The timing of this just couldn't have worked out any better: This aircraft was completed on May 31, 1928 and on May 31, 2018 - 90 years later it is back in the air!
The aircraft flew just great. No issues at all. Cruise speed seems to be about 80 MPH, and I was coming in to land at about 45 MPH. The airplane has no airspeed indicator, so this was all based on ground speed that I got from my GPS.
Pat Weeden from the Kelch Museum put together a nice video. Here is a link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCMiPb3vknM
So now, I'll just be putting more time on the airplane. The plan is to take it to EAA this summer. They mentioned it would be on display in front of the Vintage Headquarters all week. So please, stop by and say hi. If you miss it at EAA, you can see it just about anytime at Brodhead, and will for sure be flown during Grassroots in September.
I hate to put an end to this blog just yet, so I'll continue to ad a few more updates throughout the summer. Thanks to everyone that has been following!
After 5 years and about 3500 hours the L-P is ready to fly!
One of the biggest hurdles was getting the Airworthiness Certificate. Fortunately, I worked with a couple of great guys from the Milwaukee FSDO that really went to bat for me on getting this aircraft certified. Part of the delay was just that fewer and fewer Fed's have experience with antique airplanes. Everybody learned a lot through the process.
While I was waiting on the A/W Cert., I put about 5 hours on the engine. The last troublesome thing to repair was a cracked oil pump. The pipe thread fitting that screws in the side of the pump goes into a thin part of the casting, and that is where it cracked. Leaked like crazy when the engine was cold, but quit leaking when hot. I built up a new one and we are back in business.
I also finished the wheel covers. As you can see in the pictures, they are painted and have the grommets installed. They are held on the wheels with leather lacing cord.
And finally, the cowling could finally go on.
I've also been doing some taxi tests. I changed the tail skid to help with steering. As you recall, this aircraft has no brakes and just a tail skid. The original one had keels on the bottom which made steering difficult - basically stick full forward and a blast of power. That part was OK, I just didn't like the side load it put on the leaf spring and lower longerons when the tail came back down. I replaced it with more of a spoon-shaped skid that made a huge difference.
Everyone always asks "when are you going to fly it?" Well, I don't like a large audience when I first test fly an airplane, so it will just be a spur of the moment decision. All I can say is that it will be in the next couple of weeks. I'll be sure to make a post with a video when that happens.
The timing of this just couldn't have worked out any better: This aircraft was completed on May 31, 1928 and on May 31, 2018 - 90 years later it is back in the air!
