REFLECTOR: Kitplanes features the V-Twin

[Reiff Lorenz]

Here is the write-up on the V-Twin from December's Kitplanes. It even got the biggest photo on the cover. I hate to admit it, but the wings look very sleek without the winglets.

Reiff Lorenz, Dayton, OH
Velocity XL-RG, 37% complete
Currently working on: Running aileron cables from side sticks to wing root


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https://liveconferencepro.com/guest/loginguest.php?id=86a48563bb517ade0abf1a7ee1f38e65


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Velocity: V-Twin
As Duane Swing of Velocity Aircraft sees it, there has been an ongoing controversy about twin-engine aircraft because failure of one engine in a twin can result in a dangerous stall-spin, and single-engine failures are so rare that having two engines is not deemed worth the risk, additional expense and higher operating (and insurance) costs. However, he said, engine failures in a twin are rarely reported, because most pilots land successfully on one engine, and an engine-out problem on a twin can be managed with proper training.

[cid:image002.jpg at 01CDB5FF.7FF84F40]Although there is something to be said for each of these positions, Swing, who has spent a good deal of time in both singles and twins, summarized his position thusly: "My wife will not fly with me in a single-engine airplane, day or night." That in itself, he said, was reason enough to forge ahead with the V-Twin aircraft.
With regard to those twin-related issues mentioned above, Swing offered the following solutions: First, the V-Twin's canard design prevents main-wing stall and consequently the stall-spin if one engine fails. Lower insurance rates should result from this. Operating costs are reduced due to flying LOP (lean of peak) and maintenance costs are also lowered.
In order to achieve greater efficiency, the IO-320 engines are equipped with ElectroAir electronic ignition systems, cold-air induction and balanced fuel injectors, allow an economy cruise LOP fuel burn of just 6 gph per engine (12 gph total). This is equal to 20 mpg (road miles) while traveling 200 mph, Swing says. At 76% power, LOP fuel burn is just 8 gph per engine (16 gph total).
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Velocity: V-Twin
Inspiration for the V-Twin came in part from the Twin Comanche, which Swing claims is about the most efficient of all of the light twins and represents the closest comparison he could find, as both use the 160-hp IO-320 engine and both start with a four-place configuration. The V-Twin, however, has a 4-inch-wider fuselage.

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