velocity aircraft unveils “xl” in this issue · in this issue xl debuts at sun n fun...1 ......

Velocity Views12nd Quarter 1997

In this issueXL debuts at Sun n Fun...1Factory News ...................2

Builder notices, Franklinengine update, and othernews from the Swings

Safety Corner ...................4Accident & IncidentReports and MaintenanceService Difficulties.

Factory KPCs ...................5Kit plans changes to keepyour manual up-to-date

Views from the West........6News from Velocity’s westcoast service center

Velocity First Flights........7Velocity West’s 173 Elite,Joe Merola’s RG, andTimothy England’s RG

Duane’s Dream Trip .........9Interested in flying withDuane on his Caribbeandream trip?

Bahamas ‘97 Fly-in ..........9Last call for sign-up, etc.

Bahamas Approval ........10Sample letter for gettingBahamian approval

Atlas Motors Visit ..........10Information and tips fromPat Goodman aboutFranklin Engines

Builder Forum ................14Tips, information & letters

Buy Sell or Trade ...........19

Volume 10

Velocity Aircraft Unveils “XL”

S I WRITE THIS, it’s March 4th,just one month from when weleave for Sun-N-Fun. As is

common in this business, we’reburning the late night oil getting“Bubba” ready. Many recent visi-tors have said, “You’re going tohave this airplane ready for the bigshow? You’re out of your mind!”Well, perhaps so, but were going togive it our best shot. Bubba,(N97XL) only lacks about 500 hoursto completion. This seems aboutright to finish in 30 days. In anycase, some of the features of Bubbanot found in our standard Eliteinclude the Lycoming IO540 260horse power engine, a 6” expansionin the width of the fuselage alongwith a 10” stretch. There is also aplenum running along the roof of

The new XL gets a 320 wet sanding from Chad Holland, while Duane shows off histrue strength.

A the cockpit with separate air ductsand individual reading lights foreach seat. The air for this duct is pro-vided by a NACA inlet in the aft topof the fuselage. We have alsoextended the carbon door beams (rollbars) across the entire fuselage top.While we were at it, the extra widthallowed us to provide more switchpanel space on the upper panelabove the windshield, and we nowhave all the function switches locatedthere; no switches on the instrumentpanel at all. I also straightened theinstrument panel on the co-pilot sideto allow extra leg room. The instru-ment panel mold was trimmed to theexact size of the opening to minimizetrimming and a glare shield was

Continued on next page

Velocity Views 2 Volume 10

by Duane & Scott Swing

Manuals Note:We realize after spending a lot of

money on updating the constructionmanuals, that some of you still thinkthey need some work. Some of youexpect a lot more out of them thanthey are ever going to deliver.Nevertheless, we really would like toimprove them as an ongoingprocess. We are right now develop-ing exploded views of the airplanefor different sections of the manual.These will not be scale drawings, butthey will help you visualize whatyou will be working on and give youa better understanding of what the

final product will look like. We mayput these in the newsletter or wemay just send them out. Also, it hasbeen mentioned that although themanual looks as though it is writtenin a step by step method, it is not.You will need to read through atleast the whole chapter you will beworking on before starting – so youget an overall look at it. The littlelines that you put a check on are onlyput there as a reminder that youhave already done that work – notfor sequential purposes. In mostcases, it is sequential...but do not takethat for granted.

Elite Seat Spring Note:Adding a spring to the seat rail

system will allow easier adjustmentof the seat. Two holes are drilled,one in the center of the front mount-ing bar and one in the center of thefront bar that the seat is attached to.A spring is added to help pull theseat forward.

Elite Door Note:Fitting the door in the Elite. If

your door doesn’t seem to match thefuselage exactly, do not fret. Try tominimize the differences so thatthere are no large mismatches. If thebottom of the door seems twisted,don’t worry about that since you canforce it flush with the fuselage later.The upper part of the door will notmove very much so concentrate onthat the most. When you put yourpin tubes in the fuselage, your doorwill be locked into position and intime will take a set to that position.After the seal is installed, it will alsohelp hold the door into position forlatching. With the door latched, youcan duct tape the high areas, door orfuselage, and micro the other surfaceto make the door flush. If you have avarying gaps around your door, youcan fix those by duct taping theflange of the door, microing the doorpocket near the edge, and closing the

door. This will later be opened andcleaned up to give you the perfect,ball bearing tested gap of about3/32”. This takes a piece of 80 gritpaper doubled up.

Fuel Tank Leaks:No fuel leaks in the tanks. I have totell you that when we build an air-plane here, we do not even check thetanks for leaks. We have done it alot but there are procedures to followthat can give you more confidence inyour finished product.1. Take special care to fit the tops ofyour baffles within 1/8” of the top.More or less is okay but less maysqueeze too much stuff out and toomuch more may cause a void.Obviously you won’t get everyonethe same but try your best. 2. Flanging is not a bad idea in cer-tain places but the approach needs tobe taken correctly. The only flangeswe have ever used are around thewheel well ( outside) and at the fuse-lage side between the rear fuel bulk-head and the slanted inboard bulk-head (baggage area). The wheel wellflange is nice since it is too thin toadd goop to the top of it when clos-ing the tank. The side of the fuselagehelps since that is right over the fuelscreen and you don’t want anythingfalling through the crack after youclose the top. Also, that area wouldalways leave the possibility for fuelto get up into the crack and maybework its way out if the flange is notdone. Even with flanging, thereneeds to be some gap between theflange and the tank so make sureyou have some. 3. When coating your tanks withepoxy, always use a squeegee wher-ever possible. If you can, it is best tocoat in the morning then again in theevening when the epoxy is notcured, since this will allow bettersealing of the tank. We also use ourgloved finger to coat all the exposedfoam. This is not necessary but italways makes us feel like we aresealing everything. 4. Use a freezer zip lock bag whengooping the top of the baffles andbulkheads. The job goes much fasterand much more uniformly. Youshould still use a squeegee to work

fabricated and a mold made so theglare shield will be supplied as amolded part with the airplane. Wealso have made a molded air plenumchamber for the engine cooling simi-lar to the one used on the Franklin.Air for the induction system and theoil cooler (mounted in the enginecompartment) is supplied by a mold-ed duct that gets air from a NACAlike scoop (big) mounted on the bot-tom of the airplane. This is also amolded part supplied with the XLkit. We will be using an electricheater in the cabin taking a lot of cur-rent from the 70 amp alternator.

There are many other changesbeing made and you will just have tosee the XL to appreciate all that wasdone in this short 5 months it hastaken to build this airplane.

We have set the price at$36,000.00 for the XL RG ($32,000 forthe FG) until after Sun-N-Fun andthen an across the board $2,000.00price increase for all our airplaneswill go into effect.

That’s it for now, see some ofyou at Sun-N-Fun.

Duane

XL unveiledContinued from page 1


the sides but mainly the cake deco-rating idea. 3/8” is what we workfor on the bead. Remember to savethe gooping of the strake leadingedge for last otherwise you could becovered with goop like me whenyou lean over it.5. When putting the top on, practicea little before the goop goes on. Therear of the top strake needs to stayup high enough so the leading edgecontacts first so that it can be layeddown on top of the goop – and notpush it off. Be careful not to get toohigh as it will cause the strake to beforced away from the fuselage. Thiswould require some side movementwhich would also scrape goop offthe baffles and bulkheads.6. Put a line along the fuselage at thestrake top so that when you close it,you can tell if the strake is beingforced up by the goop, or by the ducttape that you wrapped around theleading edge to hold the two halvestogether. If it is, you can put just alittle weight about half way back onthe strake at the fuselage to get itback close to where it is supposed tobe. If you ignore this, you may endup with a void.

Check your Exhaust:It is good practice on the walk

around, to tap the exhaust with ametal object and listen. An exhaustwithout cracks will ring. If it makesa blunt sound, check it out. You willget to the point that you will hearthe problem if there is a problem.The passenger side exhaust headerhas cracked on a few of our cus-tomers airplanes and in two casesactually broke off and went throughthe propeller doing some damage toit. The reason for the passenger sideis because it is the longest pipe pastthe connection with the engine. Ittends to work harder from heatingand cooling and become more brit-tle. In time, from vibration, it cancrack...so check it out.

Franklin UpdateWe continue to try new things

out on the Franklin engine toimprove upon an already good pack-age. The latest is an attempt toreduce oil temps and cylinder temps

just a little more. At high powercruise, the oil temperature would sta-bilize at about 230 degrees, not muchbelow the max allowable of 232degrees. In the Franklin, we use asupplemental oil cooler in the enginecompartment by mounting a smallauto racing type cooler in the wingroot and bringing air into the wingroot by a scoop mounted under andjust aft of the wing strake. Theexhausted hot air from the coolerwould dump into the engine com-partment and ultimately find its wayout the rear cowling along with theengine cooling air. By attaching asmall fiberglass adapter to theexhausted side of the cooler and run-ning a 3” duct hose from this adapterdown and out the bottom of thecowling, the hot air from the cooler issucked out the bottom cowling dueto the low pressure created in thisarea. The result was a 25 degreereduction in oil temperature. Now athigh power cruise, 205 degrees is thehighest I have been able to get the oiltemperature.

I have had a gut feeling that withthe 6 cylinder engine, that a largeamount of the cooling air is beingrestricted from exiting the cowlingdue to the pinching that takes placebetween the aft two cylinders andthe lower cowling. There is just notenough room for the air to get out.To take care of this, I cut some slotson the lower cowling below the afttwo cylinders making about 12 to 15square inches of additional outletarea. The result was about a 15degree reduction in cylinder headtemperature. Max temp. at peakEGT now will show about 362degrees. (Max. allowable is 392degrees)

I now fly the Franklin poweredVelocity with the same confidence Ihave with the Lycoming and no fur-ther engine testing by Velocity willbe conducted unless conditionschange.

