to landing on 06, the electricity pylons are a bit closer to you on the final approach to 24 and next time I’ll make sure I do a bit more of a dog-leg instead of landing straight in. But I’m glad to say the landing was pretty good, if not a greaser, even though I say it myself. The crowd at Stoke love to pull your leg though and said they thought I was trying to park the X’air in the hangars, which are all lined up pretty close, but not that close, to the side of the runway, directly on landing. But I just remained totally aloof from their remarks about my display of supreme piloting skill. I got off the runway pretty smartly and held while Chris did a touch and go, taxied to the small parking area and handed PW over to Martyn the check pilot. I took the attached pic to record the occasion after he’d started her up and just before he taxied off.

Martyn came back after 30 minutes and said he was very pleased with her so that was PW signed off for permit. 8 or 9 week-ends of hard work but it’s days like today that make it all worth it. I took off and headed back to Linton and found that the vis, that was not that good going up to Stoke, was now a lot worse and it wasn’t helped by also having to head towards the sun. Mind you, it might have helped if we’d thought to give the screen a bit of a clean before leaving for Stoke in the first place. But now I know the local features and landmarks I found Linton without too much trouble. Ken had driven over to Stoke and we’d met up after I’d landed and he’d watched me take off for the return journey. Peter though was still waiting for me back at Linton. I ended up a bit too high on final – compared to the AX3, the X’air does tend to float a bit more and lose height a bit less readily I think. Unless you give it a bootful of sideslip, that is, which is what I did. If anything, the X’air slips better than the AX3 and I think you can lose height quite a bit quicker. So I did manage to get in very nicely in the end and stop with a bit of brake in about a half of the runway.

So a great day all round. Mission accomplished. The X’air will be permitted and flyable in good time for next week-end, so I’m happy and relieved at the final outcome 🙂