Talk about smooth! What a difference a V8 engine makes! How can you beat that sound? The aircraft looks solid, professional, secure. Very high-quality craftsmanship. Excellent job! Congratulations!
Runs like a merlin engine...sounds convincingly. If you get the cooling right and the fuel feed fool proof-reliable, half of the machine is OK. Well done!
It would be interesting to see a maintenance / cost comparison of the LS3 vs other aircraft engines with similar power. Thanks for posting, amazing build.
Talk about workmanship!!!! This looks and sounds amazing! I'm late to finding this but I hope to see flight videos as I look deeper now.. Thanks for sharing!
your videos have restarted my interest in aviation/homebuilt aircraft. If/when I decide to build, this will be my plan. Thanks for setting the path for me!
I love this airplane. The whole thing and an LS3 on top of that. I can't wait to she her in flight. Wow. Nicely done! Would love to know more about performance too! Best video!
There was an awesome guy done here in Fl x58 that was working on v8 for years … just makes sense reliable as can be . The Airframe is killer sir fast and responsive always liked the velocity but with an LS3 nice 👍🏻. Looking forward to your test flight !
Beautiful work! Can’t wait to see it flying. With all that performance, I’d want at least one more artificial horizon on the panel. I’ve never met an iPad I trust that much.
Interesting. Will be fun to see if it performs as anticipated. Not sure about how it will do on 100LL (not a lot of places that sell mogas). One other thing I would mention is that many builders spend years completing their projects because they keep adding modifications that they think they need, but in reality are not needed. For instance, the defog on the windscreen. My experience in flying my velocity for over 20 years now in all kinds of weather is that the windscreen never fogs up. My advice would be to build it to spec, get it up and flying, and then decide what “improvements” are needed. Alternatively, ask those of us who have been flying them for years, what mods actually are warranted.
Fantastic job. The small block Chevy engine has been a workhorse since the 50's and has powered everything from motorcycles to airplanes. Beautiful aircraft.
I put an LS engine into my Miata some time ago and now that I'm working on my pilots license, something like this may be next. Looks like a great build and I'd love to see updates.
@@CurtBagne that's badass man. That's a dream build for me. The ls motor is such a great power plant and the fact it can squeeze in a miata is only a recipe for fun and awesome 👌. Love to see you living the dream brother good health too you
Thank you very much for the update. It´s a very interesting project. Please share the numbers (cruse speed, climb rate, fuel) when finally you have this beautiful plane fully operational. One more. Excellent job with the interior. I like the instrument panel layout and interior color and the direction everything is going. There is any plan to install a force induction system on the engine or there is not room in the engine bay?
I flew in one that the interior seats and everything looks identical to a gt 40 racecar with 5 seats beautiful plan and interior was designed using real gt 40 interior panels and seats and all and fits with the whole look of the plane it's so nice and bad ass. But I love this one as well I want one bad
Nah, the Raptor guy has overpromised with no way of delivering for years, I'm not saying the cornfield was planned... but not saying it wasn't planned either 😉
I've built, tuned, and/or wired at least 100 LS swapped cars. I'll tell you now that the O2 sensors being 3" from the exhaust opening will not deliver anywhere near the correct readings to the PCM. They need to be as close to the collector as possible AND a minimum of 18" of exhaust pipe after the sensor.
You have a good point there. Pressure pulsations can create a surprising amount of reverse flow from the end of the pipe, and O2 sensors are EXTREMELY sensitive to ANY oxygen that finds its way in from the atmosphere when running stochiometric (as required to make a 3-way convertor work effectively on an automobile) or when running rich of peak to get maximum power out of an automobile (still legal for a few more years for production cars as catalyst temperature protection). Even 3-bolt flanges with missing gaskets or slip joints a few inches downstream of the O2 sensor can be a little problematic. If the ECM is relying on the feedback signal it should drive it to a much richer condition, so at least for takeoff power that is in a safer albeit lower power condition. Assuming wide range O2 sensors and setup to run lean of peak for maximum fuel range at cruise (as I certainly would) it should be less sensitive under that condition. But definitely something to be keenly aware of when setting up the fuel air ratio that the O2 sensors are probably lying...
