“Enthusiasm is when you take deep pleasure in what you do and also have a goal or vision. When vision is added to the pleasure of what you do, the frequency of your energy field shifts. A certain degree of what we might call structural tension is added to the pleasure, which transforms into enthusiasm. At the height of creative activity fueled by enthusiasm, there will be enormous intensity and powerful energy. You will feel like an arrow moving toward its target, enjoying every moment of its journey.” Eckhart Tolle
In May, I test the electrical system for the first time, after months of studying this new field, planning, connecting, securing every cable from the cockpit to every component in the four corners of the aircraft. The master switch is selected to battery, the contactor at the rear of the fuselage signals with a typical small click that the electrons are flowing. The screens light up one after the other for the first time, it’s Christmas before time !
The brake servicing, on the other hand, is not going well at all ! Fluid leaks, inability to bleed the system, parking brake not working. Luckily, Christophe and Jean-Marc aren’t far away, spirit is lifting !
Calibrating the attitude and heading indicators requires to precisely set the aircraft with zero pitch and bank on the ground. For the fuel quantity indications,10 liters of fuel are added in increments, allowing the reading to stabilize before storing the new value, draining the full tank into 11 jerricans and starting again with the next one ! We then continue, with Didier’s invaluable help, to configure the avionics. Each reading, each value range must be programmed according the sensor type and the desired limits. The tests follow one another with great enthusiasm but no rush : pitot/static system check, transponder check, control surface deflection, fuel flow at large angle of attack, weight and balance.
The days go by, so does the more complicated times. Patiently, naturally, everything falls into place. On August 22, a beautiful summer day, the Lycoming YIO-540-D4A5, 6-cylinder engine paired with its three-bladed MT propeller, awake from its slumber. It turns for the first time, smooth, harmonious, and balanced… A moment of pure happiness !
The final tests can take place, and the extensive technical file is completed, by chance, August 27 2025, 7 years to the day after the project began.
I can hardly believe that the construction comes to an end. The famous first flight is fast approaching ! All these years, I’ve managed, without much effort, to ignore this moment. For me, the goal was simply to build an airplane. Don’t look ahead too much, live for the moment, make the most of each working day, so was my line of conduct. When enthusiasm gained a little too much the upper end with workday unreasonably long, Vasita was there to elegantly remind me of it.
Yankee Bravo is already much more than an airplane. It should take flight in a few weeks. Building it has been quite an experience, a life experience, enriching and unique, just like the help and support received all along the way.
A wonderful chapter closes, another one will soon open…
The adventure continues !
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