VELOCITY XL FGDATE EVENTS
April 2008 Rocket Racing Composite Corporation, a
subsidiary of the Rocket
Racing League, announced
the acquisition of Velocity Aircraft of Sebastian,
March 2008 Introduction of the Dynon Autopilot was announced just before Sun & Fun
2008. Dynon has included a double
axis autopilot in their EFIS systems so that one only needs to add the
servos. Since I already have redundant
Dynon panels, this is now the obvious choice for my installation, in place of
the planned Trio Avionics or TruTrak Systems autopilots. The servos will come in 30, 40 and 50 lbs in of torque.
Although nothing else is necessary, Dynon is offering optional interface
modules that facilitate and separate the autopilot controls from the EFIS
panels. Delivery is scheduled to begin
in mid-summer. Unfortunately, no Dynon
GPS yet but I am happy the autopilot is out.
Although I started with a Fast Build kit, the kit didn’t come to me truly white. In addition, after three years of building, the primed parts that come from the factory end up showing very different shades and colors. For the first time in late March, I started priming the underside of the fuselage and the canard. What a feeling and sight it was! It continues to look more and more as an airplane, and less like a collection of parts.
The
propeller arrived home on March 12, 2008.
Alan wanted to open the box so I let him experience the task. Here is how it looked upon arrival.
February 2008
I started asking for
quotes for a new MT Propeller and, in the process, came across a used one that
was being sold by his original owner. He
had replaced it with a carbon fiiber Aerocomposites Propeller. After 400 hours of use on his Velocity XL /
Lycoming IO540D (260hp) combination, he had it overhauled to “same as new”
condition. The blades had been rebuilt,
the hub overhauled, and the unit assembled and certified as “0” hours per
manufacturer’s specifications. He was
selling it at a reasonable price, together with the original spinner in good
condition. After coming to an agreement,
I bought the propeller/spinner
package, seen here ready for shipment.
January 2008 Alan, my youngest, craves knowledge and loves everything to do
with aviation. He is always around me
and picks up things that interest him like a little vacuum cleaner. He had discovered, a couple of days
before, that he could make videos with my digital camera. So, I
was working inside the cabin one night and he took the tripod and set it
up to make a video of me working on the airplane. However, he got tired of waiting for me to
get out of the cabin and do some work outside.
So, he decided to do his own thing.
Before going to bed that night, he told me that he had made a video of
himself. The next day, I uploaded the
video to my computer and almost fell of my chair laughing when I watched
it. Here is the result. Enjoy five minutes of VELOCITY EXPLAINED BY A NINE- YEAR OLD.
December 2007 After receiving the screens and with the low winter temperatures,
especially in the early morning hours, I find myself spending many hours
figuring out the location of the instruments in the panel. I drew the panel to shape in an MS Word
document and the instruments that I plan to install to scale, so that I could
move them around for planning. It took
long hours and so far, 18 drafts to come up with the one I believe to be
final. This exercise involving research,
measurement, downloading images of screens and instruments, scaling them and moving them around, is an example of the
estimated 30% additional time I spend working on the airplane that I do not log
as building time. It is exciting to
play around with the panel set up, and hard to believe that I am at this stage
of construction.
Getting
closer to mounting the engine, I decided to place my first order for
instruments. As I had in mind, I ordered
two large Dynon screens; one FlightDek 180 and one EFIS 100 for redundant ADAHRS and graphical EMS; HIS Expansion
Module (HS34),
fuel flow sensor, OAT probe and the corresponding, custom length, engine sensor
main and EGT/CHT wire harnesses from SteinAir.
This is another big step, at least in my building project.
I logged my 1,000th
hour of work on
my project at 8:15 PM on November 10, 2007, as I was sanding the leading edge of the
left strake in preparation for glassing and filling.
October
2007 I decided to buy a Velocity kit three years ago
mainly because of the characteristics of the airplane. However, the second reason was Velocity’s
reputation on builder support. I recently attended the Velocity
University in
We flipped the airplane upside down on October 14, 2007 to start finishing the bottom surface of the
airplane. For this, I got help from my brothers Javier and Ed, and friends
July 2007 After much thinking, this is what I am
planning for my instrument panel:
■ Dynon FlightDek 180 and Dynon EFIS 100 (redundant ADAHRS
and
■ AvMap EKP IV permanently
installed in the panel.
■ PS Engineering PM1000 II
intercom
■ Dynon Autopilot after its introduction in March 2008.
June
2007 Three
years ago, on June 25, 2004004, I placed the order for a Fast Build Velocity XL FG kit. June 25 is a very special date for me, not
because of this, but for very different reasons. I spent two weeks in the Head Start Program
at the
I closed my second
fuel strake. The assembled fuselage parts are
now symmetrical and starting to look like an airplane.
