More tinkering and checking. The pictures in this and subsequent sections will serve as reference in the future for repairs and maintenance, showing routing of wires, controls, etc.

Click on thumbnails to view larger versions of the pics!

Engine inspection begins. The rear half of the plenum is removed, exposing the cylinders. A Slick magneto drives the upper plugs with a Jeff Rose electronic ignition serving the bottom row.	Fuel injection spider seen top center with fuel line encased in orange firesleeve seen snaking upward from below.	Look carefully and you can see a diverting flange located at the end of the NACA intake ducts connected to the plenum. This diverts some of the airflow over the two cylinders closest to the firewall. These two tend to run the hottest since the air flowing through the duct, not liking to deviate from a straight line, tends to blow past. The flange forces some of this flow downwards over first two cylinders.	Removing the sparkplugs.
Overhead view. Notice the ducts from the roof NACA inlets are STRAIGHT, thus allowing maximum flow since the air isn't forced to change direction until it actually hits the engine cylinders. Prop governor seen on lower right side of photo.	Testing cylinder compression.	Uncle Dave checks Slick magneto timing.	Checking alignment.
A family affair - L to R: My father, Ricardo, Sr., Uncle Dave Palacios, Aunt Nona, and yours truly.	Spark plugs cleaned, inspected and re-gapped.	Re-installing sparkplugs.	Reinstalling sparkplugs with the proper torque. I'm not really twisting that hard - I'm just concentrating! :-) As it turns out, it's actually a lot easier to rebuild peoples' heart arteries (my day job) than doing a good job on airplane engines, so I have to focus to make sure it gets done right!
Uncle Dave checks on our work.	Detail of cylinders.	My nephew, Christopher Guerra, attempts to contact ATC for clearance to fly what he is convinced is a high-tech spaceship.	Christopher shows off his personal homebuilt aircraft to my mother and sister, Dr. Lisa Guerra.
My Aunt Sandy and Uncle Raul Palacios (R) help us replace a nutplate on the cowling.	N724X, now reassembled, roars off the runway with Dr. Lisa Guerra videotaping. There's quite a bit of difference in performance when at sea level compared to my usual 8-10K foot density altitude!	Mom, Dad and Christopher inspect a chrome spinner while waiting for us to return.	After a nice flight without problems, we roll back to the hangar. The plane is beautifully lit by the rays of the setting sun. It is sharp looking even still in primer!
Another nice flight!	After taking a last look around in the engine compartment, Dad and I start to secure the cowling in place.	Wingroot oil cooler inlet and outlet seen above my head.	Induction air inlet seen above Dad's head. The cowling is embarrassingly dirty. The streaks represent a few months of flying. The rag covers fuel vent inlet with the oil-air separator outlet to its right. It functions admirably with minimal to no oil ending up on the now painted (and cleaner!) cowling.
	Transponder antenna seen protruding from the strake just behind me.		Sumping the gas and we're just about ready to go.
Christopher stows away in the back for the short taxi to top off the tanks. Fuel sender seen off his right shoulder. The VM1000 CPU seen top left, fuel vent system seen top right over the main gear overcenter linkage.	We taxi over to the self-serve pump. As soon as we stop, we experience something with which the majority of Velocity owners are familiar - a small crowd of curious folks appear seemingly out of nowhere and start poking around.	Airport guys checking out the panel.	Everyone takes turns taking a peek.
I find that most people are amazed at how huge the interior seems. Even twin owners are often impressed!		Despite his protests, Christopher has to leave the cockpit. He plans one day to fly the plane and fire the lasers (actually the wingcams!) . . . that is, if his Dad will let him!	A final look around as we prepare to head back to Albuquerque. This time, I am accompanied by my mother. Have to keep the peace in the family as my parents have to take turns in front and on cross-country trips.
On the way home, inspection now complete. The Colorado River is seen flowing below as Mom and I fly into Arizona on the way back to Santa Fe.

Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome! email: rich@rguerra.com
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