Dear friends,
This is a big milestone in my life. I just received the airworthiness
certificate for the airplane I have been building since 2003. The
first picture shows the DAR presenting me with the certificate after
the inspection. 4516W passed with flying colors. Usually the DAR
will have to come back to confirm that major defects had been fixed,
but there were only about seven very minor sqawks that we could
easily fix on the spot. In that picture the airplane is all opened up
and partially disassembled for the inspection, so I attached the
second picture taken before we opened it up.
Of course it still needs to be painted, but it is now flyable,
which will soon happen after we close it up again. It has
been run and taxied with no problems. Now all I have to
do is convince the FAA to clear me medically to fly it. If
they do that, I intend to put it in a modified Naval Training
Command paint scheme (white with candy apple red trim
instead of the orange) with "MARINES" and stars & bars
on the fuselage.
BTW, the first 40 hours has to be flown by a single pilot
with nobody else in the airplane within a 75 mile radius of
where it was inspected (Paris, TX). I will not be doing that.
Probably no more than 15 of my 2000 or so hours was in
a tail dragger and even those were a long time ago. The
pilot will be the friend who helped me finish it. He has many
hours in his own identical airplane. After he flies off the first
40 hours, I will fly it from the back seat (has everything but
brakes) until I feel comfortable flying it by myself in the
front seat.
For those interested, it has two GPSs (one w/ a moving map
and the other w/ a CDI), a Dynon Engine monitor, a Tru Trak
auto pilot w/ altitude hold, electric elevator trim and flaps (both
controlled on the stick), manual aileron trim, and a new
constant speed prop on a new IO -360 engine; plus a complete
set of steam gauges. No EFIS for me! Too old a dog for that.
Very best regards,
John Wilkes
Marine Colonel, Retired
Vietnam Vet, Attorney, Author, and now Airplane Builder
