I'm an 8800 hour flight instructor, with 7600 hours of dual given, and you are going about this in exactly the right way. I've also owned and flown a Minimax and instructed in Citabrias and Taylorcraft etc. Expect the Minimax to slow down much more quickly than other aircraft, and to be more short coupled than the Citabria during takeoff and landing. My Minimax was a little squirrely on asphalt and a pussy cat on dirt, so I'd also recommend first flights on dirt or grass if possible. Excellent workmanship by the way.
I sort of thought you might not want to live with that aft-most CG! Nice job on moving the engine forward. That's a real head-scratcher about the tachometer noise. You'll figure it out!
I was just really concerned about what would happen when I want to carry 8 gallons of fuel. It was the right thing to do and the looks changed very little.
Dennis, wear your helmet and safety harness when practicing your taxi runs. I found out the hard way that it is really easy to find yourself airborne. When it happened to me, I did a wide turn and landed safely, but a few years before, at the same airport, a Mini-Max builder was killed when he accidentally got airborne, panicked, landed hard, and was thrown from his airplane. You're also going to find that landing a Mini-Max can be tricky. Because it has no suspension, it's easy to bounce the plane, and just as easy to ground loop. The trick is to hold the plane off the runway until the stick is all the way back. I'm sure you realize all this, but just in case...
I loved landing my EROS 1650 in heavy cross winds. Some "old timers" showed me how to do this effectively. Just keep that upwind wing down, and touch down on the upwind main gear and the tail wheel at the same time. This keeps the wind from "weather cocking" the plane. If you make a wheel landing, the wind will push on the fuselage and you'll pivot on both the main gear. Try this method - I think you might like it. More fun to do that, while holding a good crab into the round out and into the flare. All of this will definitely keep you busy.
@@DTMinimax I once saw a pilot take off in a Cessna 150 in what had to be a thirty MPH crosswind from the left. As soon as he started down the runway, he brought the right wing up and the left wing down, within inches of the ground, and went down the runway on the left wheel until takeoff. If I tried that, I wouldn't be here to talk about it.
Dennis, it all looks great. Please make sure "all of the boxes are checked," before the DAR or FAA shows up for your AW inspection. Any instruments that requires range marking - Wt & balance info - adverse loading conditions information - Labelling for fuel grade, etc. at each filler cap. How about egress info on the outside of the fuselage in case of a crash. Everything labelled. How's that my friend. :-) :-) Good luck. N6395T
Dennis, Thanks for giving us advice and sharing your experience with us. As a 23,000 hour plus retired airline pilot with a spotless safety record. I am going to give you some advise. LET THE AIRPLANE BECOME AN EXTENSION OF YOURSELF. Do your safety checks…. Trust that God has given you a gift and go fly your airplane. I have had a number of emergencies in my flying career. And the ones that happened were handled as having been no big deal, because I let the airplane be an extension of myself. If you can’t relax enough to do that, let Brian(your instructor)test fly you plane. BUT….I believe that after watching you over the years. You can do the test fight. Have confidence in yourself and enjoy what God is about to let you do.
Looking at the new engine mount plate on the left side, there appears to be a gap between the bottom of the metal plate and the top of the wooden engine beam.
Congrats on the Tail wheel endorsement but wait a sec, didn't you already build & fly a minimax before in times past? I'm confused ha ha (normal) Fricken adhd ha ha. Can't say enough how much I enjoy your video's. So glad I found your channel so randomly when this project began. With the tailwheel assy, can't you just use the centreline of the fuselage as a guide to make sure it's setup & tracking straight? When you were talking about the Stalls & recovery process you triggered my brain from flying gliders. Our training is full forward stick & full opposite rudder to the direction of the spin (in a fully developed spin) I ain't no expert but I do highly recommend any pilot to go gliding & get proficient, you don't have an engine to begin with so every action you make is important. I got into a stall once at 1,300 feet above the ground in an IS-28 & lost 300 feet in a half rotation. By the time the instructor could yell my Aircraft I had already recovered at 1,000 feet & on the downwind leg (just happened to be there) & I didn't relinquish control, just called downwind & proceeded to land normally. The instructor thought I would've been shaken up by this & told me I needed to get right back in the air again. (There's a lot more to that story) In reality I knew exactly what the glider was doing & how to stop it. I never once felt unsafe. I have so many stories. Wow anyway, that's a lot of writing & I'm only 6 minutes into your video ha ha. Fricken wish I could meet you in person. Cheers from a random Bloke down under! P.s. was 30°C here yesterday. Whoo hoo!
I have some glider time and love flying gliders! My first Max was an ultralight that I only flew on grass. I feel like I have a completely different animal here
Not my expertise; but, would it be easier to only refer to the checklist and speak the values into a recording? That would maximize your attention to flying and you can fill-in the form after the flight.
I'm an 8800 hour flight instructor, with 7600 hours of dual given, and you are going about this in exactly the right way. I've also owned and flown a Minimax and instructed in Citabrias and Taylorcraft etc. Expect the Minimax to slow down much more quickly than other aircraft, and to be more short coupled than the Citabria during takeoff and landing. My Minimax was a little squirrely on asphalt and a pussy cat on dirt, so I'd also recommend first flights on dirt or grass if possible. Excellent workmanship by the way.
Thank you so much for the confirmation!
I don’t have access to dirt or grass at Fox but I am 7,000 x 100 so I have plenty of room:)
As an RC flyer, every maiden is a different experience. I can't imagine what all is going thru your head,
That’s funny…I wish I was as careful with my RC planes sometimes
I sort of thought you might not want to live with that aft-most CG! Nice job on moving the engine forward. That's a real head-scratcher about the tachometer noise. You'll figure it out!
