Tweaks

My family has been laughing at me as I work on my completed plane. Even though the build is complete, there’s still work to be done people!

  • Paperwork - The FAA sent back part of my registration application because of a silly mistake I made. I fixed it and mailed it back last week.
  • Trim elevator control holes - Denny Myrick came over to see the plane and noticed the elevator control rod rubbing against as bulkhead. Fixed!
  • Luggage rack - Early on I bought Sonex’s luggage “bag”. But it was just a bag with nothing to attach it in place. So I build a rack, sewed some velcro, and bam!… Luggage rack complete.
  • Placards - Regulations require a few placards and I added a few more: baggage capacity, fuel, “EXPERIMENTAL”, fire extinguisher, elt, flaps, brakes, etc…
  • Seal for windshield - There was a gap so I added some foam tape to seal it.
  • Polish engine caps - Thay had become all scuffed up during the work. Time to make them shine!

Insurance

The first place I called was, lets call it “Acme”, because they were listed on Sonex’s website. They told me I need 10 hours of duel time in make and model, with an instructor. I told the lady my plane’s make and model has only 1 seat. She said “I know. That’s a problem.”

Fortunately I know an underwriter, Jim, at Starr Aviation. He recommended a couple brokers, who then asked Jim to quote my policy. In the end I went with Falcon Insurance, underwritten by Starr. Now I’m insured for half the price of Acme’s quote, with no dual time required. Yay!

Tow Truck

Getting the plane to the airport is a problem I’d been pondering for a while. With insurance bound, there was no reason to wait. I called Scottdale Towing Co. because they were the closest. They sent me a flat bed truck with a driver named Edmundo an hour later. Edmundo was awesome! He patiently helped me get the plane on the truck bed and carefully fasten it securely. He allowed me to choose the attach points and asked me to check his tension on each strap to make sure it wasn’t too tight.

I asked that we stay under 35mph on the way to the airport and he was fine with that. In fact he rarely went above 30mph. Edmundo took every turn very slowly and dodged a dozen trees from hitting those high wings. Unlike stories from other builders who say their plane bounced all over the truck bed, mine stuck like it was bolted down.

Boy did we get a lot of looks from neighbors, pedestrians, and other drivers. It’s not every day you see a plane driving down the road.

We arrived at the airport and the plane was in pristine condition. Not a scratch. Edmundo gently lowered it and helped me put it in the hangar. It shares the new home with the Cirrus.

At Home Truck At Airport In Hangar