Thank you for taking the time and effort to record and edit this update video, and thanks to Len as well! It looks like a lot of thought went into the interior, it's very nice and has a modern luxury/sport look that matches the plane. I'm wondering about the V8. Do you know if it can burn 100LL fine? Will it need an additive or limited run time on leaded gas?
The 2 best engines 4 the Velocity Aircraft in my opinion are . A V8 ... thought the Corvette engine would push a 4 Blade ? And a Turbo Prop Engine . The V8 sounds awesome 👌 👏
One of the most reliable engines ever built. Gobs of horsepower and torque. I'd wager that even at max gross that airplane will practically leap off the runway. That's a beautiful build by the way. Are you planning on keeping her white??? Or are you going to give her a sexy paint job???
Interesting that it makes more HP than the prop can handle. But out does sound cool. I suppose he might be able ot eventually get a higher performance prop that could handle it and change the gear reduction.
This is my life long dream! A fast aircraft that I can share with family and friends. The only thing I might change, is to go from the LS3 to a Gen III Hemi, and that’s mainly because it already has two spark plugs per cylinder. And anything with fuel injection can be modified to use twi injectors per cylinder. Redundancy can save your bacon. This plane is almost perfect, and it is for the cross country mission. But there are two missions that I want to fly. The other is search and rescue. The Zenair CH 750 HD fits the bill. With room for three I can fly with an observer while carrying emergency supplies that can be parachuted down to the victim. It could also extract one person if there is ample landing space anywhere. I have one question about the Velocity. What RPM are you running? What gear ratio are you using to maintain an effective prop speed?
Redundancies: 2 ecu 2 fuel pumps 8 coils 8 plugs 8 injectors each wired independent of the others. Engine runs very well as a V4 on the ground…. We will see how that works in the air!!
Well, it's a Velocity; so maybe it won't have to be disassembled 100 times to get it working. I think I'd fly it in primer, one seat, and no upholstery, just to make sure the thing was committed to flying instead of getting dirty.
I love the project and the plane but as the crew chief on an LS3 powered Corvette racecar how are you working around the problem of the LS3's propensity to burning off plug wires? The racecar goes through 2-3 wires a year even with wrapped headers and high temp wires. It is a terrible design having the plugs rite between the exhaust ports. I would love to see how you overcome it as it might help the racecar.
And you just may have brought a potential critical design issue to Mark's attention, ( possibly saving the aircraft ) ! This may be a very stupid question, and I do understand the prop being cooled by a significant amount of airflow, and ambient temperatures being much cooler as altitude increases. But, is there going to be any heating of the prop with the headers dumping out just ahead of the prop ??? Just curious !
@@guidosarducci166 I guess I was misunderstood, I meant, propeller damage created by the outlet of the headers being directed at the prop, and only a few inches away from it. I should have realized that there could have been another meaning infered. My mistake for sure !
@@quadsman11 ah! Didn't even consider that. I don't think any individual blade would be subjected to the exhaust for a long enough period of time to heat the prop out of tolerance. Looking at the way he has the exhaust set up also, the exhaust gases will mix with air from the cowling a good foot before the gases encounter the prop, so I would expect the exhaust gases at that point would be significantly cooler than the EGT out of the header.
@@guidosarducci166 I agree with you on that Paul, was more of a curiosity than anything. But I'm an autoracing nut, and aviation nut, so always thinking about things in the extreme ! How extreme forces, and extreme heat effects have on critical performance parts ! I try to never make assumptions about something critical that can have potential failure at critical timing ! Like, let's say 5000 feet, in the case of aviation of course ! Or at extremely high speeds, and depending on brake performance, etc. ! So, I guess, more of me thinking out loud !
