REFLECTOR: Velocity in IFR

Wed May 18 12:54:52 CDT 2011

John,

This is great information. Isn't it already listed somewhere? If not it should be. A lot of people ask me the same question but since mine is not yet flying, and I have only taken demo rides, I cannot give a qualified answer. This would be great information to have available on the website. This would make a great FAQ on the website. There is nothing about how the airplane flies, only how long will it take and how much it costs.

Best regards,
Nick

P.S. sorry to propose more work for you guys. Remember, no good deed goes unpunished.

From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of John Abraham
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 11:57 AM
To: 'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Velocity in IFR

Al,

The aircraft handles very stable in just about all IFR conditions.  The aircraft, like any will behave differently in turbulence Full fuel vs low fuel.  The farther forward you have your CG the more stable the aircraft will be once you start to get into some turbulence.  The aircraft in turbulence feels different from a conventional aircraft.  When hit by convective turbulence the aircraft will lift up in the back quicker than the front.  (Like a wave coming from behind when you are on a surf board).  You don't experience this as much in a tractor pull aircraft normally because you are sitting right under or on top of the main wing.

Above 170KIAS the aircraft will get bounced around a bit.  I compare it to an arrow in turbulence but think of how bad turbulence would feel in an arrow if it was capable of traveling through the air at the same speed.  The Velocity is still in the same weight category of a lot of GA aircraft and as such turbulence will affect the airplane.  To obtain a more comfortable ride in the aircraft I typically will slow the decent down to 170KIAS when coming up on a cloud deck.

Cruise is normally not too bad for most.  Landing is where the aircraft can feel unstable to some that haven't ridden in the plane before.  As you slow down and increase your angle of attack, the aircraft will start to feel sluggish and mooshy.  (This is below 90KIAS)  What is normally happening is that people start correcting wind gusts with the ailerons first.  If you lead with the ailerons the nose will yaw away from the turn (the aircraft displays characteristics of a tail wheel aircraft).  Instead you want to step on the gust with your foot.  The rudders will keep the nose pointed forward and roll the aircraft. (the same procedure if you are at 170KIAS and you get hit by turbulence)

I have flown each variation of Velocity in IMC numerous times and shooting approaches down to minimums and taking off in Zero-Zero.  They are all stable throughout all aspects of flight, I have not had any issues with controllability of the aircraft. Once you understand the differences of the aircraft and get comfortable about how it acts you learn to anticipate control inputs which lets you stay way ahead of the aircraft.

If your guy has any additional questions have him give me a call at the shop.

Best,

John Abraham
Chief Pilot; Executive V.P. Sales and Marketing

[cid:image001.png at 01CC1562.10179120]
P: (772) 589-1860                                         200 W. Airport Dr.
F: (772) 589-1893                                         Sebastian, FL 32958
www.velocityaircraft.com

From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of Al Gietzen
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 12:28
To: reflector
Subject: REFLECTOR: Velocity in IFR

Let me try this again.  I have a prospective buyer who is asking how the Velocity is as an IFR platform. I don't fly IFR; he expects to be doing that quite a bit.  I think it is a very stable airplane; however when we were on a demo flight we got into turbulence and he seems to feel that there quite a lot of roll and yaw going on.  So he's looking for some feedback other Velocity drivers on how they feel about how the Velocity behaves in typical IFR conditions. I offered to ask here. Were talking about an SE RG.

A glowing report would be nice, but of course we want honesty.  If any of you would be willing to communicate with him directly, let me know.  He is very experienced with CFI, CFII, ASMEL, rotor ratings.

Thanks,

Al

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