233 Kts, FL230, 26 Minutes From Brake Release... Wow! Part
Six
It Sure Goes fast… But Does It Go Slow?
Stalls are a joke. Both
elevator and rudder are limited (with an actual rudder limiter
built into the aircraft systems) so as to keep one out of trouble
(something I understand the reasoning behind but personally do NOT
care for). This is NOT a criticism of the airplane, because this
aspect of the design will, no doubt, keep some poorly-trained pilot
from doing something stupid. I just hate anything that takes
control away from the pilot....
A full power-off, clean stall is a non-event, especially if
approached at anything less than a degree per second pitch rate.
Just under 70 kts, the C400 shudders with a barely discernible high
frequency buffet and the nose refuses to rise to an inefficient
angle of attack. Approach a stall with a more aggressive rate
(without aggressive loading) and the bird simply reaches a critical
angle (often about 10-12 degrees pitch up) and then.... comes down.
OK: maybe there’s a little waffling, but there is no
asymmetrical behavior and NO games. Do it with all 310 ponies at
full gallop and the bird still doesn’t want to do much but
turn a little in sympathy with the torque, though there is still
enough rudder to keep the ball centered. I could not get it to
break with the weight distribution we had on our test flight.
I’d love to try it at aft CG, though, since the Lancair
manual indicates that the effect is not quite as benign (and the
factory requires new C400 pilots to be trained in this area, to
boot).
With a notch of flaps, the stall settles into the low 60s,
remains wholly symmetrical, and still won’t break worth a
damn. I might as well have brought a lunch and had a sandwich, so
bored were we with what was going on. Control response at stall
remains quite agile, with excellent rudder and roll authority right
up through what appeared to be as much of a buffet as we were going
to get. With full flaps, it becomes obvious that the landing flaps
throw out a LOT of drag and it becomes VERY difficult to get the
nose to approach anything resulting in a critical angle of attack.
What happens is a slightly more solid high frequency buffet with a
slightly more notable amplitude and a bit of nose nodding until you
decide the whole thing is stupid. About the only negative note (a
small one), I found was a slight force drop-off near stall...
resulting in about 10-15% reduction in aft stick force. Once again,
everything stays stable, symmetrical and controllable. All
recoveries occur rapidly with simple lessening of pitch
pressure.
I Feel The Need… The Need To Breathe
The Lancair 400 is a heavy breather and can operate at altitudes
that require supplemental oxygen to keep the pilot operating
legally and efficiently. As you may recall, oxygen is required to
be used by pilots above 12,500 ft for any flight time exceeding 30
minutes and full-time above 14,000 ft. Lancair recommends that if
climbing to an altitude where oxygen will be required, that at
approximately 10,000 ft, the pilot should begin using the oxygen.
Passengers must have oxygen available above 15,000 ft.
The Lancair factory oxygen system is built by Precise Flight. It
consists of three, 14 cu ft oxygen bottles tucked into the right
wing, a regulator/valve assembly, a filler port in the aft baggage
compartment, an overpressure protection device, a guarded overhead
emergency manual valve, an overhead distribution manifold, a
display controller, and associated lines, fittings, valves, and
sensors. The total oxygen capacity of the system is 42 cu. Ft. with
a maximum oxygen cylinder pressure is 2000 psi. The low pressure
operating pressure is 20 to 33 psi. The bottles are interconnected
by bottle fittings and the high-pressure stainless steel lines to
the high-pressure manifold of the regulator valve assembly.
Attached to both the high pressure manifold and the low pressure
distribution manifold are electronic pressure transducers to
measure the oxygen pressure at the respective locations. An
annunciator light provides warning information to the pilot.
The oxygen system will light an annunciator if the system has
not been activated above approximately 12,000 ft PA, there is
inadequate quantity of oxygen or if the oxygen outlet pressure is
up to snuff for proper operation.
The Oxygen system is simply designed and seems quite easy to
operate. A prominent three-position master switch on the display
may set to the ON, OFF and DISP modes. The ON position engages the
solenoid and will display the High Pressure and Low Pressure
values. The OFF position will disengage the solenoid and there will
be no display. The DISP mode has a quick check function that
displays only the High Pressure and Low Pressure values for
preflight and filling operations. The DISP mode is used to
determine whether or not the bottles need to be refilled or for
filling purposes as this provides the fill level, or high-pressure
reading. A fault light alerts the pilot to a problem with the
electrical connection to the regulator/valve assembly. The oxygen
display graphically details the pressure state to the pilot, When
the lights are green, all is well with the world and you should be
breathing naturally. Red lights indicate that something is amiss.
When the oxygen switch is in the on position the display will
illuminate and indicate the quantity of oxygen available, as well
as the system pressure.
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
|
To Be Continued...