REFLECTOR: First Flight - XL/FG 44VF

Chuck c.harbert at comcast.net
Tue Sep 11 10:57:12 CDT 2007


Brett, you must be very proud of your accomplishment! It will always bring 
back great memories of when you first started flying your V. Congrats.

Chuck H
>
> Brett Ferrell wrote:
>> 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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