Very nice build, do you have a page outlining everything you did to make the ls engine work. I am sure many of use would love to benefit from your experience and build. Just wondering if you think the ls is a cost effective alternative to the lycoming engines?
I mean if i did it i'd probably do an LS from one of the trucks. I get that the corvette version is likely lighter, but honestly the LS ain't got nothing on the displacement that the engines this kit was designed for have. It's a good 33% smaller displacement roughly (the continental 550's and lycoming 540s are 9L boxer 6's which produce needed HP in less than 3k RPM) so in order to deliver the needed 250-310HP to get full flight performance you'll need to run this thing much closer or into the power band repeatedly. That being said car motors are not designed to be held in the powerband long term like this, and as a result you really need the steel block and not an aluminum one the vette likely has to get reasonable engine life, or be forced in a situation where you might have suboptimal engine life and possibly a need for better cooling due to long term running beyond the expected operation speed. Also, no matter what the computer hardly matters as you'll be totally re-writing how it works simply because it isn't a car. Lastly, as the LS wasn't designed with aircraft in mind i'm interested to know if this has impacted lifespan specifically in cases where you are angled substantially or upside down which is something that can kill motors not designed for it due to the oil pumping setup not being made for that. You see failures like that mostly in motorcycles when people are stunting, and there is a workaround in the motorcycle scene, but i do not believe there is a scaled up version that works for the LS yet, but i'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to custom make. Final verdict is while it can be done it'd be cheaper and potentially more durable to use the truck LS, but also it might just be too much plane for this engine to move. There is no replacement for displacement. Ultimately, i eagerly await as much info you're willing to give on the project, because i have no actual statistics for the LS swap on this aircraft so i cannot actually say for certain it wouldn't work or see glaring issues. Hoping you add said information to the aviation community.
Awesome update!!!!! another request!!!! can you update again when it's in the air with some performance numbers? this is a build i have been thinking about for quite some time!!!
also want to follow this and see how the stinger drive does.... I have talked with them and autopsrus and still don't know what direction would be better... i think both are great products.... but they have a huge $$$ difference.
Super interested in this project. Building a Wheeler Express Series 90 Auriga and would love not to put an IO-540 in front of it. I'm curious of Len's challenges with the 'other' PSRU and watching how his Stinger drive runs. What gear ratio did he pick?
@@erikpetersen3812 that would be nice to know what the issues where with the first one... However in this close net community one must be careful when posting issues with a product (I know we all have good intentions for wanting the knowledge) but putting stuff like that out on the web can ruin a company fast when it may not have been a product issue but more of an implementation issue.
@@ick79 agree, even before the advent of youtube, twitter and facebook... Wheeler Express got a bad rap in print due to pilot error on a number of occasions and folded.
thank you so much for the update on this Velocity LS3 project. this is perhaps one of the most exciting projects on CZcams (for me). I'm VERY interested in how this engine will work with the Velocity as I also VERY interested in their new XL6RG project w/ a single engine. It's my feelings that this LS3 would be the perfect engine for that job. I texted w/ Velocity a couple days ago and they are currently looking at the IO550TC as the primary power plant. While my dream plane (Velocity w/ 6 seats) may be a couple years off; (I'll definitely be doing the quick build) this project holds great promise for me and very much look forward to seeing how it (LS3) performs at various altitudes, especially above 10K (speed vs efficiency).
G, day Mark from Sydney Australia. * love the panel: unsure about the circuit breaker identified numbers, (what system is affected No 8 etc). * Run up against the hanger door: any nose rash? Thanks for the tour. 🌏🇭🇲
John, he has a page in what will be the flight manual that shows what each number is for. Maybe not the best system, but that's how it works. As for hangar door rash on the nose, check out the previous video I made about this plane. He has a retractable tie down "bumper" on the nose! So no scuffed paint. It's pretty clever how he did it.
