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My Lancair 320, "Pegasus", N4YH, flew on March 13.
I had gone to Redmond the previous week and flown several hours with
Doug Weeldreyer in the company 360. Doug did an excellent job of
demonstrating, explaining what to expect and then letting me try my
hand. As a former CFI, I appreciated his professional and supportive
approach.
Doug made the first flight at Camarilla (CA) on Saturday. After
tweaking the left flap rod end bearing one turn to give a little more
lift to the left wing, I had my chance to fly on Sunday. It flew
straight with hands off and no rudder trim needed. The aileron trim tab
needs to be larger that the manual calls for, but that's minor.
I am impressed, as I was seven years ago in a demonstration flight,
with how stable it is in a turn. No rudder required for the coordinated
entry into the turn, just aileron. Then, when you neutralize the stick,
it just stays, rock steady, at the same angle of bank. Nice!
I've got an IO-320 overhauled by Don George in Florida. Compression is
9:1. It swings the Hartzell 70 inch CS prop that Lancair sells. Empty
weight is 1208 with paint (too much) and upholstery including tempurfoam
cushions which are pretty heavy. When I am alone, it needs seven
gallons in the wings to put the a/c inside the forward CG. I have a few
things to put in the baggage area anyway and the CG location makes it
hard to get anywhere near the aft CG.
The CHT, EGT and oil temperatures seemed to be where they should be.
We made one GPS run approximately with and then against the wind. At
5,000', 24 inches and 2400 rpm the average ground speed was 192 kts (121
mph). Sorry, I didn't record the OAT. but it was close to standard. I
think that's pretty good, but I would appreciate any comparisons.
I think Lancair's flight familiarization/instruction and flight testing
service is a great program. It's great insurance for those of us who
haven't flown much lately and who about to crawl into a high performance
airplane that has significantly different flying characteristics from
those we are accustomed to. My hat is off to Doug Weeldreyer who did an
outstanding job.
Bob Chesley
[A big congratulations goes out to you, Bob, for your persistence
and for that long awaited first flight. After a seven year gestation you
must be ecstatic and relieved to have finally reached that elusive light
at the end of the tunnel. Thanks so much for sharing your first flight
experience with us. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the
expansion of the envelope. <marv> ]
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