Yesterday I had my second flight in a friend’s Christen Eagle II. I’m getting slightly better at flying it - the trick is to hardly move the stick. I channeled my brief Bell 47G experience to help me.
I’ve flown 22 types solo and have stick time in another 30. In terms of handling, I describe them as ranging from trucks, through family cars to sports cars. The Eagle is in a league of its own though - in automotive terms, it would be an F1 racing car!
I tried steep turns, slow rolls, inverted flight, a Cuban Eight and stall turns to the left. I only got half-way through the Cuban Eight.The down-line roll didn’t go so well. My instructor friend described it as “an outside barrel roll entry into an incipient spin”! At least I recognized what had happened and recovered appropriately!
My main problem was "Chipmunk muscle-memory" from flying T10s all those years ago. As my friend pointed out, Chipmunk techniques are not appropriate for an aircraft half the size of a Chippie, that has 50% more horsepower. This was the first time I've actually seen the effect of propellor gyroscopic forces.
I had planned to try some spins but we knocked it off, because I detected the early symptoms of air sickness. In spite of my ham-fistedness, my friend has invited me to go flying again. I can't wait.
An added bonus for an exciting day was having a look at what was hiding in the hangar, behind the Eagle and the Pitts S1. Another homebuilt - a Lancair LIV-PT with a 600 HP Walter turboprop!