It's a great project and the owner is to be congratulated for pushing the experimental envelope. Yet the conservative pilot in me can't help thinking of all the failure modes - electrically dependent water-cooled engine, reduction drive, electric prop pitch control, retractable gear, all combined in a package that has never been done before. I'm glad there are people like him who carry out an amazing vision. For me, I'll be putting along in my stupid-simple Zenith 601 and hoping in my next life I will have the courage to do something like this.
I would have no problem trusting that computer controlled and water cooled V8 and probably even the electronic prop with my life. But gear drives on the other hand scare the heck out of me! I will probably go with dual electronic ignition and fuel injection on a Lycosaur as a compromise in the future assuming the stock market stops kicking my kit plane fund in the teeth...
Hi Mark, very cool project by Len, I hope he gets it airborne soon. Question do you think Len might produce a detailed book on what it took him to create this aircraft with all his bells and whistles with the V8? I always loved this aircraft and his set up is very intriguing. Whether or not I would get to build one is one thing, but I would love to read his story from beginning to once he gets it FAA checked and airborne. Please if you would past this question on to Len and yes I would buy his book. And yes Mark I am subscribed 😎
Talk about smooth! What a difference a V8 engine makes! How can you beat that sound? The aircraft looks solid, professional, secure. Very high-quality craftsmanship. Excellent job! Congratulations!
Great sound and power. Would love to see more updates as it nears airworthiness. Thank you!
Fantastic video Mark. The LS3 is one of the best engines ever designed.
Back in WW1
This project is exceedingly interesting. Thanks for reviewing it for us (twice so far).
Runs like a merlin engine...sounds convincingly.
If you get the cooling right and the fuel feed fool proof-reliable, half of the machine is OK.
Well done!
It would be interesting to see a maintenance / cost comparison of the LS3 vs other aircraft engines with similar power. Thanks for posting, amazing build.
at 8k-10k for an LS crate engine, you could replace the entire engine 10x and not come close to a single, 400 HP Lycoming IO-720.
As well it shoild be made by qualified engineer
Talk about workmanship!!!! This looks and sounds amazing! I'm late to finding this but I hope to see flight videos as I look deeper now.. Thanks for sharing!
“Follow me through on the controls” gets a bit friendly with that shared joystick 🤣 love this aircraft though.
your videos have restarted my interest in aviation/homebuilt aircraft. If/when I decide to build, this will be my plan. Thanks for setting the path for me!
That looks sweet, not sure about using the hangar door as a chock, lol.
What could possibly go wrong where the engine has enough thrust to fly without wings? Hmmm might be fun to put a silhouette right there.
I love this airplane. The whole thing and an LS3 on top of that. I can't wait to she her in flight. Wow. Nicely done! Would love to know more about performance too! Best video!
It's all amazingly great...the airplane itself and the engine...wow. Keep it going.
The LS3 with the Stinger reduction drive and MT prop looks a great combo…..
FINALLYYYY I have been searching far and wide for an update on this 👍👍👍👍
There was an awesome guy done here in Fl x58 that was working on v8 for years … just makes sense reliable as can be . The Airframe is killer sir fast and responsive always liked the velocity but with an LS3 nice 👍🏻. Looking forward to your test flight !
Fantastic, great watching the progress over the years. Officially you win. Can't wait to at least cruise around the airport with you.
Beautiful work! Can’t wait to see it flying.
With all that performance, I’d want at least one more artificial horizon on the panel. I’ve never met an iPad I trust that much.
I personally would NEVER own anything made by Apple.
Yup a G5 or GI275 or whatever Dynon makes as a backup would be ideal.
Awesome! Usually the weak link in these automotive conversions is the reduction unit. Awesome job. Cant wait to see it go.
agreed
Looks amazing Papa!! I’m so happy to see it up and running and so happy that you got your dream plane working!
So cool how you built every piece of that plane, if you could build it you built it! So proud of you papa!
Fantastic. Looks fabulous. I'm loving the dual redundant ECU aspect too.
