233 Kts, FL230, 26 Minutes From Brake Release... Wow! Part
Seven
Serious Concerns…
With speed comes
responsibility… with speed and altitude comes responsibility
and greater a need for understanding the realm within which we
operate. It’s one thing to operate an aircraft at rarified
heights… it’s another to train someone to go there.
I’m not sure that ANYONE really has a handle on taking the
garden-variety GA pilot from the 10-12K limits we normally play
with to heights pushing five miles. Let me be perfectly clear about
this… the “Flight Levels” are a killer. They do
it quickly, insidiously and (usually) without a whole lot of
warning. It’s also one thing to play in the Flight Levels in
a pressurized airplane (with the buffer of a number of systems
telling you about your potential health) and another to operate
there on supplemental oxygen.
When a pressurized airplane starts to fail (breathing-wise),
there are gauges and systems that tell the pilot that one’s
cabin altitude isn’t up to snuff (or sniff, for the
matter)… further, the sudden failure mode for a pressurized
airplane is usually pretty sudden (but not always… need we
hearken back to the Paine Stewart tragedy) and accompanied by
significant physical warnings to let someone know that the shinola
has made contact with the fan.
When a supplemental oxygen system fails, or is improperly used
by a pilot, the warning signs are (usually) far more subtle and
often nearly impossible to define unless there are some additional
means to warn the pilot. Take this from a guy who spends WAY too
much time in high-altitude, unpressurized environments (which may
explain WAY too much…), but in my opinion, flying
unpressurized airplanes in the flight levels is like playing
Russian roulette without:
- Proper training—including a
“chamber ride” if you haven’t done this before
(or within a few years).
- Pilot warning/monitoring devices that will
specifically warn a flyer that they are not getting the requisite
oxygen necessary to fly the aircraft.
- Taking a chamber ride, at least once, is
critical. Nothing will better prepare you for the way YOUR body
handles oxygen deprivation than actually getting the chance to do
some heavy breathing (and no, those high-school sessions with the
high-school sweetie in the back of the Chevy Nova don’t
count… sigh) and learn the specific signs that they our body
transmits as it runs out of breathable air. It’s even better
to repeat the experience every few years since as one ages,
one’s physiology undergoes changes. I do a chamber ride every
few years and I’m amazed at what I keep learning from the
process.
PLEASE folks, if you’re going to play in the flight
levels, do NOT take this for granted… your ignorance can
kill you.
Lancair is making a good start with the basic training of
transitioning pilots to rarified air ops, but I can’t name
ANYONE who really has the hang of this yet – at least not to
my paranoid way of thinking. Don’t get me wrong, the
capabilities offered by the Lancair Columbia 400 are a
mind-blower… unequaled by anything else in it’s class
– but prepare carefully, learn thoroughly and KEEP learning
–otherwise we’re going to have a repeat of the
UNNECESSARY accidents that have accompanied every new leap in GA
performance and capability… from the Bonanza days to the
Twin Comanche days, to the early Cirrus accidents.
So… How Fast… and How High?
Mark and I suited up with the masks, imitated Hannibal Lecter
for a bit, and then sweet-talked Miami center into an altitude
block above 20K as we blasted off for Valhalla. Our flight to
(ultimately) 23,000 feet took all of 26 minutes -- with two short
altitude holds and a little begging for more altitude when it
looked like we were going to be held at 21k (we had hoped for 24K).
Once there… we noted barely diminished control effectiveness
(barely noticeable unless you’re looking for it), solid
flying harmonies and nothing to suggest that the bird was going to
be guilty of bad manners. Particularly appreciated was the pitch
profile… which remained solid as a rock… a nice thing
to enjoy whilst trundling along through rarified air.
The numbers were pretty impressive. While cranking along at 31
inches and 2500 revs, the C400 was chugging 24.3 GPH… but
turning that gluttony into a (no-fooling ) TAS of 233 knots…
and it kept doing so for an extended period of time… this
was no fluke… this was for real. Better; Mark still thinks
there’s a few knots available from the prop and a few other
minor issues. Speed freaks… God bless ‘em.
‘Twas nice at 4.5 miles above Mother Earth… we were
well above the haze. A little bit of weather off to the West was
well below our altitude and from here, should anything happen, we
coulda glided all the way to Botswana (OK… close to
Botswana). There is a lot to be said for the ability to work in
rarified air and if you have the skill and equipment to do it,
you’ll wonder why you ever stayed below FL 180. And that
speed. Damn.
233 kts... for real. Truth in advertising? Go figure. That sure
is going to ruin an industry practice...
ANN Test Pilot's Summary:
Damn.... The L400 is one badass little airplane -- 23000' in 26
minutes (with two ATC altitude holds), intensely good harmonies at
altitude, and an honest to oh-my-goodness 233kts... I've got screen
pix of the PFD to prove it. Yup, the L400 is as the Angelina Jolie
of airplanes... BAD, beautiful, wild and SO ready to boogey. Daddy
like!
