October 18th – Before the FAA showed up for inspection, I had a few visitors to the hangar. First was Scott, the mechanic from work, the latest in a line of A&P’s who have been good enough to come and cast their professional eyes over my work.

Next was Kat’s sister Mary, and her husband Neil…

And then, an old friend from Royal Navy and Bond Helicopter flying days, Pete and his wife Julie came to visit for a few days, so I dragged them out there too.

Then it was on to the official visit; Pete was still with us, and he recorded the event…

The two Inspectors from the MIDO were consummately professional, while being friendly and approachable. I had gathered every single scrap of documentation that I thought they might like to see and things progressed smoothly from a thorough check of paperwork, to an inspection of the airframe and engine installation, to a run up of the engine.

On completion of that little lot, we went through the Operating Limitations, and I was issued a Special Airworthiness Certificate.

 

And that pretty much wraps up this blog, which I largely kept to keep track of my efforts and to prove compliance with the ‘51%’ rule.

However, it would be a little remiss of me not to add the final touch…

 

She did indeed take to the air!

There are a few last details to take care of, wheel covers and gear legs, and all the glass fiber components need to be painted to make her super pretty, but to all intents and purposes, Lucy is complete.

Thanks to everyone for following along, I’ll post when I have finished those last few bits and pieces, but for now, I will be concentrating on carrying out the Phase 1 Flight Test schedule…