IVO Prop UpdateWe continue to put time on the

IVO electric prop on the Franklinengine and presently have perhaps50 or 60 hours. The primary problemwith the stock IVO blades was that I

was not able to get a satisfactorylower RPM when flying at 75%power at altitude. On climb at 120kts. full throttle, I could get 3000RPM, much higher than I needed. Ispoke to IVO about this and heagreed to make a special set of bladesfor me that have more pitch. I havenow installed these new blades andfind the RPM ranges are just aboutperfect. Climb at 120 kts. and fullthrottle is 2800 RPM. Cruise at 7500feet, full throttle (75% power) I canset the RPM down to 2300. At 13000density altitude, 21” manifold pres-sure (wide open) I can run the propdown to 2100 RPM for a VERY quiet,VERY economical cruise of about 160kts true on 6 GPH fuel flow.

We have also installed the IVOelectric prop on three Lycomingpowered Velocity airplanes and arestarting these tests now. The infor-mation gained with the Franklin willbe used on the Lycomings and weexpect the IVO/Lycoming to beavailable soon. Some of the differ-ences incorporated by IVO for us forproduction propellers will be: 1)knurled 7” backplates (so we can useour present spinner) 2) higherpitched blades for better RPMranges. (the Lycoming blades can bereduced to 66” for higher cruisespeeds) 3) greater reinforcement inthe blade attach area. 4) all blades tobe gel coated in white. 5) molded-instainless or urethane leading edgeprotection instead of the stainlesstape now used.

We expect to have most all of theabove changes completed and on dis-play at Sun-N-Fun in April in theFranklin Velocity.

Short Circuitby Martin Hadley

Short Circuit will return next issue!This is my goof. Martin keeps a sup-ply of articles on hand for my use. Bythe time I realized I had used all hismaterial, it was too late to haveMartin write a new article! Sorry... Rick


Engine Installation Caution:Homebuilts seem to have a

much higher percentage of accidentsrelated to engines or their installa-tion. The airplanes are relativelysimple when compared to the wiringand plumbing that goes into them.We have seen engine installationsand wiring that just amazes us. Werealize that the manual doesn’t coverthis a whole lot but with such adiverse amount of goodies going in,you just can’t cover every situation.

Safety CornerAccident & Incident Reports,Maintenance & Service Difficulties

Service CautionFranklin Engine Installation

We are recommending that you strengthen your lower firewall by addinggussets from the firewall to the fuselage floor. This should be done on eachside of both the lower engine mount holes. The gussets can be made of marineplywood or 1/8” fiberglass laminate. Using the locations and measurementsshown below, sand the area thoroughly. Bondo or hot glue (sparingly) the gus-sets in place. Use micro glass or flox as a fillet material then glass in place asillustrated below.Inside lay-up:- Floor to firewall & gusset to firewall to gussets - 5 BID (orientation 45° tointersections) or 2 Triax (orientation with arrows)- Gusset to floor to gusset - 2 BID (orientation 45° to intersection)Outside lay-up:- Gusset to floor and firewall - 2 BID (orientation 45° to intersections)

This is the area where a buildershould seek help during the buildingprocess. Wiring from Home Depot orRadio Shack is not exactly what youwant. Plumbing for your enginefrom “Plumbing- R- Us” is not wherewe would get it. Sure there are thingsfrom these places that you may usein your airplane, but be careful.There aren’t very many of you doingthis out there but for those of youwho have or are thinking about itplease do not.

Seat back Caution:Even though it may seem conve-

nient to keep the pilot side seat backloose or unattached for easy entryinto the back, make sure you attach itso that if you have an emergency, itdoesn’t get in the way.

A Letter from Bill Richards

A brief description of my aircrash. I departed MLB (MelbourneFL International) runway 27R atapproximately 1200 on 2-1-97 andwas vectored SW toward theFellsmere area as requested. After ashort time in the practice area, Iturned east toward the ocean, pass-ing just south of the Valkaria airport.Then I turned north over the IndianRiver at 1800 MSL and called MLBcontrol tower, announcing I wasinbound with information Bravo.They acknowledged and almostimmediately my engine stoppeddead. No sputtering or misfire. Iturned back toward Valkaria airport,hoping to make a dead stick landing,but came up about 1/2 mile short ofrunway 14 threshold, crashing intopines and palmettos. Perhaps Iwould have been able to hold alti-tude a little longer if I hadn’t extend-ed my retractable landing gear a bittoo early. But in a tight situation suchas this, it is much easier said thandone.

After stating the nature of myaccident, I want everyone who eitherowns, is building, or is consideringbuilding a Velocity, to know that myaccident has nothing to do with theintegrity of the airplane. If I had notbeen in a Velocity, I probably wouldnot be here today. The engine’sabrupt stoppage is the sole reason forthis incident. I can’t overstate theVelocity design, materials, and theway it protected me from much moreserious injuries.

We must now find out why theengine stopped so abruptly and thenhelp others to avoid a similar situa-tion.

Bill Richards, N525VFebruary 19, 1997


Kit PlansChanges“KPCs”

Note: Check the date at the bottom ofyour page. If it matches the “Date ofChange” shown in the KPC, your manu-al has already been corrected.

KPC 053Affects: All Standard Wing VelocitysManual Section: 3.2.1Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

Change the dimension in the firstparagraph regarding placement ofthe incidence jig to 105” inboard ofthe trailing edge wingtip.

KPC 054Affects: All VelocitysManual Section: 5.1.3Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

After the ducts and bulkheadsare permanently installed, cut theducts off flush with the front of thecanard bulkhead and flush with theaft face of the firewall.

KPC 055Affects: All Fixed Gear VelocitysManual Section: Figure 9-9Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

The figure incorrectly shows aspace between the gear strut and theshock. The strut should be againstthe shock.

KPC 056Affects: All Fixed Gear VelocitysManual Section: Figure 14-25(Elite),or Figure 14-27(non-Elite)Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

The fittings that thread into themain tank fuel line hardpoint on thesump tank should be 1/8” NPT x3/8” barb 90 degree fittings.

KPC 057Affects: All RG’sManual Section: Pulley Cutout

TemplateStandard RG: Figure 9-31173 RG: Figure 9-32Standard RG Elite: Figure 9-44173 RG Elite: Figure 9-45

Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

The two center holes for the pul-ley pivots should be centered 7/8”apart. The figure incorrectly showsthem uncentered.

KPC 058Affects: All Fixed Gear VelocitysManual Section: page 10-5Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

This KPC concerns the plywoodpiece that is added to the outside ofthe keel to stiffen the upper attach-ment of the nose gear. 1” has beenadded to the height, making the newdimensions 3” x 4” x 6.75”. This willensure there is enough hardpointaround the gear attachment location.

KPC 059Affects: All ElitesManual Section: 10.6.2Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

The method of installing theinstrument panel has been changedto read as follows:Duct tape the sides and middle poston the aft side of the panel and hotglue in position.Lay up a five-BID flange, lapping 1”onto the fuselage, keel, and ducttape. After cure, remove panel andtrim flange. Secure panel to flangewith four MS24693C-272 screws and

nutplates on each side and one oneach side of the middle post.”

KPC060Affects: All VelocitysManual Section:Chapter 14, “FuelSystem Venting”Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

The plans incorrectly show aNACA vent for the fuel vent out thebottom of the airplane. There is nofoam core in that area behind thegear bulkhead. Use the followingmethod:Route the 3/8” aluminum line fromthe vent manifold to a hole in thebottom of the fuselage. Let the lineprotrude approximately 3/8” out ofthe fuselage bottom. Cut off the endat an angle as shown below. Forextra insurance against blockage,drill a 1/8” hole in the aft side of thevent tube. See the diagram below.

KPC 061Affects: All RG’sManual Section: 14.5.2 “Install SumpMounting Tabs”Date of Change: 18 Feb, 1997

The mounting tabs should bemade from two plies of 3” x 4” BIDapplied to the back of the tank andtwo plies of 3” x 4” TRIAX applied tothe sides of the tank.

The tank should be mounted to thefirewall with two AN 3-10A bolts oneach side.

KPC060Drawing


Views from the WestBy Mark & Nancy Machado

Having just returned fromSebastian and been given the oppor-tunity to look the new “XL” proto-type over thoroughly, I must admit,this is “One Big Bird”! By the timeyou read this, I’m quite confident,the factory will be flying this newentry in the Velocity lineup; onceagain making big waves in the avia-tion community like Velocity hasbeen known to do so many times inthe past.

One thing that struck me whilelooking at the “XL” was the overallquality of the workmanship. There isa reason why people build experi-mental class, homebuilt airplanesand enjoy them safely for many,many years into the future. I trulybelieve it all centers around a senseof quality. I have always been realproud when I have built an RG in thepast of how well the “retracting”mechanisms have moved, free of anybinding, confident if I ever had torely on gravity for the gear to be inthe right place at the right time, itwould be there. In watching Scottwork on the same area of the XL, Irealized I was watching someonewho has known this a lot longer thanI. The point here is: if somethingdoesn’t look, feel or act right, withregard to your Velocity, FIX ITNOW! Guaranteed, if it was some-thing that wasn’t working right onthe ground, it won’t fix itself in theair! It’s the attitude they all have inSebastian, one we mirror here atVelocity West and one all youbuilders need to emulate in the field.

The other exiting thing that hap-pened at Sebastian (at least for me!)occurred when I asked Duane if wecould go for a ride in theFranklin/IVO. Since we talk about itso much out here in the West, I knewthat some first-hand experience withthe engine/prop combo would go along way in making my commentsmore meaningful. What I didn’texpect was Duane to say “Here’s thekeys.......spend as much time as youneed”! After a three-minute familiar-

ization on where all the switcheswere for this particular RG, I wasgone. And, do I mean gone! Haveany of you seen the commercial onTV where the frog gets on the con-trols of the Budweiser Hydroplane?Well.......that’s how I felt! Honest! Ifthis combo continues to prove satis-factory, you can put the old myththat “canards are runway hogs”right in the dumpster. Needless tosay, it was impressive. For those ofyou who will be operating out ofhigh-density altitudes, help is on theway. Since that is many of us outhere in the West, Duane and Scottdecided that the Velocity West com-pany plane, N94VA, should be fittedwith an IVO prop to accelerate thetesting of the propeller withLycomings. They twisted my armuntil I said OK......it didn’t take verylong!

