Lance's Latest HotRod Features Avidyne FlightMax Entegra Wunder-Panel

You can nearly hear the collective sighs of relief from Lancair-land out here on the East Coast as the long-awaited Lancair 350 LogJam has been broken with the first of MANY deliveries now underway. The FAA has finally granted Lancair the necessary approval to begin delivering new, all-electric Lancair Columbia 350s. Lancair has been building Columbia 350s since mid-summer, but has been unable to deliver the new model until now due to paperwork delays in certifying the S-TEC autopilot and the Avidyne FlightMax Entegra primary and multi-function glass cockpit displays (PFD and MFD). Those certifications are now complete.

“The paperwork is done and we’re set to hand over the first several customer Columbia 350s,” said Lancair Vice President of Sales & Marketing Mark Cahill. “The factory is literally bursting at the seams with aircraft that are ready to go to our customers.” The first out of the gate was Columbia 350 customer Jeff Oldnettle who, as seen below, accepted the keys to his bird from Lancair VP of Sales & Marketing Mark Cahill.

The Lancair Columbia 350 is an evolution of the normally aspirated, 310-hp Columbia 300. The four-place, all composite aircraft cruises at 190 knots with a range of more than 1,200 miles. The Columbia 350 boasts a dual-bus, dual-alternator, dual-battery electrical system that provides enhanced reliability and an excellent platform for the advanced avionics systems coming available for GA aircraft. The FAA has signed off the Airworthiness Certificates for the first five Columbia 350s and Lancair began delivering those aircraft this week. The company plans to deliver three or more Columbia 350s each week thereafter.

“We have added personnel to our pilot training program to handle the increased volume of deliveries,” Cahill continued. “We’re looking forward to seeing a lot of aircraft fly away in the coming weeks.”

In addition to added pilot training personnel, The Lancair Company has also extended its training program by a day.

“The safety of our customers and their passengers is our number one priority,” Cahill continued.

“The aircraft is very docile and is designed with the most current active and passive safety systems in the industry, so training pilots to fly it is really simple and straight forward. We’ve added the extra day to provide more depth of instruction on the aircraft’s sophisticated avionics systems, such as the PFD and MFD. We’d rather spend the extra day and make sure our customers fly away feeling very comfortable.”

All 350s Delivered With Avidyne Flightmax Entegra

The most visible difference between the new Columbia 350 and the Columbia 300s currently in the field is the addition of the new Avidyne FlightMax Entegra PFD and MFD flight deck. Using two 10.4”, portrait mode, high-resolution displays, the FlightMax Entegra provides optimal situational awareness and simple, reliable operation. In addition to the PFD and MFD, the Columbia 350 also comes standard with traditional, back up instrumentation. The PFD is optional equipment on the Columbia 350 while the MFD comes standard in aircraft equipped with the premium IFR equipment package.

“We’ve been flying prototype Columbia aircraft with the FlightMax Entegra system for some time and it’s difficult to go back to traditional instruments once you’ve experienced it,” Cahill said. “It really spoils you as a pilot. It’s very easy to use and provides a big improvement in situational awareness, which makes an already very safe aircraft even safer and more fun to fly.”

In addition to the new electrical system, the Columbia 350 also incorporates other improvements over the Columbia 300. These include an improved heating and ventilation system that delivers nearly twice the volume of air to the cabin as the previous system. The Columbia 350 also incorporates new interior components improving fit and finish, and allows for future options like deice and air conditioning systems.

“The Columbia 350 is the basis for all future Lancair Columbia models,” Cahill continued. “The alterations we’ve made to create the Columbia 350 will also be carried into the upcoming Columbia 400 turbocharged aircraft. These changes make what we and our customers consider a great aircraft even better.”

FMI: www.lancair.com/certified