REFLECTOR: Making Velocities easier to build?

[Scott Baker]

I think that pioneering Velocity kit builders will testify that many changes have taken place over the history of the company.  Kits today are much easier and quicker to build then ever before.  The redesign of parts has taken an evolutionary process, rather than a wholesale re-make of the way the aircraft go together.
The 51% compliance rule that pertains to Experimental Amateur Built aircraft definately influences what a kit company can and cannot do.  Regional FAA offices (MIDO and/or FSDO) often apply different interpretations to the same set of rules that are established by the FAA for our industry.  The Seattle office, for instance, agrees with the concept of a 2-weeks to taxi program, while the Orlando office flatly refuses to accept something of this sort.  Much mention has been made to the FAA's reorganization of the "51% Rule".  14-months ago at Oshkosh I met with Frank Paskiewicz, the FAA's "top dog" with regards to FAA licensing of aircraft in the Experimental airworthiness catagory.  Paskiewicz promised to "level the playing field" for all kit manufacturers across the country - meaning we will all soon be following the same set of rules.  The FAA is most definately working on this task; and in fact, Velocity has a meeting scheduled next month with the FAA National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET) for an interactive session and study of how composite airframes blend into FAA's new way of looking at the 51% compliance rules.  We've yet to see exactly what the FAA has in mind.  Getting back to Paskiewicz and the promise of a "level playing field", this could mean that all aircraft companies will be able to organize a rapid build kit like Epic and Glasair - or - everyone might be going back to making aircraft doing things the "hard way".  Still, the FAA understands that the more components and sub-assemblies a factory provides, generally speaking, quality and safety performance is better than if a true amatuer were doing the work in a home/workshop environment.  Regardless, the Velocity Standard and XL kits, in their present form and including fastbuild options, are grandfathered as "compliant" with the FAA's 51% rule.  We are optimistic that the FAA will embrace the idea of more factory made parts and sub-assemblies.
Scott B

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Reiff Lorenz 
  To: reflector at tvbf.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 5:12 PM
  Subject: REFLECTOR: Making Velocities easier to build?


   

  I downloaded the November issue of Kitplanes an came across this quote by the CEO of Velocity on page 33. It was in response to the question: How has the homebuilt aircraft industry changed over the last 25 years?

   

  ====================

  In our business, the time it takes to

  build an airplane is critical. The FAA

  has allowed certain conditions to exist

  now where a builder can come to the factory

  and pay for professional assistance

  from factory-trained staff. That cuts the

  time the builder must spend building

  to a fraction of what it used to be, and

  that is the most significant change we've

  had in the industry. The builder gets

  enough experience building to maintain

  the aircraft safely and apply, legally, for

  the Repairman's Certificate, and he/she

  gets an airplane that has been built to

  factory quality specifications. That's a

  monumental change.

   

  It will be a benefit to any manufacturers

  that can afford to set up this kind of

  builders assistance program. We estimate

  for Velocity it will cost upwards of

  $200,000 to set up the program, because

  presently the parts we make are designed

  where the builder must build 51% of the

  airplane using time as the measurement;

  now we will go back and modify every

  mold that we have so that no longer does

  the builder have to do something with

  those parts. They will be molded such

  that the labor for the builder decreases.

  It will be more expensive, but someone

  who can afford [a $300,000 project]

  does not have a lot of time to build, and

  will see this as an attractive program.

   

  Velocity CEO Duane Swing

   

  =================== 

   

  He seems to be talking about changes ahead for the Velocity builder who wants to assemble an aircraft but not fabricate as many components. Anybody heard of the program that he mentions setting up? This seems to run contrary to what the FAA has been saying in their recent review of the 51% rule. I'd love to hear all your opinions.

   

  Reiff Lorenz

  Velocity builder wanna-be

  (hoping to hit the lottery for  $300,000)

   



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