There are now a little more than 24 hours left before I test fly the Coyote.  I’ve had a range of emotions from excitement to fear.  Have I checked everything?  What have I missed?  What if this or that device does not function correctly?  Life with me is always a roller coaster ride (just ask my dear wife) but now more so.  This is an airplane I have dreamed of building and flying, and now that the hour has come, I need to resign myself to the joy of the moment.  Not bask in anxiety.  I am heartened when I remember a quote by General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson when asked by one of his men how he could appear so calm in the midst of heavy battle:

“Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me.” He added, after a pause, looking me full in the face: “That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave”