8-7-18

Vince Frazier's F-1H Rocket Webpage


   Vince Frazier
   3965 Caborn Road
   Mount Vernon, IN 47620
   888-835-9269
   vincefrazier@gmail.com


Interested in building your own?

Team Rocket has parts and kits for the F1 Rocket and F4 Raider. Learn more at  www.f1aircraft.com. 

Frazier Aviation is the official dealer for Team Rocket aircraft parts, sub-kits, and accessories.

For Sale: SOLD N540VF, Fast, Clean, Light - 1223 pounds

165 knots on 9.5gph

Welcome to my website, the very first Rocket website on the internet.  It is PACKED with information.  Everything that has anything to do with N540VF's construction, flight testing, or modifications is in here.  I won't repeat it all here.  But I will hit the high points:

It's an F-1H Rocket, which is to say it began construction as a Harmon Rocket just prior to the F1 Quick Build kits being introduced, but was modified during the building process with all of the best F-1 mods, most importantly the engine mount, landing gear, and... well, everything forward of the main spar is F-1 stuff.  The best way to describe this plane is that it is a custom built, hand made F1 Rocket.

As you can read on the website, N540VF has been tweaked with the latest and best mods such as the Screaming Eagle tailwheel (better steering), modified gear legs (little or no shimmy problems), bellcrank mod (lighter elevator loads), etc. It has some nice features such as a flopper canopy (100% visibility) and a REAL rollbar (safety first), RV-4 tail (speed, with NO tail shake as with other tails), extra storage compartments (convenience), arm rests and Temperfoam cushions (comfort), and much more.

The standard wing allows greater CG range as opposed to the Evo wing which is often limited by aft CG issues.  The standard wing is also much lighter, about 70 pounds. Yes, 70 pounds!

The stock landing gear was shortened by 2" to stiffen the normally soft gear.  Also, the notoriously bad wheel alignment, very common on Rockets, was fixed.  My first set of tires lasted less than 70 hours. After fixing the gear, the second set has over 260 hours and has very little tread wear.  This is an often overlooked problem with many Rockets. 

The fuel injection system was balanced per Don Rivera's instructions (Airflow Performance, Inc.) and I run LOP regularly.  The Rocket will keep pace with the local RV's while burning about 9gph at 160knots +/-.  On several long cross country flights, my fuel burn has been the same or less than the 160HP fixed pitch RV-6 that I fly with. I have run against several other Rockets, including one that claimed to have 300HP and outran them all... so far!

Many Rockets have very limited storage space.  While building my Rocket I built in 5 storage areas into unused areas of the front cockpit.  One is a glovebox in the panel, one is a map tray under the panel, two storage compartments are under the floorboard on either side of the stick, and one is in the console just ahead of the stick.   There is also a large storage compartment in the turtledeck above the main baggage compartment.  My wife can put her entire purse in it.  There is also the standard F1 baggage compartment that is large enough for a set of golf clubs and a couple medium sized suitcases.

260HP Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 with Hartzell 2 blade dynamically balanced prop for best speed.  Last condition inspection finished Fall 2012 with all compressions 70+/80 and everything in perfect shape and ready to go.

AIRCRAFT SUMMARY
click on the photos for a larger view

  Type: FRAZIER F-1H ROCKET
  Registration: N540VF
  Airframe Total Time: 338 Hours
  Engine/HP: 260 hp
  Engine Times: 338 SMOH
  Prop Times: 338 SNEW

AVIONICS

  Grand Rapids Horizon Series I EFIS and EIS
with built in Grand Rapids GPS
Lift Reserve Indicator AOA
Grand Rapids 2-Axis Autopilot
Icom A200 Comm radio
PS Engineering PM501 intercom with stereo input
backup Lowrance 1000 GPS
Garmin GTX320 transponder
more...

OTHER EQUIPMENT  

  Wig-wag landing light collision avoidance 
day/night VFR equipped
Cleveland brakes

EXTERIOR

  PPG base coat/ clearcoat

INTERIOR

  Durable, dirt proof gray nylon seats with Temperfoam cushions

REMARKS

  This plane has been fully tweaked and is, IMHO, one of the best Rockets available anywhere.
It is one sweet ride.