Speaking of N94VA (hopefullywith an IVO prop), the company’s173 FG ELITE based here at VelocityWest, with Nancy and I in tow,hopefully will be attending the fly-ins listed below, this upcoming fly-ing season. Naturally the schedule istentative, so give us a call if you’re“counting on us being there.”

Major Events(attendance fully expected)

Sun N Fun Fly-In, Lakeland, FL4/6 - 4/12

Rocky Mountain Regional EAA Fly-In, Longmont, CO 6/27 - 6/29

Northwest EAA Fly-In, ArlingtonMunicipal Airport, WA 7/9 - 7/13

EAA Oshkosh ‘97, WI 7/30 - 8/3

Copperstate Regional EAA Fly-In,Mesa, AZ 10/9 - 10/12

Minor Events(attendance dependent

upon time and weather)Great Valley Fly-In, Watts-Woodland Airport, CA 5/3 - 5/4

2nd Annual Southern California Fly-In, Chino, CA 5/10 - 5/11

Northern California EAA Fly-In,Corning, CA 5/16 - 5/17

West Coast Antique Fly-In andAirshow, Watsonville Airport, CA

5/23 - 5/25

Air Fair and Open House, RamonaAirport, San Diego, CA 6/7

Father’s Day Fly-In and Airshow,Camarillo Airport, CA 6/14 - 6/15

Reno National Championship AirRaces, Reno-Stead Airport, NV

9/11 - 9/14

Edwards AFB Open House andAirshow, “50th Anniversary ofUSAF,” Edwards AFB CA

10/18 - 10/19

Naturally Duane/Scott/Bonnieand Company will be at the “bigones”, in full regalia, trying to keepthe drool-damage over the XL incheck, but we also hope they will beable to hit some of the West Coastevents we have listed. Nancy hasassigned herself the task of convinc-ing Scott and Duane that visits to theChino and Arlington fly-ins, with thenew XL, would pay off big! Sheneeds your help! Get those cardsand letters off to Sebastian tellingthem this is an outstanding idea!!

Regardless, if we are at a fly-innear you, we would really like to seeyou. Give us a call and we’ll keepyou posted on any schedule changes.

NEW PRODUCTS:

Lycoming cooling plenums -Development work continues on thecooling plenums for the Lycoming360 series engines. Actually, at thispoint, we are pretty much in thefine-tuning stage, with several cur-rently operating in the field. By thetime you read this, plenums shouldbe available for all of those who wishto go that route. Just to clarify, theplenum cooling concept is a replace-ment for the traditional sheetmetal/cowl seal baffling system.


Contact either Sebastian or us forprice and delivery details.

Standard Elite Front Seats: Wehave helped Sebastian in the devel-opment of slightly narrower frontseat pans for the standard ELITE.The seats are approximately 1” nar-rower on the bottom, approximatelythe same at the base of the seat back,but from “mid-back” up, the profilehas not changed. Using this conceptallows for the use of the wider seatsin the back and the narrower seats inthe front, with the “look” not chang-ing. For details on exchanging yourfront seats if you wish to, contact Jeffat Sebastian.

Video Tapes - Recently, thefinal editing of Video Tape #3(Fuselage), primarily focusing on theELITE construction was completedand is now available. Again, contactJeff for price and delivery informa-tion and updated information on theavailability of Tapes 4, 5 & 6.

SERVICE CENTER:This is our regular quarterly

reminder to everyone that VelocityWest IS Velocity’s West CoastService Center. Room is available atthis facility for individuals to bringtheir Velocity projects in and workon them full-time in our shop. Theonly requirement is that the builderbe there full-time. We aren’t goingto build your project for you, justgive you the best darnn environmentWest of the Mississippi to work in.If you need help, we’re a shoutaway! For details on fees and avail-ability, contact either Nancy ormyself at Velocity West.

Considering my earlier com-ments on quality and realizing thatmore and more builders are startingto complete their projects out here inthe West, Nancy felt is was impor-tant for me to remind you of whatwe left you with last time. Whenbuilding your Velocity, from theunloading of the container to thefirst flight, “BE PRECISE, NOT PER-FECT, JUST PRECISE”.

Flying Velocity Fleet ExpandsPhotos & text by Nancy Machado

N94VA is the current flying factory demo plane being used at Velocity West.The Velocity 173 FG ELITE was started in November of 1996 and completed inOctober of ‘97. First flight was on October 3rd. Mark Machado, co-manager ofVelocity West, was at the controls. After approximately 20 hours of flying, theengine was removed and completely rebuilt by personnel at Velocity West.With the now stronger engine, the propeller rpm has increased almost 250 rpmand the airplane has become a delight to fly! A new generation of wheel pantswill be fitted soon.

N32BSJ was completed by its owner, Joe Merola, at the Velocity West ServiceCenter. First flight of the Velocity was on November 30, 1996, performed byMark Machado. The airplane is a STD RG featuring a dual throttle arrange-ment, Vision MicroSystems engine monitoring display, HSI and a LycomingL10-360-ClE6 200 HP engine. The engine turns a Performance Propeller 3-bladed prop. The airplane is currently being kept in New York while Joe does atour of duty for the Navy aboard an aircraft carrier stationed in Japan.

First Flights continued on next page


I made my first flight onNovember 30, 1996. It was “as theysay” uneventful, which is great. Iwant to write a letter for our newslet-ter; I say “ours” because it is every-one’s response that makes thenewsletter what it is.

The day I did my first flight, Iarrived at the airport at 7 am,checked FSS and there was a frontmoving in from the south west. I hada number of people coming to the air-port to confirm and check thingsagain. This had already been done anumber of times. I was really blessedwith some very knowledgeable peo-ple around me, so I tapped into theirabilities. By the time it came to do myflight test, the ceiling was down to2000 AGL and raining a little. I wentup to the control tower and talked tothe good folks there and told themmy intentions. I hopped in myVelocity RG [non-elite] and taxiedout to the active. ATC gave me clear-ance for take off. I advanced thethrottle and, at 70-75 KIAS, I was off.The rain was going right over the topand off the windshield. True to theVelocity aircraft, it climbed like ahomesick angel. On the downwindleg, the visitors said that I disap-peared and that they could only seethe strobes flashing. I had the airportin sight at all times, but the aircraft ispainted in primer and blends in withthe mist. I checked the oil temp andpressure; it was good. Coolant tempand pressure were good also. I didn’tput the speed brake down until final,because it covers up the rad intakeand causes turbulence. The weatherwas getting bad at this point and itwould really be difficult to go arounda number of times, so this landinghad to be a good one. Going through

the checklist again, I turned on finalabout 1 mile out. I was a little high –we have glide slope lights which isnice. Throttle back just a little, don’tmove the stick, you’re right on thecenter line, throttle up some,good...right on the proper glideslope. The wind was 5 kts right downthe runway, 1/2 mile to go andsteady, speed brake down, 90 KIAS,ATC gave clearance to land, engine isworking well, 1/4 mile to go, I am alittle low, I check airspeed 85 KIAS,throttle up just a little, don’t pullback on the stick. The aircraft comesup a little, ah...just right, over thefence 85 KIAS, keep on center line,throttle back a little, 10 feet off, 5 feetoff, throttle right back, hold it steadyand level 4-3-2-1 touch down, brakestraight forward. Speed brake up andcalled ground for clearance back tothe hangar. It was raining more nowthan before. What a great flight!!What a great experience!!

I want to thank Scott Swing forconvincing me to go to the factoryand get checked out in one of theirmachines. The first 2 or 3 circuits Idid with Scott were, to say the least,not good. I was leafing all over theplace on final because I was used toflying a Cessna type aircraft. Scottsaid “Tim, I will do a circuit and youjust watch the throttle and controlstick wrist actions.” The fourth, fifthand sixth circuits got better and,finally, I was doing some good land-ings. We went out later and did somemore circuits. When I left the factory,I knew I could handle my machine.By the way, for the benefit of thosewho don’s know me, I have installeda GM 4.3 V6 220 HP racing engine inmy standard RG. So I had an air-frame and an engine to deal with,plus the weather.

After my flight with Scott, DuaneSwing treated me to lunch and wetalked about a number of things. Onour way back from lunch, Duaneasked me a question that really hithome in my heart. He asked “Tim, ifyou did your first flight without com-ing down here and getting propertraining, how well do you think youwould have done?” I thought for afew seconds and responded “Not

very good.” You see, folks, it’s nice tobuild an aircraft, but there comes aday when you want to fly it, right??Please, please, listen to me. If you aregetting to the stage of flight testing,go to the factory and get the propertraining. Yes, I know it costs. But it isworth every penny you spend,believe me. I have been there, build-ing my own machine and taking onthe roll of test pilot. One thing forsure is you don’t want to be on shortfinal doing 90 KIAS wishing that youhad factory training. My first few cir-cuits with Scott proved that.

At this point I want to say a fewwords about the Swings and theVelocity employees. As I was build-ing my RG I ran into some areaswhere I was unsure of the drawings,etc. I would call the factory and theywould help me through the problemI was having. Yes, I know some ofthe drawings weren’t great, but theSwings have gone to the time andexpense to update and refine thedrawings. I have ordered andreceived the complete new versionfor the RG and they are great. Let mesay this, as a businessman for the last15 years in the construction andinsurance restoration industry, withall of the lying, cheating, stealinggoing on, it is a real pleasure to dealwith honest, hard working andthoughtful people. Going down tothe factory for flight training costs, sodoes building an aircraft. Keep inmind that this is one of the best kitaircraft in the world. We as buildersneed to support the Swings and theemployees as much as they havesupported us. Remember they needto make money to stay in businessand be there tomorrow for our fellowbuilders with a passion like ours andfor the opportunity to fill that dream.Again, thank you all at Velocity foryour great building support andflight training.

It has been a pleasure doingbusiness with all of you and I lookforward to continued friendship.

A happy builder and delightedflyer,

Timothy EnglandNorth York, Ontario, Canada

Timothy EnglandFirst Flight!


Duane’s DreamTrip

Clive Cussler, one of my favoritefiction authors, whose credits includethe book Raising of the Titanic, said,“The bottom line is that when thefinal curtain drops the only thingswe truly regret are the things we didn’t do.” I think this statementpretty wells sums it up for me.

