Dave Thatcher and I went to the Milton, FL airport, 2R4, to pick up the CX4 on a trailer to bring it back to the Pensacola Regional Airport (PNS).
When we got to the airport, Dave decided to take a flight in the plane. It cranked easily and ran very smoothly. He took it around the pattern once and landed very nicely. When he returned to the hangar, he asked me if I wanted to taxi it some, or maybe even fly it if I wanted to do so. I definitely wanted to taxi it as I had previously done this on at least three occasions.
My goal was to get thoroughly comfortable with the tail dragger configuration since I am currently building a CX4. When I got into the plane, I felt really comfortable as soon as I got into it. This was because of the previous taxi time I had done in the plane. I also recalled that one of the reasons I chose to build this airplane was because of the roominess of the cockpit. I felt right at home.
I am about 5′ 9″ tall and weight about 203. I have wide shoulders and cannot stand to be crammed into a small space. This is not a problem with the CX4. There is plenty of room in this cockpit. Plus, the canopy gives the aircraft a bright, sunny, and spacious feeling.
Anyway, after about ten minutes of taxiing around the tarmac, I decided to take Dave up on his offer to fly the plane. The plane was full of fuel, including the auxiliary tank. The airport AWOS reported the wind as coming from 330 at 12 knots. The wind sock showed the wind was gusty and variable from about 330 to 360. I liked the 360 part because the runway in use was 36. I did not think this was a problem because I had spent an hour before lunch doing take offs and landings at PNS in a Cessna 172. The same conditions existed at PNS as at 2R4, except for being a little more gusty than it was in the morning.
The airplane is solid on the ground even during these windy conditions. It is easily controlled even though it is a tail dragger. It is the easiest of any of the tail draggers that I have flown. I have some experience in Cubs, Champs, and Citabrias. I would estimate I have about 35 to 40 hours in these types spread out over a long period of time (74 to present).
The take off roll was very short even though I would liked to have gained a little more speed than I actually did before lift off to be sure I did not settle back onto the runway in the gusty winds.
The take off was amazing. When I got about ten feet off the ground the wind got really squirrelly and blew me from over the runway centerline to over the edge of the runway. I did not know it was that windy!!! When I corrected with the left wing low and a little crabbing the airplane immediately came back to the center of the runway. It responded very solidly and quickly.
The airplane is not overly sensitive. It does what you expect it to do. There is no sloppiness in the controls. I love flying airplanes with a stick. An area of concern for me prior to this flight was the effect that the prop turning opposite of what I am used to would have on my ability to handle the plane. This is not a problem.
I took the airplane around the pattern six times before I made my first landing. I was experimenting with different speeds in the pattern. I felt real comfortable on downwind with 80 mph showing on the airspeed indicator with the rpms set at 2100 in level flight. The airplane flew at this speed like it was on a rail. It was solid and stable in this configuration.
I hardly used the trim control at all. On climb out I was at traffic pattern altitude so quickly that I did not need to use the trim for such a short period of climbing. The same occurred on my descent in the pattern because it was of short duration.
One interesting thing I noticed is that when the nose of the aircraft is lowered the airplane picks up speed very quickly. Therefore, plan on reducing power quickly as you lower the nose for your descent. Otherwise, the airplane will go from 80 mph to over 100 miles per hour before you know it. I used to own a Piper Warrior in which excessive speed build up was never a problem.
The quickness of the CX4 is greatly appreciated after having flown sluggish airplanes for just about my whole life. After making five low passes and getting familiar with the airplane (meaning I could track the center line of the runway without wavering) and flying it at various heights above the runway from about 50 feet down to about ten feet over the full length of the runway, I decided it was time to try landing “THE TAIL DRAGGER”.
This turned out to be the biggest surprise for me. I was expecting it to be an opportunity to get current with at least three take offs and landings on one approach to the runway. I set up a stable final approach at 80 mph with just a little bit of power on. I used a left wing low to maintain my track. As I began my flare I very slowly reduced the power to idle and held the airplane off and let it settle in on its own.
Because the airspeed was excessive for this airplane I floated down the runway probably about 500 to a 1000 feet before touch down, but when the plane touched down it bounced just a little and slowed very quickly once it was on the runway. I did not have any feeling at any time of being out of control of the airplane. It was very responsive to my control inputs.
As for visibility from the cockpit, it just doesn’t get any better than this. Because of the roominess of the cockpit and the stability of the airplane, even in the gusty wind conditions, I did not feel tired whatsoever after this flight.
The vent in the airplane let in plenty of air in level flight. On this record breaking day in Pensacola, the temperature got up to 81 degrees. The noise level in the cockpit was not excessive. I had on a passive headset as opposed to an active noise reduction headset. An ANR headset would have made it even quieter.
The airplane cranked easily and purred like a kitten throughout the flight. All of this experience in this airplane further confirms that I made a great decision to build a CX4. I have sworn all my life that I would never fly any airplane that I built.
I have had no previous experience in sheet metal work and especially in building airplanes. The beauty, simplicity, roominess in the cockpit, the cost of getting into the airplane, and having Dave Thatcher right here in Pensacola was what attracted me to this airplane in the first place.
Now that I have flown the airplane, I am elated with my decision even more than before. I also know now who will be doing the test flight on my own CX4 when it is completed.