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<DIV>Hi All,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I don't usually do this, but I thought, with everyone out at the NATS and I
can't go, this would be a good time to talk about my first 10 flights on my new
Prestige. Ken Velez built and painted it, looks good and he should get the
credit for this but this airplane's flight characteristics are very special.
Power is the OS 140 through the ES pipe. Top rpms so far are 8,400 with 8,100
operating. Idle is at 1,900 rpm and dropping to 1,700 soon. Propeller is the
Dave Lockhart 10" pitch 3-blade.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>Right now, it weighs 9.5 pounds. I have 4 ounces of nose weight in it
for the first few flights that will be soon disappearing. The all up weight
should be 9.25 pounds. Its aerobatic flight speed is about 15 mph slower than my
10.25-pound Temptation's best operating speed. The climb is so much better as to
be on the silly side. The aircraft tracks straight and true at the lower
airspeeds yet the rolls seem to need as little rudder as does the
Temptation. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>One big difference is fuel mileage. When flying the Pattern,
the Temptation's best flight time is 12.5 minutes, with reserve, on a
20 ounce tank . That is 1.5 Master's Patterns. The Prestige flies 16 minutes,
with reserve, on the same 20-ounce tank. Why the difference? Level
aerobatic speed is at 40% throttle, all climbs at between 50-75% throttle and no
full power ever. The Prestige will fly 2 full Master Patterns and still do
a couple of landings. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Airspeed stays the same pointed vertically up or down. The airplane
accelerates in the downline until about 50 mph then hits a stone wall and stays
there. With a 1,700 rpm idle, the stonewall should appear around 45
mph. Wind handling is excellent as the first 5 flights were in heavy
crosswinds.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Most importantly, the airplane seems to fit my style of flying better than
anything I have ever flown since my own design in the late 70's. The first few
practice flights were better than any patterns I have ever flown. It just
seems to fit well with its pilot. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I wonder if anyone else has experience with a glow Prestige? If so, please
let me know. For my own 2 cents, I am glad that I didn't opt to go electric and
make the airplane weigh 11 pounds. I don't think it would have been as happy at
that weight as it now seems to be at 9.5. Still, there are many e-Prestiges out
there doing well but do they also float through the pattern as my glow does.
Would like to know for future decisions.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks all and the best to everyone out there competing in the Muncie wind.
Wish I was there.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>Frank G. </DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Get a sneak peek of the all-new <A title="http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour/?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000982" href="http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour/?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000982" target="_blank">AOL.com</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>