The year was 1974. I had justpurchased a used (1969) Piper TwinComanche and began dreaming of atrip that would start in Dayton, Ohio,and proceed to south Florida, thenon through the chain of islandsincluding San Juan, Puerto Rico, St.Maarten, Martinique,and on toCaracas, Venezuela, in northernSouth America. From there toPanama, Belize, Cancun, and up theMexico coast to Brownsville, Texas,and finally back to Dayton, Ohio.This trip festered in my brain foryears until it finely faded into obliv-ion. It’s now 1997 and time to revisita portion of my dream trip. I (we)plan to leave our Florida home some-time later this year and my (our)

route of flight will take me (us) on toone of our favorite island stops,Coconut Cove, on the island of GreatExuma. We will spend a couple ofdays here visiting with Velocitybuilder Tom Chimento. Then on toSan Juan, Puerto Rico, to visit ourVelocity builder (now flying) HectorRoman. A couple of days here is cer-tainly in order. Next stop will beMontego Bay or Kingston, Jamaica,for a couple more days of relaxationand sun. From here on to GrandCayman for a few days of whateverone does in the Caymans. A finalflight to Key West for custom clear-ance and a day of snorkeling orsightseeing before returning to goodold Sebastian.

I’m looking for a few good men(and women) to accompany me (us)on this trip. Got your Velocity fly-ing? Want to do something unique?Ever been to any one of these spotsand want to go again or suggest aneven better place? Let me know andwe’ll plan from there. Flight timefrom Sebastian should be around 17hours, and we will be away fromhome for, perhaps, 14 days.

Duane

Last Call forBahamas ‘97May 16th (Friday) through May20th (Tuesday) are the dates forthe ‘97 Velocity Bahamas Fly-in. Feel free to alter your arrival ordeparture date to your needs.All Velocity pilots, builders &wanabees are welcome!

Be sure to do 3 things right now:1) Call Coconut Cove to bookyour lodging Phone # 242-336-2659. Be sure to identify yourselfas part of the Velocity Fly-in. Allthe rooms are blocked off for usand Velocitites get a 20% dis-count! Tom’s nephew Russ & hiswife Paule have leased CoconutCove and have re-opened therestaurant. Tom and Pam will befree to have fun with us!2) Call (Rick -home# 904-461-6912) or e-mail ([email protected])me to get on my list of peoplegoing. This is a must for me tocoordinate things.3) Fax your letter to the BahamasCivil Aviation Dept forExperimental aircraft approval(see sample fax on the bottom ofthe next page).

You will need to have your IFR /VFR charts, plus a coast guardapproved life vest per person, andbig numbers on your plane (tem-porary tape is ok).

The main group will be departingSebastian FL (X26) Friday at 7:30am, and meeting Tom and PamChimento for lunch in GeorgeTown, Exuma, Bahamas! ForVelocitites in Southern Florida,Mark and Nancy Ewart will leada second group, joining up withus over the Exuma Island chain.

Route of Flight: Sebastian X26Intersection ANGEEFreeport ZFPNassau ZQAMosstown ZEM

- Rick Lavoie


Fax To: 242-377-2040Voice: 242-377-7281

10 April 1997

Bahamian Civil Aviation AuthorityNassau International AirportNassau, Bahamas

I am writing to obtain permission to fly an experimental certified aircraft tothe Bahamas on 16 May 1997. I plan on staying at the Coconut Cove Hotel,George Town, Great Exuma and flying in to Moss Town InternationalAirport for about a one week vacation.

Purpose of Flight: PleasureDate of Proposed Entry: 16 May 1997Port of Entry: Moss Town International Airport, Great ExumaManufacturer Lee DavidModel: VelocitySerial # DMO043 Registration Marks: N81VAEquipment: Full Engine, Flight , & Navigation Instruments

(COM, VOR, Loran, GPS)Engine Lycoming IO 360 (200 hp)Last Annual Inspection: 1 February 1997

Attached are copies of my pilot and aircraft documents:

• Pilot’s license• Medical certificate• Airworthiness Certificate & Statement of Limiting Conditions• Aircraft Radio Station License• Aircraft Registration• Aircraft Log book entry to verify the last annual inspection• Insurance Certificate (shows coverage is good in the Bahamas)• A&P Mechanics Certificate (limited to Velocity)

Two contacts in the event of an emergency are:Name, address, phone numbers

Please contact me as soon as possible if you require anything else. I look for-ward to receiving your approval. If possible, please fax my written approvalto 904-xxx-xxxx

Signature, Name, Address, Phone, & Fax #

Sample Fax to Obtain Bahamian Approval for Experimental

Visiting Atlas Motorsby Rick Lavoie

Recently, Ginger (my EnglishSpringer Spaniel) and I took a driveto Winchester Virginia. The purposeof this trip was to pick up my newFranklin engine and learn as much astime allowed from Pat Goodman andIra Himelright of Atlas Motors.Velocity builders Dave Black and

Leroy Roger met us at Atlas. Leroywas the first Velocitite to buy aFranklin.

Why on earth did you buy aFranklin?

Franklin has a bad reputation

with most IAs & A&Ps. Why is this?I asked Pat and Ira this question andhere is what I learned.

Franklin was based in SyracuseNew York selling 80% of its enginesto the military. Remember all thoseBell helicopters in “MASH”. Wellthey were powered by Franklin 4 & 6cylinder engines. Pat said everythingwas just fine until the military wentto turbine engines. Franklin endedup bankrupt in 1972. So how didthey get a bad rap? Well here is whatwent wrong. In the 40’s, Franklinreceived a hugh military contract tomake an engine to power a drone.These drones would be used againstJapan. The engine only needed to runfor 25 hours. Thus Franklin usedscrap metal to make these parts. TheU.S. later used the atomic bomb, thusending the war with Japan, andnegating the need for the “drone”Franklin engines. These engines andparts were simply stored, until theywere later sold as government sur-plus. Thus these surplus “drone”parts made it into the general avia-tion market. Wow, no wonderFranklin has had a bad name!

In 1974, Poland purchasedFranklin. They made some improve-ments, but basically are using thesame sound and simple enginedesign used with success in the Bellhelicopters for years.

What did it cost you?Here is a breakdown of my cost

with Atlas Motors Inc:Franklin engine $12,744Marvel Schehler Carb 1,470Slick mag & harness 625Gear reduction starter 350Alternator (12V 45 amp)

w/ regulator 170Engine driven fuel

pump (4.5 lbs) 150Vacuum (dry) air pump 311Labor to install Electroaire

ignition, install Velocitymount, test run 250

Total paid to Atlas Motors $16,070Electroaire ignition 865Total $16,935

Once I get my Velocity flying, Iplan on taking many long crosscountry trips. The starter, alternator,engine driven fuel pump and gaskets


are not parts that you can buy fromyour local FBO or NAPA shop, thus Ipurchased a spare of each. When Ibuy my IVO prop, I will also pur-chase a spare blade.

The engine installation kit that Ipurchased from Velocity Inc. comeswith instructions. I paid $1449 formine, but check the options catalogfor the current price. The packagecomes with the cooling plenum(instead of baffling), mounts, flex oil& fuel lines, fittings, nuts, bolts,throttle & mixture lines and controls,supplemental oil cooler kit.

The IVO 3-bladed adjustableprop costs $1960 plus $350 for theconstant speed controller. Orderyour IVO stuff from Velocity Inc.That brings my cost for a brand new6 cyl engine, complete with constantspeed prop to $20,694! Not bad at all!

I decided to order the Franklinbased on Duane’s recommendation.During the summer of 1996 on one ofmy many visits to the factory, Duanetook me for a test ride in the FranklinVelocity. I had already ordered myFranklin with Pat, but after this ride,I was convinced I made a goodchoice. The acceleration, short takeoff, and rate of climb were allimpressive. This engine combinedwith the newly improved IVO propare a great package! The new IVOprop is now white jell coated withthe leading edge protection built in, anew pitch (more bite) for 2800 rpmmax, and a knurled hub.

Tips from the ProsOk, what did you learn from Pat

& Ira about the Franklin and installa-tion tips?

The Franklin has a 10 1/2 to 1compression ratio. It was designedfor the Bell helicopter and has a 4000RPM do not exceed! Maximumhorsepower at 3200 RPM is 235. Witha metal prop, recommended maxi-mum RPM is estimated at 2800 RPM(extended higher rpm will “sling”the prop). Pat said that with the com-posite props, 3200 RPM is an okmaximum. He also said that theMetal prop manufacturers wouldnever agree with this.

Know your right from left engineside? Sitting in pilot seat of a Piper,

the engine is in front of you (tractorengine). Seated in the pilot seat of thePiper you are facing fore (toward thedirection of flight). The firewall isbetween you and the engine. Lookingat this engine while seated, the leftmag is to your left, and the right magis to your right. Easy? Well howabout my canard pusher? You canlook at it the same way, only get inyour back seat facing aft (away fromthe direction of flight). Once again thefirewall is between you and yourengine. Facing aft, your left mag isleft, your right mag is to your right.

Since we are mounting ourengines as pushers, I’ll refer to foreas closest to the firewall, and aft ascloser to the prop. This of course isbackwards, but what the heck!

Oil pressure line - use the aft (nearerthe prop) tap to tee. In the Franklininstallation manual, connectiondrawings, refer to 7.3 This outletalready had a tee (refer to drawing8), one end with a hose that feeds oilto lubricate the fuel pump, with theother end of the tee available for youto attach your oil pressure line. Alsoon drawing 7, Duane told me that heremoved the plug (about a little lessthan 1” bolt head) and drilled andtapped for his oil temp probe.Drawing 7 also shows the inlet (7.2)and outlet (7.1) for the oil coolerlines. Pat recommends placing aremote in-line oil filter from this out-let (7.1). He said to buy an automo-tive racing type “remote in-line oilfilter”, mounted to the firewall, thenfeed to the oil coolers. So the oil flowwill start from the engine outlet (7.1),then feed to the remote oil filter, thento the main oil cooler (in nose), thento the aux oil cooler (in wing root),then back to the engine inlet (7.2). AirWolf and other companies also makeaviation oil filter remotes.

