Plan B Commences

Time to put Plan B into action. I am pushing to get the plane repaired, flying and make it to Oshkosh. In keeping with that goal, Easter weekend consists of disassembling the plane and getting it shipped to the factory in Sebastian, Florida. Dan Fast of Fast Aircraft Transport will be arriving late afternoon to take the plane 1,000 miles to the factory.

I hope these photos give some good ideas to those who need to move their planes.

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Here's the firewall all secured. Draining all the fuel was loads of fun.

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All taped up and empty .

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The interior removed for transport.

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Up onto the trailer. I hate this part. It reminds me of turning her over during construction. The trick is to turn the plane sideways, then crawl in and retract the gear so it's not an oversize load.
Once again, I am impressed by the community at our airport and by my great aviation friends. A dozen people and a forklift showed up on the day before Easter to help me out.

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Everything else loaded onto the trailer and secured.


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Dan Fast and son. If you need your plane transported, I highly recommend them.

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Front view, all loaded up. I know it's only my imagination, but N929X looks embarrassed at being in green primer and all broken up.

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The tearful goodbye. I'm only half kidding. It was a depressing day. It kills seeing your airplane damaged. I spent 12 hours at the airport disassembling things that I spent a lot of time and effort putting together.

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Off she goes to Sebastian for repair at the factory. I will be nervous until she is safely offloaded on Monday. The next post will be the first week in May when she gets the airworthiness inspection and first flight. Then I have to figure out how to get her home.

Thanks again to Dan Fast and his son, as well as to all my friends who gave up part of their holiday to help me out.

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Tripped at the Finish Line

The airplane is finished, every little detail finally right. It's gorgeous, I am very happy with it and excited for the first flight. Then a real disaster right at the finish line. I had to give this a few days before I could even write about it. Thank you to all my friends in the Velocity community for your support and encouragement. For those who haven't heard, here are the details of my preparation for first flight and how they were derailed last week.

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The FAA paperwork is finally finished and ready to send off to the DAR. As you will see, it is considerable- 16 packets of documents all filled out, signed, notarized and ready to go. This took a while. ( ...and I'm a lawyer. I'm used to paperwork)

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It is time to take off the wings and canard to move the plane to a waiting hangar arranged at a large local airport. I have two trailers and lots of friends lined up for next Saturday. Airfare and transition training at Velocity Monday through Wednesday. The DAR is scheduled for that Thursday. Everything is all set, or so I thought.

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Both wings are off and just the canard to go. Then she's ready to truck to the waiting hangar at a larger airport for next week's inspection and flight testing.

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One last adjustment and I'll put her away to put on the trailer for transport to Lancaster Airport for the first flight. I pull it just onto the taxiway to get the runway heading.

This is the view from my hangar door as I walk out to align the two magnetometers.

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After a couple of adjustments on the magnetometer mounts in the strakes, the compasses are already reading within 5 degrees of each other. One more adjustment should do it.....

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...then, the unbelievable happened. I looked up to my left to see an Aeronca Champ pull up to the taxiway midfield about 100 yards away to my left. I wonder where he's going? The normal departure end of the runway is further to his left at the opposite end of the field and the pumps are straight across on the other end of the runway.

No, he's turning to the right toward me. OK, I'll push her out of the way onto the ramp.

But he's coming pretty fast. He's not S turning. Can't he see me? Jump up and down, arms waving, screaming at him. Run out to the edge of the taxi way. He's still not slowing and seems to be looking down at his lap. More yelling, not slowing down, run back to the plane and PUSH on the nose- just get her into the grass- no time- he's right on top of me-jump out of the way!!! and...CRASH.

He struck my plane with the prop almost spinner to nose. Pieces of my plane are everywhere. The plane was JUST finished and ready to fly next week. I can't believe it. Really, I am beyond words. Four years of work, everything finally just so and now this. My carefully laid plans and timetables to get to Oshkosh are out the window.

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Here are some more pictures of the damage. It is extensive. It still hurts to look at these pictures. Worse yet, the interior, engine , prop and battery have been removed. It looks like a 2 year rewind of sweat and tears.

That's the bad news. I have to admit that I was very upset, sad,disheartened and, yes, ANGRY after this happened. However, that's just not productive and certainly wasn't making me feel any better, so I tried to start looking forward as soon as possible.

The other pilot involved has stepped up to the plate and agreed to pay directly for repairs. I spent a couple days on the phone and have my "Plan B" worked out at this point. My aim is to salvage my dream of flying the completed plane into Oshkosh this year.

