Get Velocity & Get Physics Linear Velocity don't work when physics object is not in contact with another?

I’ve tried disabling and enabling physics and going through the settings and tweaking values but the get Velocity and Get Physics Linear Velocity functions only seem to report back if there is a direct interaction with the physics system (for example, gravity) – and movement systems based on world offset or local rotation don’t add anything that the system seems able to interpret unless it is as a direct comparison via two interacting physics bodies.

I don’t understand why this is happening, nor what the appropriate fix would be. Is there some other method of moving an actor within a scene that can interact with the physics system appropriately to solve this problem or is there something else I’m missing?

Even printing string, I still get this very mysterious result where the velocity readout dips to zero on any axis not currently interacting directly with the system. Whether its as a widget or just printing directly from my pawn, the result is exactly the same.

UPDATE: USE ADD IMPULSE INSTEAD. OFFSET IS FOR SOCKETED OBJECTS!

THANKS MISLEADING FLYING EXAMPLE. THANKS DOCUMENTATION WHICH MAKES NO MENTION OF USE CASES.

YOU WERE BOTH HUGE HELPS /s