the IV's entry into the high end of thekit segment, here are its vital ingredi­ents. A surprisingly roomy four-placecabin is perched on a laminar-flowwing of just 98 square feet. At the headof the line, find a twin turbochargedand intercooled Continental T510­

SSO-B, churning out 350 horsepowerthrough a three-blade propeller. Allthis rests on Cessna 210-styleretractable gear and carries a maxi­mum gross weight of just 3,200pounds. Lancair has been selling theIV kit since 1991. alongside its two­place 320/360 series and the four­place, fixed-gear E5.

To get from the original IV to thepressurized version required morethan simply rewriting the recipe. Lan­cair performed finite-element analysis(a computer modeling of airframestresses) at several points in the IV-P'sgestation and expended considerableengineering talent sealing up the IV'sstructure. Actually, a composite air­frame lends itself well to pressurization•

The door required amulti-latch system

that's unlike the

common p-airplanearrangements.

because it has a contiguous structure,without rivet gaps and with predictablestress distribution. Neibauer says, "Ican't imagine pressurizing an alu­minum airplane. [With the IV-P,] thethought was that this was going to bepretty simple to seal it because we'vegot basically a thermos bottle here."

Indeed, with judicious increases ofcarbon-fiber ply thicknesses out of theway, the most difficult tasks turnedout to be sealing the large, left-sidedoor and countering pressurization'seffects on the control system. Thedoor required a multi-latch systemthat's unlike the common p-airplanearrangements. Neibauer says, "On abig airplane, you can get a very rigidframe [around the door], and then allyou need is shear pins because all youhave are shear loads. Well, we have acombination of shear loads and mem­

brane stress. Everything is flexing andmoving like a balloon, so you can'thave a shear pin because it has tophysically lock. 50 the latches we have

52 • JUNE 1994

now reach around [the frame], grab,and pull in." The door is opened witha pair of handles, one controlling thelatches along the front and rear edges,and the other sequencing the bottomlatches of the top-hinged door. Anelectrically pumped up pneumaticgasket seals the door.

Although the standard IV has a bag­gage bay accessible from the cabin, theP's seat bulkhead forms part of thepressure vessel, leaving a small hatshelf inside. Baggage rides in theunpressurized tailcone. In addition tothe new door, the P sports thicker win­dows and heftier pillars; however, thewindshield side pillars are massive, tak­ing something away from the normallypanoramic view afforded by the IV.

Lancair essentially left the IV'spushrod control system alone but hadto make some additions in deference to

pressurization. In a perfect world, any­thing that must penetrate the pressurevessel would have a rotational move­ment like a torque tube or low surfacearea like a typical control cable.Instead, the IV-P's ailerons and eleva­

tors are actuated by hefty push-pullrods (the rudder is cable-driven) thatrequire boots to keep cabin pressurefrom leaking away. Those aileronpush rods are relatively easy to seal,with no serious functional drawbacksto booting them because their move­ment self-cancels with regard to cabinpressure. Not so with the elevators.Lancair had to come up with a smalldevice that samples overall cabin dif­ferential and applies a slight nose­down movement to offset the boots'nose-up influence; the boots fill withcabin pressure and expand, moving thepushrod to which they are attached. Inflight, you notice a slight stiffening ofthe controls, about as pronounced as aCessna P21O's or Piper Malibu's.

Much of the pressurization systemwould be familiar to the Malibu pilot;however, the IV-P's performance issomething else. Consider these num­bers: As tested. the IV-P sports a powerloading of 9.1 pounds/horsepowerand wing loading of 32.7 pounds/square foot. Keep those figures inmind, as they are a clue to the IV'sflight characteristics.

Which is not to say the IV-P is diffi­cult to fly. Armed with some expecta­tion of the Lancair's manners and a

healthy dollop of respect for theinstalled power, the IV-P seemed, tome at least, a more forgiving, commu-

54 • JUNE 1994

•••

A Continental TS/O-550-B nestles into Lancair IV-P's roomy cowl (left); theprototype's packaging is quite well done. Prefabricated main gear

structllre (above) gets bolted and bonded into the IV's belly by the builder.

nicative, and docile airplane than thenon-pressurized IV. Credit a fartherforward empty center of gravity, aswell as the effects of adding fuelcapacity to the forward wing bays, andthe p's greater overall weight, say theLancair staffers.