Plan B goes like this- Fast Aircraft Transport will arrive on Sunday to pick up the plane. I have a crew of great friends who are willing to give up some of their Easter to help me load the plane. It will arrive at the factory at Sebastian on Tuesday. Scott Swing will be grafting a new nose on poor 929X over the following 3 to 4 weeks. I've arranged a local DAR to do the inspection down there and I will fly down to attend the inspection and first flight.

Problem is that the plane can't be flown home until the hours are flown off. I will have John Abraham, Velocity's chief pilot, fly off a good portion of the hours, then do the rest myself and fly the plane back to my airport in Pennsylvania. The paint shop kindly rescheduled me to the beginning of June to do the final finish and paint. I'll then have about a month before Oshkosh to fly, fly and fly some more. IF I feel comfortable enough at that point, I can load up the wife and kids and live the dream one more time. Flying my first Velocity into Oshkosh in 2000 was something I'll always think of as one of my greatest accomplishments.

So, there it is. A catastrophe to be sure. I'm trying to turn lemons into lemonade and keep a positive attitude. I will definitely get her flying this summer and am probably still 90% for Oshkosh.

Keep your fingers crossed and I'll post on the transport, inspection, first flight, etc. over the next two months so those of you who have been following the birth of N929X can see the end of this chapter and the beginning of the next.

Thanks again for all the calls. I hope to see you in the shade under my strake at Oshkosh. 113 days to go and none to waste.

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Taxi Testing Begins

Taxi testing has begun. I started with static run ups. Then slow taxiing up and down the taxi way. The engine sounded good and the brakes were firm. Time to move on.

Now it's time to start the high speed taxi tests. This is the departure end of runway 28 at Smoketown, PA. I can't wait. This is what it will look like to leave on a trip in my new Velocity from my home airport.

I push the throttle in smoothly.....2700 RPM..... a strong push in the back and.....


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Only a third of the way down the runway and the 300 horses and Aerocomposite prop pushed it almost to 60 knots. I don't want to rotate, so time to pull the power and hit the brakes.

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Well, 3/4 of the way down the runway and slowing down. The Cleveland brakes are terrific. They're a huge improvement over the Matco's I had on my first Velocity. You can see the obstruction just past the end of my 2,5oo foot runway. This is why I will be taking the wings off and trucking the airplane to a local airport with a 5,000 foot runway for the first flight.

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Here's the turnoff to the taxi way. Well, I didn't break anything. I've posted a couple of videos below of runs after I got back in practice.

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Here is another taxi test after I've gotten back in practice steering a Velocity and using toe brakes. As you can see, the free castering nose wheel is actually great once you get used to it. You can easily turn on a dime to do a check for traffic in the run up area. Just remember to add power and jab the opposite brake before you want to move forward again. If you stop with the wheel sideways, you can get stuck.

I got up to 55 knots in this initial round of testing and got pretty comfortable with ground handling. The engine is performing well and there are no leaks. Next, a series of full power ground runs with the plane tied down.

I need to get as much time as I can flying in the next few weeks, then down to Velocity for the transition training. The plane is officially ready to fly at this point. I just need the DAR inspection and airworthiness certificate.

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Off for more testing. The videos should get more interesting from this point. I can't wait for that first flight.




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Construction Completed!

I can't believe it. As of today, every system in the plane is working. I am actually finished with the construction phase! It officially took me since April 2006, just under 3 years and 11 months. I finished my first kit, a Standard Elite RG, in a year less. Of course, that was before kids and with far fewer responsibilities at work.

As usual, the final yard took longer and was more complicated than I'd anticipated, but I learned a lot and got more satisfaction from solving the various issues. The nose gear door cylinder was installed backwards. That was why the actuator locked up and wouldn't come down. I installed that thing back in April of 2006 at the builder assistance center and it has been in there the wrong way ever since. Getting to it now with the keel installed, nose gear and hydraulic lines in the way, etc., was really a pain. It makes you come up with creative solutions.

After a couple hours of tweezers, forceps, magnetic pickups, shortie wrenches and pretty much my whole bag of tricks, the sequence valve was removed, remounted on the bracket and reinstalled.

I was not done yet. I still had a problem with the gear pump cycling on and off and the gear S..L..O...W...L..Y sinking down from what should have been the up and locked position. Since no hydraulic fluid was leaking out, this meant there was an internal leak between the high pressure and low pressure sides of the system. We isolated the problem by bypassing the components one at a time. It turned out to be the nose gear cylinder.