This is about as nice an execution of a first-off-the-line
airplane as I have seen and despite the teething problems of the
past few years, industry veterans like Bing Lantis, Tom Bowen and
the dedicated cadre of Lancair faithful (especially Mark
“Madman” Cahill and Ron "Wrong Way" Wright) have
whipped this high-performance aircraft company into serious
shape.
Fit and finish look awfully good for a first airplane, the bird
flies as well as its cousins (which is saying a lot) and the tail
tweaks have made it a surprisingly solid bird to fly in the flight
levels. We are impressed… but we want a second shot at this
thing where we plan a 3 leg cross country with 300-500 mile legs, a
little weather, lots of high-altitude and a serious payload. Mark
says the bird is up for this “torture test” and invited
me to bring it on… we will, Mark—we’re looking
forward to it. This bird has guts.
Pros: FAST! FUN! Nicely organized and presented
pilot’s manual, beautiful panel installation, excellent
control harmonies (especially up high), GREAT spoilers,
surprisingly simple systems and procedures, nicely detailed factory
O2 system, GREAT baggage area.
Cons: Seats and peripheral visibility (for
pilots) need some work. I’m not totally convinced that the
profile mode for the PFD is the way to go. Though the MFD in
profile rocks, BIG price tag (but if ya wanna play, ya gotta
pay!), some justified customer bitching about factory interface
with clients, unpressurized “flight-level” ops require
a more professional pilot approach and training,
One final note: This thing just begs for
pressurization. While it’s a fine airplane in and of
itself… the proper fruition of this program will come when
they install a pressure vessel and get rid of the need for donning
a mask to play in rare air. As good as the market may be for the
current hot-rod king of the single-engine GA/Piston market (and the
C400 is just that), I think it will pale to what will happen (if
the price doesn’t skyrocket out of sight) when a pressurized
version becomes available. I think such an airplane, with this kind
of performance (and a slightly more mature weather/datalink system)
will have them lining up around the block… and if it ever
gets a turbine front-end… watch out. To quote Wil Smith in
Independence Day… “I GOTTA GET ME ONE OF
THESE!”
Lancair Columbia 400
Engine, Propeller and Airframe Data
|
Engine |
TCM
TSIO-550, |
HP |
310 hp |
Propeller |
Hartzell 3 Blade |
Length |
25.5 ft |
Height |
9 ft |
Wingspan |
36 ft |
Wing Area |
141.2 sq ft |
Wing Aspect Ratio |
92 |
Wing Loading |
24 lbs/sq ft |
Power Loading |
11.61 lbs/hp |
Maximum Fuel (US Gallons) |
98 Usable |
|
Lancair Columbia 400
Weight Data
|
Takeoff Weight (Maximum) |
3600 lbs |
Ramp Weight (Maximum) |
3612 lbs |
Empty Weight (Approximate) |
2500 lbs |
Useful Load (Approximate) |
1100 lbs
|
Landing Weight (Maximum) lbs |
3420 |
Baggage Weight (Maximum) |
120 lbs |
|
Lancair Columbia 400
Speed Data
|
VO Maximum Operating Maneuvering Speed
(3600 lbs gw) |
158 KIAS |
VFE Maximum Flap Extended Speed (Full Flaps) |
119 KIAS |
VFE1 Maximum Takeoff Flap Extended Speed
(Takeoff Flaps) |
129 KIAS |
VNO Maximum Structural Cruising Speed |
181 KIAS |
VNE Never Exceed
Speed |
235 KIAS |
VSO Stall Speed in the Landing
Configuration |
60 KIAS |
VS1 Stall Speed (Takeoff Flaps) |
65 KIAS |
VSN Stall Speed (No Flaps) |
71 KIAS |
|
|
Lancair Columbia 400
Cruise Data
|
Maximum Power Speed (FL180) |
230 KTAS (265 mph) |
Maximum Recommended Cruise Power Speed (FL250) |
235 KTAS (270 mph) |
Maximum Range (65 %Power,
FL180, 200 KTAS) |
908 Nautical Miles* |
Maximum Endurance
|
6.4 Hours* |
|
Lancair Columbia 400
Performance Data
|
Takeoff Distance (Sea Level – Standard Temp)
Ground Run (No wind at 3600 lbs gw) |
1200 ft |
Over 50 ft Obstacle (No wind at 3600 lbs
gw) |
1800 ft |
Landing Distance (Sea Level – Standard Temp) Ground Run
(No wind at 3400 lbs gw) |
1900 ft |
Over 50 ft Obstacle (No wind at 3400 lbs
gw) |
2350 ft |
Maximum Rate of Climb |
1300 fpm |
|
*Includes climb, descent and 45 minute
reserves
|