Everyone wants to know how fast it goes.  Well, how much gas do you want to burn?  N540VF will flat haul the mail!  But she will also cruise along with the RVs at miserly fuel burns of around 9 GPH.  Sweet.  See below for verified data mined from my spreadsheet.

I had to dig through my spreadsheet to find data close to what you asked for. I have quite a bit of data, but most of it was collected to record temperatures and calibrations, not speed. So rather than give you meaningless speed data, I only show the data that was verified by doing 3 way GPS runs (3 different headings 120 degrees apart to cancel wind effects) at constant altitude and power settings. I don't have very many of those data sets because it is difficult to fly straight and level in this plane. It's too much fun to NOT fly straight and level. :-)

******************************************************************************

I normally fly N540VF at power settings less than 70% power and LOP for good speed and fuel economy. At 2300 RPM and 19" the fuel flow is typically 9 GPH and the speed is around 160 knots. This power setting easily keeps up with the local RV aircraft.

******************************************************************************

Full Throttle, 4500' 2650 RPM, 25.0MP, GPS average 3 way speed: 209.5 knots

******************************************************************************

Date  OAT   Altitude    RPM    Man Pres   Fuel Flow

8/9/05 105F    1500'      2300       23"            13.7 GPH ROP

mixture rich 50 degrees ROP

speed (3 way GPS average) 183knots

As you can see, this was a very hot day...105F is about 41C

******************************************************************************

Date    OAT     Altitude    RPM     Man Pres     Fuel Flow

2-5-06   45F       4500      2300        17.4           8.4GPH LOP

speed (3 way GPS average) 152 knots

mixture lean of peak

******************************************************************************

She's a good airplane.

Vince



Flyboy Accessories Web Store

Tailwheels and Accessories Great products including Supertracks canopy travel extension for side-by-side RVs,  full swivel tailwheels, solid and pneumatic tires, RV Rocket steering links, replacement tires, tools, more...  www.flyboyaccessories.com

Vinyl Graphics We offer a wide variety of premium vinyl graphics, N-numbers, military markings, signs, banners, and spraymasks that will help you beautify your airport, shop, truck, or airplane.  Check it out.  www.flyboyaccessories.com

Supertracks, RV tailwheel upgrades, including pneumatic tires, towbar axles, cowling installation tools, fuel tester holders, canopy locks and latches, throttle quadrants, seat heaters, RV Rocket steering links, tools, T-shirts, firewall and cowling insulation kits, 3M weather stripping and much more!  We carry over 150 items for your RV or other homebuilt.  We have tested these products on your own airplane and only carry the stuff that passed our require  www.flyboyaccessories.com

Vince's Rocket Website on CD: Occasionally someone will ask if I have a CD of all of the info and photos on this website to sell.  The answer is "Yes."  If you'd like to have a CD with ALL of this website, including the thousands of photos, just click above for purchasing details.  PayPal accepted on the products page.  Or just send me $25 and a note with your name and address on it.  Send it to the address shown below.  I'll send you a CD right away. 

Thanks, Vince


 

Since the Rocket is now flying, the building webpages are not changing much.  New stuff posted after 10-27-04 is mostly being added here:  Additions after 10-24-04  or here, Rocket Pilot Reports: Pilot reports.html

 

 Crazy Horse first flight 10-08-2004

Run up

Take off

Flying!

I do have a little bit of Rocket flight data to share:

ROC:                           Beyond belief!
Top Speed:                  WOOOO HOOOO! 
Roll Rate:                    Insane
Vertical Penetration:  Should be illegal

Takeoffs:      Too easy
Landings:     Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

See the movies, feel the excitement: 

Rocket loading and move.wmv My Rocket heading for the airport.

Rocket flying 10-8-04.wmv My Rocket's first flight.

Posey County Rocket Flying.wmv Loren Harmon takes me for a ride in his beautiful Rocketship.

John Meyers sent these movies of his Rocket showing off.

Somewhere Over Lo Res.wmv More Rocket flying

Hot Rocket Takeoff.wmv  Head on shot of John's Rocket taking off on a hot day.

Rocket and Roll it.wmv  The Rocket takes off and a does a few rolls.  The camera switches to the Saffire, look closely and you'll see the Rocket out front.  Then the Saffire finishes up with a nice roll.