I was just really concerned about what would happen when I want to carry 8 gallons of fuel. It was the right thing to do and the looks changed very little.
Dennis, wear your helmet and safety harness when practicing your taxi runs. I found out the hard way that it is really easy to find yourself airborne. When it happened to me, I did a wide turn and landed safely, but a few years before, at the same airport, a Mini-Max builder was killed when he accidentally got airborne, panicked, landed hard, and was thrown from his airplane. You're also going to find that landing a Mini-Max can be tricky. Because it has no suspension, it's easy to bounce the plane, and just as easy to ground loop. The trick is to hold the plane off the runway until the stick is all the way back. I'm sure you realize all this, but just in case...
I loved landing my EROS 1650 in heavy cross winds. Some "old timers" showed me how to do this effectively. Just keep that upwind wing down, and touch down on the upwind main gear and the tail wheel at the same time. This keeps the wind from "weather cocking" the plane. If you make a wheel landing, the wind will push on the fuselage and you'll pivot on both the main gear. Try this method - I think you might like it. More fun to do that, while holding a good crab into the round out and into the flare. All of this will definitely keep you busy.
I’ve seen some people practicing this in a Cub even in calm winds. Some TW drivers have incredible skill
@@DTMinimax I once saw a pilot take off in a Cessna 150 in what had to be a thirty MPH crosswind from the left. As soon as he started down the runway, he brought the right wing up and the left wing down, within inches of the ground, and went down the runway on the left wheel until takeoff. If I tried that, I wouldn't be here to talk about it.
Sounds like you have a solid plan. The engine move looks good.
It doesn’t really look a lot different which is great!
Dennis, it all looks great. Please make sure "all of the boxes are checked," before the DAR or FAA shows up for your AW inspection. Any instruments that requires range marking - Wt & balance info - adverse loading conditions information - Labelling for fuel grade, etc. at each filler cap. How about egress info on the outside of the fuselage in case of a crash. Everything labelled. How's that my friend. :-) :-) Good luck. N6395T
Thank you as always Michael!
Dennis, Thanks for giving us advice and sharing your experience with us. As a 23,000 hour plus retired airline pilot with a spotless safety record. I am going to give you some advise. LET THE AIRPLANE BECOME AN EXTENSION OF YOURSELF. Do your safety checks…. Trust that God has given you a gift and go fly your airplane. I have had a number of emergencies in my flying career. And the ones that happened were handled as having been no big deal, because I let the airplane be an extension of myself. If you can’t relax enough to do that, let Brian(your instructor)test fly you plane. BUT….I believe that after watching you over the years. You can do the test fight. Have confidence in yourself and enjoy what God is about to let you do.
What an outstanding message!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!!! God has certainly given me a lot of gifts!
Looking at the new engine mount plate on the left side, there appears to be a gap between the bottom of the metal plate and the top of the wooden engine beam.
There’s a rounded edge there so it looks like a gap
I've been thinking about you. Had a feeling you went for it.
You thought I flew it already?
Wonderful seeing the update. Is there a possibility of filming your time with Brian?
That would be really fun to record our conversations
best chanel❤❤
from brasil
Be deliberate .... take your time... get comfortable with it.
Great advice…thank you!
How’s your project coming along?
That plane could be my next build
Congrats on the Tail wheel endorsement but wait a sec, didn't you already build & fly a minimax before in times past? I'm confused ha ha (normal) Fricken adhd ha ha. Can't say enough how much I enjoy your video's. So glad I found your channel so randomly when this project began.
With the tailwheel assy, can't you just use the centreline of the fuselage as a guide to make sure it's setup & tracking straight?
When you were talking about the Stalls & recovery process you triggered my brain from flying gliders. Our training is full forward stick & full opposite rudder to the direction of the spin (in a fully developed spin) I ain't no expert but I do highly recommend any pilot to go gliding & get proficient, you don't have an engine to begin with so every action you make is important.
I got into a stall once at 1,300 feet above the ground in an IS-28 & lost 300 feet in a half rotation. By the time the instructor could yell my Aircraft I had already recovered at 1,000 feet & on the downwind leg (just happened to be there) & I didn't relinquish control, just called downwind & proceeded to land normally. The instructor thought I would've been shaken up by this & told me I needed to get right back in the air again. (There's a lot more to that story) In reality I knew exactly what the glider was doing & how to stop it. I never once felt unsafe. I have so many stories.
Wow anyway, that's a lot of writing & I'm only 6 minutes into your video ha ha. Fricken wish I could meet you in person. Cheers from a random Bloke down under! P.s. was 30°C here yesterday. Whoo hoo!
I have some glider time and love flying gliders!
My first Max was an ultralight that I only flew on grass. I feel like I have a completely different animal here
I did mine in a citabria in 2.7 hours but I was flying alot!
Wow John! That’s really impressive!
Thanks!@@DTMinimax
Not my expertise; but, would it be easier to only refer to the checklist and speak the values into a recording? That would maximize your attention to flying and you can fill-in the form after the flight.
That’s an excellent idea…with me recording cockpit I can just post the checklist and talk through it. I believe Elliot does something like this
Don’t discount a crib death of the tachometer. Hope your solution works.
Not quite sure what that means but I believe so know what you mean…it could be the instrument
Sorry for the obscurity. Comes from having conversations while I type. Yes, I was referring to the instrument failing.@@DTMinimax