Bruce Swayze’s New RV-7A! | Lenhardt's Airpark, Hubbard, Oregon RV-7A #72980

Bruce Swayze writes in to share the story of his RV-7A’s first flight. Congrats, Bruce!

The first flight of my RV-7A is the culmination of years of work and attention to detail, and it’s almost surreal that it’s finally happening! This was a standard-build kit (not quick build). Since I’m still working on my PPL, I chose a very experienced test pilot to take her up, Mr. Larry Beck, and he also helped me with a lot of the tasks leading up to the DAR inspection, such as bleeding the brakes, first engine start and the associated tasks of getting it tuned up to run right, taxi tests, and fixing some squawks before and after the first flight. His experience and devotion to me as a mentor was extremely valuable, and I am forever grateful to him. Thank you so much, Larry!

We had an absolute perfect day for the flight, especially considering that it’s November in the Pacific Northwest. It was perfect! My wife was here, and she does a great job narrating the video. My son Luke was here with his whole family, my nephew Philip with his family, and a number of close friends as well. We all celebrated afterwards… there were plenty of RV grins go go around!

YouTube Video Link: