| Gary Unander's Velocity | |
| I ordered my Velocity 173 RG
kit back in July of 1994. I received it on August 28th of
that same year and after some dedicated study, work, and even pain,
completed it in February of 1997. After a few months of tweeking
things out, getting my FAA inspection, and taxi tests, I did my first
flight on April 17th, 1997. I used a run out LIO-360-C1E6
as the power plant. I had it checked out by a mechanic and he insured
me that it would last a few hundred hours before it would have to come
out for rebuilding. I did this because I didn’t want a new engine in
my bird while I was doing taxi tests and test flights. During the
winter of 1998 - 1999 I took the airplane apart and painted it. I did
all the work in my garage after prepping it to be a paint booth. I
also pulled the engine and disassembled it right down to the crank
case. I then rebuilt the engine using nothing but new parts and
recertified crank and cam shafts. I put a Light Speed electronic
ignition on it replacing the right magneto. The airplane was back
flying by May of 1999 and has been a dream machine every since. Cruise
is at 175 knots at a fuel burn of around 11 to 12 gallons per hour.
Depending on the propeller I use, the airplane will do 185 knots at
optimum altitude of 8000 feet. I’ve had it up to 17,900 feet while
still doing 500 feet per minute in climb rate. I finished the airplane
with a King KLX 175A GPS / Com with moving map, Terra com and nav with
ILS receiver, Nav Aid auto pilot, and even a 12 disk CD stereo changer
with 4 place stereo intercom. Love this airplane and would love to
build another.
Gary Unander
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