Posted for "Ridge Dickey" <ridgedickey@hotmail.com>:

To the Lancair Mail List:

Being a cynic, I suspected that Lancair wanted to keep the Lancair IV as its flagship top performer, and that's why Lancair did not offer a turbocharged engine option for the Legacy.  Darryl Greenmayer has proved that you can get a turbocharged engine under the hood of a Legacy, so there appears to be no technical limitations there.  I don't know if Lancair sponsors Greenmayer and that would put Bartel at odds with Schrameck.  And maybe a lighter, smaller supercharged Legacy will outrun a turbine IV.

In any event, I found Bartel's post of this date patronizing at best.  Schrameck has come up with an aftermarket device that's makes the Legacy an even more attractive product for those of us who like speed.  Lancair should be pleased that a bolt-on supercharger is available for the Legacy.  So should Continental.  As to warranties, this is experimental aviation and I'm not relying on a warranty to keep my plane from falling out of the sky.

However, in my limited experience in "experimental" aviation, I can't believe how opposed to innovation some companies in the business can be.   Jan Eggenfellner has come up with a product that is proving itself in the field, but he receives little if any encouragement from Van.

Maybe it's because Bartel is a lawyer that his comments didn't sit well with me.  I think that is probably the reason, because I'm a lawyer also.  Sometimes lawyers don't know when to stop practicing law and start practicing experimental aviation.


Ridge Dickey
Lancair 320
N432R