Oil screen and drain - The oil drainhas a magnetic pick up (See drawing11). Pat said to break in your enginewith the oil you plan to use (not min-eral oil). He said to never add any-thing to the oil (like Bon Ami) tospeed up the break in. This willdestroy the engine. Engine holds 8.8qts max, and 5 qts min. Pat says tochange the oil every 25 hours

RTV Electrical joints - Pat recom-mends that you buy Permatex BlackSilicone Adhesive to RTV your elec-trical wiring joints. This prevents thewire and contacts from breaking dueto vibration. The next photo showswhere Pat applied RTV to the igni-tion wire holder and anti-chaff.

When you get your engine, the

log book is stamped with a 600 TBOfrom Poland. Be sure that Patincludes the amendment certificatewhich raises the TBO to either 1200,1400, or 1600 hours. Pat said that thefactory is trying to get the TBO raisedto 2000 hours with the FAA

Continued on next page


L to R: Velocitite Dave Black looks on asAtlas Motors’ Ira Himelright and PatGoodman test run the Franklin 6 cylin-der. Note that there is only an automo-tive fan on the prop hub. Dave and Imarveled at the lack of vibration.

Timing Marks - The Slick mag set-ting is 32° TDC. The above photo(top view) shows the 32° mark linedup with the split on top of theengine. A word of caution from Pat -do not stick your finger in the sparkplug hole when finding Top DeadCenter “TDC”. You will be minusone finger if you do!

If you go with electronic igni-tion, move it to a cool spot awayfrom the engine. Jeff Rose suppliesinstructions for fine tuning the tim-ing.

Both Pat Goodman and Jeff Roserecommended to start the enginewith both the Slick mag &Electroaire ignition on.

When buying spark plugs (orother engine parts), say the engine isout of a “Maule Lunar Rocket M4”.This will help identify the engine foryour supplier.

Be sure that you verify every-thing in this article with yourFranklin manuals, as I am a novicewhen it comes to understandingengines.

•••••••

Atlas Motors / FrankinContinued from previous page

I sent Pat a proof of my article, and heresponded with a fax letter loaded with

info. Here it is... - Rick

The Franklin engine saga startedmany years ago, beginning withsmall air-cooled farm engines, thenprogressing through the Franklinautomobiles, branching off along theway to power such diverse things asmotor launches and the famous‘Tucker’ automobile.

Franklin (actually there weremany offshoot companies, and sever-al names) was always the patron

saint of odd engines, powering suchthings as the ‘Culver’ drones men-tioned, where they were chosenbecause the original 4 cylindervibrated so badly that the tube typeradio control units were unreliable!

The engines ranged from 2 cylin-ders to 12, and, except for the twocylinder (they shake like a Harley),all were known for their smoothnessand high power-to-weight ratio. Inaddition to helicopters, they wereused in such diverse aircraft as the‘Cheap Champ’ of the ‘50’s, (2 cylin-der) J-3’s, Bellanca’s, Stinson, Cessna170 through 177, Maule LunarRocket (the airplane used in Smokeyand the Bandit that is seen leavingthe hangar at a 45° angle), Waco,Republic Sea Bee (not their bestengine, by the way), Siai Marchetti,S.C.O.T.A. Rallye, Swift, the RepublicRB-Y47 flying wing (flat 12 cylinderengines, buried in the wings, with 9foot prop shaft extensions), and inmany conversions, such as the Reedconversion for the Piper Apache(replacing the 165’s with 220 HPgave take off of 300 feet, at gross,from dirt runways).

Of course, the PZL Franklin israpidly becoming the engine ofchoice in 120-220 HP range for home-built aircraft. They are now in:Ercoupe, Tailwind, Velocity, Co-Z,Breezy, Aero Comp andCompmonster, Kit Fox Series 5, Coot,Great Lakes, Baby Lake, BD-4,Starduster...and we were just givenan order for the RV-8 by the factory.

When they lost the military heli-copter business, they sold their STC’sand even offered engines as kits in anattempt to continue. These attemptsfailed, and they were bought by thePZL company in Poland. (PZL standsfor many-lettered words meaningPolish Transport Workers). A largecompany, PZL has made aircraftengines from 1917, through twoworld wars and many revolutions.They are currently making the P&WPT6-A, the R-985, as well as roundmotors from 265 HP to the 1,000 HPDromadier used in AG planes andthe famous AN-2 Biplane, as well asturbine engines and gearboxes formost of the MIG’s and the old SovietBloc helicopters. In addition, they

make many sub assemblies for othercompanies, including their famoussilicone-filled harmonic dampers(used on all the current opposedcylinder airplane engines) forMercedes Diesels, impellers forJacuzzi pumps, and turbochargersfor Mann diesel locomotive and shipmotors. (When we were at the facto-ry, I thought the turbo impellerswere just very well made and fin-ished irrigations pumps; some ofthem were 4 feet in diameter).

Poland, just emerging from thebreakup of the Soviet bloc, hasalways been known as the industrialcountry of Europe. They have astrong work ethic and the actualworkers have a fierce sense of pridein their work, and take great pains toshow how well each of them do theirjob. The future production lookssecure. Poland as a nation needshard currency and export productsand wants to put its labor force towork. Building small aircraft enginesis the perfect product; they are laborintensive, have a high ‘value densi-ty’, a well-defined market, and anexisting factory and production lines.Barring some political upheaval itseems safe to plan our aviationengine needs around these engines.

We now have delivered about180 engines, and run tested perhaps3/4ths of them per customerrequests, in addition to just generalR&D. One of the more frighteningthings in the world is a 220 HPblender. Joke: what is messy and red


and dead? Ans: Anyone near awhirling prop that gets caught in it,or someone who just ‘adjusts theblade positioning’ on a prop withoutchecking that the magnetos aregrounded, the carburetor/fuel sys-tem dry of even fumes, etc.

As a result, we often (obviously)test engines with just an after-marketstyle heavy-duty automotive fan.(The one we use is a LEFT hand fan,so it blows toward the motor).Obviously, it only requires a few HP(about 20 @ 4,000 RPM, perhapsmore than one would have thought)at the speeds we run the engines.Since all the engines are dyno testedat the factory, there is no doubt thatthey will produce HP, we usuallyonly need to verify the action of theimpulse couplings, ignition timing,oil pressure, look for oil leaks, etc., soa small fan just for cooling is ade-quate, and a damn sight safer. Wehave a video, taken by none otherthan Roy Rodgers, depicting someexhaust pipe tests of over 5,600 lbswith engine stand and ‘crew’ and theFranklin with the IVO prop willaccelerate it to over 40 MPH in 800feet! The same combination in theback of a Ranger 2000 pickup, withthe rear wheels locked, will ‘ooch’along the asphalt. DO NOT TRIFLEWITH 220 HP AND PROPELLERS!

Every A & P, airplane mechanicand self-styled engine builder willblanch at the thought of running anaircraft engine ‘in neutral’ so tospeak. Before they all start mailing usdead fish, let me point out that, withthe exception of aircraft, almost allengines start in neutral. You werethere, and you, Mr. Black, and everyother person who has witnessed thisdemonstration, have marveled at thesmoothness, and how cool theseengines run under these conditions.If you recall, even after several min-utes at 1,500 RPM, the cylinders werestill comfortable to the touch. Theseengines, even the smaller four cylin-der ones, are remarkably smooth.Obviously, even a small amount ofthrottle will quickly overspeed theengine, and care must be taken not todo so.

HOWEVER: Do not try this witha Cont or Lycoming. Franklin is the

ONLY aircraft engine I know of witha full range viscous damper/fly-wheel, and – as you can tell from thepropeller sheet – these engines haveno known adverse prop/crank/RPMharmonics.

GENERAL INFO: Upon receivingyour PZL/Franklin, the first thing Isuggest is that you and all yourfriends, especially engine-typefriends, walk around the engine andsearch for any evidence that it mightbe a Cont or Lycoming. You will findnone, so immediately dispense withall the preconceived informationapplicable to either of these engines,and most others.

The Franklin is a high compres-sion, high RPM (by comparison)engine, and, as such, it has uniquedifferences.

Do not turn the engine with themoisture absorbing plugs in place,lest you become adept at blowing outthe residue. The pistons come almosthalfway past the sparkplug hole. Ifthe desiccant plugs are in place, theends will be broken off, and littleblue and pink crystals will be inside.If your finger is inside, you may haveto learn to pick your nose with ashorter finger. If you attempt to ‘find’(as if it were lost, it is marked on thecrankshaft flange) top dead centerwith a Lycoming tool, it will ruin thetool, the cylinder, the piston, therings, and your day – especially ifyou use the starter to turn the engine.Not to laugh, in the last year, all ofthe above have happened...some-times more than once!

If you have opted not to haveAtlas test run your engine, you willalso find the meaning of preservativeoil. The engines are drenched insideand out with a slimy anti-corrosionmuck, including a great quantity inthe intake system. We drain as muchas possible, and even then sometimeshave the residue foul the sparkplugsjust a few seconds into the startup.Not to worry; you can either removethe plugs and clean with carb clean-er, or spray a bit of starting fluid intothe carburetor, and, after a minute ofso of belching smoke reminiscent of aP-47 radial coming to life, the enginewill settle down. DO NOT try to start

the engine with ‘carb cleaner’!Starting fluid, at least all that wehave ever seen, has lubricant. Carbcleaner is a cleaner and vile degreas-er. A few shots of carb cleaner intothe engine will cause the rings to‘squeak’ as the engine is turned over,and there is little or no compression.The brighter of you will not have toask how we know the above. Wedrove a long way to find out.

Also, because the engines arehigh performance, and have a lot ofcamshaft and compression, etc., themag check will reveal some strangemag drops at different RPM’s, themanifold pressure gauge reads likeno other, and the idle is, shall we say,not like a farm tractor, more like a P-51 Merlin or six cylinder BMW rallycar. Don’t worry, under load itsmoothes out, and, while the engineis willing at low RPM, it comes aliveat about 2,500 RPM. As a result, aprop that works will with a competi-tor’s engine may not work at all withour engines. On the other hand, forcanards and pushers, which are usu-ally diameter limited, these enginesreally perform at speeds otherengines cannot be safely run.

