What a great observation. An older model slows and a newer model speeds up.
I wonder if a desire to "guide" prospective buyers has anything to do with
it. 60 mph slower on a model they may not want to continue producing
(selling/supporting) versus a gain of 21mph for one they want to promote.
Isn't that the reason to have good marketing? It's not bait and switch -
it's just polishing the new stuff and letting the older stuff wane. I assume
the older model had the same power plant then as advertised today.
I don't see this any different than old model mattresses (or similar) going
on sale to get rid of a line in favor of a perhaps more profitable (many
improved attributes of course) new line.
Caveat emptor. The problem with moving forward (sometimes) is something
we've seen with the 320/360 model. Support is thin(er).
This change is not necessarily a bad thing. It's just business ... moving
forward as it were. Stand still and sink or move forward and stay afloat.
But I'd sure like to see Lancair offer real "build in your garage" models
that can be afforded by many more than can be with the current models
offered. Bring back the 320 where you can build an honest 200+mph machine
that has a glass panel and not spend more than $100k or build it with a used
Lycoming and steam gauges with mama sewn upholstery / zolatone interior for
$60k (maybe less for those with good scrounging skills). Those days are not
gone in the amateur built arena. Of course every business model is
different. Some targeting the upscale with high end products, some targeting
the masses with lower end products. And in the case of the RV series, a fine
product for a reasonable cost. Flies fast, efficient - I don't like the
seats but hey, everybody to their own. And they still support the original
RV-3 and still sell it!
Then there's integrity.
Jim


-----Original Message-----
From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of
bronnenmeier@GROBSYSTEMS.COM
Sent: Friday, November 04, 2011 10:11 AM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] Lancair performance

When I was reading through my December 11 kit plane magazine I came
across their 2012 kit aircraft directory where they give an overview
over all the airplane kits available today.

It just happened that I kept the December magazine from the previous two
years since I liked this compressed comparison. One really interesting
thing I found was that the Lancair IV changed its speed from 300 kts to
285 mph while the Evolution piston accelerated from 278 mph to 299 mph
over the three years.

I am really amazed by these marketing engineers and their ability to
beat the physics (e.g. designing an airplane with a bigger wing, bigger
cabin and higher empty weight and make it even fly faster)..... May be
someone can help me out since I don't have a degree in aircraft
aerodynamics.

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