Interesting. Will be fun to see if it performs as anticipated. Not sure about how it will do on 100LL (not a lot of places that sell mogas). One other thing I would mention is that many builders spend years completing their projects because they keep adding modifications that they think they need, but in reality are not needed. For instance, the defog on the windscreen. My experience in flying my velocity for over 20 years now in all kinds of weather is that the windscreen never fogs up. My advice would be to build it to spec, get it up and flying, and then decide what “improvements” are needed. Alternatively, ask those of us who have been flying them for years, what mods actually are warranted.
Well, if he's willing to carry the fuel to the airplane himself then there are a lot of places to get mogas
Fantastic job. The small block Chevy engine has been a workhorse since the 50's and has powered everything from motorcycles to airplanes. Beautiful aircraft.
It's a Chevy but not the old type small block . LS3 is even better than the old small block . Much better !
That hangar door is definitely "experimental" lol
I've always loved the velocity ! The LS3 looks to be a beast!
Beautiful piece of work.. ..
Sounds awesome. Get that thing flying!
Awesome fast aircraft! can't wait for its first flight!
Love it can't wait to see the performance in the sky thanks. I will be subscribing.
Thanks for the sub!
Powerful beauty ❤️💪✈️
huge thank you, really appreciate the update..
i subscribed, please make another video when you complete this project, would love to see the project completed and in the air. really cool 😎.
Awesome bird. Flying in speed and luxury.
Very nice. Looking forward to seeing it fly. 👍
I used to see an airplane like this in southern California. It buzzed us while hiking in the ortegas
Good to see you aren't using an old pushrod engine.
A real beauty, can't wait to see it fly.
True engineer
Looking forward to following the progress. Pretty cool.
That’s awesome and thanks for the walkthrough
I put an LS engine into my Miata some time ago and now that I'm working on my pilots license, something like this may be next. Looks like a great build and I'd love to see updates.
Lool does it rip?
@@xXAlexbXx-hl9nf It's properly quick. Really fun to drive!
@@CurtBagne that's badass man. That's a dream build for me. The ls motor is such a great power plant and the fact it can squeeze in a miata is only a recipe for fun and awesome 👌. Love to see you living the dream brother good health too you
Beautiful work thank you for sharing
Can't wait to see it fly
Thank you very much for the update. It´s a very interesting project. Please share the numbers (cruse speed, climb rate, fuel) when finally you have this beautiful plane fully operational. One more. Excellent job with the interior. I like the instrument panel layout and interior color and the direction everything is going. There is any plan to install a force induction system on the engine or there is not room in the engine bay?
I flew in one that the interior seats and everything looks identical to a gt 40 racecar with 5 seats beautiful plan and interior was designed using real gt 40 interior panels and seats and all and fits with the whole look of the plane it's so nice and bad ass. But I love this one as well I want one bad
Congratulations on a very impressive build.
Beautiful project! Thanks for the video.
Wow. Enjoyed
Nice job! The LS engine looks amazing!!
Nice video! Thanks
Wow, so EFFFFFFFFFFFFEN smooth !!!!!!!!!!!
Hey man!! you did an update!! sweet!!!
I'll be making many more as the builder progresses all the way to the first flight.
Thanks been curious long time
Awesome
Sounds and looks Awesome
What an unbelievable example. I need to meet this man. Perhaps I could fly into your airport??
5:06 where Len is standing is where the wing goes. I have the same problem and dread maintenance once wings are on
Suweeeet! Very nice. Great job and congrats!
It's beautiful
Wish you were my neighbor, I would be at your house helping every day
I love it 😍 great work!
NICE ! Plane 😁 Should be a darn fast ride across to Oshkosh (lol). Bet the guy that built the "Raptor" wishes he went with an LS motor..... now.
Nah, the Raptor guy has overpromised with no way of delivering for years, I'm not saying the cornfield was planned... but not saying it wasn't planned either 😉
An AH HA moment here....might be unto something 🤨 Let me ponder this a bit.
