Year 1 Summary

(10/23/00)

    Time flies when you're having fun.  It's been one year since the construction began on my Velocity SUV.  Together with construction, VelocityBuilder.com also is one year old since its humble beginning as http://4.33.161.180.  In the grand tradition of dot coms, here is a recap of the year.

     This was what the kit looked like when I received it on October 17th, 1999.  All the pieces were spread out in front of the shop awaiting inventory.  I was still trying to come to term with the notion that I am actually going to be building an aircraft.  It looked rather daunting to see it all sitting in front of me.

     This is also the time when my portfolio of stock holdings in what seemed like an unstoppable technology industry was worth more than enough to pay for just about everything I could possibly imagine for the project (and if it kept going the way it has been another plane or two in a year).  How quickly things turn around in a year!

     First, the numbers.

• 360 shop hours.
• $50,000 total investments (excluding rent, utilities) to date.
• 96 shop days
• 130 Epoxy Cups
• 4 boxes of disposable gloves
• 3 boxes of dust masks
• Over 60 Dremel Cut-off wheels
• 3 cuts requiring bandages
• Countless minor scrapes
• 4 ruined jeans
• 618 Digital Photos

     Here is what (would be) N21HV looks like after one year.  If you think it is really taking shape, consider this.  I had fast-build everything.  That means that the major components you see in the photo came pre assembled.  All the flying surfaces, fuselage, etc.  So in truth, the progress is slow.  

     Here is what is yet to come.

• Most of the electrical wirings
• Fuel systems
• Power Plant
• Fuselage top
• Door
• Avionics
• Instruments
• Interior
• Paint
• Other miscellaneous things that tends to take up about 90% of the total building time.  In short, I have a while to go...