A call to Scott Swing revealed that the manufacturer had shipped a misassembled batch way back when and he gave us recommendations for a fix. The fix involved removing all the lines from the nearly inaccessible nose gear cylinder, pulling it out , tearing it down and rebuilding it.

We got it reinstalled and......it worked perfectly. I hooked up the nose gear door rods, made some adjustments and they closed just right with a satisfying snap. The video above shows the gear retraction sequence. That's my friend and A&P Dennis throwing the switch while I shoot the video.

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Here is the gear extension sequence.

It's time to take it out for some taxi tests, then call the DAR and the test pilot. It has been a long haul, but I'm really happy with the (almost) finished project. I booked the paint shop for May to get the final paint job in time for summer flying and, of course Oshkosh. I won't miss the green primer.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this project. First and foremost, thanks to my wife, Nancy, for supporting me through a second airplane project. I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks to my friend and resident problem solving genius A&P, Dennis Glick, for helping me to the finish line again. Thanks as well to my hangar neighbors and fellow builders for all of their help, advice and support. Of course, thanks to Duane, Scott, the Bakers and all the folks at Velocity for putting up with me and my questions for so long.

I am excited to move into the next phase- getting the plane in the air and getting the hours flown off. I'm sure I'll encounter problems and delays, but it's looking more and more like I'll be flying in to Oshkosh. I never thought it would be 10 years later when I sold the first plane.

Taxi test videos and more to follow.

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Closer and Closer

I am checking off the last few things on my check list before inspection. The DAR wanted me to install an emergency fuel shut off control that is reachable by the pilot in flight. There is no documentation in the manual for one. Andy Millin documents a nice panel mounted installation, but my panel is crowded and I wanted it mounted in a more out of the way, yet still accessible location.

Half the effort in coming up with something like this is figuring out what location will work and not interfere with anything else. How do you route the cable? How do you determine the approach angle to the sump valve handle? How do you attach the darn thing?

I go into this in some detail here in the hope that this may help builders who have yet to come to this task. Here's my version of the keel mounted fuel shut off control.

First, find a location just under the forward most point of your seat pan's travel, then the rear most. This gives you the line and angle you cannot cross to avoid interference with the seat.

Then sit in the seat with the control in your hand and find a comfortable height above the floor where you can reach the control with either hand. Six inches from the floor worked for me.

Next, find a safe routing down the inside of the keel and mount standoffs every 18 inches or so for tie wraps. Bring the cable out the bottom 1/3 of the back of the keel, where it won't interfere with the aileron bellcrank travel. Curve it around to approach the fuel shut off through a hole in the keel. The proper approach angle is the line defined by points at each extreme of the lever's travel. Remember to keep the hole you drill in the lever close enough to the pivot point that the range of travel is within the range of travel of the control cable you buy.

Now, attach the cable to the bulkhead with an Adel clamp mounted to an aluminum bracket. Mark and cut the cable and attach it through the hole with a "Z bend".

The picture above shows the business end in the open position.

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Here is the valve in closed position with the control knob pulled out up by the pilot's seat. For reference, the aft and sump tank are to the right and the front is to the left.

It actually works!

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Here are the parts for the fuel shut off mounting. I made the bracket on the right out of angle, then painted it to match the carpet. I made the aluminum standoff to mount the placard on. I decided to add a 3/8 inch joggle so that it wouldn't be bent up at an angle by the carpet surrounding the mounting bracket. Hopefully, this will keep it square and I can then just stick on the placard.

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Here is the shut off mounted with AN-7 bolts and the placard affixed to the aluminum standoff. The joggle idea actually worked. I'm pleased with the finished product.

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Here is the seat in place with the shutoff control, placard and fire extinguisher mount all installed.

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Here is a better view of the seat position. The emergency fuel shut off control is just visible. I sat in the seat and it is easy to reach and operate. (and yes, I shut the door, turned on the panel and made airplane noises)

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Now that the fuel shut off control is finished, I'll follow up on some of the other ongoing projects I finished off.

Here is the finished installation of the HID ballast unit with the ballast mounted to the hard points, all the wires connected and tie wrapped.

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There is the final product - the very bright output from the new HID landing light. Notice how white the light is. It was worth all the extra work.

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The doors finally fit and close easily from inside and out!

Man, I was worried about this one. For those of you thinking about ordering new, lower profile door seals, don't rush it. Like many things Velocity, the seals work, but just take a lot of jiggery pokery to get right.

