REFLECTOR: After 2 years of prep, I'm now a builder!

Reiff Lorenz Reiff at Lorenz.com
Tue Aug 2 16:32:51 CDT 2011


Reflector,

After many years of preparation and planning, I'm now officially a Velocity builder! I bought a 1999 XL-RG kit from a pilot/builder who was transferred to China. Very little work was ever done on this kit, but it was stored well. It is a fast-built kit (according to the original invoice) but the fuselage halves were not joined by the factory (nobody can remember why.) It has the Brazilian hollow-core wings.

[cid:image005.jpg at 01CC513A.341ED290]
[Fast-built, with doors cut out, but halves not joined. Original delivery photos show it came this way from the factory.]

[cid:image006.jpg at 01CC513A.341ED290]
[My "new" project, temporarily stored in the garage while the workshop is completed.]

I've been a member of the Reflector for 2 years. This group has been so helpful and supportive as I worked toward the start of my project . . . answering my newbie questions and providing advice on setting up my home workshop.
[cid:image008.jpg at 01CC513A.341ED290]
[Workshop almost complete. 22' x 32' interior with more lights than an NFL stadium.]


I'd especially like to thank those Velocity builders who went out of their way to encourage my interest:

==> Two years ago I was at the local shopping center when Bill Stockman's SE flew over. It was the first actual Velocity I'd seen. I followed it (head out the car window driving down the highway!) to the airport and pelted him (and his wife Terri) with questions for 2 hours. He offered me a ride (perhaps hoping it would shut me up) and I was hooked!

==> Brett and Elizabeth Ferrell for their excellent web site and unending hospitality. They are unfortunate enough to live nearby and I have spent many hours at their hangar impairing their progress while learning a lot. The two of them and their beautiful XL gave the proof my wife and I needed that a couple can build and fly an aircraft in less than a decade and stay married.

==> Jerry and Linda Brainard for constant encouragement of a builder wanna-be. The first time I visited their plane they sent me home with a trunk-full of tools that every builder needs just once; telling me I was obligated to use them and then pass them on. They were sure I was going to build a Velocity before I was!

==> Andy and Theresa Millin, who welcomed my wife and me into the AirVenture Velocity family last year when we were still just dreaming. Their workshop-addition-that-became-a-master-bedroom inspired our workshop-addition-that-will-become-a-gardening-center. They also gave me the best advice on the most important thing to accomplish your first year at Oshkosh: "Make sure your wife has fun. Otherwise you'll never be back." We couldn't make it this year, (busy buying the kit and finishing the workshop) but we'll definitely be back!

==> Duane and Scott Swing, Scott Baker, John Abraham, Ken Mishler, Victor Taylor and the many other Velocity builders and owners who were willing to endure hours of questions from yet another stranger who showed up to an event asking: What does it cost? How long would it take? How high can it fly? How would I get started? Do you really build it yourself? Fixed or retract? Is it safe? Why won't it stall? Aren't these used for smuggling? Who inspects it? Didn't Rutan build the first one? Why can't I paint it black? Continental or Lycoming? How many are never completed? Can it land on grass? What about epoxy allergy? Could I make it go faster? How much assistance is allowed? Does it fly like a 172? What about deep stalls? Will it take a Chevy V-8? Can I get insurance? How much space do I need for building? I have more questions, can I meet you at Oshkosh . . . ?

And a big thank-you to everyone on the Reflector. The active builders' community is the biggest reason that I chose Velocity over Lancair. (OK, maybe cost and safety were issues, too.)

For those other future builders who are lurking on the Reflector, keep working toward your dream.

Now it's time for me to get building! (If only the workshop were done. And I need to order epoxy. Where to begin . . . )

Reiff Lorenz
XL-RG, N142AZ
0% done, 140% to go


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