Fight hours - I had about 450 in many different kinds of airplanes. 80 hours taildragger Cessna 185 time. Flying my dad's KR2 -Revmaster 2180 turbo- was no problem - only noticed real sensitivity when at gross weight. This tendancy is much better in N41768 - the KR2S. I feel that flying different airplanes will give you an edge as far as anticipating and responding to the airplane. Getting a couple flight in a KR will be invaluable as well. If you get a chance to try your hand with RC - remote control - airplanes it may also help with keeping steady hands. First flight should be done with a couple things in mind. First - be confident in you engine and plane - Initial rollout should be performed and the only thing you should check is oil pressure and RPM. KEEP YOUR EYES OUTSIDE! This is essential to keeping an accurate centerline. You may glance down at the Airspeed to insure you are achieving liftoff speed but your visual cues should be all you need. A little (again.. a little )backpressure for tri gear and wait for it to lift off. Taildragger hold a little forward elevator until the tail comes up and then transition to up elevator smoothly. As you fly off the ground, keep your eyes outside. Keep wings level and smoothly climb out - dont worry about engine gauges or VSI or anything like that. You can feel what should be right. Your ears will keep you attuned to the engine performance. Climb to pattern altitude and if everything sound and feels good then throttle back and level off and then...you can check gauges. I think more people are hurt by flying inside the cockpit than if they used their other senses and were smarter about it. There comes a point in time that you are comitted and checking gauges isnt important. Think about it. Cut down on the possible distractions and you should have a safe first flight.... Maybe just a couple pointers - my 2 cents worth...
Bill Clapp and N41768 303 hours and more to come now the engine is back in and running. After a few more hours of testing ---TURBO.......
