Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 23:12:31 -0400
From: Adam Molny <amolny@optonline.net>
Subject: Lancair factory visit report
To: lancair.list@olsusa.com, Nvatp@cs.com, ayk8@yahoo.com, DJMolny@yahoo.com
Message-id: <3B13139F.16EAA79C@optonline.net>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
Reply-To: lancair.list@olsusa.com

          <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
          <<  Lancair Builders' Mail List  >>
          <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>
Hi all - 

The following is a description of my recent factory visit. Marv, please
excuse the huge size of this post. I wanted to get in as much detail as
possible. My intent is to help other Legacy depositors get a clear
picture of what's ahead for them, and give people an update of what's
going on at the factory.

I visited the Lancair factory on Monday, May 14. The purpose of the
visit was to get a factory tour, pick out the options for my Legacy, and
finalize the paperwork. I would like to thank all of you who provided
advice on accessories and options.

I stayed at the Best Western hotel in Redmond. The Super 8 was closer
and cheaper, but I was arriving late Sunday night, and the Best Western
provides a free courtesy shuttle to and from the airport. I didn't want
to be hunting down transportation at 11:30p on a Sunday night. I met
Amber Riddell on Monday morning, and she gave me thorough introduction
to the company, followed by a tour of the factory. We visited the parts
department, layup shop, avionics shop, showroom, shipping department,
and factory floor. I returned to each area later for in-depth
discussions with the managers of the departments. Then Amber left me to
wander around on my own. We arranged to meet at the end of the day so
she could process my order.

I didn't take advantage of the builder's workshop, since I am on a
budget. As it turns out, the biggest labor saver I will lose out are the
jigs. Lancair has nice solid metal jigs for the wings, tail, and
fuselage. Oh well. Rutan guys and RV guys have been making their own
jigs for years, right? Right?

A Lancair IV builder from California, Paul Tackabury, was taking his
workshop that week, and they let me sit in on his first day. His brother
and daughter came along to assist him. The morning started with an
informal classroom discussion of composite materials, construction, and
techniques. I tried to be unobtrusive, since it wasn't my class, but the
lecturer, Mark(?) included lots of Legacy specific information. I picked
up quite a few tidbits about the Legacy parts, and building in general.
Here are some of the things I learned in the lecture:

1. You should always check the Legacy's double joggle parts for curling
around the thin edge. You may need to trim off a little bit to get a
snug fit. Always dry fit your parts before gluing!

2. Some builders have had problems with the elevator thickness not
matching the trailing edge of the horizontal stab. The mismatch can be
along the entire length, or you can have one end just right and the
other end too thin. Avoid the problem by assembling the stab and
elevator at the same time on one big jig. This way you can check for
matching heights before closing either surface. The trick is to build up
the rib thickness under the skin of whichever component is thinner. Lay
a thick bead of flox on the ribs, and place peel-ply on the flox. Then
place the top skin on and press it down to the correct height. Once the
flox has cured, pull the top skin off again (it doesn't stick because of
the peel-ply). You can grind off the excess flox squeeze-out once it is
completely hard. Later, when you are ready to close the tail, use the
Hysol as you normally would. You can add 3/4 inch or more to the rib
height this way. The beauty of this method is that you are only
increasing the rib size, rather than adding a thick layer of
microballons to the entire length of the outside tail surfaces! This
method also applies to the wing/aileron and wing/flap junctions.

3. Finishing - the factory uses Superfil to fill joint gaps and large
irregularities. This gets sanded down to the correct height. Next they
apply WLS primer by pouring it right onto the surface, then using a
squeegee to spread it around and force it into the pinholes. This gets
sanded down with a sanding stick until the carbon fiber just starts to
show through. Subsequent coats of filler/primer are applied with a
roller or spray gun. When you apply the WLS primer, it forms a shiny
coat which is non-porous. You break off this skin when sanding. If you
plan to store a part for a long time, you can leave this skin on to
provide protection from chemicals, oils, and that brown ring where you
set your coffee mug down. The most important point he made was to do
your bodywork as you go along, rather than saving it all for the end.
This way you won't face 3 months of continuous sanding!

