After 3 1/2 years since the accident, Ryan PT-22 N48742 finally got airborne Tues evening!
It was kind of an impromptu performance. We, my partner Doug Schuster, and I had planned to do the first flight Wed AM before the local airport crowd shows up. I was out Tues afternoon doing some taxi tests, accelerate/stop on the runway etc. Well, you don't just take an airplane like a Ryan out and start making like you are going to fly it without a crowd gathering. I finished my monkey business, taxied up to the hangar, shut down, and everyone started saying, "Go Fly!" It was a nice evening, nice breeze blowing right down the runway, so I called Doug and asked if he could get his butt down to the airport ASAP, he said he could, so about 30 minutes later I took it off for the first time. I flew 30 minutes, landed, we hot seated and Doug flew for 30 minutes. We have a new prop on the airplane, it is a cruise prop. The one that was on there before the accident was a climb prop. there is a world of difference between the two. The cruise prop is like driving around in your 49 Ford in 3rd gear, slow to accelerate, low RPM for takeoff, and much lower RPM to attain the same cruise speed. We also have a new climb prop, and I think next week we are going to change them out. When all you can get is 1560RPM on takeoff, it feels like a reduced power takeoff in a 727-100, full, with fuel to get to Miami at 98F in Denver when there is no wind! Get my drift? We were use to 1780 or so with the other prop, the red line is 1850, which we never saw, even with the old one.

I flew it twice today, we are working out some flying/landing wire vibrations, tomorrow I take it to Chino for the annual airshow there.

Was sure fun getting it going again!

                                                                                TTFN
                                                                                Terry

Ryan at Chino