Jody maidens the new Xplorer

Jody and I went to the field late this afternoon so Jody could maiden his new bird and get her in trim. What a beautiful thing a brand new sailplane is! Jody has done a superb job of fitting her out and with just a quick sanity check of the radio and control surfaces, I gave her her first toss. Well – Jody kept her going out and out as he adjusted his elevator trim and when he finally decided to add some flap and bring the test flight to a stop she was about 120 yards away. Next throw Jody turned her through 180 degrees and flew her back near where we were setup. 🙂 A couple more tosses and Jody was ready to put her on the winch. First launch was zero camber and I threw her while Jody pedalled her up. A gorgeous site as his new Xplorer was finally airborne where she belongs. I flew my High End also and we flew a few man on man tasks of 8 and then 7 minutes which we were accomplishing easily even with a setting sun. Jody’s landings with the new bird were a bit wayward to start with as he got used to the incredible increase in performance he now has to play with. We finally finished flying as it got dark and packed the winch up. No doubt Jody Miller is going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2010 contests in Fl. See you on the 30th for Buzzards Appreciation day.
Gordon
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