I followed the Atlantica newsgroup "forever" -- pretty much from its
inception -- visited the shop in Melbourne, signed up for a
delivery/interest position (no charge), met Allan and his father,
drooled on the prototype, kicked tires, etc. I had high hopes for
this revolutionary bird, and still think it has a future ... but too
far away for ME to wait for, so I've been building something else.

I'd just like to correct a possible misunderstanding above:

On first flight he had an uncontrolled... well, pretty much
everything. He couldn't get the nose off the ground, when he did it
was wildly overcontrolled in pitch. He managed to get it more or
less horizontal about the same time it hit the ground.

The first flight wasn't INTENDED to be a first flight at all. It was
just another in a long series of high-speed taxi tests, when a big
gust of wind picked it up, and Allan found himself 20 feet above the
runway. He admits that he shouldn't have been taxiing on such a gusty
day -- and certainly should've been fully prepared to go flying in any
case -- but it wasn't an intentional first flight. Thank goodness
(and the sturdy construction) that he didn't hurt himself.

Greg