As noted above, they requirevery little in the way of cooling thecylinders, requiring no inner cylinderbaffles, just air over them, eitherfrom the top or bottom, and ade-quate sealing. Most importantly,because they are very efficient at giv-ing up heat, the outlet area must belarger than normal because the cool-ing air leaves the cylinders at a high-er temp and the air is larger in vol-ume. (Air grows 1/272nd in volumeper degree C). A check to see that allare cooling equally, and the judicioususe of screen or air guiding vanes,will usually set things right. Docheck!

Oil cooling usually requires a bitbigger oil cooler than equal HPLycomings. Most Lyc’s run the inletmanifold through the oil pan, whichdoes several things: cools the engine,heats the inlet charge, lowers the HP,increases the octane requirements.Obviously, by not doing the above,the Franklin can use higher compres-

Continued on page 18


BuildersForum

Builders Forum is full of tips, information and letters (“material”) supplied toVelocity Views Newsletter from individuals that are Velocity builders (or want to bebuilders). It is provided as “USE AT YOUR OWN RISK” material. NeitherVelocity Inc. (The Velocity Factory) nor Velocity Views Newsletter (Lavoie Graphics& Rick Lavoie) have endorsed this material, and disclaim any liability for the use ofthis material. Individuals who use this material for the operation, maintenance, orconstruction of their homebuilt aircraft do so at their own discretion and at theirown risk. Any variance from the builders manual is high risk.

From Simon Aegerter, Tampa, FloridaLearn From My Blunders

Most of what I have left to do isthe fun stuff: putting life in thatempty hull (OK, s-o-m-e filling andsanding, but so what). So I figured itis time to look back at the REALbuilding phase and try to rememberwhat went wrong and why. And timeto say “caveat” to those who are yetto fall for the traps and get caught inthe snares. This is the first of a series(of at least two) and it is the saga ofmy fuel tanks. About a year ago,when I was building these fuel bafflesand fuel bulkheads - not to forget thewheel well - I had heard it all: howhard it was to get them sealed, howmeticulous you had to be aboutpainting the insides of the strakes andall that - you know. So, I WAS metic-ulous and took everything VERYserious and I decided to do more:before I installed the bulkheads andwheel well to the lower strake, I fixedeverything on the duct taped UPPERstrake and built lips (or flanges if youwill) of fine bid all around the innerside. I even managed to make aflange along that part of the fuselagethat would become part of the fueltank. All the tubings and fittings thatgo through that wall got my specialattention: I removed lots of foam andfilled with lots ofmicroglass/alphapoxy putty. For themain fuel lines I used finger strainersand had my buddy Jim Agnew (whohas an affair with a lathe) machinebushings in the shape of a top hatthat could not possibly ever leak.When it came time to put the upperstrakes on, I cleaned the tanks fromevery speck of dust (oh - had I onlyknown) and put what seemed awhole lot of microglass on these lips,edges and overlaps. On they went.Looked real good. The first sign ofdisaster blinked ominously when Iturned the hull upside down to do

two reveal a leak each at both ends ofthe strake near the join line to thefuselage - fore and aft. Both areseemingly far from the tank. Wherecould that came from? We found noother way than through the lip at thehull and then along the edge of theupper strake and through the foam.Now I was so mad that I decided ona radical solution: would the sur-geons call it a straketomy? Anyway, Icut the joint of the strake to the fuse-lage open all the way from the end ofthe baggage compartment to the endof the tank. Sure enough: There werevoids where microglass was sup-posed to be. I did what I should havedone last spring: FILL the sucker.And the other tank? Sure enough, thewheel well - and the strake to hulljoint! Another straketomy! That didit. It was so sealed, that we couldmeasure the temperature changeinside the tank. By comparison, thefirst tank didn’t look that good. Butafter hours of leak hunting bymyself, Jim and my son Chris (whohad come over from Switzerland tohave some fun) we declared our utterinability to locate a leak.Remembering how easy it was to flipthe airplane over and since the turnjig was still on, we stood it on its tailand simply and brutally pouredwater in the tank. Now picture this:the water went into the RIGHT tank,but the first indication of leakingwater was at the LEFT end of thespar! Tracing that back we found thereal leak inside the cabin, at the joinline of the slanted part of the gearbulkhead and the spar cap - at theINBOARD end. Now - what the heckdoes THAT mean?! You have toknow the layup structure of that partof the aircraft pretty well to come upwith the solution: the feed throughfor the vent line. By default. Now Ibecame a dentist. Using my Dremeltool (and thinking all the time of Bob

that impossible layup behind the rearfuel bulkhead. The plane had beensitting idly all summer in the Floridaheat and humidity. When I looked inthat narrow space guess what - waterhad seeped out from under that bulk-head. That told me two things: Thetanks that I had sealed all openings toprevent ants from building a nest inthere had breathed and condensationhad formed. And that condensationwas now LEAKING out. So obvious-ly there was just one spot where theamount of microglass had not beenquite sufficient. Yeah, sure. Theimpossible layup had gone in reason-ably neatly taking care of that obvi-ous leak. Pressure testing the tanksseemed to be a good start of the fin-ishing process. So out of the panelcame the altimeter and it got hookedup to the vent line of one tank, a blowline was put on the main fuel line anda few lungs full took it to -500 ft. —shshshshshshshsh! Good thing theVSI wasn’t hooked up too. It wouldcertainly have pegged. The leak wasso obvious, it was hard to miss: thewheel well. It was totally porous. Ihadn’t paid much attention to itbefore closing. It looked so compactout of that mold. Well I had paintedit once on the inside. Considered itoverkill. It was definitely underkill.But easy enough to fix. Put some vac-uum (300 ft or so) in the tank and letprogressively thicker cabo ooze inwhile slowly reducing the vacuum.Finally paint with paintable cabo onthe outside (where else!?). Let cure.Ought to be OK now. Well - better.Now the thing climbs like a 172. Notvery obvious this time. A long Altube attached to a stethoscope didn’treveal anything behind the aft fuelbulkhead. Lots of listening and soapwater finally revealed a leak at theoutboard end of the leading edge.The overlap! Fix that. Let cure. Nowit climbs like a 152. Another hour or


Ginsberg, who, years ago it seems,had told me to get one of those) Ineatly drilled a cavity around thevent line, thereby dusting up thetank probably more than I care tothink of. Believe it or not, I used realdentist’s instruments to get stufffrom under the tube. (Jim has den-tist’s tools. Jim has every tool youthink you would never use). Fill thecavity (“sister, two squirts of alpha”)let cure and lo and behold: a sealedtank! - well, almost. The other onewas still more sealed. Continue hunt-ing. Go home and “celebrate” Xmas.Merry whatever. Yeah, thanks for thesweater. Nothing that I wantedmore. Back at the hangar. I’m in that“let’s get radical” mood again. Weroll the poor thing within reach ofneighbor’s garden hose and fill thetanks to the brim. There it is: the”fixed” leading edge. ‘T was almostfixed. The remaining leak was so tinythat it couldn’t be heard and soapwater probably plugged it. Drain thetanks (while doing so measure thecapacity: exactly 30 gal each), dry, fixthe leak and that is the end of thesaga. What can you learn from allthis? When you are about to close thetanks, put plenty of micro everywhereyou expect a seal. And I mean PLEN-TY. Then, when you think you haveenough, slap on again as much. Thengo ahead and mix another batch andfind a way to put THAT in place.Think that’s too much? There ain’t nosuch thing!

There you have it for what it’sworth. Sorry, if my foreign accent isshowing. Hope you get the gist of it.

•••••••

From Dale Alexander, San Bruno, CAEnjoying Building My RG173 Elite

Finally got all the X-mas boxesput away. It’s hard to work on thesethings with a one car garage. As I telleveryone, all pieces 17’ and less getbuilt here at home. The bigger piecesare down at the shop.

I’ve only got about 80-90 hoursin so far, so excuse my enthusiasm. Itmay change as I get up around 500-1000. But I gotta tell you, I’m doingthe final sanding on the canard andelevators and I am REALLY enjoying

same thickness. I then attached thespacer to the nose gear with the steelstrap. I then leveled the fuselage(fore & aft, side-side) on the cradlesand ran a string between the tips ofthe main gear. I ran the straight edgedown the centerline with the topeven with the string. I placed a 9/16”spacer on top of the straight edgeand hot glued the 3x4 spacer to thecanard BH with the end centered onthe straight edge and on top of the9/16 spacer. This gave me the loca-tion of the bushing holes. I used atemporary bushing (From DenisMiller, actually a plastic piece from atoilet repair kit) to reduce the nosegear bushing size to 1/4”. I thendrilled thru the keel side, nose gearbushing and other side of keel. Thenose gear was removed and the holesenlarged with the hole saw (sametechnique as main gear, 1/2 firstside, all second side and completefirst side). The holes were filed,bushings trial fitted, bolt insertedand all measurements re-checked.The assembly removed, cleaned andthe bushings microed into place withthe spacer in-situ.

•••••••

Encouragement from a 173Elite Builder

From Wes and Becky Rose, Hudsonville, MI

We just came back from takingour second demo flight in the 173

watching the parts take shape. Istand back and look things over andsay to myself that this seems to lookas good as many I have seen...andthen it hits me that I’m at a place thatmany of you have been in the pastand now your birds are flying.Hey...I am getting there!

I’ve done big projects before. Iused to race motorcycles profession-ally and all-nighters get kinda com-mon. But this is a real pleasure. Herewe all are, building Velocitys, solv-ing problems, interpreting manuals,and gaining experience in workingwith materials.

If you are having a hard timetelling...I’m having a blast! Here’s toall of us who are building and tothose of us flying. It’s good to havesanding dust in my hair again.

•••••••

From Larry Epstein, New Rochelle, NYNose gear 173 FGE

Well, the measurements in themanual don’t add up very well. Ifyou measure the 2 1/4 back from theinside of the keel (as written in themanual) you will end up with aspace between the gear and the rub-ber shock and the gear will cant for-ward. In order to get the correctspacing, I used the following proce-dure:Using a caliper, I measured the thick-ness of the rubber spacer and fabri-cated a 3x4” plywood spacer of the

Wes & Becky Rose’s 173 Elite


Elite at Velocity. This helps toremind you why you chose aVelocity to build. It also helps to getthe motivation going again.

