The Velox Revolution I (single seat) and Revolution II (two-seat)
By Jorge Macias, IAC 432353, Madrid, Spain
To define the VELOX Revolution, I can't think of two better words than a real American Hot Rod. Designed by master craftsman, Charlie Wolff, who had the knowledge to design and manufacture it. Trained in the United States as a professional pilot, I recognize the advantage that creative freedom carries in the U.S. American citizens have the freedom to design anything they think they can safely fly. Photo right: Jorge (center) with Charlie Wolff's mechanic and test pilot.
The clearest example is inovative aircraft design in the United States is of Burt Rutan, a genius capable of overtaking generations and starting by selling plans for a revolutionary aircraft to end up designing the first private spacecraft, and more recently the first space travel company. Welcome to USA!
Charlie's story is of a Florida businessman, who decided to approach the concept like so many Amerians. How? By building his own plane, the Starduster Too. After the Starduster, he wanted something more competitive, after he tried in vain to purchase a Giles 200 kit, he leveraged his knowledge of his past racing boats. Anyone would have been frustrated, not Charlie. He decided to design and build an aircraft using all sorts of new ideas. A man ahead of his time. Just eight months after the start of construction it was ready to be presented.
It included a complete structure in carbon fiber and kevlar that no Unlimited aircraft in production had ever had to that point in time (except the Giles, but with a 200hp engine it never managed to make a hole in Unlimited). Today, we see MX Aircraft and Sbachs purely manufactured in composites, but at the time of develpment of the Velox Revolution we are talking about 1995.
It was a plane with real genius ideas. Like an aeromodel, the first meter of each wing was part of the fuselage. The rest of the wings were removable and within 20 minutes they could be disassembled and mounted to carry the aircraft in a trailer or use a small garage for storage. "The initial 2.5 feet of each wing is actually part of the fueselage. The main spar is a 7.5 foot box spar which passes through the airplane. The wing panels' spars then fit into the stubs and overlap in the middle of the airplane. Removing the wings involves removing attach bolts at five connecting points. The whole operation can be accomplished in about eight minutes. Reattaching them again takes about 20 minutes," wrote Karen Diamond, editor of Sport Aerobatics in its July 1996 issue.
The dome (canopy) of the single-seater version pivots forward, being able to open safely with the engine running and if it was forgotten in the open position during take off the wind itself would close it. The dimensions of the tail surfaces are more similar to those of a Sukhoi giving incredible control of the flight envelope. The weight of the single seat version is approximately 1150 pounds and 1200 pounds for the two-seat version that followed.
In-flight test
The first time I became interested in the Velox was in 2005-2006 while looking for a plane to buy. I don't remember how many times I read the August 1997 Sport Aerobatics survey of IAC members favorite aerobatic airplanes. The Best and Worst qualities as well as Favorite modifications were all outlined. Aircraft ranged from Acro Sport II, Decathlons, and Christen Eagles to Edge 540, Extras and Pitts Specials. Knowing that for me everything was reduced to the Edge, Velox and Staudacher I ended up deciding on the last one. The Velox I discarded it because it was no longer in production (only a few kits were sold) and because it was not available in the second-hand market. If I could have gotten hold of one, I'm sure I'd be as in love with it as I would in my faithful Staudacher.
Sergio Plá obtained the prototype of the Velox Revolution I, with which he flew at the 2007 World Cup in Granada where team Spaniard won the runner-up and Ramón Alonso the Individual Championship. Not only did Sergio get a Velox, he came with Charlie Wolff, who was servicing the plane and who ended up being as close by everyone as one more on the team. As a sign of the open-minded, and how integrated it was in the Team, suffice it to say that he went to dinner for criadillas (Rocky Mountain Oysters) with everyone in the last days of the World Cup, but that's another story.
