Velocity (Standard / 173 / SE)
1 model built 1985 · 132 on the US register today
The Velocity, Danny Maher's four-seat composite canard pusher based on the Rutan Long-EZ, first flown in July 1985 and built as a kit by Velocity Aircraft: a 29 ft 4 in main wing, a 164-inch canard, gull-wing doors on the Elite and later versions, 160-215 hp Lycomings and 2,300 lb gross. Retractable gear arrived in 1990 (the fixed-gear version became the FG), the larger-winged 173 in 1992, then the Elite interior, the low-cost SUV and the SE (Standard Elite) of 2002 in FG and RG form, of which 268 had flown by 2011. The registry's VELOCITY covers all of them; the enlarged Velocity XL of 1997 is a separate design.
The variants
| MODEL | YEARS | ACTIVE | TAILFAX SCORE | WHAT CHANGED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velocity SE / 173 / Standard (RG and FG) | 1985 | 132 | 11.8/50 | Registry VELOCITY covering the Standard, 173 and SE in FG and RG form |
Family fleet, active
132
FAA registry
NTSB events / 1,000, 10 yrs
90.9
12 events over 132 active aircraft, pooled across the family
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · scores Sep 30