While most folks were able to breathe a sigh of
relief with the much-fought-for recapitalization of the Lancair
Company; many more were looking forward to seeing actual signs of
life reappear in Bend, Oregon. They need wait no more. In
conjunction with Lancair's second annual Lancair Sales and Service
Center Conference, Lancair President Bing Lantis, joined a gaggle
of Lancair employees in the presentation of the airworthiness
certificate and keys to the first Columbia 300 to come off the
production line since it restarted just over a month ago.
Lancair says the hard-earned celebration was short
lived, however, as the folks who cheered the new red and white
Columbia 300 off on the journey to its new home in the Netherlands
quickly returned to the task at hand - continuing their production
ramp up. There has been a lot of progress in the past month... with
more than 200 employees now back at work. Most of them are in
the back shops making the components that fuel the production line.
Others are on the production line, assembling the aircraft that
will shortly be flying out the door at an ever-increasing rate.
These employees will be joined by more than 50 additional
colleagues during the coming months as Lancair returns to full
speed.
In the meantime; representatives from Lancair's ten domestic and
three international sales and service centers met at company HQ
recently to get them "back up to speed on all things
Lancair-Columbia."
More Changes Coming
Lancair notes that "a number of insurance underwriters are now
requiring factory approved recurrent training, and several of our
customers have contacted us regarding this issue." As a result,
Lancair is in the process of developing an interim recurrent
training program, and will make it available to all of their Sales
and Service Centers as well as all the Lancair Factory Approved
Flight Instructors, "in the next month or so." Lancair calls this
an “interim” solution since a more permanent program is
being worked up with the cooperation of the FAA. For the moment;
Lancair expects to offer a program that involves quarterly online
training, which will require about one-half hour, or so, of review
every three months. This online review will be supplemented with a
one-hour+ flight review. The flight review syllabus will also be
available online, which will help customers prepare
for their training. The course will be structured so that
recurrent training can also serve to fulfill the two-year flight
review requirement.
Columbia 300 Updates
New Columbia 300s now coming off the production line will have a
few new updates. The first is the implementation of a new heater
box and control system for cabin heating. The new heating equipment
will boost performance and offer greater adjustment control over
the system that was installed in previous Columbias. Lancair has
also installed a new model of static wick on our Columbia line. The
new wicks are stronger and less likely to break when you
inadvertently run into them into your hangar (you know who you
are...). Better yet; they’ll be slightly less expensive to
replace. Both these updates are retrofittable to elder
Columbias.
Lancair Columbia 350 Certification Update
Lancair notes that the Columbia 350 program is up and running
– fast. They have completed the required design drawings and
are in the midst of flight testing to prove the all-electric
aircraft’s ability to resist electromagnetic interference.
They're also testing changes made to the fuel system and are hoping
for the FAA's official blessings by this time next month.
Lancair Columbia 400 Certification Update
The
certification program for the turbocharged Columbia 400 appears to
be moving along on schedule. Preliminary drawings are complete and
the spec powerplant is to be installed in the certification
aircraft this week. Prior to taking the test aircraft down for the
engine change, Lancair had to put it through some high altitude
paces. Lancair claims that their test pilot reported impressive
speeds, and also reported that the engine runs nice and cool up to
25,000 feet. The program appears to be on schedule, with flight
testing to resume next week with the new engine. They hope to gain
certification in July... just in time for Oshkosh.