By ANN Correspondent Kevin "Hognose" O'Brien

I was standing at the edge of the taxiway with Arnold Holmes, when three Lancairs went by: a Legacy, a IV-P, and another IV-P with a turboprop. I was admiring the sleek lines of these composite speedsters when Arnold, who knows his Lancairs like lawyers know loopholes, hit me with a pop quiz.

"Which one is going to get home first?"

I thought it was a trick question. "Well, that depends on where they're going!"

"They're all going to the same airfield in Oregon."

"Oh." I looked at the machines again. With Lancairs, you have to look quick. Or they're gone.

"The Legacy."

As it happened, I was right. "A lot of people would have picked the turbine." Arnold had given a lot of thought to this question.

"Well, it has to stop for fuel." I never considered the turbine, really; I had been trying to figure out whether the Legacy would beat the piston IV-P before giving up and going with my hunch.

"You're right. Actually he will have to stop twice; that turboprop is thirsty. If he set the same fuel burn as the Lancair IV, he would be slower."

"So," I asked, "What do these guys gain from putting a turbine in there? Rate of climb, and bragging rights?"

"That's about it."

Of course, the more I considered the instance, the more I wondered if I hadn't stumbled on to a sort of rule, or general case, here. It seems that homebuilders particularly are often driven to add more power than the job calls for. "More power!" Well, just like Tim the Tool Man, you will always have some unintended consequences. Sometimes, as in the case of the turboprop Lancair, they can be unpleasant, and even contrary to your desires.

More power is sometimes needed for the job at hand, but it always adds weight, complexity, downtime, and expense of several kinds. You might want to think about that next time you are building a new plane, thumbing through Trade-a-Plane for your next ride, or, say… hangar flying with your friends. You might want to actually sit down with that E-6B you haven't seen since your private checkride and actually plan the sort of  flights you fly with the big motor and the little motor.

See, sometimes slow (The Legacy? Slow?) and steady does win the race.

FMI: http://www.lancair.com/