Mine is a 235/320.
Starting to consider a homebuilt...
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Mine is a 235/320.
JHW
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Imagine I'm speaking more slowly: If you restrict your homebuilt to 4 seats, how is that dissimilar from a malibu ?A Malibu has 6 seats. One of my current missions is 5 people. One of them is 35 lbs, and everyone else is less than FAA standard.
Realistically, I'm not doing anything for at least 1-2 years.
But hey, I need to have a next aircraft in mind as a "goal".
Currently, I'm a partner in the Comanche. I'd maybe look at a Malibu with one other partner, or possibly keep the Comanche share and have a fast 2-place for business travel. Not sure that would pass the "wife-test though...
At this point, it's just tire kicking...
I don't guess you've ever been in a malibu. Try one on sometime.
MtnMarcus
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zaitcev
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Is there a Lancair with airframe parachute? I'm asking because of the recent fatal by the guy flying from Washington state to Oshkosh. The last thing he reported was that his windshield was covered in oil. He put it into hilly, wood-covered terrain. I imagine a chute on Lancair would do more good than chute on, say, a RANS, due to higher stall speed.
RV10flyer
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zaitcev
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The only fatal of Lancair next airport over was a piston version "Legacy 2000". It was low enough to catch a utility cable after suspected fuel system issues. The biggest remaining part was the engine, the second biggest was a seat cushion. The rest disintegrated into pieces about the size of my palm. It's like the airplane was made of tempered glass. I don't think I saw a Cirrus or LongEZ shatter like that.
Jimmy cooper
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The latest one that caught my attention was a " hey watch this" type nut case who did a low hammerhead over his buddy's house and killed his ownsef. Not an experimental and a high time commercial pilot. ( arrowstar was used in this failed attempt.)
Yup, commonly these do seem to leave few significant pieces in event of accident. When you consider they are very lightweight, cruise over 200mph, gain speed very rapidly when pointed downward (I can hit 225 kts with O-320 power in a 500 FPM descent) and combine that with a best glide of over 100 kts, stall speeds around 65 kts, few versions with stall warning, little to no pre-stall buffet, completely ineffective slipping...it makes for poor odds in event of power failure.
Not sure why Cirrus or LongEZ seem much different.
cocolos
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I presume the same would be with either of those. I believe the cirrus has similar wing loading as the legacy but don't quote me on it.
flyingriki
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flyingriki
Isn't your plane built like a Glasair? Molded fuselage and glass skin over ribs in the wings? Cirrus was designed by the same guys.
Most the Rutan designs are foam core throughout. Makes for large sturdy parts.
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Yes, I believe it is like the Glasair. It does have a premolded skin (2 walled like a cardboard box) with a few ribs or supports. Definitely not solid foam core.Isn't your plane built like a Glasair? Molded fuselage and glass skin over ribs in the wings? Cirrus was designed by the same guys.
Most the Rutan designs are foam core throughout. Makes for large sturdy parts.
Todd Copeland
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The lancair and glasair both have molded skin structures but they are very different. The lancair is a much lighter structure than the glasair. Look at the empty weights and you can see this. My Glasair III is built like a brick. The structure is overbuilt. I'm not sure about the Legacy but the earlier lancair structures are very light. I have moved a couple of projects of both Glasairs and Lancairs, and I know this to be true. It is also true that the Rutan type of construction is very different with foam cores.
zaitcev
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I think Cirrus has some kind of frame around cockpit onto which the chute harness attaches, so a Cirrus wreck often looks like a melted outline of an airplane after it smashes and burns up. That is different from a conical debris field left by Lancair.
As for LongEZ, if often can sustain significant damage and yet remain in one piece (not flyable of course). The most amazing part about that is it has engine in the rear and yet you need to smash it real good to get engine to come forward and squish you. In such case it's an already-dead body getting squished.
Sorry for his hideously morbid discussion. Fly safe and none of this is any concern.
OTOH, after I started to fly in helmet I flipped airplane over and hit my head on the runway... and nothing happened. Good thing I didn't wait to switch to helmet until after the incident.