REFLECTOR: Low Speed Handling

[Ron Brown]

Here's my 2 cents on low speed handling:

1.  The Velocity aileron control geometry causes the ailerons to go down 
more than they go up.  I feel this differential is backwards from the 
preferred "more up than down" aileron travel.  This is due to the "wrong" 
approach angle of the push/pull cable at the rear of the keel (Thank You 
Dave Black!).  This can cause adverse yaw at low speeds.  Using a lot of 
rudder can counteract this adverse yaw and minimize the wallowing on final. 
I installed my aileron bell cranks at the engine with a lot of forward angle 
when the aileron is up.  This corrects the bad approach angle at the keel. 
I feel my 173 handles well at lower speeds - and required for Lake Norman 
Airpark with all of the tall trees around the airstrip.

2.  VG's on the wings can help improve aileron effectiveness at lower speeds 
and hence improve handling on short final.  And as I mentioned in an earlier 
note, VG's on the canard can also improve low speed elevator effectiveness. 
I do not have the elevator cuffs installed - this also improves low speed 
elevator effectiveness.

All of the above are my opinions - based on my subjective experiences.  I 
have flown three Velocities - the Factory 173 Trainer, a Standard with 
standard wings, and my 173 Elite.  All three have VG's.  I feel all three 
handled well at low speeds - well enough that my 800 hours of 172 experience 
was pleased with the handling of these Velocities on short final.

Ronnie





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pat Shea" <xl340hp at yahoo.com>
To: "Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list" <reflector at tvbf.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 10:57 PM
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Runway length


> It's interesting that a while ago there was a thread
> going from guys with poor low speed handling
> characteristics (mostly XL's) who were compensating w/
> high approach speeds (85KIAS to 90KIAS range)- now
> we're hearing from guys that are close to canard stall
> speed (65KIAS - 70KIAS range) on approach and/or
> landing. 20 Knots is a pretty impressive spread!
>
> I'm at 85KIAS over the numbers w/ and XL going into
> 3,200' using the standard Matco's.
>
> Pat
>
> --- John Dibble <aminetech at bluefrog.com> wrote:
>
>> I think there is a big difference in stall
>> characteristics between the
>> XL and STD Velocities, or maybe it's a variation due
>> to individual
>> building.  Either way, my SRG is light in front.
>> With 2 up front (350
>> lbs) and 20 gal fuel, I can stall (a mild
>> oscillation) at 70 kn on short
>> final and the stall will go away when I'm in ground
>> effect and I can
>> land without the nose hitting hard.  An extra 10 kn
>> makes a big
>> difference (psychologically) when you're trying to
>> land on a short
>> runway.  I recommend doing a slow speed stall to see
>> how strong the
>> bucking is.  Know how to avoid deep stalls as
>> previously discussed.  If
>> the bucking is extremely gentle, you can probably
>> expect the same when
>> landing and not need a lot of extra speed.  Of
>> course the first attempt
>> is best on a 5000' runway.
>>
>> John
>
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