I've built, tuned, and/or wired at least 100 LS swapped cars. I'll tell you now that the O2 sensors being 3" from the exhaust opening will not deliver anywhere near the correct readings to the PCM. They need to be as close to the collector as possible AND a minimum of 18" of exhaust pipe after the sensor.
You have a good point there. Pressure pulsations can create a surprising amount of reverse flow from the end of the pipe, and O2 sensors are EXTREMELY sensitive to ANY oxygen that finds its way in from the atmosphere when running stochiometric (as required to make a 3-way convertor work effectively on an automobile) or when running rich of peak to get maximum power out of an automobile (still legal for a few more years for production cars as catalyst temperature protection). Even 3-bolt flanges with missing gaskets or slip joints a few inches downstream of the O2 sensor can be a little problematic.
If the ECM is relying on the feedback signal it should drive it to a much richer condition, so at least for takeoff power that is in a safer albeit lower power condition. Assuming wide range O2 sensors and setup to run lean of peak for maximum fuel range at cruise (as I certainly would) it should be less sensitive under that condition. But definitely something to be keenly aware of when setting up the fuel air ratio that the O2 sensors are probably lying...
Thank you for taking the time and effort to record and edit this update video, and thanks to Len as well! It looks like a lot of thought went into the interior, it's very nice and has a modern luxury/sport look that matches the plane.
I'm wondering about the V8. Do you know if it can burn 100LL fine? Will it need an additive or limited run time on leaded gas?
I am sure it. Can with the right tune.
All autogas engines should have a lead scavaging additive added to leaded fuel. The lead will gum up any engine designed in this century.
The 2 best engines 4 the Velocity Aircraft in my opinion are .
A V8 ... thought the Corvette engine would push a 4 Blade ?
And a Turbo Prop Engine .
The V8 sounds awesome 👌 👏
One of the most reliable engines ever built. Gobs of horsepower and torque. I'd wager that even at max gross that airplane will practically leap off the runway. That's a beautiful build by the way. Are you planning on keeping her white??? Or are you going to give her a sexy paint job???
Love it
Finally some info on this plane
That's really nice and it sounds amazing.
I love it! Since its an LS whats the estimated TBO and OH cost? Im out in Michigan as well and this looks like the perfect setup!
Wow, well done!
Interesting that it makes more HP than the prop can handle. But out does sound cool. I suppose he might be able ot eventually get a higher performance prop that could handle it and change the gear reduction.
7:15 You can here the LS3 motor up till the prop drowned it out!
I always wondered how this could be possible!!
Come to think of it, a supercharger definitely helps
Amazing
Awesome, great airplane.
This is my life long dream! A fast aircraft that I can share with family and friends. The only thing I might change, is to go from the LS3 to a Gen III Hemi, and that’s mainly because it already has two spark plugs per cylinder. And anything with fuel injection can be modified to use twi injectors per cylinder. Redundancy can save your bacon. This plane is almost perfect, and it is for the cross country mission.
But there are two missions that I want to fly. The other is search and rescue. The Zenair CH 750 HD fits the bill. With room for three I can fly with an observer while carrying emergency supplies that can be parachuted down to the victim. It could also extract one person if there is ample landing space anywhere.
I have one question about the Velocity. What RPM are you running? What gear ratio are you using to maintain an effective prop speed?
Max 4100 rpm Cruse 3300 to 3700. 1.54 reduction
Redundancies: 2 ecu 2 fuel pumps 8 coils 8 plugs 8 injectors each wired independent of the others. Engine runs very well as a V4 on the ground…. We will see how that works in the air!!
@@len3396 But 2 crank position and cam sensors? Loose one of those and both ECUs are useless.
Well, it's a Velocity; so maybe it won't have to be disassembled 100 times to get it working. I think I'd fly it in primer, one seat, and no upholstery, just to make sure the thing was committed to flying instead of getting dirty.
That is awesome!
Are you going to fly this before your in the casket??? HA HA! We want to see this FLY!