The WAC 2007 site at Armilla had conditions that were a test for the pilots and their machines. The month of August can reach temperatures well above 80F. At 2300 feet of elevation, conditions can demand the maximum of each machine. Even the Sukhois, Cap and Extras were left under such harsh conditions. Not the Velox, with a Barrett-prepared engine and an experimental carbon MT Propeller (destined for the Red Bull) the plane kept gaining height. No matter how high it started, the Velox gained energy throughout a program, which hurt his scores given his small size and ended up flying too high for the judges.
That kind of flight in 2007 was novel, now a pilot of an Sbach or an Extra 330 knows he has to be cutting power continuously so as not to gain power. Not in 2007, we were blowing up the whole program with energy. There is an ON/OFF switch , but the Velox flight were wide open and power only reduced low power maneuvers like tail slides.
In 2009 and looking for a challenge in my life, I crossed paths with the VELOX again. Looking to build my own aerobatic plane. With my past experience with aeromodels I knew that it is easier to start with a kit than making a plane from scratch. So, I contacted Charlie.
It should be noted that Charlie was never looking to get rich selling planes. He was an important entrepreneur with a tremendous passion for aviation who wanted to design and build his own Unlimited aircraft. It was important that Charlie wanted to sell you the plane, it wasn't about getting there with the money and buying it. You had to convince him to sell it to you.
With that intention I went on vacation to Stuart Florida, where he has a hangar for his Revolution II. it was bad luck for me, because of scheduling problems, Charlie was in Utah building another Revolution II. His absense didn't stop him from mobilizing his team to allow me to try the plane though.
I arrived in Stuart and looked for the airport. The weather was miserable. I met this beautiful community and I could see how the day was more like surfing (low clouds and rain) than flying a plane. As we prepared the plane with his mechanic, I was able to admire in detail the secrets of this aircraft. A friend of Charlie's, test pilot from nearby Piper had done the test flight. The routine was to courteously leave the plane fueled for the next pilot. The Velox is able to accept for its large 90-litre aerobatic deposit.
I repeat, this is Charlie's plane, which has been built for him and fits him like a glove. It's the good thing about making your own plane with regard to going and buying one under the American philosophy "one size fits all". Just give me a warning, the plane is not finished and has no steering wheel stops. Rolling you enjoy good visibility and I like the locking system of the interconnected, in the style of agroforestry aircraft.
Being a controlled airfield, I'm authorized to taxi to the farthest head of an endless 5000-foot runway. I implore the tower to let me take off from any intersection. However, due to noise abatement procedures intersection departure is not approved. At least, I get the tower to authorize me to stay close to the field, on the shoreline and to inform me of the traffic that is nearby. This allows me to concentrate on the plane and just worry about enjoying the experience of flying the Velox.
Aligned with the runway I apply maximum power and acceleration. Even with a generous load of fuel, I'm not in the air without reaching the end of the runway I'm cutting power being close to the clouds. Amazing! And Charlie says he doesn't have the plane fully ready?
In less than a minute I arrive in my area, I notice the tower and ask for more traffic report. Time to test the plane inall itsaxes. When I share a profile with my Staudacher, I feel at home. Perhaps because composites are the control surfaces instead of fabric like mine, more direct of controls. I immediately notice the wing and its profile identical to mine. They share load, but my plane is bigger, heavier and more powerful and I see them behaving the same way. To compare them on an equal footing and to take care of a plane that is not mine I fly it at 2500 RPM as I do with mine.
First, a half barrel and a half barrel. The spoilers are impressive and remind me of those on the Extra. Since they're not set up with a lot of self-centered as mine are, the barrels bounce me off a little bit. Second round of barrels in four and eight times and I have already calibrated the touch. I repeat, this is a pilot's plane, no defect, it's just about personal configuration. I like that it has a lot of self-centering, either they go full or when they return to neutral it stays in that position.
