Plane Passed "With Flying Colors"

High performance kitplane manufacturer Lancair International tells ANN the Redmond, OR-based planemaker recently completed a lengthy series of pressurization tests of its new Evolution aircraft. "The testing cycle surpassed by two-fold the aircraft's design requirement," according to the company.

The test pressure vessel, a fully conforming production unit, included the main cabin and cargo doors, firewall and aft bulkheads. The Evolution aircraft is designed with a 6 PSI differential which maintains an 8,500 foot cabin pressure at 28,000 feet.

"The end result, reaching the 12 pounds per square inch differential, meets the certification standards of most categories of today's general aviation aircraft," the company said. "Long term cycling involves placing abnormal stresses on the pressure vessel itself. The tests included cycling of the vessel by increasing and decreasing pressure, which over an extended period of time, acknowledged the structural integrity of the Evolution design."

As ANN reported, Lancair introduced the Evolution at AirVenture 2007; it showed the plane to the public for the first time the following year at Lakeland.

FMI: www.lancair.com