The lecture ended and we broke for lunch. After lunch, the Tackaburys
went to the workshop to get started on their IV wing. I headed back to
the parts department to wander the aisles. All the people there were
friendly, and gave me free run of the place. The most impressive sight
was 20 cases of Hysol stacked up! Knowing what one quart of that stuff
costs, there must have been a small fortune there! Vern showed up and
introduced himself. I whipped out the 'Legacy Recommended Options' list
and started asking questions. He was very patient. We actually ended up
going down the aisles and pulling out every part on the list so I could
look it over and touch it. This was light years ahead of choosing parts
based on a 4 word description in a price list! I will detail my choices
later.

Next I went to the main hanger/showroom to look over the planes. The
Legacy prototype was there, along with the Reno race plane and Carsten
Sundin's Legacy. Carsten had aborted his first flight attempt on
Saturday due to a minor electrical glitch during the run-up (overvoltage
due to the low side of the voltage regulator not being grounded. He was
getting ready to go out again Monday while I was there, but he canceled
due to high winds. He got flew the next day.

Bob Fair (Lancair General Manager) had his Legacy project there, upside
down on the rotisserie. He spent quite a bit of time with me explaining
things as I looked over his project. He has the belly pan on, the
landing gear installed with all the plumbing, and some of the wiring.
Bob is testing a new feature. They are adding shuttle valves to the
hydraulic system to close the main gear doors when the gear is extended,
like a P-51 Mustang. This should improve yaw stability on approach since
the airflow under the wing is cleaned up, and there is no weathervane
effect from the gear doors ("Not that there's anything wrong with the
stability now", Bob was quick to add). Once development is complete, it
will be offered as an option on the Legacy.

Since the plane was upside down, Bob went over the antenna placement
with me. Both wing tips are fiberglass, and one nav antenna is included
in the kit. You can't put comm antennae in the wing tips since they must
be mounted vertically. There are recesses on the bottom of the fuselage
for transponder, marker beacon, and one comm antenna. The transponder
was recently moved from aft of the baggage area to just behind the
firewall. This was to avoid interference should the builder decide to
install a Stormscope. The Stormscope antenna would go on the belly, aft
of the baggage area. A ground plane is required inside the fuselage
since the carbon fiber is not conductive enough. Determining optimum
placement of the Stormscope antenna requires skin mapping.

Next, I paid a visit to Kirk in the avionics shop. They now offer
standardized panel packages in three price ranges. If you get one of
these panels, you can also get a COMPLETE wingtip to wingtip and nose to
tail wiring harness. The prebuilt harness plugs directly into the
Lancair-built panel. Another huge time saver. How much are these
options? If you have to ask...

Kirk also went over the latest avionics available today. The Apollo
MX-20 can now display moving map Jepp approach plates, with the plane
superimposed. I hadn't been aware of that. He was also very excited
about the TruTrak autopilots. Their servos are considerably smaller that
S-Tec's, and the system is all digital. We looked at some of the panels
being built, and as expected, the workmanship was impeccable. One
customer was even having a panel made with THREE Sierra Flight Systems
displays!

I had been dropping in on the builders workshop periodically, and the
progress was impressive. With the expert assistance, there is no head
scratching or discussion of how to approach a task. The tutor says 'Do
this, then this, then that'. I spent more time just figuring out how to
shingle my roof than they did installing the speed brakes!

As the day wound down, I met with Amber again to do the final paperwork.
If any questions arose, she would simply pick up the phone and call the
appropriate department head! Here were my choices:

Lockable fuel caps ($150 above regular fuel caps) - Yes. You can leave
them unlocked unless you are parking the plane somewhere you might worry
about fuel theft or tampering.

Adjustable rudder pedals - Yes, both sides. They were originally using
the 320/360 pedals, but there were some fit problems, so new ones are
being designed.