With the ceilings so low for vertical maneuvers I look for clearings, I stick to the minimum height. Loopings can be made huge or tiny, so much energy and power. I love this profile. In the imperials I prefer to make barrels at low speed. Its more than 400or persecond at high speed allow at low to have absolute control and I feel the same as in a Sukhoi 31 in the upper part of the imperials. You go out at low speed, accelerating in an impressive way and you just have to just put your nose where you want while it rotates. Little footwork or depth making barrels for times at low speed. You have to make some play,but its good power weight ratio makes things easier and the control is absolute.
Now with the maneuver with which I compare all the aerobatic planes I fly. Maximum horizontal speed without chopping (maintains the same as my Staudacher), vertical pull and well-made four stroke barrel with maximum deflections and with good pauses. Depending on the energy with which it is finished before making a wing fall I value its ablitiy to the vertical. I have many hours of Sukhoi 29 that say it is the most capable two-seater, and the Velox far surpasses it.
That's if, to pivot, I use little rudder so as not to bring it to the stops. There is plenty of control on the longitudinal axis but I feel strange not stepping hard and aggressively. Rest, I take a breath and call the tower to confirm that I am still the only imbecile flying on a day like this. I memorize the engine parameters. Very similar to mine that are pulling at low, good to see that the engine is careful and well cooled: 330-350 F and, 160-170 oil temperature and full throttle. At 2500 RPM about 25 gallons an hour (almost 100 liters an hour).
They play fast barrels, which by not being able to press the pedals to the fullest I control them with great care. I use the same speeds as my Staudacher and feel at home. I make them horizontal and on the lines of 45 degree lines up and down, absolute control. I lack the ceiling and nerves to make them in the vertical going down. Going up to the vertical, without aggressively sending on the pedals,I have alot of "barreling".
In the verticals going up I feel a little lost looking at the plane and not seeing angle meter. Knowing that I only have to work the negatives, I decide to make a small torque roll that I take by rotating horizontally by pure power before the plane starts to go down and without losing height. Again the great control of the surfaces and the tremendous power weight ratio allow to do these things and many more. I understand that Sergei Boriak and Sergio Plá have used the plane a lot in their Airshows performing authentic wonders based on those two qualities.
With the negative maneuvres,anyway, I shrink as much as I can my neck so as not to rub the canopy with my head. I'm sure for someone seeing me from the ground, the downward stretches of negative looping were more closed when I was impressed to see the beach passing in front of me while pushing. Despite being at legal heights in the USA it always impresses to push at low altitude on a newaircraft.
The Engine Monitor display alerts me that I'm approaching the fuel level with which I wanted to leave the plane to Charlie and return to Stuart where I'm allowed to land with a tailwind that I take advantage of to let temperatures cool down slowly before landing.
That day the seagulls preferred to walk rather than fly and in the end again I feel comfortable with the gusts and I see that the Velox is as easy to land as my Staudacher and almost as noble as a Zlin-50. I come in fast to land with the strong gusts, I wait for the speed to go down before settling the plane to the ground. Perhaps with wind, I get the impression that the Velox requires less track than my Staudacher. Maybe it is the lower weight.
I finally give the plane to Charlie's team with an ear-to-ear smile. I called Charlie immediately to congratulate him on such a good plane and the great potential it has. Before me, great pilots of the likes of Renaud Ecalle, Peter Besenyei or Sergei Boriak have flown it and everyone has been delighted.
Some will then think why am I still flying with my Staudacher if I am so delighted with the Velox. The first reason is because I love it and it's more of a plane than I am a pilot. I don't see any reason why I want to change planes, except for the fact that I built my own plane.
At the time, Charlie was building a two-seater and I want a single-seater, but most importantly, I still haven't convinced him to build me a kit. Things aren't very good for Spanish aviation and I may have to wait for better times, but maybe later I'll be able to convince Charlie one day.
Left - a photo of the Velox Rev II in 1999 by Mark Schaible.
Alan Bush wrote an article about the plane in the March 2001 issue of Sport Aerobatics.
SAERO March2001 Velox II Alan Bush.pdf
