cessna pilots don’t like these planes, and I understand …..
There is nothing dangerous about a fast plane.
There is a difference between say a C150 and say a TB20, where a C150 can just be started, flown to some place, the throttle closed enough to make it go down, and landed. Whereas a 150kt plane needs to be flown by the numbers a lot more; e.g. you need to plan your descents.
So I do not buy any argument saying that a Lancair is a dangerous or even difficult plane because it is faster than the normal ones.
If it is more dangerous to fly, it would be due to things like
and about 20 other things which certified planes are designed and tested for.
A 57kt Vs is perfectly fine – the SR22 and the TB20 are 59kt – unless it has crap brakes, which is possible in a plane designed for American long hard runways.
If it is very twitchy to hand fly that would probably translate to getting fed up with it fairly soon – a bit like the standard caricature of a beautiful woman who has a terrible temper. How long does the average 320 owner keep the plane? An autopilot is a necessity for going places but you have to hand fly sometimes, e.g. taking off, visual approaches, landings, when the AP fails, and when you hit a bit of turbulence which makes it disconnect (I had that on a flight past that Samos mountain the other day).
Jan Olieslagers wrote:
Aviathor, are you serious?
Not always. The “snivel” part should have been a give-away.
AnthonyQ wrote:
Don’t worry Jan….I’ve met Aviathor….and despite being a Noggie he has a sense of humour!
Thanks Anthony.
Still, poor JoJo will probably get nightmares at the idea of flying a Lancair now, although I think she would look real sharp in one. I would love to try one myself.
The “snivel” part should have been a give-away.
Ah, hm, ok. Will try to remember. And I must admit I appreciate a bit of tongue-in-cheek but seem to have missed out on this one.
Meanwhile I also found out what ‘Noggie’ stands for, and only hope it was not meant as derogatory as one source describes.
Being in the oil business and having also lived in Norway I have frequent pleasant contact and have many good Noggie friends!
Unlike many somewhat derogatory abbreviations, Noggie simply derived from people being too lazy to say Norwegian….it is just a lazy contraction
If it is very twitchy to hand fly that would probably translate to getting fed up with it fairly soon – a bit like the standard caricature of a beautiful woman who has a terrible temper.
Not all planes are designed for steady, slogging IFR use, and it can be capability of the plane outside of that regime that makes it challenging but fun – for instance high control gain, immediate response, and sinking like a rock power off (or not at all) can make for a plane that requires skill in some regime of flight. OTOH, and as Peter says, managing speed in a touring aircraft just requires a bit of planning and experience.
The Pitts comes to mind as a (certified) plane that is beautifully controllable, very strong, nothing wrong with it at all in the air (quite the opposite), but not something the average ‘career’ IFR touring pilot is going to step into and fly safely without considerable preparation.
Looks like a wonderful aircraft!
You could be flying yourself to the next EuroGA flyin Jojo?!
An aircraft that flies so fast with that engine must be very slippery. But that doesn’t necessarily make it dangerous, just some planning needed. Of course it’s dangerous if you treat it like a C150 and pull the power back at 6000ft, 10 miles from the runway and expect all to work out fine for landing at the beginning of the runway at the proper speed! But that’s not dangerous, just poor technique. That’s true of any high performance plane. You have to learn how to manage the energy, which anyone transiting to a new aircraft should be doing anyway.
Jojo would have no problem with that. She’s flown enough different types ;)
Best of luck with whatever you choose Jojo!
I don’t know what the gear lowering speed is but hopefully it is high enough to serve as speed brakes….looks very slippery…..looks absolutely fantastic actually!
A guy here just bought a finished Lancair 235 a month or so ago. It’s a nice aircraft, but buying a pre-built/used experimental aircraft, then you are not entitled to do the maintenance/repairs you can do when you build it yourself (depending on local rules), and there are many mechanics who won’t even touch an experimental aircraft, except the engine, if it is a “normal” type and certified (Lycoming/conti, not an experimental “clone”).
But a Lancair? You cannot “do” anything with it, except flying fast. You need an “international” size runway for instance. In the US they are popular in air races. It’s more like a slow jet, than a fast propeller aircraft. It’s nothing like an RV that cruises at 170 kt and can land and take off in a couple of hundred meters of grass.
Besides, half the fun with Experimentals is building (I’m building two 
) I would never buy a pre-built experimental aircraft without a full log of the build process, and by a thorough examination by someone who has built the type himself. Experimentals can, and is, built by anyone, and if it is imported from the US, there probably are no log of the build either, it’s no requirement there although the “serious” builders usually have a log.
and sinking like a rock power off
Why would the 320 have a high sink rate?
It looks great and very sleek, and must be slippery to get that speed on that fuel flow. That should translate to a good glide performance. Big jets have an amazing glide performance for this reason.
What you will get with a high Vs is an increase in the difficulty of doing a successful forced landing on a rough surface – obviously. But 57kt is not a high Vs. What the 320 might have which is unusual is a combination of an “IFR tourer” Vs (57kt) and a landing gear which cannot take much punishment. But engine failures are very rare – the MTBF of a certified Lyco (speaking of total engine stoppage i.e. a forced landing) is of the order of 50k hours.
Obviously a fuel totaliser is a must
