Touch of Grey
RADIAL ROCKET
Listed on this website is a recently completed (16 year project) Radial Rocket aircraft. The Rocket is a 400 plus horsepower, radial engined sport aircraft. Designed by Jeff Ackland whose previous designs include the Legend series of aircraft, the Rocket shares much of the architecture with the Legend family. The resulting airframe is very robust and proven. The adaption to a tailwheel landing gear design from the Legend’s tri-gear configuration, along with the conversion to radial engine power give the Rocket a nostalgic 1940’s look and feel.
The aircraft is very reminiscent of early military fighter designs and allows the pilot to experience some of what it must have been like to fly during those formative years of military aircraft development. The Rocket is fast and responsive. The controls are well harmonized with both pitch and roll controlled via push/pull tubes rather than cables. The power and torque of the M-14P radial engine makes take off acceleration and climb performance spectacular.
Once airborne the airplane is fast and quite economical considering its 620 cu in supercharged powerplant. Landing behavior is fairly straightforward due to the wide stance of the main landing gear. I have found that approach and landing is a little faster than most light general aviation aircraft, but landing performance is in line with many high performance singles. On the ground the aircraft tracks easily with rudder input and has no bad vices.
It was a wonderful experience building this aircraft. Winning Grand Champion Homebuilt at the 2023 Sun-N-Fun airshow was a highlight of my building activities. But for me it is time to go on to the next project. To see more detail on the specifications and performance of this Radial Rocket and to view a short video of the aircraft please read on. If you are interested in learning more or discussing ownership, please contact me via this website. It is important to me that the next owner enjoys this aircraft as much as I have.
Thank you for your interest,
Dave
HIGHLIGHTS
AWARDS
2023 Sun-N-Fun
Grand Champion
(Homebuilt Category)
PERFORMANCE
TECHNOLOGY
- High Cruise Speed
(75% power)
230 MPH TAS @ 19.5GPH
- Useful load of 725 Lbs
- 400+HP 9 cylinder Vedenyev Radial Engine
- Composite Construction (fiberglass/carbon fiber)
- Modern Avionics Suite
THE AIRCRAFT
Designed and built with passion
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q.) Is it aerobatic? A.) Yes. The airplane is designed for positive 6 and negative 4 G’s. Fuel and Oil systems on this aircraft are not set up for negative operations, so most operators keep the loads positive.
Q.) How is forward visibility on the ground? A.) I sit fairly high in the front seat so gentle “S” turns give me a good sight picture on the ground.
Q. With the triple exhaust system is it very loud? A. The sound level outside of the aircraft is pretty loud at high power. At idle it sounds perfect. From the cockpit with good headsets the ambient noise is very manageable. I fly with a Clarity Aloft headset and a 50’s era military helmet and have flown with David Clark’s without problem. Radial engines have a different sound at a lower frequency than most opposed engines. I designed the exhaust the way I did because I wanted to hear the individual cylinders song. If I had to do it over again, I would not change a thing about the exhaust system.
Q. Is it hard to maintain? A. I have found the engine to be a very well designed machine. The manufacturer’s expectation was that it would be maintained in the field with minimal tools and facilities. That being said, the special tools for the engine are fairly simple (included with the sale) and the manuals are very comprehensive. Beyond that standard metric wrenches and sockets are mostly what I use. The airframe is standard composite structure. It takes me a couple of days to do the annual condition inspection (annual). I expect to review this process (checklist provided) with the new owner.
Q. Would it make a good first tailwheel airplane? A. No. It is a high performance, high powered aircraft. In my opinion a first tailwheel aircraft should be slow with a low wing loading. I found that flying a decathlon gave me very good practice for this aircraft with respect to AOA, descent and speed control. I just added some speed to all the pattern/landing speeds for the Rocket.
Q. How many Rockets are flying now? A. There are 2 Tri Gear and 4 Tailwheel aircraft flying now with 1 or 2 more under construction. Two have raced at Reno (not mine).
Q. Why is it called “Tough of Grey”? A. I’m a big Grateful Dead fan and I started the project with a touch of grey hair. If I named it today it would have to have more than a ”touch” to be accurate.
Q. Where is the aircraft located? A. Fort lauderdale, Florida
CONTACT US
If you are interested in learning more or discussing ownership, please contact me via this website.
Thank you for your interest.