REFLECTOR: 1st flight N2084D

[dean fitzbag]

I made my first flight this morning.  It took me 21 months to build my standard RG with no fast builds.

The flight started fine with only a little over zealous elevator at liftoff.   It handled well and before turning cross wind I retracted the gear.  The airspeed was about 110 knots.  As I turned downwind I heard a few sounds that sounded like an engine miss.  It quickly got very rough.  I thought the engine was failing.  The aircraft was shaking badly.  I declared an emergency and asked everyone to clear the area.  I reduced power right away to improve chances of staying up longer and lowered the gear.  While looking at the airport to plan which runway to set up for, I saw out of the corner of my that my problem was left rudder flutter.  It was really shaking everything.  Then as the airplane slowed to  100 knots the ride smoothed out.  At 80 knots it was very smooth.  So I continued to fly a normal approach and landing.  I'll call the factory tomorrow, but my guess is that a shim will be recommended.

The factory was very helpful during building process.  Mike Pollack did my EAA inspections and was provided very useful advice. 
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