Urban Air Wraps Up Lambada Motorglider Cross-Country Flight | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.29.24

Airborne-NextGen-04.30.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers--05.02.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.03.24

Sat, Mar 08, 2008

Urban Air Wraps Up Lambada Motorglider Cross-Country Flight

Numbers Back Up Claims Of Long-Legged Capability

It may look like a motorglider, or even a sailplane... but Urban Air USA says its Lambada is also a first-class touring machine in the LSA category. Recently, company demo pilot and gliding expert, Jim Lee, flew a Lambada from Melbourne, FL to Moriarty, NM to conduct a series of demo flights for the newly certified motorglider.

Statistics from that series of runs prove the efficiency of a motorglider light-sport aircraft. Total distance: 1,550 nm; Total time enroute: 16.2 hours; Average ground speed: 96 knots; Fuel usage: 57 gallons 100LL; Fuel consumption rate: 3.5 gph at 5000 rpm.

Had it been readily available, Lambada could have used 87-octane regular auto gas, the company notes... and, it would have burned slightly less fuel.

"In an age of $3 a gallon auto gas and with 100LL reaching $6 a gallon, cruising the country in a long-gliding Lambada looks pretty good," indicated Urban Air USA importer, Joe Bostik. The two-seat side-by-side Lambada boasts a max glide of 30:1.

According to Lee's log, "During the return trip, we left Fort Worth, TX for Panama City, FL at 11:00 am arriving at 4:30 pm after a 628 mile non-stop run at altitudes up to 13,000 feet msl. We arrived with almost half our fuel remaining."

Lambada carries 26.4 gallons. Total stats for the Moriarty NM to Panama City FL run were Total distance: 1,396 nm; Total time enroute: 12 hours; Average ground speed: 116 knots; Fuel usage: 40 gallons 100LL; Fuel consumption rate: 3.4 gph at 5000 rpm.

In his trip summary, Jim Lee concluded, "Following 3,268 trouble-free miles, the 80-horsepower Lambada and I arrived home. On the final 322 nm leg to Melbourne, we averaged 115 knots over 2.8 hours of flying time."

Average enroute speed west and east was 105 knots. That's not very quick... but at less than four gallons per hour...

FMI: www.urbanairusa.com

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.02.24)

Aero Linx: Model Aeronautical Association of Australia MAAA clubs are about fun flying, camaraderie and community. For over 75 years, the MAAA has been Australia’s largest fl>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.02.24): Touchdown Zone Lighting

Touchdown Zone Lighting Two rows of transverse light bars located symmetrically about the runway centerline normally at 100 foot intervals. The basic system extends 3,000 feet alon>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.02.24)

“Discovery and innovation are central to our mission at Virgin Galactic. We’re excited to build on our successful record of facilitating scientific experiments in subor>[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Cirrus Design Corp SR20

Student Pilot Reported That During Rotation, “All Of A Sudden The Back Of The Plane Kicked To The Right..." Analysis: The student pilot reported that during rotation, “>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC