Company Updates Its Program For Highly Modifying Lancair IV-P Airplanes

By: Tom Patton

RDD Enterprises, a company that was created to modify Lancair IV-P airplanes into a safer, longer-range bird, provided the media an update about the program at AirVenture this week.

According to David McRae, the owner of RDD Enterprises, the LX7 is designed to be a faster and safer aircraft than the IV-P from which it is built.

The company will help a buyer find a suitable donor airplane, from which the wings and tail are removed. The company installs an entirely new wing and tail, as well as new avionics and other upgrades. McRae said that the work is considered a "Major Modification" by the FAA, so the original builder of the IV-P is still listed as the manufacturer in the FAA records.

The LX7 carries 180 gallons of fuel, which the company says gives it a coast-to-coast range without refueling. It has a full-airframe parachute, Garmin GTx avionics and side-stick controls, climbs at 2,000 fpm and cruises at 260 knots true airspeed for the piston version, and 280 knots for the turboprop variant. The stall speed is 63 knots.

The piston airplane costs about $850,000, depending on what the owner pays for the donor airplane, while the turboprop variant will set you back about $980,000. McRae says that they are only piston IV-Ps for the conversion, and there are some 250 potential donor aircraft available.

He added that the company may look into building an entirely new airplane in the future, but for now, they will be concentrating on the conversions and gauging the market acceptance of that product.

(Source: Staff interview and RDD Enterprises. Staff images)

FMI: www.lx7aircraft.com