There were quite a few guys at the field who helped me in the last months of building. Ken Thompson of McHugh Aviation let me stay in a corner of his hangar. This was critical in the winter as it would have been impossible to work on the plane in a non-heated T-hangar. Ken flew for the Navy for a few years, and has every tool known to man, plus a few he made up! I would work in the evenings or weekends and Ken would inspect my work during the days. It was nothing short of awesome to have an A&P/AI looking over one's shoulder as the finishing work was being done. What a blessing. Randy Beausoliel was my hangar mate for the last year and a half. He purchased a Wagabond in early 2007, which my bird fit under quite nicely in the T-hangar. Mike, Dan, the Becks, and a bunch of others were there for me when I needed help, encouragement, parts, or an ear to whine to. Thankfully, I got to fly wing on some of these folks and see their planes in the air. Here I am flying off Randy. Goliath is very stable, but very responsive as well. It is no problem to fly tight formation on someone (inside 10 feet or so). This is not an endorsement or recommendation to anyone to go out and try to fly that close! I probably have hundreds of hours inside this distance. Without that experience it would be foolhardy to try being that close without building up to it. If you have heard the KR series is twitchy or sensitive, do not be put off. Go get some flight time with someone in their KR and see for yourself before you decide this plane is too hot for you. I enjoy flying close formation as it is just a lot of fun. That would not be true in a overly sensitive plane, and might even be dangerous.  True stories. In the aftermath of Kosovo the electronic warfare community held several very high level debriefs. The main briefer in one of these was Mr. Dan Henderson. Virtually every US military pilot from Viet Nam to now who flew combat owes his life to this man. Dan is the top electronic warfare expert on the planet. The Russians and Chinese have no one even close to his knowledge. Along with that gift comes a gift of humor that has to be experienced to be appreciated. Just prior to the debrief of our efforts in Kosovo, Dan walks up and asks "Dave, how's the second wife doing?" He did this in front of my friends, and not a few admirals and Navy captains. His reference to Goliath stuck like glue, and Tina had to endure years of "the other woman" living in our garage until I could get her (Goliath) a more suitable place to live at the airport. It is nice to know they have learned to get along. My long-suffering Bride was the first passenger with me after the 40 hour test period was complete. Every guy needs a good looking gal to fly with from time to time...  A shot of the office while I was doing my service ceiling test. There might be one or two of you out there who recognize the throttle on the left. It is the last throttle quadrant from an F-86A still flying to the best of my knowledge. All the buttons still work, though they are not wired into the aircraft systems yet. Despite being designed before the era of ergonomics, this stick fits so naturally in one's hand that my next plane will have one just like it. The VOR/ILS proved invaluable flying round trip from Seattle to Nashville last summer. In several places over the badlands of Wyoming and Montana the GPS lost lock for 20+ minutes. If it had been down to just using the wet compass and chart with nothing specific to look at on those legs it would not have been much fun.  Winter flying in Northern Nevada. I did not have the heat shroud on yet, so it was a bit cold inside. This is the view that makes the KR such a great aircraft to fly. Visibility is unrestricted from 8-4 O'clock. This was one of the biggest things that attracted me to the design in the first place. RPM is actually half the indication (2630). Yes, the fuel pressure gauge to the far right is installed rotated 90 degrees right. That way I can glance at it and instantly know if everything is okay because the needle it pointing to 3 O'clock. I keep the VOR/ILS off unless needed. No point having something turned on if it is not being used. The two switches to the far right are out of an A-4F Skyhawk. Each controls the exciter side of one of the coils. I can fly with one or both on, though I recommend flying on only one at a time. After Goliath is started, I can remove the key from the ignition because the starter is all it controls. In this photo the primer pump is still installed on the far left of the panel, so it must have been taken prior to halfway through Phase I testing.   The last stage of weight and balance and max gross weight testing included 180 pounds of wood chips going for a ride. The local Ace Hardware was kind enough to loan these to me when I told them why I wanted to borrow them. Each bag was 45 pounds. Make sure you have your ballast securely fastened so it cannot move. There was little room in the cockpit for me with four huge bags of dead weight in the cockpit. If they had shifted there would have been no way for me to get them off flight controls or pull them back. I did this testing, got my data points, and landed as soon as I could. No sense in flying a passenger who does not appreciate it any longer than needed. The gap seal that is falling off the canopy bow was later removed. I did not realize the canopy would rise once there was enough airflow over it during flight. That left a small gap that was a bit cold! Goliath now has a seal as wide as the bow permanently fixed to it.  Well, the wood chips did not like flying with me, but there has been no shortage of friends and family who do like flying. Two weeks after Goliath finished her test Phase I, my daughter and I set out for San Diego for Christmas. While we were there, several family members went flying, including my Niece Beth. I would love to say we were upside down then this photo was taken, but the glasses show we were still on the ground and I was doing pre-flight checks. Oh well. One note. Goliath and I have flown perhaps 20 people in the last year. Only one got sick. Admittedly it was a bit of a washboard day. It was a miserable experience made worse because I did not have barf bags in the plane. My navbag was not happy with me, and Virgina was not, either. Plan ahead, get some barf bags. It also helps if the person does not have a huge lunch before flying...   While in San Diego Goliath also met some of her family. Manuel Sparks has a KR and Pietenpol in his hangar, and we visited with him on a beautiful sunny morning. Mr. Sparks' KR was the first one I got to sit in back in 1998. It is a great machine. After the visit, one of the other KR builder/fliers was heading off for Las Vegas. We briefed and I took off right after him for a bit of formation flying. NOTE TO BUILDERS: You WANT wheel pants and as little drag as possible on your plane. Why am I saying this? Because Goliath's 2700 Corvair heart was completely outclassed by the other plane's VW! I had to ask him to throttle back so I could catch him. When we were done with the photo op, he throttled up and left me in the dust... quickly. Horsepower means nothing when you have as much drag as Goliath did on this trip. I will get some construction on the computer as soon as I can get my back-up hard drive reinstalled in my computer.   |
Various pictures |
