As an RC flyer, every maiden is a different experience. I can't imagine what all is going thru your head,

I'm an 8800 hour flight instructor, with 7600 hours of dual given, and you are going about this in exactly the right way. I've also owned and flown a Minimax and instructed in Citabrias and Taylorcraft etc. Expect the Minimax to slow down much more quickly than other aircraft, and to be more short coupled than the Citabria during takeoff and landing. My Minimax was a little squirrely on asphalt and a pussy cat on dirt, so I'd also recommend first flights on dirt or grass if possible. Excellent workmanship by the way.

Sounds like you have a solid plan. The engine move looks good.

Dennis, wear your helmet and safety harness when practicing your taxi runs. I found out the hard way that it is really easy to find yourself airborne. When it happened to me, I did a wide turn and landed safely, but a few years before, at the same airport, a Mini-Max builder was killed when he accidentally got airborne, panicked, landed hard, and was thrown from his airplane. You're also going to find that landing a Mini-Max can be tricky. Because it has no suspension, it's easy to bounce the plane, and just as easy to ground loop. The trick is to hold the plane off the runway until the stick is all the way back. I'm sure you realize all this, but just in case...

Dennis, it all looks great. Please make sure "all of the boxes are checked," before the DAR or FAA shows up for your AW inspection. Any instruments that requires range marking - Wt & balance info - adverse loading conditions information - Labelling for fuel grade, etc. at each filler cap. How about egress info on the outside of the fuselage in case of a crash. Everything labelled. How's that my friend. :-) :-) Good luck. N6395T

I sort of thought you might not want to live with that aft-most CG! Nice job on moving the engine forward. That's a real head-scratcher about the tachometer noise. You'll figure it out!

best chanel❤❤

I've been thinking about you. Had a feeling you went for it.

Dennis, Thanks for giving us advice and sharing your experience with us. As a 23,000 hour plus retired airline pilot with a spotless safety record. I am going to give you some advise. LET THE AIRPLANE BECOME AN EXTENSION OF YOURSELF. Do your safety checks…. Trust that God has given you a gift and go fly your airplane. I have had a number of emergencies in my flying career. And the ones that happened were handled as having been no big deal, because I let the airplane be an extension of myself. If you can’t relax enough to do that, let Brian(your instructor)test fly you plane. BUT….I believe that after watching you over the years. You can do the test fight. Have confidence in yourself and enjoy what God is about to let you do.

Congrats on the Tail wheel endorsement but wait a sec, didn't you already build & fly a minimax before in times past? I'm confused ha ha (normal) Fricken adhd ha ha. Can't say enough how much I enjoy your video's. So glad I found your channel so randomly when this project began.

Be deliberate .... take your time... get comfortable with it.

Wonderful seeing the update. Is there a possibility of filming your time with Brian?

Looking at the new engine mount plate on the left side, there appears to be a gap between the bottom of the metal plate and the top of the wooden engine beam.

I did mine in a citabria in 2.7 hours but I was flying alot!

Not my expertise; but, would it be easier to only refer to the checklist and speak the values into a recording? That would maximize your attention to flying and you can fill-in the form after the flight.

Don’t discount a crib death of the tachometer. Hope your solution works.