REFLECTOR: First Flight - XL/FG 44VF Cincinnati

[len.baxter at gm.com]

Congratulations....... You can be very proud !!


Len Baxter

XLRG     (Just started)





Brett Ferrell <reflector at velocityxl.com> 
Sent by: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org
09/10/2007 06:25 PM
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REFLECTOR: First Flight - XL/FG 44VF Cincinnati






Our Velocity XL/FG, 44VF, took to the air for the first time on Friday 
just over 5 years from receiving our (all fast-build XL/FG) kit from the 
factory, with Dave Bertram at the controls. It?s an early birthday 
present for us, as Elizabeth and I both have late September birthdays!

First off we?d like to thank Dave for being so professional and taking 
such great care of our baby, as we were both on pins-and-needles all 
day. When you add on top of that the fact that the weather was a bit 
dicey as we arrived to the airport, with high (at least for Ohio) winds 
and gusty conditions, we were pretty tense. But the weather calmed 
considerably and Dave gave the OK to push her out of the hangar. Dave?s 
been really patient with us as well, he came up previously and had to 
abort the flight due to a rough running motor. But after cleaning up the 
fuel injectors and running on the ground a fair amount all seemed well, 
and after a run-up (and a back-taxi to the *very* end of the runway) she 
and Dave were ready. Being new parents to our airplane, I was trying to 
untie the knots in my stomach, and Elizabeth asked one of the lineman to 
chase the plane with a fire extinguisher and to put the local 
fire/rescue squad on alert just in case. ;-)

With the camera running and a brief prayer for Dave?s safety, we watched 
44VF accelerate and leap into air after what seemed an impossibly short 
ground roll (of course we had 15-20 mile an hour headwinds), and I 
started to breathe again once she was 50? off and crabbed into the 
breeze, clearly answering the helm. I began to really enjoy the flight 
as she departed the pattern with the throaty tone of an unmuffled 
high-compression IO540, but I was anxious to see her safely return to 
the airport as well. Dave began to lap the airport at about 4,500?, and 
a good friend of the family assumed the camera duty, just as Dave 
reported in that the oil temps were running high, at 240 F, but would 
cool when throttled back, so he took another couple of circuits. For 
about 30 minutes everything went really perfectly.

I always figured there would be some defect that would need to be 
addressed after the first flight, and so it was, at about 35 minutes in 
Dave reported that engine was running rough and the #6 cylinder EGT was 
low, and that he was coming in. Fortunately the weather had shut down 
the sky-diving operation and scared the rest of the airport community 
into their hangars, so Dave had the airport to himself, setting up a 4 
mile straight-in approach and made a picture perfect landing, easing off 
the runway at the mid-field taxiway.

Dave reports that she flies well and didn?t display any ill behaviors, 
even at pretty good speeds for a first flight, running her to about 
150kts, and slowing her down to about 70 to see where she would start to 
pitch-buck. What a magnificent feeling, watching Dave taxi her in, back 
safe and sound as though a first flight was a completely natural and 
unexciting event ? the weather aside. We retired to the house for a 
celebration of beer and pizza, and as they say in Monty Python, there 
was much rejoicing. Thanks to all of the folks at Velocity for their 
help and patience, and to all of our friends here on the reflector, it's 
been a long but fulfilling journey.

Brett
www.velocityxl.com

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