Entry 3 - First Flight!
08 Jul 2022miamijuggler
Well, the painters just got finished with the Galaxy Song, and while it's not the flashiest paint job out there, I'm quite happy with it. Plus I reserve the right to change the paint at any time in the future.
To be honest, the lighting in the hangar bay doesn't quite do justice to this particular shade of blue, but once it's out in the open I think it looks great. Especially considering what this hull looked like not too long ago, when we had everything stripped almost down to the bare spaceframe. In light of the completion of Phase One of my plan, I was too excited and couldn't resist. Despite how tired I was after all this work, I hopped into the cockpit under the auspices of "just leafing through some of the checklists," and ended up doing my entire preflight and launch sequence.
Once aloft, I couldn't help running some maneuvers, testing some engine parameters, buzzing the carrier, and I was delighted at all of the sensory information that had been missing when I had imagined this moment: the thrum and growl of the engines, the soft whump as the landing gear retracts and locks into place, and the slightly bitter taste in the air as the hull is pressurized for the first time, and the brand new atmospheric regulator begins its break-in period.
As far as handling goes, it feels slightly more nimble than the Python does, which makes sense, considering their relative masses. I haven't done any tuning to the thrusters yet, though, so there are likely more gains to be made in that department. Somehow my hand made its way to the Nav panel, plotted a course, and spun up the Frame Shift Drive. I wasn't intending to go anywhere tonight!
I ended up jumping somewhere near 1000Ly towards my materials gathering spot, all told, before the excitement and thrill abated enough for me to regain my senses. I decided to land on a nearby planet and camp for the night. Might as well test out the sleeping arrangements, right?
Before I turned in though, I couldn't resist getting the drone out for some more photos. I'm excited to see how far this craft can take me, and to finally be able to experience the results of all this labor.
Okay, that's enough. I'm beat. Time to turn in. I'll update with more soon.