...Or Loads Of Baggage

You're not going to find a much bigger fan of the Velocity XL series than yours truly. A few years back, I flew one about 2000 miles over the course of a day in which I had to battle being vectored into one humongoid thunder-bumper (and putting a hell of a dent in the ceiling with my noggin), an unwelcome back-course ILS into Baton Rouge, and playing hide and seek with B-1s over TX. It was a surprisingly good trip despite all that, and ample proof that the Velocity breed is a stout and stable series of birds... and one of my favorites for getting around the country.

But... How do you improve on the Velocity XL? Duane Swing thinks the answer to that question, at least for those with a need for a little more room, is their new "Dash-V Edition." Velocity has kept all the truly X-quisite features of the XL series... it's still Xtra long, Xtra wide, has Xtra head room, an Xtra large engine, Xtra fuel capacity, is Xtra fast, and Xtra easy to enter and depart. It's all that, plus a few more "Xtra's."

An Xtra seat

The "Dash-V's" five-seat interior layout features two bucket seats in the front and a single rear bench seat with enough room for two adults and one child (2+3). The curvature of the fuselage gives the back seat passengers an extra-wide 49" of total hip room, with as much as 50" of shoulder width. And if you have one rear seat passenger who is a bit on the Xtrawide side themselves, the rear bench seat is comfortably roomy for one!

Xtra baggage space

Behind the back seat is an extra-large baggage platform, measuring 18" deep by the full width of the fuselage, 48".

Xtra packing versatility

Need to pack a golf bag? The seat back of the rear bench seat is split 60/40, with each section able to be folded forward, providing versatile loading configurations for large baggage. Velocity's Scott Baker tells us that this aircraft can comfortably carry 3 adults and 3 sets of golf equipment! Or, if just two are travelling, both rear seat sections can be folded forward, offering an extra-extra-large area (50" deep x 48" wide) as a baggage platform behind the pilot and copilot seats.

Xtra passenger comfort

The rear seat back also features a deluxe armrest that is stowed in the center of the seat back. The armrest can be folded down into position, like in many automobile rear seats, providing a comfortable elbow rest when there are two rear passengers.

The center keel of the Dash-V is cut down to within three inches of the floor, allowing the back seat passengers ease of entry plus lots of leg room. The kit option comes with a reinforced keel cap and a drop-down aileron control mechanism.

Xtra load bearing

The main landing gear legs are wrapped with carbon fiber BID reinforcements at the factory, to accommodate the expected heavier loads of the aircraft over the main wheels.

Xtra engine power, Xtra braking power

A 300 hp Lycoming or 310 hp Continental can be selected to power the Dash-V aircraft. The gross weight of the aircraft is increased to 2,900 pounds with either of these engine choices - a 200-pound increase in useful load compared with the Velocity XL with a 260hp engine. Heavy-duty Cleveland brakes are provided with this kit option to accommodate the heavier gross weight of the aircraft.

Xtra Rudders

A new dual, interconnected, rudder pedal assembly, with toe brakes, comes standard with the Dash-V option. This allows full rudder deflection during crosswind landings, without worrying that the brakes are engaged.

As an option to the existing Velocity XL, the Dash-V Edition is available on both the fixed-gear or retract-gear versions. The introductory price of the "Dash-V Edition" option is $3,000, and is immediately available for new Velocity XL kit buyers.  Velocity will also offer a "Dash-V" retrofit kit for Velocity XL owners in the field, at a cost of $3,500. Special Dash-V components, such as the Cleveland brakes, toe-brake pedal assembly, and drop down keel, will also be available as individual subassembly options.

See It At The "Big-O"

As we saw at Arlington, Velocity's new factory-built demo airplane, N271TC, is a magnificent construct. This bird is packed to the rafters (do Velocity's have rafters? I must ask Duane...) with the latest state-of-the-art pilot toys and goodies.

Among the many attributes of this deluxe demo bird, you'll see a Continental 310hp engine with PowerLink FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) Engine Power Management System. A multitude of sensors sends engine information to three computers, which then analyze and adjust the ignition spark, engine timing, and fuel delivery to each of the six cylinders, maximizing performance. The system allows the pilot to select best power ­or best economy. Mixture control is eliminated. The system is electrically operated and does not require the use of magnetos for ignition (there are no magnetos on the engine). PowerLink FADEC promises a 15% improvement in fuel economy and about a 5% increase in power. This is the first Velocity aircraft powered with a FADEC system. Five Velocity customers have already purchased Continental FADEC engines through Velocity's OEM buying program.

Dual Large Screen "Glass Cockpit" EFIS Display Units

Manufactured by Blue Mountain Avionics, the EFIS/One system (www.bluemountainavionics.com) provides a full display of flight information including attitude information, heading information, a moving map, air speed, rate of climb, turn coordinator, altimeter, true air speed, trend meters for airspeed and altitude readouts ­ and a host of information that are too numerous to list in a single page! For the demo aircraft, the factory installed a second display, so guests can experience the same full EFIS sensation that is offered the demo pilot. The EFIS/One comes with an optional autopilot sub-assembly, with climb, descent, and altitude hold capability.

WSI In-Flight Cockpit Weather

The demo aircraft has a WSI satellite receiver to collect and process a full menu of aviation weather information. For less than $50/month, pilots have unlimited in-flight access to weather reporting products such as composite radar images, thunderstorm tops, METARs, TAFs, a color graphic depiction of airports based on their current weather reporting status (IFR or VFR), and more. The WSI system integrates with several display units including the Blue Mountain Avionics EFIS/One and the UPSAT MX-20MFD. All from outer space and updated every 6 seconds!

FMI: Learn More About Velocity Aircraft by clicking here or by visiting www.velocityaircraft.com