I have a video posted with the first flight of this plane. Hopefully soon we will film an update video.
That's amazing !! Would it be possible to get in touch with the owner for more questions about this project ?
Hell yeah!!
I love the project and the plane but as the crew chief on an LS3 powered Corvette racecar how are you working around the problem of the LS3's propensity to burning off plug wires? The racecar goes through 2-3 wires a year even with wrapped headers and high temp wires. It is a terrible design having the plugs rite between the exhaust ports. I would love to see how you overcome it as it might help the racecar.
And you just may have brought a potential critical design issue to Mark's attention,
( possibly saving the aircraft ) !
This may be a very stupid question,
and I do understand the prop being cooled by a significant amount of airflow, and ambient temperatures being much cooler as altitude increases.
But, is there going to be any heating of the prop with the headers dumping out just ahead of the prop ???
Just curious !
@@quadsman11 the airplane isn't known ice certified, so prop heating shouldn't be a concern.
@@guidosarducci166
I guess I was misunderstood,
I meant, propeller damage created by the outlet of the headers being directed at the prop, and only a few inches away from it.
I should have realized that there could have been another meaning infered.
My mistake for sure !
@@quadsman11 ah! Didn't even consider that. I don't think any individual blade would be subjected to the exhaust for a long enough period of time to heat the prop out of tolerance. Looking at the way he has the exhaust set up also, the exhaust gases will mix with air from the cowling a good foot before the gases encounter the prop, so I would expect the exhaust gases at that point would be significantly cooler than the EGT out of the header.
@@guidosarducci166
I agree with you on that Paul,
was more of a curiosity than anything.
But I'm an autoracing nut, and aviation nut, so always thinking about things in the extreme !
How extreme forces, and extreme heat effects have on critical performance parts !
I try to never make assumptions about something critical that can have potential failure at critical timing !
Like, let's say 5000 feet, in the case of aviation of course !
Or at extremely high speeds, and depending on brake performance, etc. !
So, I guess, more of me thinking out loud !
Very nice build, do you have a page outlining everything you did to make the ls engine work. I am sure many of use would love to benefit from your experience and build. Just wondering if you think the ls is a cost effective alternative to the lycoming engines?
Ready for an update on this plane......
I wondered what happened to the Skipper from Gilligan's Island. That Bamboo plane that the Professor made must have worked!
Give it up for Michigan. Go Blue!
Really really nice job. The prop Noise was fabulous. Whats ur expected Top & Cruise Speed pls. Thx 4 sharing
I mean if i did it i'd probably do an LS from one of the trucks. I get that the corvette version is likely lighter, but honestly the LS ain't got nothing on the displacement that the engines this kit was designed for have. It's a good 33% smaller displacement roughly (the continental 550's and lycoming 540s are 9L boxer 6's which produce needed HP in less than 3k RPM) so in order to deliver the needed 250-310HP to get full flight performance you'll need to run this thing much closer or into the power band repeatedly. That being said car motors are not designed to be held in the powerband long term like this, and as a result you really need the steel block and not an aluminum one the vette likely has to get reasonable engine life, or be forced in a situation where you might have suboptimal engine life and possibly a need for better cooling due to long term running beyond the expected operation speed. Also, no matter what the computer hardly matters as you'll be totally re-writing how it works simply because it isn't a car. Lastly, as the LS wasn't designed with aircraft in mind i'm interested to know if this has impacted lifespan specifically in cases where you are angled substantially or upside down which is something that can kill motors not designed for it due to the oil pumping setup not being made for that. You see failures like that mostly in motorcycles when people are stunting, and there is a workaround in the motorcycle scene, but i do not believe there is a scaled up version that works for the LS yet, but i'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to custom make.
Final verdict is while it can be done it'd be cheaper and potentially more durable to use the truck LS, but also it might just be too much plane for this engine to move. There is no replacement for displacement. Ultimately, i eagerly await as much info you're willing to give on the project, because i have no actual statistics for the LS swap on this aircraft so i cannot actually say for certain it wouldn't work or see glaring issues. Hoping you add said information to the aviation community.