The first time you close the door, it will seem obvious that it cannot possibly work -as in way, way off. Well, close it as far as you can and leave it for a couple days. Then, come back and get the latches to engage, even just a little. This will likely involve someone, pushing down on the strake cut off , in on the bottom forward corner and REALLY pulling on the latch to get anywhere. Leave it like that for a week.

Then, the final fix. Note the jar of aircraft grade Vaseline sitting on the strake.

As pictured above, put a generous coating of Vaseline on the fuselage door trim. This allows the rubber trim piece to slide and find its final position. Once I added this , everything fit within one more day.

The bottom line is that patience and persistence can make it work.

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The gear system is almost finished with fine tuning. It goes up smoothly and stops with the main gear doors in perfect alignment with the fuselage. The dump valve works for emergency gear extension - down and locked every time. The only remaining glitch is the nose gear door cylinder. I spoke with Scott Swing, who diagnosed the problem as my putting in the sequence valve backwards almost 4 years ago. I'll turn it around, replumb it and that should solve my last issue.

On Tuesday, I'm taking a rare day off work and taking the plane to the A&P, hopefully for the final time. The agenda includes rewiring the newly engraved Infinity stick grip, replacing the overhauled prop governor, the faulty EGT probe and the sequence valve. It's an ambitious program. If successful, I'll taxi back to my hangar this time!

The "To Do" list is getting down to the last few items. The only remaining part to install is the ELT. I'm still waiting on ACK to ship the new 406 mhz units. Other than that, it's time to arrange for the DAR visit, insurance and refresher training at Velocity.

Only 148 days remain until Oshkosh. I still have a lot to do in order to get the plane flying, finish painted and the hours flown off before then. This next few months should be a lot more exciting than the past few years. I've got a room reserved, but no airfare. I am making every effort to fly in and hope that those of you who have followed this blog will stop by to take a look and say hello in person.

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Doors and Details

This is dedication. (or stupidity) This shot gives an idea of how much snow we've gotten and how hard it has been to get to the hangar. I had to climb up the snow and dig down to my door handle, then drop into the hangar. Ridiculous. The following shows the last few weeks work.

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The filler caps are back from the engraver with the capacity added. They look great.

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Here are the door handles removed from the door. The edges are sharp and uncomfortable and the outer handles would look better buffed out to a glossy stainless steel finish.

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Here is the first step completed. The edges are all rounded. Now some time with the sanding block and polishing wheel.

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The finished product all buffed and polished. Much better.

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Here is the back side of the door trim panel. Parts provided with the kit didn't fit exactly. You can see the added part by the strake cutoff used to make it fit.

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An almost finished door - just needs rubber door seal.

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Sean checks out what will soon be his view on our trips. At least when Mom's not sitting up front. Time to take it out to the hangar and reinstall it.

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Tom Finch is working on his own kit in Delaware. He stopped by to help me out. We decided to install that cool HID light.

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The HID light ALMOST clears the tire. Aaaaargh! No wonder no one is installing them in RG's. Time for a little ingenuity - this beauty is too cool not to find a way to make it work.

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The solution was simple if laborious. Remove the landing light lens and permanently bond the HID light to the forward side of the light housing, then reattach the plexi cover. I know, what about maintenance? As you will see in the next picture, you can replace the bulb simply by unclipping it and sliding it out of the reflector. Thanks to Andy Millin for pointing this out.

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....and more silicone on the back. As extra insurance, I made 2 aluminum retainer clips and bonded them to the back of the reflector with high temp Permatex. We turned it on and it worked! It was extremely bright.

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Now the lens is siliconed back onto the fuselage. It is taped off to prevent any silicone from getting on the primer, which would prevent the final paint from adhering. Looks nice.

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Now it's time to mount the ballast. First, I made 2 hard points, drilled and tapped for 6-32 screws and attached them to the ballast unit. Then I mixed 5 minute epoxy with Cabosil and held it against the fuselage till it bonded. Then carefully remove the screws holding the unit and the hardpoints are ready to glass in place.

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Hard points are glassed in and peel plied. Next visit to the hangar, I can mount the ballast and the new HID light system is complete.

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Here are the doors reinstalled and the 12 inch N numbers in place. The doors look great, but won't shut with the rubber trim installed. More fooling around with the position of the door seals gets me almost there.

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The door latches engage, but won't close completely. Scott Swing suggests leaving them closed for a week. I'll do that and see what I have to deal with next weekend.

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