I took our photo album with usto show Duane what could be donein six months, if you stick to it (seethe picture of our 173 Elite). There isnot much glass work left to go –engine covers, wheel pants, canardtips, and that’s about it. Oh, yes – wedid build the wings ourselves, too.

After talking with Duane, Ithought it might be a good time tosend a letter in to let everyone knowhow much we enjoy the Newsletter.Being that I just recently got myfixed wing rating and a first time air-plane builder (I built a Rotorwayhelicopter in 1989), I don’t have any-thing in the form of hints or builderideas. We just wanted to share ourprogress and remind everyone thatwe chose the Velocity to build, and,if by building it by the manual weend up with a plane that flies as wellas the factory’s Velocity 173, we willbe happy. I guess the point I’m try-ing to make is that if builders chooseto make changes, they usually endup adding to the build time and mayor may not improve the plane. Thatis what the Experimental category isall about, but no one should comedown on Velocity because of theamount of time it takes to build.Remember, we need and expectDuane, Velocity, and all the guys tobe there when we call. Please givethem some encouragement. Ourthanks to everyone at Velocity. Wehad a great time!!

Keep on building!•••••••

From Steve Swift, Dalton, GeorgiaB & C Oil Filter Adapter

Rick, first an apology for beingso long in getting in touch with yousince I had the pleasure of meetingyou and Judy at the St. AugustineFly-in. Suzy and I had a wonderfultime and learned some very interest-ing facts about the Velocity aircraft.We were sorry that we arrived solate that we missed most of the day’sevents; but, really enjoyed theevening get-together. Sure were gladyou guys decided to come back to

the airport and check out the planeslate that Saturday afternoon and giveus a ride back to the motel.

Since you are always looking fornew things for our “toys”, I thoughtthat I would let you know about B &C Specialty Products new Oil FilterAdapter. I saw their new product atOshkosh last year as it was just beingintroduced. The unit is small, onepiece aluminum, very well made anddoes not require hoses for connec-tions. The spin-on filter mountsinverted which allows the oil todrain back into the case as you drainthe engine. Simply unscrew andthrow away. For the Lyc IO-360 inmy plane, there were no problems atall. Simply install the thermostaticvalve and the oil temperature sensorand install the unit with the newbolts, washers, gasket and even thelub goo they provide.

Bill at B & C told me that PattyWagstaff has just installed one in herExtra 300 and that Burt Rutan hasalso used the new unit in one of hisships. There is a picture and smallarticle in the October 1996 issue ofIAC’s Sropt Aerobatics magazinepage 10 if you have that issue. Thepeople at B & C are easily reached at(316) 283-800; fax (316) 283-7400.

I’ve used B & C’s starter andalternator in my Christen Eagle andhave found everything to be of high-est quality. Enough of this pat-on-the-back. Sufficient to say, “try’em,you’ll like’em”.

Keep up the wonderful storiesand information in Velocity Views!!! Ilook forward to the new issues. Anddon’t forget to think of maybe usingChattanooga, TN, as one of ourfuture Fly-ins. There are severalbuilders in this area and I think wecould get some help on puttingsomething together in this area. Thearea has Lookout Mountain, RubyFalls, the Chattanooga Choo Choo,the Tennessee Aquarium, severalCivil War battle grounds, etc. thatmight interest pilots and significantothers during their stay here. Let meknow if I can help.

•••••••

From Bill Wade, Unity, MaineMore on Antennas

Several years ago I read abouttuning antennas in The AeroElectricConnection, and more recently therewere the excellent articles in Views.Much as I wanted to, I could not findtest equipment to check my anten-nas, however. It was only recentlythat I got access to an SWR analyzerwhich Bob Nuckolls [AeroElectric]rents ($25.00 for two weeks). Theresults are on the graphs (next page).

The antennas were all construct-ed according to Velocity plans, usingRG58-A/U coax and mil-spec BNCconnectors, either soldered orcrimped style. I built my own wingsand they contain no carbon. Bear inmind that my knowledge is limitedto these experiments and my under-standing is limited to: “SWR of I isperfect, 2 is good, under 3- usable”. Ihave no idea of what these measure-ments mean in terms of actual per-formance, and I am not about to getinvolved any of that Torrid Balloonstuff. Having installed these anten-nas I find they’re good enough that Iwill use them, that’s all. Anyway, Iwas very interested in both the test-ing process and the results. The ana-lyzer was an MFJ-259, like that usedby Dave Black.

I started with a COM antenna,trimming 1/4” at a time from bothends. Fortunately, all of the antennasare overlength. I marked the originalend of the tape and measured fromthat point for each cut, which helpedto keep things even. I originallytuned so that the lowest SWR wouldbe at 127 MHz, the center of theCOM band. I then graphed it out anddiscovered that I had trimmed toomuch. Trimming has the effect ofraising the frequency range, movingthe curve to the right on the graph.At Dave Black’s suggestion, I addedtape back onto the ends and solderedthem together. At 1/2” shorter thanthe plan length the result was notonly better distribution through therange, but a much lower minimum. Ituned the NAV next. I have beentold this is not critical for receiveantennas, but I agree with those whosay it will maximize reception.Otherwise, I’d expect that all theantennas would be constructed iden-tically. Mine is located on the canard


underside, with a 2” forward sweep.It took 1-3/4” of trim (from each end)to achieve the results shown. Thistime I decided to sweep the frequen-cy range and note the areas whereSWR was below 2.0. I trimmed untilthis range straddled the NAV fre-quency range. This method was veryfast. I started graphing, and wasquite pleased with the results. I thenput the canard in place with the pitchand autopilot servos in their approxi-mate positions and concentric eleva-tors installed. The other measure-ments are without any further trim-ming. As can be seen, there was somedegradation with the gear down.However, when the gear was raisedthe graph improved slightly, andwhen the master was switched on theresults were excellent. Of course theresults may change when [install theavionics and battery. My conclusionis that nearby objects may not harmantenna performance and may in factenhance it. There is also good reasonto test the antennas after everythingis installed as well as while you areconstructing them.

The marker beacon had very nar-row sensitivity, and required about 1-114” trim. The second COM wastotally unacceptable. There were twoSWR ranges less than 2.0, one ataround 97 MHz, and a much broader

From Rick Lavoie, St. Augustine FloridaPin Hole & Primer Tips

I want to pass on some new tipsthat I learned the hard way. Notwanting to repeat myself (refer to myarticle in Velocity ViewsVolume 2pages 12-14 titled “Finishing Tips”)or other finishing articles (refer toVolume 3 pages 21 - 23 and Volume 4pages 13 - 16 titled “Finishing YourVelocity” by John Harvey), here aresome things I have learned.

Once you think you have yourfuselage, wings, and parts all perfect,it is time to prime them. As I mentionin detail in my previous article, youhave contoured your wings with along sanding board. They look realgood ... at least you think so! But waituntil you prime them. All those littleimperfections and pin holes will jumpout at you. After trial and error, Ifound a few good tips on filling thosepin holes and little imperfections:• First coat of primer - I used a grayprimer (Vikron 2 part epoxy primersurfacer), the same stuff I used on myLong EZ. I sprayed it on heavy (ifyou have no sags, then you did notput it on heavy enough). Once it hasflashed off, take some of that sameprimer you just used and mix insome West 410 (micro) in a cup. Get apaint brush and squeegee out, andyes, go ahead and brush in the stuffto fill those darnn pin holes. Afteryou are done, do it again, until youfind no more. Let the primer cure forseveral days until hard.• Sand with 150 dry. If you see anyimperfections, you can use “Putty-Cote”, which is a polyester glazingputty that requires the addition of aperoxide hardener (tube). This stuff

one around 147 MHz. I was unable tobring either one within the COMrange, though I tried using extra longelements and wider strips to bothlower and broaden the range. I endedup trimming the elements to 18-I/2”without bringing the lower one intorange. Apparently something hap-pened to the coax during construc-tion, though the ohmmeter readingsare fine. I will have to replace every-thing.

A few other very basic lessonslearned the hard way: Don’t worrytoo much about the exact length ifyou build- I suspect it’s more impor-tant to keep the elements even. Usequality connectors. I originallybought screw-ons at Radio Shack andthey were a waste of money becausethey would not make dependableconnections. BNC connectors are alsospecific for coax type. I forgot what Iwas using for cable and bought somewhich turned out to be for RG59. Iwas able to use them only afterdrilling out the center contact. Wicksincludes a helpful instruction sheetwith the BNCs they sell. I also recom-mend purchasing The AeroElectricConnection. I have learned a lot fromit. Whether you believe in tuning ornot and whether you build or buyyou should check your antennas toensure that they will operate proper-ly. Without the analyzer I wouldhave found a bad radio on my pre-flight. My first reaction would havebeen to blame the radio, not theantenna. The end result would havebeen wasted money, time, and aruined paint job.

•••••••


kicks in about 2 minutes, so be ready,fast, and mix only a small amount ata time. You can sand it in just aboutan hour if it is hot out.• Prepare your surface for the goodprimer that the factory uses (U.S.Paint Awlgrip White Primer - also a 2part epoxy primer). Oh yea, be sureto get the right thinner / reducer forepoxy primers! You need to thinthem by about 25% with only anepoxy type thinner. Once you surfaceis cleaned and tacked, get out yourspray gun and prime it again. Thistime you want to get good coveragewith the White Primer.• How does it look? If it looks goodbefore you sand it, then you areready to wet sand with 220, then 320,then 600.• A word about masking tape - buythe good stuff, or you’ll be sorry!Scotch 3M and Scotch 3M Blue cost alot, but work the best. The blue is forextended use. Visit your local autopaint supplier and ask for guidancefrom a pro when buying. And if youget masking tape wet, take it off rightaway! If you don’t, you will know themisery that Judy and I know abouttrying to get if off plexiglass.

