Melmoth 2: A Personal Airplane

FLYING Staff

Friday, August 01, 2003 at 08:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The article chronicles the author's 21-year journey building "Melmoth 2," a composite aircraft that proved significantly more difficult and time-consuming to construct than anticipated, despite initial hopes for a quicker build than its metal predecessor.
"Melmoth 2" is an evolutionary design from "Melmoth 1," incorporating major changes like a tapered high-aspect-ratio wing, composite construction, and a fixed T-tail, resulting in improved climb and speed performance.
Despite its successful first flights and initial performance, the aircraft remains a "work in progress," with the author detailing ongoing refinements to systems like the landing gear and cooling, and numerous amenities still awaiting completion.

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In February’s Flying I described the first flight of Melmoth 2 on November 1, 2002. To tell the truth, however, that wasn’t really the first flight. It was the first up-and-away flight. The airplane had actually lifted off the ground for the first time the day before.

Blustery winds blew through Mojave for three days after the FAA signed off my certificate of airworthiness, but it was quiet on Halloween morning. I taxied out to Runway 30, where I had done many fast taxi runs before.