Testing Times

After a couple of years of flying solo, I decided that it was time to take passengers up with me.

Because the Shadow microlight has been completely re-built, RAANZ requires it be test flown at maximum all-up weight. 

Being a newbie to the Shadow, it was a bit nerve-wracking to do repeated stalls, steep turns and power descents. 

After each flight, I added another large steel weight (borrowed from the farm tractor) into the rear compartment.

Surprisingly, even at 6000rpm, the stall was pretty docile. The nose didn’t fall away. No sudden wing drop. Just that nose pointing ridiculously high in the sky, with the aircraft bobbling along at only 35 knots.