Very nice! You Sir are a true craftsman. What ratio did you decide on?
Awesome update!!!!! another request!!!! can you update again when it's in the air with some performance numbers? this is a build i have been thinking about for quite some time!!!
Zac, I’m planning on more updates anytime Len wants me to film the current status!
also want to follow this and see how the stinger drive does.... I have talked with them and autopsrus and still don't know what direction would be better... i think both are great products.... but they have a huge $$$ difference.
Super interested in this project. Building a Wheeler Express Series 90 Auriga and would love not to put an IO-540 in front of it. I'm curious of Len's challenges with the 'other' PSRU and watching how his Stinger drive runs. What gear ratio did he pick?
@@erikpetersen3812 that would be nice to know what the issues where with the first one... However in this close net community one must be careful when posting issues with a product (I know we all have good intentions for wanting the knowledge) but putting stuff like that out on the web can ruin a company fast when it may not have been a product issue but more of an implementation issue.
@@ick79 agree, even before the advent of youtube, twitter and facebook... Wheeler Express got a bad rap in print due to pilot error on a number of occasions and folded.
thank you so much for the update on this Velocity LS3 project. this is perhaps one of the most exciting projects on CZcams (for me). I'm VERY interested in how this engine will work with the Velocity as I also VERY interested in their new XL6RG project w/ a single engine. It's my feelings that this LS3 would be the perfect engine for that job. I texted w/ Velocity a couple days ago and they are currently looking at the IO550TC as the primary power plant. While my dream plane (Velocity w/ 6 seats) may be a couple years off; (I'll definitely be doing the quick build) this project holds great promise for me and very much look forward to seeing how it (LS3) performs at various altitudes, especially above 10K (speed vs efficiency).
Hell yes!!!! Woooo
So, since you’ve been working n it for so long, I suppose you put the engine in the rear before corvette did
G, day Mark from Sydney Australia.
* love the panel: unsure about the circuit breaker identified numbers, (what system is affected No 8 etc).
* Run up against the hanger door: any nose rash?
Thanks for the tour.
🌏🇭🇲
John, he has a page in what will be the flight manual that shows what each number is for. Maybe not the best system, but that's how it works. As for hangar door rash on the nose, check out the previous video I made about this plane. He has a retractable tie down "bumper" on the nose! So no scuffed paint. It's pretty clever how he did it.
It's a great project and the owner is to be congratulated for pushing the experimental envelope. Yet the conservative pilot in me can't help thinking of all the failure modes - electrically dependent water-cooled engine, reduction drive, electric prop pitch control, retractable gear, all combined in a package that has never been done before. I'm glad there are people like him who carry out an amazing vision. For me, I'll be putting along in my stupid-simple Zenith 601 and hoping in my next life I will have the courage to do something like this.
I would have no problem trusting that computer controlled and water cooled V8 and probably even the electronic prop with my life. But gear drives on the other hand scare the heck out of me! I will probably go with dual electronic ignition and fuel injection on a Lycosaur as a compromise in the future assuming the stock market stops kicking my kit plane fund in the teeth...
Probably way overdue to move to modern automotive engines. Short of a jet engine this is a no brainer.
wow.. this is awesome.. I want one .. lol.. when will we see it fly?
Little tip for the camera man NEVER stand directly in line with an airplane prop. If things go wrong stuff flies out sideways lol.
Hi Mark, very cool project by Len, I hope he gets it airborne soon. Question do you think Len might produce a detailed book on what it took him to create this aircraft with all his bells and whistles with the V8? I always loved this aircraft and his set up is very intriguing. Whether or not I would get to build one is one thing, but I would love to read his story from beginning to once he gets it FAA checked and airborne. Please if you would past this question on to Len and yes I would buy his book. And yes Mark I am subscribed 😎