Second Velocity

This is the start of my blog on the construction of our second Velocity. We completed a Standard RG, N929V, in 1999. Then came kids and we needed a house and more room...so the plane was sold.

I built a bigger house, developed the career, raised kids, mowed the lawn and dreamed of the new, bigger, faster, glass panel machine. Finally, at Oshkosh '05, we put a down payment on a new kit. I decided to catch up by spending 2 weeks at the builder assistance center before shipping the kit home. This may not sound like a dramatic move, but I have not taken 2 weeks off from work since, well, ever. In a busy law practice at a big firm it is not an easy thing to arrange as we live and die on "billable hours".

This picture illustrates what you see when you arrive at Velocity to start on your new kit. A fuselage on its gear with the doors and windows already in. I HIGHLY recommend starting your build this way. Even as a second time builder, the amount of work I got done with all the tools, jigs, expert answers to questions, etc. was phenomenal.

For those 2 weeks, I stayed at the Sand Drift, aka "the Sand Flea" and spent 12 to 16 hours a day working on the plane. I figured that I got about 160 quality hours in. When I left, the spar was fitted, indexed and removed, my oil cooler and duct were installed, my nose gear and all hydraulic cylinders were installed, the canard cutout was done, canard lift bushings installed, all the canard reinforcement layups done, nose gear doors fabricated and rough installed, NACA scoops installed and more. I was very pleased with the jump start.