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Permalink Reply by david shrader on May 24, 2016 at 3:21am

Lol..... You don't, at least for me. All I can say is double check everything and force yourself to take the flight. It is a hell of a rush. My knees wouldn't stop shaking for hours after. Have fun an enjoy the ride.

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on May 24, 2016 at 6:16am

I got some time in a friend's 750 just prior to my first flight. I also had another friend (an A&P who has built about 4 projects and had periodically looked-in on my build) help me pre-flight my plane. I deliberately limited those helping to only two - the A&P and my adult son (who had helped on the build). Limiting observers limits distractions and pressure to fly - I was prepared to cancel if the slightest problem came up during pre-flight, warm-up, and taxi. I flew the first flight from my 2100' strip early on a dead-calm morning - just me, Rainer, Patrick and a few dozen cows across the fence line!

Funny, I tend to over-think things but I really wasn't very nervous. When I went to full-throttle and the plane started to lift, my first thought was, "This feels exactly like the 750 I flew before!" I actually relaxed even more with that reassurance and the first flight was totally uneventful and the plane flew straight and level hands-off! (OK, I admit, I wasn't taking my hands off the controls that much!  Ha!)

You built it; you know every nut and bolt. If it's built right, it'll fly right! Have a good flight!

John

N750A

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Permalink Reply by Patrick Hoyt on May 24, 2016 at 8:55am

I think that feeling is normal.  For me, it was the days, weeks, and month leading up to First Flight that were the worse.  The actual day of the first flight wasn't bad.

Just take it smooth & easy, and keep in sight of the airport. 

Something that helped me (and still helps me to this day) was to keep thinking "just fly the plane". 

Another thing that really helped me was having had recent Transition Training.

Looking forward to hearing more from you!

Patrick Hoyt

N63PZ

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Permalink Reply by Steve Sims on May 25, 2016 at 11:37pm

I gained a lot of confidence in the 601 after getting transition training. Of course I was nervous on the first flight, that is normal. Enjoy it, there's nothing like that first flight in a plane that you built. Good luck

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