Moose flight & purchase

[Ted Waltman]

First, thanks to everyone who replied to my questions on looking over a
Moose kit, experimental vs. certificated planes and MP-14 air start. I
do appreciate the valuable, knowledgeable input I received.

I considered a) purchasing a fast build kit; b) looking for a partially
built kit for sale (found one in Canada & talked to the seller); c)
hoping perhaps someone would sell a complete kit.

I feel guilty in that I didn't build it, but I did seize the opportunity
to purchase a newly completed Moose kit this past Friday. A gentleman
in Salt Lake City decided to sell his plane to defray for a new custom
home he just finished. I had an EAA Technical Counselor look over the
plane with me; we were both very impressed by the quality of
workmanship.

I'll post complete details on the plane when I pick it up in a couple of
weeks. For now, I'll say that I about wet my pants when I heard that
beautiful radial engine start up! The M14P-XDK engine dyno'd at 382 hp
at the factory. This Moose has the Hartzell 97" diameter, 3-blade prop.
Most of the engine accessories produced by Kimball Enterprises were
installed.

One item I thought interesting is that the builder replaced all the
riveted inspection plates with rivnuts to make access much easier. The
plane was one of the first fast-build kits produced; all service
bulletins were complied with. The builder installed both electric
elevator and rudder trim.

Flying the Moose was a great experience. One has to lead turns with a
bit more rudder than I'm used to (in my Maule), but such quickly becomes
second nature. The plane basically just mush's in a stall; there is no
hard break. I will say that when the power is pulled back all the way,
the plane does not glide very well! Without power one is going down at
a pretty good clip. I only flew it for about a half hour, but control
forces were very reasonable. We had 250lb of sandbags in the baggage
compartment along with three of us in the plane. Performance was very
impressive nonetheless. I'm told the CG is at the wing leading edge and
that one is wise to put some ballast in the baggage area if flying alone
to keep things well within limits.

If folks are interested (let me know), I'll report my detailed flight
experiences as I get checked out by the owner in a couple of weeks.
Landings should be interesting!

Items on my to do list:
- Research where to get a better fuselage-to-vertical-stabilizer fin, as
the factory one doesn't fit very well at all
- Look into how to put in shoulder harnesses (rather than the single
car-type shoulder harness that is in there now)
- Look at a more robust 10" tailwheel (XP?)
- Possibly finish upholstering the interior (insulated but no carpet or
other material); might leave out to save weight
- Paint the plane (ideas from folks on how to design a paint job, what
paint to use [what manufacturer], etc, much appreciated)

I'll have the plane at Oshkosh. I hope to meet many of you there. Feel
free to give me a hard time for not actually building it myself.
Nonetheless, I sure plan to enjoy it's capabilities with my family. The
first round of beers are on me at Oshkosh.

Ted Waltman



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[Scott & Leere' Aldrich]

Ted, Congrats - I suspect this is Brent's Moose from Bountiful? It is a
nice one. I have a few pictures during the build process I'll contact you
off list.

Scott




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