REFLECTOR: IT FLIES!

[steven-oakley at comcast.net]

Hi Tom,

Congrats, you will have to bring it upto FNL when you have the restricted hours flown off.

I had one offer of a flight, but it was in Arizona, so my wife and I are flying to Orlando on Friday for a vacation, I have permission to pop across to the factory for a demo ride :-). Hopefully SWMBO will say yes to a new toy.

Steve. 


 
> 
> Tom Martino wrote:
> 
> > On Saturday, February 5, 2005 at approximately 3:30pm MST, Test 
> > Pilot-AP-Instructor Steve Murphree ... took off from Front Range 
> > Airport (Watkins, Colored) in my Velocity 173 Elite RG featuring an 
> > IO-540 300hp engine, dual electronic ignition and an MT four-blade prop.
> >
> > Steve gave me a lot of good news and some very interesting observations:
> >
> > He said it flew “hand off” ... smooth, straight, tight, powerful and fast.
> >
> > No flutter at all. No nose shimmy, and no vibration on braking.
> >
> > And here’s what I found VERY interesting considering recent 
> > discussions here regarding weight & Balance.
> >
> > We put a minimum amount of ballast in the front seat with Steve – just 
> > enough to put the CG almost full aft (in the approved envelope). The 
> > result? The plane was nose heavy. We are still experimenting ... but 
> > it appears so far that the plane needs _very little ballast _(despite 
> > the heavy engine).
> >
> > The is perhaps because of landing gear placement, together with the 
> > fact that the engine closer to the firewall than usual (due to a 
> > special mount). In other words ... the BIG engine has not made it 
> > unstable, light in the nose, nor unsafe as speculated here.
> >
> > In fact ... it recovers quickly from stalls, lands like a dream, 
> > ground rolls perfectly and rotates exactly as it should.
> >
> > So far, this is only the second Velocity 173 Elite RG in this exact 
> > configuration flying. It is nice to have the actual numbers and flight 
> > impressions to see exactly what the big engine does to this plane ... 
> > rather than the frightening speculation that preceded the test flight.
> >
> > By the way ... Steve is a great asset to the Velocity community. He 
> > does a thorough inspection, makes adjustments and repairs as needed, 
> > flies it and can check out owners. He is worth every dime of his fees 
> > as twice the price.
> >
> > I hope Marion Sparrow is smiling (he originally bought this kit and 
> > poured his heart and soul into the early stages of this Velocity).
> >
> > I realize this is just the beginning, so for the next 50 hours ... I 
> > will be carefully learning the ins, outs, ups and downs of this fine 
> > aircraft.
> >
> > I hope to see you all in Oshkosh. I could have NEVER gotten this far 
> > without the input and expertise of the members of the Reflector!
> >
> > Tom Martino
> >
> > N173EX
> >
> > www.troubleshooter.com <http://www.troubleshooter.com/>
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
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