Well, I have my bird ready forpainting. I’m finishing my electricaland engine installation. I sure hope itwill be ready for the Bahamas fly-in!

•••••••

Atlas Motors / FrankinContinued from page 13

sion with lower grade fuel, producemore power on less fuel with lessdisplacement. On the other hand,you will have to supply adequatecarb heat, and a bit larger oil cooler.A fair trade off, it would appear. Lestyou scoff at the power differences,what do you think causes the RPMdrop with carb heat?

Because of the comparatively‘stiff’ camshaft, the carburetor inlet,air cleaner, etc., is very sensitive topressure loss; far more so than withengines with lower specific output.Most people do not realize how sen-sitive engines can be to pressuredrop. For instance, the highly touted

‘Ram air’ amounts to less than 3% at150 MPH, and that is assuming fullpressure recovery. On the otherhand, a scat tube, a few fittings andturns, and an air cleaner can quicklydrop available manifold pressure by10%. It takes 750 SCFM to make 500HP, and, unlike automobiles, aircraftengines usually run close to fullthrottle, so pay attention to the inletsystem, especially turns near thecarb entrance. Some carbs are moresensitive than others; the Ellison isamong the most sensitive.

Exhaust is another sensitive area.High compression and high perfor-mance engines are sensitive toexhaust design. Do not confuse‘design’ with the ubiquitous ‘backpressure’ so often referred to. Anyliquid or gas forced though a pipewill have a finite amount of ‘backpressure’ else there is no movement.(No engine ‘requires’ back pressureto run, a complicated subject beyondthe scope of this paragraph). Whatwe are most concerned about is thepressure AT THE EXHAUST VALVEjust before it closes, followed by‘back pressure’, than by the effectsthe dumping of the exhaust into theairstream may have. (A note fromthe past: we once maintained a verysuccessful Alfa race car, running inthe pure stock class. One day it justseemed ‘flat’, ie. willing, but notstrong under load. It turns out thatin unloading the car from the trans-porter, we had folded a lip on thedownturned end of the exhaust pipe.The lip, about 1/8” high and 1” long,

was on the outside radius of the exit,and, at high flow, it formed a shockwave that cost 12 HP by restrictinghigh mass flow!) Of course, you mayask what has this to do with airplaneexhaust? Simple. We once had aFranklin engine that simply felt ‘flat’at full throttle, and the sparkplugs alllooked different. The beautifully pol-ished exhaust manifolds lookedgreat, when we cut them apart thejoints that were beautiful on the out-side were hideously restrictiveinside.

The summation of this is: aircraftmust be considered as a large pack-age composed of smaller packages,one of which is the powerplant‘package’. This includes everythingbetween the air inlet and the exhaustexit, and the details are important.No single component operates alone;every change affects something bothupstream and downstream, andsmall variations can cause enormouschanges in the total results. If at firstglance something appears out of theordinary, look and think carefullyfor the hidden reason something isdone in a particular way (obviously,this does not apply to politics, or theway the local airport is governed)before changing expensive thingsuselessly. Don’t be afraid to ask whysomething is done in a particularway, and be prepared to learn.Knowledge is not yet taxed!

Questions? Want to ask why?Call anytime.

Pat Goodman, PresidentAtlas Motors, Inc.

A Little Help Please...One of the best things that you can do to help me out is

to pay by check (instead of credit card). It is very time con-suming for me to process credit card subscriptions (not tomention the bank fees too), and saving time is savingmoney. I originally started accepting credit cards for theinternational subscribers, as it is the easiest way for them topay in US dollars. If you have the option, please pay bycheck. Thanking you in advance! Rick


Buy Sell or TradeFree and exclusive

to all Velocity Views Subscribers.

Factory InformationFactory & Home Office:

200 W Airport RdSebastian FL 32958Ph: 561-589-1860Builder Assist Ph: 561-589-0309Fax: 561-589-1893Internet homepage address:http://www.velocityaircraft.comE-mail address:[email protected]

West Coast Service Center:1410-B Flightline DrLincoln CA 95648Ph: 916-645-6866Fax: 916-645-6944E-mail address:[email protected]

Future Aviation Europe:1117 ZS Schiphol AirportThe NetherlandsPh: 31 23-561-4881Fax: 31 23-563-1891E-mail address:[email protected]

FOR SALETipover Cradle

Used to turn your Velocityover during construction of thestrakes. I also kept my planeinverted for a number of otherthings like finish & primer. Yes thisis the one built and designed byDave Black (see Volume 6 page 12for photos & article on Dave’s“TOC”). $50 plus you need to pickit up in St. Augustine FL (too big toship). Call Rick Lavoie 904-461-6912 or [email protected]

FOR SALELycoming LIO 360 C1E6

1900 SMOH. New B&C Starter.New Airwolf external oil filterassy. Fresh vacuum pump, freshfuel pump, recent mags. New pow-der coated engine mount, metal-ized exhaust. Intake piped modi-fied for Velocity. Velocity enginebaffling installed. New ignitionharness, fuel injectors, plugs, tubes,hoses, gaskets, thermostat. Readyto bolt on. Virtually a turnkeypackage. Thoroughly inspectedand test run by Don GeorgeEngines. Runs fines! $11,900Also available: New Woofter propextension with fitted cover $590New Performance 3-blade propwith bolts $1715Call Dave Black @ 703.590.2221internet: [email protected]

FOR SALE1/2 Velocity Kit

Transfer out of WashingtonState forces the sale of my 1/2interest in a Velocity Standard RGthat is approximately 1/2 com-plete. Hangered at Payne Field inEverett, WA. This plane will be fullIFR and is set for completion byOshkosh 1998. If interested,please call Mr. Chuck Harbert at206 885 3226

Parts for Sale“Parting out” VelocityI am parting out my Velocity

173 RG after my accident. This con-sists of a custom canted controlpanel with all tubes, brakes,hydraulic pump, cylinders, oilcooler, and breaker panel. Also,cloth-covered seats, seat belts withshoulder harnesses. I also have aLycoming IO-360 200HP engine,complete with lightweight starterand alternator, control cables andquadrant, and just about anythingelse needed to complete a Velocityproject.Bill Richards (407) 725-1819 FOR SALE

Paint Spray GunTwo Quart Cup, High Volume

Low Pressure (HVLP) Spray Gun,with regulator, two 55” hoses, 1/4”NPT inlet. I used it just twice toprime my Velocity. It is in like-newcondition, complete with manual. Irecently bought it from HarborFreight tools for $130, asking $70.Call Rick Lavoie at 904-461-6912 ore-mail: [email protected]

Engine For SaleLycoming IO360 engine. 200

hp fuel injected. Set up to run onVelocity, with lightweight starter,lightweight 60A alternator, 8” propextension, vacuum pump, fabricat-ed intake elbow, engine mounts,various filters, etc. Running per-fectly on Velocity prior to accident.Engine has less than 25 hoursSMOH and has been checked byAMO. Will include engine gauges(sensors already installed). First$15,000 (or $20,000 Canadian).Much more invested.Contact: Al McLean, Box 1799, 248Emily Street, St. Marys, Ont.Canada N4X 1C1 Business: 519-284-2580 Home: 519-284-3492Fax: 519-284-3601

FOR SALELycoming Engine

I have a zero since major over-haul Lycoming IO-360-CE16 forsale at $13,500 Call George Morris of CoconutGrove, Florida 858-4064

ManualsWhen you find an error in yourmanual, please call Jeff at theFactory. Jeff will review yourinput with Scott, correct the mas-ter version, and issue a KPC for allbuilders to benefit. If we all worktogether as a team, we all win!Thanks...

Velocity Viewsis published Quarterly by:

Lavoie Graphics26 Marshview Dr

St. Augustine, FL 32084-5873Rick Lavoie, Publisher

904-461-3146 (fax)[email protected]

Velocity Views newsletter ispublished in cooperation withVelocity Inc. (the factory). Prior toprinting, the factory reviews eachvolume published for accuracy.

Velocity Views newsletter mate-rial has been supplied voluntarilyfrom the Velocity Factory,Builders, & Vendors. This materialis printed for informational pur-poses only. Opinions expressed arethose of the author. LavoieGraphics & Rick Lavoie do notendorse and are not liable for thecontents of such material. Use ofthis material is at your own risk.Any variance from the factoryplans is a high risk endeavor. Anycontemplated modificationsshould be reviewed and approvedby Velocity Inc.

Velocity Views is a Trademark ofLavoie Graphics

Copyright © 1994 - 97 LavoieGraphics All Rights Reserved.

No part may be reproduced or trans-lated, stored in a database or retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form byelectronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or other means, except asexpressly permitted by the publisher.

Rick Lavoie, Newsletter Editor26 Marshview DrSt. Augustine FL 32084-5873 FORWARD & ADDRESS CORRECTION

FIRST CLASS

• 1997 Calendar YearSubscription (Volumes 9-12): Theannual cost is $35.00 for mailingaddresses within the UnitedStates. For all other mailingaddresses, the cost is $43.00 in USfunds (covers air mail & specialhandling).

All subscriptions are sold on acalendar year basis. New sub-scribers joining mid year will beprovided with back issues forthat calender year.• Back Issues 1995 (Volumes 1-4), ‘96 (Volumes 5-8), are avail-able for sale at $35.00 per year inUS funds. Specify that you want‘95 and or ‘96 back issues whenordering.• Look at the top of your mail-ing label for the final volumenumber your subscription covers.Simply mail a check to RickLavoie each year to keep yournewsletter coming.

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Listed below are 4 options forsubmitting your text. Please send usphotos and drawings too!1) Send it on a 3-1/2” computer disk(Mac or DOS). This saves us from re-typing all that text. Don’t formatyour text, just give us raw text, withno underlining, bold, or any othertype of formats. We also can takeZip100 or Syquest drives.2) E-Mail your text file to me:[email protected]) If you don’t have access to a com-puter, then we can scan in yourtyped page.4) If you print neatly so we can readit clearly, we’ll intype it on our com-puter for you!Note: If you need your photos &materials returned, please include aself addressed envelop.

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velocity aircraft unveils “xl” in this issue · in this issue xl debuts at sun n fun...1 ......

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