Company demonstration pilot MikeDeHate and I had clearly waited a daytoo long for the flight. PhotographerMike Fizer and I arrived the day beforeand spent most of the time snappingpictures, asking questions, and tour­ing the Lancair facility. One day later,central Oregon was engulfed in lowclouds and rainshowers; IFR condi­tions prevailed. Undeterred, DeHateplanned a round-robin flight to thePortland area from Lancair's Red­

mond, Oregon, base. We aimed high:Flight Level 230.

In all, this proved to be an ideal testof the airplane's mettle-to say noth­ing of DeHate's. Give a pilot a high-fly­ing pressurized steed, and you can betit'll spend time in weather. Consider­ing the investment of time and money,the IV-P becomes far more than a

sunny-day fly toy.Startup and taxi-out proved

straightforward in the IV-P. Thanks toa decent amount of friction in the

swiveling nosewheel, having to use dif­ferential braking to steer isn't particu­larly troublesome; you tap the brakesto set up a heading, and the airplanewill hold it well. Ready for departure,you will find no unusual preflightitems to deal with, save for the pres­surization controls. Manufactured byDukes, the system resembles others inproduction pressurized airplanes. Setthe field altitude plus a small margin,and the airplane will pressurize auto­matically. During our flight, though,the system had to be manipulatedmanually by DeHate; N I06L had just35 hours on the Hobbs, and under­standably, some of the systems hadnot been thoroughly shaken out.

One might reasonably expect asmall, light airplane with all of the IV­P's horsepower to head resolutely leftwhen you spur all 350 horses intoaction. It will, of course, but usingnearly full right rudder and no brakes,the IV-P accelerated from a standstill

without drama, and it was easy tokeep it on the centerline. (A seriouscrosswind might call for some use ofbrakes at the beginning of the takeoffroll, however.) Naturally, at full power,the IV-P claws at the runway and air-

AOPA PILOT • 55

WHAT'S WITH THE WAIT;»

These things take time.Lancair has taken considerable heat about the length oftime it has taken builders to get non-factory-built IVs fly­ing. Right now, only three ships are flying, all in essencefactory projects; the third belongs to company employeeDon Goetz.

What's the deal? Neibauer explains that the delaysshipping the IV fuselage kits involve the company's effortsat parts commonality. After the P model was given the go­ahead, Lancair delayed delivery of fuselages (the so-calledA kit, comprising the tail and wing structures, had alreadybeen shipping). Now that the bulk of the engineering andtesting has been completed, the IV and IV-P fuselages,which now share many parts, are leaving the Redmondfacility at the rate of about four a week. Lancair wanted toaccomplish a couple of things: to establish parts and man­uals commonality, which helps the builders and the com­pany, and to fulfill the wishes of builders who were work­ing on wings and tails and had expressed interest in thepressurized option.

Soon, Lancair expects its Singapore facility, which nowmakes many of the components of the 320/360 fast-build kits, totake up some of the production slack between canings. -MEC

speed like a teenager at a fresh bag ofTwinkies. The 65-knot rotation speedcame and went quickly, and it took agreater tug on the side-stick controllerto lift the nose than I had predicted.(Any first flight in a new airplane typecalls for delicate handling of the con­trols.) Finally airborne after chargingthrough 80 knots, the airplane settledinto a 2,OOO-feet-per-minute climb at135 knots indicated with the gearstowed and the 10 degrees of flapsused for takeoff just coming up. (Lan­cair deserves a pat on the back formarking the p's airspeed indicator inknots, rather than the usual kitplanepractice of miles per houL)

DeHate suggested pullingback to 75-percent powerand full-rich mixture for theclimb, mirroring Continen­tal's recommendations. Assuch, the airplane climbed atbetter than 1,000 fpm at anindicated 165 knots; electron­ic engine gauges read 31inches manifold pressure,2,500 rpm, and 28 gallons perhour on the fuel flow. Wewere able to maintain thisspeed, rate of climb, andpower setting all the way toFL230. A brief, air traffic con­trol-mandated level-off at8,000 feet let the IV-P acceler­ate to 205 knots indicated, fora true of 231 knots.