May 2007 My son Frank earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communication at
My oldest son Daniel earned his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering at
On my way back to
March 2007 MT
Propellers confirmed that the overhauled Hartzell propeller governor that came
with my engine can be used with their propeller.
February 2007 I
received the IO540 Lycoming Engine Installation kit, as well as the Front and
Rear Oil Cooler kits from the factory.
The powder coating of the engine mount was damaged in transit so I had
it removed, had its weldments inspected for integrity and powder coated again
for installation.
December 2006 After
it started to get cold, I have been avoiding doing any strake or structural lay
ups. The last ones I did I had to apply
heat and I was satisfied neither with the consistency and flow of the epoxy nor
with its cloth-soaking characteristics.
Therefore, I will spend time doing work that does not involve epoxy or
is non‑structural until it starts to warm up.
November 2006
October 2006 The engine was
delivered to Craig’s and John’s hangar at Gen. William
J. Fox Airport on October 27, 2006. As
usual, Alan is the official photographer of these events and is always with me. This is how the engine looks.
I was invited to see
the building project of my newfound friend,
I had reserved an
airplane to practice some landings over the weekend. However, my folks came to visit and I decided
to take Mom on a short flight for breakfast to a nearby airport (
A
good opportunity presented and I ended up buying the engine for my project, a
little earlier than expected. It is a Lycoming IO540-K1A5 (300 hp) with 0 hours since major overhaul (SMOH) by Firewall Forward in
September 2006 I
went flying with my brother Ed, on September 24, 2006, and logged my 100th hour
of flying time and 23rd of cross-country flying right before landing between
two firefighting tankers.
On my way back from a business trip to the East Coast I responded to an
invitation from friend
I also had the chance
to meet
After a few fast taxi
sessions and some final adjustments during August, friends and fellow builders
August 2006 On August 17, 2006, I took Daniel, my oldest son, on our
first trip together. He came for a short
visit after completing an internship at Aerosat Avionics in
July 2006 On July 15, 2006,
I logged my 500th hour of work on my project at 11:45 AM on July 8,
2006, as I was glassing the sheet of foam to be used for the strake
bulkheads.
On July 2, 2006, got my check ride on a Cessna 172.
June 2006 On June 24, 2006, a
wing is mounted for the first time on
the fuselage. With
My
former flight instructor, Dr.
May 2006 On May 28, 2006, I helped friends and fellow Velocity builders Craig Woolston and John Schoorl take their wings to their hangar at William J. Fox Airport (WJF) and bolt them to the fuselage. They are getting closer.
On May 23, 2006, I took Frank,
my second oldest son on our first $100 “breakfast.” He just finished his junior year of a
communications major at
April 2006 On April 30, 2006, my wife and I went
for an early morning flight. We rented a
152 and took off from WJF to fly over the
March 2006 On March 26, 2006, I took the little ones up. A beautiful day but rather windy (variable direction from 020 and 070 and speeds between 7 and 14 knots with gusts) and bumpy. I took the same approach to the first flight as with my wife; takeoff followed by immediate touch and go to get the anticipation out of the way. I had explained the reasons for possible airplane movements and Melissa seemed not to care much about the bumpiness. We flew locally for about 35 to 40 minutes. I landed and took Alan up. Winds had increased by then. We completed the touch and go and departed to the north. I could tell that as opposed to Melissa, Alan was a little apprehensive and getting tense with some of the bumps. So I decided to cut his flight short. I continued to reassure and explain things to him, as well as point areas and objects on the ground, to keep his mind away from the conditions as we headed back to the airport. His flight was less than 25 minutes. At the end, both were very happy and planning for the next flight. They ended up the adventure with a couple of cheeseburgers and fries at Foxy’s Restaurant as they enjoyed the airport activity and shared their respective experiences.
I took up my first passenger on March 23,
2006, my wife Ygebor. We dropped Melissa
and Alan at school and headed for the airport (WJF) in
Granted Statement of Demonstrated
Ability (SODA) by FAA Inspector Steve Kline, for 3rd Class Medical
Certificate, upon successful completion of FAA Special Vision Medical Flight
Test at WJF on March 2, 2006 at 10:50 AM.
So, I am done with the requirements!
I need to start learning now.
Peculiar wind conditions during flight.
Preflight 9:56AM Wind: Calm (ATIS and Weather Underground History )
Takeoff 10:20AM Wind: 23009KT (Wind Advisory Tower Update with clearance)
Landing 10:50AM Wind: 23018G25 (Wind Advisory Tower Update on final)
16G21 (Weather Underground History: 10:47AM)
January 2006 After much thought decided to change my reserved
number to N478B. Since all the numbers I wanted were
already taken or unavailable, and the one I had picked up was rather long, I
went for a shorter one ending with B.
December 2005 Earned Private Pilot Certificate from examiner George Prewitt on December 17, 2005. Still need to pass FAA Vision Special Medical Flight Test due to 20/50 corrected vision in left eye.