Saffire & Rocket.wmv  Alternating footage from the Rocket and the Saffire.

Takeoff.wmv

Approach and Land.wmv

Magic Rocket Slide Show.wmv

I Git Around.wmv

Rocket Man.wmv

Tony Blair sent these movies of some Rocket acro.

TonyBlairacro.wmv

TonyBlairaftcamera.wmv

Blairspin.wmv

You'd better have a big pipe... these files are huge!

10-08-04:  I felt bad..... zooming past the RV chase planes like they weren't moving... but I got over it.

 WOOO HOOOO!

Double high fives!

Tammy was happy!

Read the full report on the PIREP page 2: Pilot Reports page 2

Pages on this website:

New! www.flyboyaccessories.com Great products by Screaming Eagle Graphics and Accessories.  Full swivel tailwheels, axle spacers, vinyl graphics, Vince's Rocket Webpage CDs, more....

Airplane junk.  Make me an offer: Aviation Rummage Sale

I reorganized the content of several of the pages to make more logical groupings and/or added content.  I also changed the order of the index below to more closely reflect the historical progression of my project.

Oshkosh 2005 and later photo gallery: Oshkosh 2005 and later

New stuff posted after 10-27-04 is usually being added here:  Additions after 10-24-04

Rocket specific FAQ page: Frequently Asked Questions

Blueprint Notes page:  Blueprint Notes.htm

Notes for the tail and wings: Tail and Wings.htm

Notes for the fuselage: Fuselage Construction.htm

Notes for the landing gear and brake system: Landing gear and brakes.htm

The canopy page:  Canopy

The cowling deserves its own page.  Here it is:  Cowling

POH and Checklists:  POH and Checklists

Notes for the engine and prop:   Engine and  prop

Notes for the electrical and instrument systems Instruments and electrical

Installation of wings, controls, fairings, and other stuff:  Finishing

Rocket line drawings and paint schemes: Paint Schemes.html

Painting.  If I can do it, you can do it:  Painting

Upholstery. Sewing isn't just for girls.  Save yourself $500 by clicking here: Upholstery

Weight and Balance: Weight and Balance

Miscellaneous stuff: Miscellaneous

Rocket Pilot Reports: Pilot Reports.html

Rocket Pilot Reports Page 2: Pilot Reports page 2

Fitting the chute:  parachute pictures

Other pages:

Oshkosh, Bakersfield, and other airshow pics: Airshow pics

Rocket and RV photo gallery: Photo Gallery.html

Rocket and RV photo gallery page 2:  Photo Gallery Page 2.htm

Budd Davisson's Rocket Review: Davisson's Rocket II review.htm

The World's Coolest $1830 Hangar Doors: hangar doors.htm

Airplane noise.  For that roaring Rocket sound click here:  Airplane noise

Under Construction. Gun Rights webpage: Gun Rights webpage


Completed and flying Rockets as of 12-17-2009:

Harmon Rockets 123+

F-1 Rockets 75+


Harmon Rocket II

D & J Harmon Co. 
Harmon Rocket kits
  
2000 South Union Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93307
Phone: 661-836-1028
Fax: 661-836-1743
Email: 
harmonrocket@aol.com
http://www.harmonrocket.com

F-1 Rocket

Team Rocket
F-1 Rocket parts and kits

Vince Frazier
Mount Vernon, IN 

Phone: 888-835-9269, opt. 2 
Email:  vincefrazier@gmail.com
http://f1aircraft.com/
old site: http://teamrocketaircraft.com


Rocket related pages:

Wayne Hadath's Page: http://www.justplaneworks.com/

Lee Armstrong's Project:  http://www.bondedcomponents.co.uk/rocket/

Ron Graham's Project: Ron Graham's Rocket

Wayne Loeber's Project: Wayne Lober's F-1 project

Jeff's Rocket page: http://www3.telus.net/public/deucharj/ 

Matt Throckmorton's F-1 page: www.DocThrock.com

Russ Werner's Rocket page:  http://wernerworld.com/rocket/

Tom Gummo's Rocket website: http://mysite.verizon.net/t.gummo/index.html

Rick Mentel and Chuck Nuffer's Rocket website: http://www.f1rocket.com/

Danny Melnik's Rocket website: http://www.aero-kids.com/schedule.htm

Ken Fowler's Rocket aerobatics: Rocket aerobatics

Randy Pflanzer's F-1 building info site:  http://www.pflanzer-aviation.com/

Bob Gross's Rocket Website: http://www.f1-rocketboy.com/ 

Captain Kaos's Rocket website: www.upsidedownwebsites.com

RV Yeller Pages (online after 2-28-03):  http://www.matronics.com/YellerPages

Van's aircraft:  http://www.vansaircraft.com/index.htm

Sign up for your daily e-mail chat about Rocket's and RV's : http://www.matronics.com/

General RVconstruction FAQ page: http://www.edt.com/homewing/faq.html

EAA website:   http://eaa.org

Lycoming engines:  http://www.lycoming.textron.com/

Hartzell props:  http://www.hartzellprop.com/

FAA general info:  http://www.faa.gov/

Transport Canada:  http://www.tc.gc.ca/air/menu.htm

Todd's Custom Canopies:  http://toddscanopies.com    email: BSILVER05@aol.com

Useful phone numbers:

Indiana Department of Revenue, Compliance Division: 1-317-232-1497 Get help with those pesky state tax forms.

Federal Aviation Administration, Oklahoma City, OK: 1-405-954-3116 Registration, records, certification, etc...

Indianapolis Flight Standards District Office (FSDO): 1-317-487-2400 Certificates of Airworthiness, homebuilt inspections, registration forms and bills of sale

 Other useful URLs:

 http://www.in.gov/dor/3519.htm   State of Indiana forms for aircraft sales tax and registration

 http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/interactive_airmen_inquiry/  airmen info

 http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/  Follow the links to request N-numbers, get aircraft records, and make payments for airmen records

http://registry.faa.gov    Follow the links to find N-number information, record a lien, import or export an aircraft, change of address, obtain a new or replacement airman certificate, or register an aircraft


They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Bible question archive:  http://www.biblequestions.org/

Bible verse reference:   http://www.blueletterbible.org/


Thoughts on aviation and God:

Aviators as a group are a fiercely independent lot. We have to be, or else none of us would have the courage to leave the safety of the ground for the unknown of the sky.  This independent streak often separates people from God.  We tend to believe that we have all of the answers, which is hubris at its best.  It would be next to impossible to persuade anyone at this stage of their life that God is real.  I have been a believer for my entire life, and at times, I still question and doubt.  This is because God gave us free will and choice. Albert Einstein once said: "The probability that there is no God is the same as a bomb exploding in a print shop resulting in Webster's Dictionary."  Smart words from a smart man.

For those of us who are unbelievers, I hope that you find Him before it is too late.
Scenario A- You die and become worm chow...the end.
Scenario B- You die and go to heaven where you will be embraced by the warmth of His love. Sounds farfetched to unbelievers, no doubt. It sounds great to me.

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."  Matthew 25:13

Don Alexander (God is my pilot- I need all the help I can get!)



The Christian Counter
The Christian Counter

Since 7-12-2005.
There were only 78,000 hits on the old page....geez!  No wonder USI kicked me off!


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Disclaimer

These pages are presented for education and entertainment only.   I am not liable for anything you do with the information (or misinformation) presented here.

If you are building an airplane, you are the manufacturer.  You are solely responsible for all decisions related to the construction and maintenance of your product.

Any products mentioned are not necessarily recommended for use, but are included for informational purposes only.   Builders tips and instructions are not meant to replace the official plans, advice, and instructions from Harmon LLC, TeamRocket  or Van's Aircraft.  All builder's tips and instructions are presented only as a source of information and a forum for exchange and the sharing of ideas and construction methods.  NO responsibility or liability is assumed, expressed, or implied as to the suitability, accuracy, safety, or approval thereof.  Any party using the suggestions, ideas, instructions or examples on these pages, does so at their own risk and discretion and without recourse against anyone.

CAUTION:  This web site is not a publication of, nor approved by, Harmon LLC, Team Rocket, Van's Aircraft or any other person or entity listed herein, except me.  Be advised that I am a blithering idiot with neither brains nor money and my advice is not to be trusted.  So there.  You have been warned!  Vince