Velocity XL
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The Velocity XL is the enlarged four- to five-seat version of the Velocity canard pusher, introduced in 1997 with a 34 ft wing, a 47.5-inch cabin and gull-wing doors, 1,800 lb empty and 2,800 lb gross with a 310 hp Continental IO-550, and Jane's figures of 240 mph cruise, a 75 mph stall and 1,150 miles; the RG has retractable gear, the FG fixed, and the Dash-5 fits a fifth seat.
An XL is the homebuilt answer to a Bonanza - four people, 200 knots, 1,000 lb of useful load - with the canard's refusal to stall conventionally and the canard's costs: it needs 1,400-1,500 ft of runway, lands fast and flat, and cannot be flown slowly, so insurers and instructors want type-specific transition training. It is a big composite kit whose layup quality, fuel system, gear retraction and engine installation are the builder's work, and the model matters: RG or FG, 2,700 or 2,900 lb gross, and a 260 hp IO-540 or a turbocharged TSIO-550 are different aeroplanes under one name, so the airworthiness paperwork and weight-and-balance are the identity. Retractable gear and a constant-speed prop make it complex, and 310 hp makes it high-performance for endorsement purposes. Velocity Aircraft is in production and supports the type, including transition training.
Variants of the Velocity XL
- Velocity XL · 88 active · this page
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TAILFAX SCORE
Among 3–4 seat pistons (223 models)
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Put Velocity XL side by side with up to three other models.
- Velocity XL
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What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Continental IO-550 (310 hp; Lycoming IO-540 260-300 hp and TSIO-550 fitted) |
| Horsepower | 310 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | 209 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | 1,000 nm |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 1,300 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 65 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,800 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 128 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 88 |
| Median year built | 2008 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 8 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 90.91 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 79.55 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 11 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 12.5 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 10 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 88 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 88 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 88 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0.6 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 3.2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 3.7 of 103 |
| Support | 4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 12.3 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 33.21 · 223 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 796.
- Support: class median 131.
- Liquidity: class median 19.89.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 8 · scores Sep 30