First Flight in the Rata......

[thedude247]

I just finished my first flight in the new I-16, well done by the way. I can do pretty much anything I want with this beauty, I love low flying, so thats what I was doing for the longest time. :gameon:

One thing i've noticed is that she doesn't like upside down :icon_lol:, AT ALL. At least not at low altitude.

Lets hear your tales of your first flight.

[pointy31]

My first flight was from KPTN to KARA, following the interstate all the way. Weather was good, wind 170* @ 8 to 10, viz 30 miles. I was a bit shaky at first, not knowing what to expect when it came time to land. (realism easy). The landing was pretty much normal, although a bit fast. Three tough and goes later, with no crashes, I set the sliders midway, and got rid of the wind. Smooth as glass. I've made 8 or 10 landings so far, no crashes. I found wheel landings work best, touching down around 75-80 indicated. In all, its a nice airplane, but ya gotta stay on your toes, LOL...

[Tom Clayton]

I just couldn't stop myself...


I found wheel landings work best...

As opposed to sliding in?:isadizzy::monkies:

[pointy31]

I just couldn't stop myself...



As opposed to sliding in?:isadizzy::monkies:


LOL, No, you silly goose! As opposed to 3 pointers...:sleep:

Of course, one could slide in if one forgot to ....er, ...what is it that one can forget to do?...I forgot...:pop4:

[Tom Clayton]

:icon_lol: I figured that's what you were talking about. the lools of it remind me of the GeeBee "Z" - and if you've successfully landed Wozza's version of that, you know the meaning of "flying if all the way to the ground!"

[pointy31]

I never could land that GeeBee, bounced all over hell's half-acre...:isadizzy:

[srgalahad]

slow.. slow.. slow.. let it settle... speed takes a while to bleed off :icon_lol: ... all the while you'll be dancing as roll control deteriorates. I found a curved carrier-style approach works settling on final at about 300 ft and a half mile out then just hold it lined up and let the speed bleed. As soon as it's down and planted you can pull the stick back to pin the tailwheel and brake fairly hard.

Grass is your friend.. asphalt is not.

Tom tried to emulate the hand-cranked gear ( try to imagine 30 turns of a wheel while holding a climb or concentrating on descent!) but in the end had to settle for a 'powered' system.. although the gear does retract asymmetrically (fun to watch from spot view) and yes, in beta-testing I had quite a few slide-stop landings :monkies:
I expect we'll lose quite a few tubeliner auto-land drivers along the way

Rob

I forgot to add this note earlier. Read real-world test pilot Dave Morss' account of his first Rata experiences here:
http://www.ksql.com/myriad/warbirds_poly.htm