Heated Pitot tube - Yes. Price is comparable to mail order catalogs.

Eyeball vents - Yes. There are built-in NACA ducts outside, with a short
plenum molded into the fuselage. The eyeball vents attach directly to
the inside plenum with minimal work.

Squat switch - No. I wondered why one switch would cost $225. It turns
out to be an airspeed sensor which prevents you from retracting the gear
below a certain airspeed. I don't know if it will sound a warning when
you get slow with the gear up. There other warning systems out there to
reminding you to put the gear down (Sierra, Jim Frantz' AOA, etc.).

Seat belts - No. They only come in black. I will probably want a color
to match the interior.

External light system - Yes. Whelen wingtip Nav/Strobe lights with a
single power supply.

Speed brakes - No. This is a substantial investment. All the provisions
are already installed in the wings, so it is a simple matter to add them
later if needed.

Rudder trim - Yes. All the rudder components are included in the kit
except for the MAC servo. Aileron and elevator trim servos are included
in the kit.

Hysol, 3 quarts - Yes. The shelf life is 1 year from when it leaves the
parts department. Vern said that the hazmat fee is only around $10 if it
is packed in the crate, and he thought that the one fee could apply to
all 3 quarts.

Nose gear boot - No. Not available yet, and no price set. This is a
piece of folded stainless which separates the nose gear well from the
engine compartment.

Taxi/landing light kit - No. Vern showed it to me, and it didn't look
like anything special. You have to make your own cutout in the leading
edge, anyway, so you're not tied down to a particular size or shape. I
will probably scavenge something from a motorcycle junkyard.

Interior light kit - Yes, when available. Carsten's kit had this dome
light system. It is a small box (approx 6 inches square, and 1 inch
high) which mounts to the ceiling just behind the canopy rollover frame.
The bottom has a floodlight to illuminate the baggage and seating area.
The front side has directional lights for the instrument panel. The
sides accept the headphone jacks. Should make for a nice, tidy
installation.

Inflatable door seal/pump - No. Not available yet. It is intended to
improve the canopy seal and reduce wind noise.

Interior floorboard option - Not available yet. This was an interesting
option. It gives you a flat floor in the baggage area by adding panels
and access doors which are flush with the top of the elevator push rod
tunnel. You lose a little height in baggage area, but gain storage
compartments which are about 5 inches deep. A good place for your tools,
oxygen system, or other permanently installed equipment. Realistically,
you could probably do this yourself from scratch if the option weren't
available.

Fuel probes - Yes. I went with the Vision Microsystem probes. You can
mix and match the probe and display systems (Vision Micro or Electronics
International). However, VM wants you to use their probes with their
gauges, while EI is not so fussy. This way, I can still use either
display type.

Nav Antenna - Yes. Kirk went over this with me. One Nav antenna is
included in the kit. You can use a splitter to go to two radios, or
install two separate antennae, one in each wingtip. The splitter is $75,
and a second antenna is $95, so the cost difference is minimal. I went
with two antennae for improved redundancy.

Com Antenna - Yes. It fits the recess in the belly, and the price was
fair. If I add a second comm antenna, I will need to make another
recess.

Diplexer - No. This active splitter is required if you run two comm
radios into a single antenna. It blocks the second radio's receiver when
you are transmitting so you don't blast 5 watts of power right into the
other radio. It has an amplifier built in to compensate for losses in
the electronics. If the splitter loses power, your transmitted amplitude
drops by 3dB. The part is fairly expensive, so I will keep looking for
alternatives.

Marker beacon and transponder antennae - Yes. Also fit premade cutouts
in belly.

And that's it. I didn't get any tools, since I was feeling rather
sticker shocked by that point. Well, that's why Oshkosh has a fly-mart
anyway!

Please excuse any factual errors, and jump in if you find any mistakes

Happy flying,
Adam Molny
Legacy kit #62
Ship date June 8, 2001
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
LML website:   http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html
LML Builders' Bookstore:   http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair

Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>