Those pilots coming fromthe Malibu would be im­

pressed by the cooling char­acteristics of the Lancair.

•Both at altitudeand down low,

the IV-P proved tobe anything but

a handful.

There are no cowl flaps, and even atthe end of our climb to FL230, thehottest cylinder head temperature set­tled on 409 degrees Fahrenheit. Ofcourse, the IV-P indicated a higher air-

speed in the climb than the Malibuwould in cruise.

Finally set up for cruise at 75-per­cent power, the IV-P chugged right upto 195 knots indicated, for 278 knotstrue, or Mach 0.46, if you care to countit that way. This particular Continen­tal, a longer stroke version of the Mal­ibu engine, runs cleanly and smoothlylean of peak turbine inlet temperature;set 50 degrees lean, the fuel flow camedown to 18 gph on the fuel flow com­puter. The highest CHT noticed incruise was 400 degrees.

At altitude, I expected the Lancairto be a bit less forgiving than down

low. I remembered the wordsof a very experienced Malibupilot who said that mountwas "goosey" in the flight lev­els, despite its long, efficientwing. In fact, the Lancair flewfirmly and steadily up high,with little of the roll huntingthat seems to afflict some

high-flying piston singles.We didn't, however, match

the claimed speeds at altitude.Lancair lists the IV-P's cruise

speeds and flows for 75- and65-percent power at 24,000feet as 291 knots, 17.5gph, and282 knots, 16.8 gph, respec­tively. Thanks to a winding­down attitude indicator-Lan­

cair is considering switchingfrom a suction to a pressurepneumatic system in the p­we cut our stay at FL230 short,and it's reasonable to believe

that the airplane just had not

56 • JUNE 1994

Recommended THO

Propeller

Lancair IV-P

Base kit price: $66,900

LengthHeightWingspanWing areaWing loadingPower loadingSeats

Cabin lengthCabin width

Cabin heightEmpty weightMaximum gross weightUsefulload

Payload w/full fuelFuel capacity, std

built; this structure is thenbonded and bolted into the

airframe. A fast-build wing kit,a $7,900 option, supposedlyremoves about 700 hours'

labor by installing the wingribs and main and auxiliaryspars. In the normal schemeof things, only the main sparcomes pre-mated to one ofthe wing skins. Still, the

builder must install control runs and

wiring before closing out the wings.As befitting its complexity, the IV-P

carries a sizable price tag. Basic air­frame costs run $46,900 for theunpressurized model, $66,900 for theP mode], and $56,800 for a ready-for-PIV. This last option allows the builderto complete a nonpressurized airplanethat needs only the additional P­model hardware; structures unique tothe P are already in place, but theactual pressurization bits stay in Red­mond. Lancair says that between 50and 70 percent of the current 200-oddIVbuilders are constructing P models.

Add to the costs a factory-newTSIO-550-B at $45,000 or, if you wanta nonturbo IV (naturally, meaning nopressurization), about half that for anIO-550-G Continental of 300 hp. Withsome builders specifying Bendix/KingEFIS systems, it's easy to see how thecosts can escalate. Figure that a pro­fessionally done panel with autopilotand current avionics will run any­where from $25,000 for a basic setupto upwards of $50,000. Plus, paint andinterior will add at least $10,000 to thetotal. So the bottom line will be in theneighborhood of$150,OOOto $200,000,not counting the value of your time asa builder. Remember, too, that thebasic building quote of 2,500 hoursincludes the basic airframe; custompaint jobs or shuttle-technologyinstrument panels will add to the time.At press time, Lancair predicted thatahout a dozen customer-built IVswere nearing completion.

