Rearwin Flight: 5 March 2005

looks like a brill day!

would lake to take a shot at this in a flightsim, would you be ableto supply a 3-view or drawing of some sort, and perhaps some expert info so that I could give it a shot??

Where’s the pics of the BACK of Steve’s jacket then?

Glad a good time was had by all. There was the faint whisper of rude remarks heard 12,000 miles aways, so it must’ve bin fun. Well done to Robbo for the classy sign.

Cheers!

Great to see the Rearwin complete and fully airworthy! A first flight yesterday would’ve been great but I understand the reasoning behind this not happening. I had realised that Steve P. flying it on its first outing would have broken a few rules here and there, so without it having flown before yesterday, there was obviously no way he would get his hands on the controls! (Can he even see over the instrument panel? Or is that what the booster seat was for?)

Looking forward to the photos of the actual first flight now. I’m sure it won’t be long!

Hi

Was Steves guest seat Zero/Zero rated – he seemed very preoccupied with “Hot seats” here.

And was he saying”I thought it would be a little bigger” in the photo at the bottom he looks so serious – Has the IRS finally caught up with him……….Regards
John P

Thats one ridiculously delightful aeroplane.

Thoroughly jealous 😉

Best regards, Steve

Great photos Mike. I like the registration, EVLE, sounds like evil

Well done Melvyn for completing what stands out from these and other photos to be a fantastic restoration, and for now owning the first airworthy Rearwin Cloudster in Britain. It is a huge credit to your years of hard work and dedication. I wish you well for the first flight, whenever it happens, and many happy years of flying her (if the Rearwin Museum doesn’t impose one of those silly non-flying exhibit policies).

Nice pictures, great stuff congratulations Melv. 😉 Anna 😀

Patty took the opportunity while in England to buy some traditional local dress. Here is a photo of him modelling it with two of the locals.

Oh you mean photographicalimages.

Someone was very rude to the guest of honour.

The vital paperwork (or faked version thereof)

The Grand opening

It does go, honest

Pictures, what pictures?

Oh and Patty has drunk all my Scotch.

OK, so here’s what REALLY happened. . .

As some of you may have worked out yesterday was never going to be the first flight of the Rearwin. That still is, and always has been, a secret for a very good reason. The less people that know, the less pressure is on. I have always said (and said on here) that the first flight is when she is ready, not before.

Back when this thread started, Steve had noticed that I was flagging. After four years of fairly relentless work, a lot of money worries and a very steep learning curve I was knackered. When you wake up dreaming about what order to assemble the cockpit roof it is time to stop. I had the whole parts book stored in my head and could have drawn any sub-assembly on the aeroplane, down to the split pins, from memory. That takes up a lot of hard disc space in the head.

What Steve said was “As I will be in the Popham area in March I’ve decided that a flight in the Rearwin would be just the thing. Of course, knowing Melvcock he will still be fidgeting with this and that, doing endless taxi test, running up and down the runway just asking for an accident. Anything except flying the silly thing. Well, come the 5th of March the Rearwin will fly. I may be making its FIRST flight, but the Rearwin will fly.”

That was not “I will be making the first flight” but “Hell, if he hasn’t done it by then I’ll kick his butt”.

Steve is way too much of a pro to just expect to jump in and go. He also has no UK licence so cannot fly solo and is not insured on the Rearwin.

However, the kick worked a treat and I got stuck into the final bits. My intention then came to have flown it sometime in mid-February in order that the permit would be through by early March and we could go flying and perhaps even pretend it WAS the first flight.

For one reason or another, none of which was anyone’s fault, this slipped and so the final PFA inspection was not until Feb 11 (reported on this thread) and the paperwork did not go off until about ten days later. We actually lost a whole month in this way.

Since this is a new permit application it has to go through the Chief Engineer at the PFA, Francis Donaldson, and he pushed it through. He called me Thursday before last with a question and told me the paperwork would be about a week. The papers then have to be issued by the CAA as this is the first Cloudster on the PFA, and they turned it around very quickly. The CAA also issued my radio licence by return, so a big-up to them for that.

The test schedule then had to be decided and as late as 4:30pm on Friday I got a call from John Tempest (Skybolt minor) clearing up a couple of points. This then allowed them to post off the Permit to Test.

Yesterday morning I got a brown envelope in the post in time to take it to Popham with me. I can fly anytime from now subject to weather and the availability of my nominated pilot (who is listed on the paperwork and it ain’t Patty!) so when Steve arrived at about 11am, with a whole bunch of other people, I was able to show him that his plan worked and I had pulled my finger out and I was, at least, officially airworthy when he arrived.

Meanwhile some forum members who shall remain nameless (Bridget, Robbo, MOTF, Janie, MikeJ, AndrewO, Met24 and that B Damien Burke) had decided also that since I would never get my finger out and actually finish the aeroplane, it formed the “Popham Rearwin Museum”.

So, they decided to donate my aeroplane officially to the ‘new’ museum.

After teas, coffees and some preliminary slagging of people, we strolled down to the hanger. Mrs Bridget, Mrs MOTF and Mrs Patty were also there as was ‘er indoors.

A ribbon, in red of course, was cut by ‘er indoors and the new museum declared officially open. Janie was to have cut the ribbon but she could not make it down. I will deal with her later today.

Robbo had also found half a bottle of Blue Nun, quite possibly the worst wine EVER in the history of the universe, and had produced a museum information board that is, although I hate to admit it, quite brilliant. It is staying with the aeroplane! Damien had also kindly made up some radiation warning signs so that people are not tempted to look into the cockpit.

I laughed my parts off!

Having done that I then fired her up and had a quick taxy around the bottom end of Popham. This was actually needed, rather than being a gratuitous action, as I had adjusted the brakes and it had been too wet to test them before this. The Cloudster performed well.

Patty says it sounds good. How the hell he could tell over the noise of all those bloody digital cameras is beyond me.

After that we put the aeroplane to bed in its new museum and went off for lunch and some more serious slagging in the clubhouse where Richard and Tracey looked after us well.

It was a very good day yesterday, just as Robbo and Mike J were leaving Paul McConnell decided to go fly the Staggerwing and so we helped him push it out and pull it back and Mike took piccies.

I really enjoyed yesterday. There was some great company (if anyone even thinks the word Cliquey I will kill them) and it is a shame that one or two of you that almost came couldn’t make it. We had a great laugh and I am really pleased that Steve had started all this off.

Thanks tosh!

No doubt pictures will now get posted.

Melv

No one expects…

Oh, no. Where’ve they gone now?

And the comfy chair too.

Message understood Roberta

Right, stop that – Its silly

We’ll have none of that round here

‘True’ Bruce (in charge of the paint stripper tank)

Ooo.
Bye,

Bruce

Are you Bruce the Professor of logical positivism? Or the Bruce in charge of the sheep dip?

(Apologies to Monty Python)

Regards,

kev35

Ooo. Nice boy.

Or girl.

In the UK, Randy is an embarrasing name, and it’s not prince Chuck either. Not all delights in naming travels.

Bye,

Bruce

Rob

Why do you keep calling Melv by a girls name?

Because here in the States Mel is short for Melvyn thats why

Rob

Why do you keep calling Melv by a girls name?

Hi Mel,

Hope it wasn’t anything to bad, your right safty first, I look forward in reading of your first flight, are you going to be taking any video that we all can enjoy 😀

RER

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

No