November 2005 † Florencio (Flo) Diaz, a good father,
husband and friend but most importantly, an extraordinary human being. Skilled but humble professional, long-time
employee of Scaled Composites and finisher of aircraft, such as the White
Knight and SpaceShipOne, was killed the night before Thanksgiving by an
irresponsible driver running a stop at high speed.
You finished the wings Flo… I will finish the airplane
in your memory. We’ll get to fly
together then my friend….
September 2005 Passed the Private Pilot Airplane Knowledge Test on September 5, 2005.
June 2005 I asked my youngest children, Melissa (11)
and Alan (6) to find a name for our airplane.
They came up with two possibilities but all four of us immediately
agreed on which one we liked best. For
some unknown reason, Alan was nicknamed “Tuki” by his sister Melissa when he
was a baby, after the George of the Jungle movie character. Our airplane was formally baptized as “Dr.
Tuki” on June 25, 2005.
After
much delay due to rain and wind, completed Long Solo
Cross-Country Flight requirement from Lancaster (WJF) to
Bakersfield Municipal (L45) to Inyokern (IYK) through the Tehachapi Mountains
and back to Lancaster (WJF) California through Mojave (190 miles).
May 2005 First
Solo Cross-Country Flight from Lancaster
(WJF) - Apple Valley (APV) - Lancaster (WJF),
March 2005 I
noticed that to fly and study to earn Private Pilot certification while trying
to build the airplane is very inefficient.
I have decided to earn certification first. Then, I can dedicate my weekends to just
building the airplane and log hours around the building schedule.
February 2005 Earned
solo
certificate in the morning of February 5, 2005 and started building the kit at
home that afternoon.
January 2005
Wings were delivered on January 25,
2005. I built a mobile rack with wood
recycled from the crate so I can move them around in the garage.
Finished the parts inventory on January 9, 2005 and it is now in the garage.
Fast Build XL FG kit SFG029 was delivered on January 7, 2005. My friends Tim Hampton, Lou Tellez and
· Crate at Ground Level and Up the
Driveway
December 2004 Kit delivery scheduled for January 7, 2005.
Both kits are loaded for shipment at the factory on December 22, 2004.
Fast Aircraft Transportation postpones kit’s delivery until second week of January 2005. Rob Greiner secures a much better transportation deal with Solistics.
Velocity Inc. has scheduled loading/shipment of kit (SFG029)
for December 15, 2004.
November 2004
After much delay due to several hurricanes
affecting the
· Beginning Head Start Program
As I drove away from the hangar at the end of my last day at
the factory, I saw this. I realized it was the first one I had seen
since my arrival at Sebastian and made me feel my project was looked upon with
eyes of approval. I certainly look forward to the future. Delivery
of my kit in
October 2004 Notified by Velocity that my kit will be ready by month’s end. Scheduled to begin my two weeks of Head Start Program on November 1.
September 2004 Hurricane Jeanne, the fourth to make land fall
in
Hurricane
August 2004 Started flying lessons on August 14, 2004 at Barnes Aviation in William
J. Fox (WJF) Airport (
July 2004 Factory scheduled to complete kit (SN:
SFG029) by the end of September.
Delivery expected some time in October after two weeks of Head Start
Program building at the
Received FAA Third Class / Student
Pilot Medical Certificate.
June
2004
Sent order for a Fast Build Velocity XL FG. (June 25, 2004).
After much research on my part, there is unanimous family consensus to buy a Velocity XL. I have chosen the fixed gear model for the following reasons:
1.
There is no doubt that a retractable gear looks
better…. but only when looked at by others from the air. On the ground or close
to it, which
is from where it is going to be seen, and from where I will be seeing it; it
looks a lot better with wheel pants.
2.
With regard to the retractable gear’s 10% speed
pick up (in paper) from an already high cruise speed, I did not feel the impact
on the type of flying I intend to make was going to be significant enough to
warrant the additional expense on training/certification, hardware,
maintenance, insurance and other risks such as malfunction or forgetting to
lower it (the most frequent incident cause).
I will be flying exclusively for fun and the 10% lower speed only means
that I will spend an additional 6 minutes flying, hopefully more, for every
hour of flight. As opposed to a penalty, I will find this very rewarding.
That’s why I am getting into this after all… to fly as much as I can and for as
long as I can.
Invited by local
builder/pilot Paul
Rosales (RV6A) for a detailed look at an aluminum airplane,
as part of the RV10 research. Great
information from an experienced builder and pilot, and great flying with
several hours of formation flying practice.
Submitted
ophthalmologist’s evaluation to FAA Regional Flight Surgeon.
May / 2004 Started reorganizing garage at home for still an undetermined kit.
Underwent FAA Medical Certification Exam and did not pass visual requirements on left eye. Required to submit ophthalmologist’s evaluation to FAA Regional Flight Surgeon for further consideration.
Visited Velocity plant in