Ultimately, though, there are somepilots who, with the serious hungerfor speed and high-altitude capabili­ty, will care not at all how long ittakes for this dish to jell. Having atruly lovely airplane that also can putto shame speed-wise just abouteverything else with a piston enginewill be reward enough. It's a kind ofaviating that many pilots would payalmost anything-in time and/ormoney-to savor. 0

SpecificationsTeledyne Continental

TSIO-550-H,

350 hp@2,700 rpm1,600 hr

MT, three-blade,

constant -speed,76-in diameter

25 ft

8 ft

30 ft 2 in

98 sq ft

32.7Ib/sq ft9.llb/hp

4

10 ft 4 in

3 ft lOin3 ft 11 in

2,1401b3,2001b1,0601b

5321b

89 gal (88 gal usable)534 Ib (5281b usable)

12 qt1751b

Powerplant

Oil capacityBaggage capacity

Limiting and Recommended AirspeedsVn (rotation) 65 KlASVx (best angle of climb) 110 KIASVy (best rate of climb) 135 KlASVA (design maneuvering) 170 KlASVfE (max flap extended) 132 KlASVLE (max gear extended) 145 KlASVI.O (max gear operating) 145 KIASVNO (rnax structural cruising) 220 KlASVNE (never exceed) 274 KlASVSI (stall, clean) 69 KlASVso (stall, in landing configuration) 62 KIAS

Performance

Takeoff distance, ground roll 1,200 ftMax demonstrated crosswind component 18 ktHate of climb, sea level 3,000 fpmMax level speed, sea level 297 ktCruise speed/endurance w/45-min rsv, std fuel

(fuel consumption)@75%power, best economy 291 kt/4.3 hr24,000 ft (17.5 gph/105 pph)@65% power, best economy 282 kt/4.5 hr24,000 ft (16.8 gphllOI pph)

Max operating altitude 29,000 ftLanding distance, ground roll 1,400 ft

For more information, colltact Lancair fnter­

national. 2244 Airport Way, Redmond, Oregon97756; telephone 503/923-2244.

All specifications are based on manufactllrer'scalClllatiollS. All performance figures are based onstandard day, standard atmosphere, sea level,gross weight conditions unless otherwise noted.

accelerated to full cruise in thetime allotted.

As is true with any slick,fast airplane, descending anddecelerating take significantplanning. Consider the limi­tations of pressurizationhere, too, because you can'treduce manifold pressuremore than 4 or 5 inches with­

out losing the cabin pressure.As such, when we headed downhill at

the end of the flight, the airplanewound right up to 250 knots indicatedand 2,000 fpm with a slight powerreduction. At one point, the GPS calledout a 381-knot groundspeed.

What will likely trip up the nascentLancair IV-P pilot is the rate at whichit will gobble up ground in the termi­nal area. Yes, you can always throttleback, but in attempting to keep thecabin pumped up, your options arelimited. The gear's low extensionspeed of 145 knots means that theoptional speed brakes ought to beconsidered standard equipment. Wecompleted the VOR approach intoRedmond without a problem, DeHatekindly and frequently making sugges­tions to get the airplane slowed down.

Both at altitude and down low, thelV-P proved to be anything but a hand­ful. For the pilot unused to airplaneswith low power loading, the need tofrequently trim in all three axes withpower changes will be a surprise, aswill the prodigious sink rate that fo]­lows a large backward tug on the throt­tle. Overall, the IV-P is moderately sta­ble in pitch and will hold ontotrimmed airspeed reasonably well.

To ensure future Lancair IV pilotsare up to the task, and so that theymay get insurance, the company hasset up a training course with Portland,Oregon-based Flightcraft. A]ongsidethe usual ground school and time ineither the customer's or the factory'sairplane, Flightcraft will have on handa modified Frasca simulator to helpwork out instrument proceduresbefore hitting the skies. In addition,Lancair will, for a fee, dispatch a com­pany pilot to perform first flights andairframe inspections for all Lancairbuilders.

Quoted build time is 2,500 hours,and Lancair seems to have taken stepsto simplify what is arguably the mostcomplex kit airplane around. Mainlanding gear attach points are con­tained in an aluminum box that's pre-

58 • JUNE 1994