Jeffery McBirnie’s RV-7A | Bozeman, Montana RV-7A #74298

Jeffrey wrote in to let us know about the recent completion of his RV-7A!

After nearly 10 years of building, the first flight happened. It was an uneventful, but in a good uneventful way, if that makes sense? Nerves were high as I did rebuild the engine myself so lots could go wrong. I also hired a test pilot to go with me to help facilitate that learning curve as these planes are no Cessna when it comes to handling.

As we departed the runway, the nerves grew and grew, but quickly we were well above the 1000′ threshold. I knew then no matter what we could make it back safely, we kept close to the runway did about five high passes. We did have a few bugs to figure out but nothing major, took notes on those small discrepancies, and prepared for landing. Once again nerves grew as we got closer and closer to the runway. Thoughts running through my head, will their be a shimmy, will the brakes catch, will the gear collapse, etc…. Once we touched the ground all was good. Happy builder, now happier Pilot. The smile is real and its super exciting to be in the 40 hour stage.