N262WF leapt off the ground for a 24 minute flight at 9.46 am , 12.4.01. Yes, it worked as advertised and my complements to Orville, Wilbur
and Otto, they did it first. Ronnie and John were a bit puzzled during the flight when I advised passing through 4000 ft, they had taken off first and had lost sight of me and thought my altimeter was on the fritz, the plane, however,  was going up like an elevator.

They found me in due course. Clean stall at 50 kts IAS, gear/flaps down stall at 38 kts IAS, touch down was no bounce and the run out was straight, it's a miracle. Anyway, I would like to thank all the EAA 309 members for their support and assistance over the years. Especial thanks to Kent Ashton, Ronnie Brown, Neil Stewart, Sam Stewart, Fred Darnell, John Lake, Andy Moscarelli, David Borders, Wally Overton, Bob Thayer, Harold Ramsey, Charles Drane and all the gang.

As of Friday, 12.7.01, I now have 3 hours time in N262WF with 6 take-offs & landings. Various initial cruise power/propeller settings and checks of IAS vs. GPS ground speed on reciprocal headings seem to be within 1-2 knots. No excitement apart from the usual curiosity as to the straightness or otherwise of the runout at landing. On take off, it moves out  very smartly.  Phil Hazell, the airport manager at Statesville, commented that my take off roll on my first flight seemed very short; he said 200 feet but that was just an estimate. I was quite light with only 12 gallons of fuel on board.

The Europa  brochure claims 500 feet, perhaps that is at gross with a fixed pitch prop set for cruise. Overall I am very pleased with progress, the plane is very nicely balanced and handles beautifully, it just goes where you point it. My program for the next 6 hours includes more ASI accuracy checks, plus climb and descent performance.