First Flight of Waiex #142

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First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby 142YX » Thu Jul 16, 2015 2:57 am

Hello all,

Happy to report that Waiex #142 left the ground for the first time this Monday, July 13th 2015. The flight went great and she flew exactly like I expected her to. What a blast!

All engine parameters stayed in the green for the entire flight, although I think I have some Aeroinjector adjustments to make as I suspect I am running significantly rich. In spite of this, my Jabiru 3300 ran without missing a beat and didn't give me any trouble other than not being able to develop full power. I had one minor issue during the flight where my flaps stuck down at 30 degrees during a simulated practice pattern at altitude. Rather than get distracted and try to fix the problem right there I decided to just fly the airplane and descend and enter the traffic pattern with the flaps down. It should be an easy fix - I think I just made the flap detent notch too tight and the handle twisted and bound into the notch when loaded with aerodynamic forces for the first time. The landing went great without issue.

I intend on writing up a more detailed report of the flight and have a video in work as well.. but until then here are some photos. I was lucky enough to have an extremely skilled chase pilot backing me up and enabling me to get these images.. I can't stop looking at these photos and smiling - what an amazing feeling! To leave the surface of the earth in a machine built with your own two hands!

Thanks Sonex, for producing this amazing kit!

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Waiex # 142 - Taildragger, Jabiru 3300
First Flight - July 13th, 2015
450 hours and counting..
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First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby Sonex1517 » Thu Jul 16, 2015 5:43 am

Awesome!

Congratulations on an incredible accomplishment. What a beautiful airplane....


Robbie Culver
Sonex 1517
Chicagoland
Tails and Wings complete - finishing fuselage.
N1517S reserved
Robbie Culver
Sonex 1517
Aero Estates (T25)
First flight 10/10/2015
325+ hours
Jabiru 3300 Gen 4
Prince P Tip
Taildragger
N1517S
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Re: First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby andrewp » Thu Jul 16, 2015 8:34 am

And what a cool place to do it at ... awesome work.

AP
#618
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Re: First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby Rynoth » Thu Jul 16, 2015 8:51 am

Terrific, congrats! That's great to have that much support and in-flight photos of your first flight, too cool!
Ryan Roth
N197RR - Waiex #197 (Turbo Aerovee Taildragger)
Knoxville, TN (Hangar at KRKW)
My project blog: http://www.rynoth.com/wordpress/waiex/
Time-lapse video of my build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8QTd2HoyAM
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Re: First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby jjbardell » Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:00 am

It is a beauty and the view of those mountains must be incredible in that bird. Well done!
Building: [11323] Zenith 750 CruzerDuty27.5 / O-320 [Instagram Build Log: Zenith750CruzerSTOL]
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N83LJ - Sonex #0864 (SOLD)
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Re: First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby Bryan Cotton » Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:20 am

Congratulations Nick! Great photos too.
Bryan Cotton
Poplar Grove, IL C77
Waiex 191 N191YX
Taildragger, Aerovee, acro ailerons
dual sticks with sport trainer controls
Prebuilt spars and machined angle kit
Year 2 flying and approaching 200 hours December 23
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Re: First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby DCASonex » Thu Jul 16, 2015 3:52 pm

Congratulations, Great looking plane, and one that will be easy to see in the landing pattern. Want to get some of that paint for my car. it is a month old and has been rammed twice by others while siting still.

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Re: First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby Gripdana » Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:38 am

Nick,
Looks great. Congratulations. Give me a shout some time when you are going to be by Fox Field. I'm over to Cal City and Mohave every week end. They are on the edge of my testing airspace.
Dana Baker
Scratch Built
First Flight March 8, 2015
Sonex #1534 - N1534S "Aluminum Foil"
Aerovee-Dual Controls-Tail Dragger
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Re: First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby nwawingman » Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:13 pm

Wow! What a beautiful Waiex! Congratulations on your first flight. It take weeks and sometime years to come down from that first flight feeling. :)
Rick Wantz - Arkansas
Sonex 367 T/W AeroVee/Aeroinjector - Prince Elliptical Prop <361hrs
1st Flight 7/13 KOSHX3 Young EaglesX14
http://www.mykitlog.com/wingman
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2TNLK ... A63FvnPkNA
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Re: First Flight of Waiex #142

Postby mike20sm » Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:05 pm

I admired the build quality when I saw it earlier this year at the Mojave fly in. It looked like a certified aircraft not an experimental with the fit and finish so well done. You got a beautiful frame worthy picture to capture the moment. Looking forward to the video.
Standard Sonex kit #1692
preparing workshop for arrival
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