It Flies. Finally.

October 11, 2025 was one of the biggest days of my life. After nearly 6 years, 4379 hours of building and moving from AZ to TX, my ever-expanding collection of RV-14 parts finally morphed into a flyable airplane. I drove my first rivet on 12/2/2019. My goal at the time was to complete it in 3 years. Ha! How little I knew then. I grossly underestimated the amount of time and work it would take me to complete it. Knowing it would be a difficult task I made a vow that no matter how hard it got I wouldn't quit. And there were plenty of times I wanted to. But with the encouragement and support of my wife Lisa and the help and guidance of several knowledgeable friends, I persevered. I'm so glad I did. N892SL and I broke ground that morning on what turned out to be a mostly uneventful 45-minute flight. I've been flying for 44 years and 17,000+ hours including careers in the USAF and Southwest Airlines flying the F-4G, F-16C and now 737s and it was the most exciting flight of my life. It was a normal first flight profile. I had 30 gallons of gas and with just me and cool temps the plane leaped off the ground in under 500'. I climbed overhead the field to 4500' and orbited there for 45 minutes checking basic handling and engine ops. I ran the engine at 75-85% to facilitate break-in while monitoring temps and pressures. My CHTs settled in the high 300s and oil temperature around 210. Pretty normal for a new engine. My left wing was heavy requiring significant trim to correct. All systems operated normally. It flew like an RV. Very fun! My transition training paid off because my maiden landing was a greaser. Good thing because it was videotaped for eternity! I was very focused during the flight but after safely landing and taxiing back to my hanger the emotions hit me on what I'd accomplished. So many times I thought I'd never finish it. The RV Grin is real and so worth the effort. For anyone reading this the best advice I can give is keep going! Don't quit! It will be so worth it in the end.

A month has gone by, and Phase 1 testing continues. I was grounded for 2 weeks when an oil leak developed on my right PMag. I removed it and it was repaired under warranty. I've dealt with several minor issues like cowling chafing, small oil and brake fluid leaks and low engine idle speeds. I continue to run the engine hard on 2-hour flights continuing the break-in and hopefully further reduce my oil burn. I've deferred some task-based testing until then to avoid running at low power settings. I've also started working on my gear fairings and wheel pants which should give me a nice boost in cruise speeds and hopefully lower engine temps a little too. And eventually I need to find a paint shop and get on their waiting list. I don't think an airplane like this is ever truly done. The tinkering never stops. I'd like to publicly thank Craig Waters, Dan Arkema and Martin Sutter for their help and support over the years. It truly takes a village to build a plane. And lastly a big thanks to my wife of 36 years Lisa. She was a constant source of love and gentle encouragement throughout the entire process. Couldn't have done it without her. We're both looking forward to me completing Phase 1 testing so we can both enjoy N892SL as it's meant to be flown.