And now, we can fly!

Yes, today I got the Airworthiness Certificate for N124BX, the conclusion of 3 years of a labor of love. Here is the patient waiting for the visit of the DAR:

And here is the result of the visit of the darned DAR:

To his credit, the DAR found a few things that needed fixing. Fixing them will take less time that it took me to remove the about 50 nutplate screws that dot the floor panel under the seats but I was lucky, he did not ask to take the lower cowl off, a major annoyance in the RV-12.
$340 for 50 screws amounts to about 7 cents per screw... and I get airworthiness as a bonus!

The hilarious part was when the DAR started moving the sticks which produced an horrible "cling" I had never heard before . We soon located the noise to be an interference of the flapperon skin (both flapperons) with a rivet head on the fuselage! What happened is that the temperature was in the mid 90s for the first time since I installed the wings and the flapperons grew a tad longer, enough to hit the rivets... I mentioned the precision of my workmanship as both flapperons were affected the same way. You guys in the north better watch your flapperons when you come south!

First Engine Run in Pictures

Today I had my first engine run with the help of Donald Berry a certified Rotax A & P. The following pictures taken by my daughter Anne who assisted in the preparation of the run tell it all:

Anne in the hangar, making airplane noise for the last time before the run:

The setup, plane tied to my car, just in case...

Preparing to crank under the eye of the expert, Donald Berry:

Engine started, I lost my hat:

Here we go, 2000 rpm, no hands!

2500 rpm, lost my hat again!

3000 rpm, I miss my canopy!

4000 rpm, that's it, I can take no more, no more, no more!

Victory lap back in the hangar

Pointing the tail out for the first time

I am finished attaching the tail feathers and here is the result:

This would not have been possible without these home made tools:

These are "washer chasers" indispensable to push the washers into place on rudder and stabilator. I used scrap Al from the build and a dremel tool, takes 5 minutes to make... Priceless! You just attach the washer with Scotch tape at the bottom, avoiding to obstruct the hole.

The guy who helped me conquer the stabilator

This is Dan Kangas, a fellow RV-12 builder who is very good at chasing washers!

The issue we had is one of the most frustrating among all the RV-12 challenges. We are supposed to glue the four washers against which the two stabilator pivots will be pressed once bolted. This is a nightmare when one pivot end hits the washer before being fully engaged as the washer will just fall which is what happened to us. Dan had the smarts of making a tool (with aluminum scrap) that helped push back the loose washer in place. As there is practically no visibility to check the washer alignment, he sacrificed an AN4-12 bolt (I did not mind as it's coming from his kit!) by grinding the end into a conical shape which helped complete the alignment.
A good day at the hangar!

Out and In and Out = Trip to the Airport Hangar

We don't need long explanations, the pictures speak by themselves:

The name of the new place: KLHZ or Triangle North Executive Airport

Last trip to my workshop...

This is the end of my building phase, time to think about flying now.

Last Trip to my Workshop

A Wonderful View of the Sky...

... on my Skyview!

And note above the screen my official name: N124BX which means RV12 for Bernoux!
The correct announcement on radio is:
"Experimental RV12 one two four Bravo Xray""