----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 4:56 AM
Subject: unsafe
I've waited till now to see what others have said about the 4p
/ 4pt . Mark K is correct that what is needed is stall strips and Jim's
aoa is also needed . Charly Kohler is correct with his assumptions on these
areas of additional safty items . These are items I believe that are a
requirement for the type of pilot that is flying this plane .The lack of weather
info needed to fly at the worst alititudes for weather . 90% of the weather is
below 30000' . The worst weather in the world is from Denver across to the mid
Atlantic and south to Florida and across to Texas . This box is where the warm
gulf air mass meets the convergence of a cold mass air from the north . We as
pilots of Lancairs for the most don't have a radar that will support the
weather so we can avoid the cells . Remember all this bad weather is at our
flying altitudes and we can't go to 45000' or even 35000' . Careful
planning and many hours of flying around this weather as a pilot for Eastern I
had the ability to go to 35000 and have radar . I can't understand why we as
pilots get our Lancair planes in this I got to get there
attitude in the weather box I described above . These are fun planes that
are faster and approach weather quicker than anything most of the lancair pilots
are used too .
We need to learn from our mistakes or we as
pilots can't go forward . Just in Washington St. for example we have lost
or injured pilots in this plane as well. George F. from Spokane took off in
a blinding snow storm and ended up in a multi million dollar home along the lake
in Coeur d alene , Johnny T. landed short of an air field back in the
Dayton area while on approach, bounced off the dike and the plane caught fire .
Johnny got out with his grandson but Johnny has sense lost part of his leg and
burns as well . Tony D a pilot with many hours in heavy iron lost his life in a
plane that ended up indicating more fuel than he had for the construction of the
inner wing vents were incorrect. Now this is just
Washington St. pilots and these are human errors or as we in the pilot community
call them PILOT ERRORS. The Plane isn't made to fly in icing , land short or run
out of fuel . I can go into more detail about the three accidents above but
for the lancair builders and pilots ,this is the basic problems with our
accidents to date in Washington . I think we need the re-think our flying
commitment and get involved with the training group that really has the right
stuff . Charley Kohler would be my first trainer followed by Lancair . I want to
beat my drum about what happened at the last lancair labor day BBQ . A pilot
safety meeting was iniated -what a wonderful idea . Lancair could take the ball
and run with this and go all the way with 2 simulators for training .
Incorporate the Columbia 300 as well with the 4 and /4pt , es and Legacy/ 320 as
another sim . Building a program into a sim that gives the
feel and flying characteristics of these plans isn't that difficult .
This would be the best learning tool available for the 300 to x hour pilot .
There are some pilots out there like Brent Regan that are ahead of there hours
as pilots but I think Brent would be one of the first that would step forward to
take advantage of learning on a sim . There is one thing I've learned in my many
years of Flying is money doesn't substitute for common sense . I hadn't
seen much in common sense with this pilot group but a lot of money .I have seen
excellent builders but poor pilots and the same in reverse . I've seen where
both a poor builder and pilot as well and some are both
excellent builders as being a good pilots . Building this plane is one of the
most complex jobs to accomplish and then be the factory and determine the
gross weight, boy what a problem . I'll guess that some builders before
they even do a lancair weight and balance have already determined the gross
weight . When the plane was conceived in the 90's as a 4p the gross was 2950 or
around that figure . Why did this get so out of hand ,3500 lbs. will take
the weight way out of the envelope . This plane is a real 2 seat plane with
baggage if you really want to do the numbers . I've seen Lancair several years
ago put 4 big people / full of fuel [extended tanks then 95 gals.]and 100
lbs. or better of adds in the baggage compartment and fly to Eaa . Just cause
you can fly doesn't mean it will when the engine quits. Lancair Has had a rough
time with [check Pilots]and pilots . One ended up crashing a new
plane on takeoff in Canada and another ended up in the trees in a narrow runway
in Idaho after he left Lancair I believe [Not sure on whether he was still with
Lancair ] and another designated pilot for lancair took a prototype
300 into the Columbia river at pdx with nill instrument time and another
took a 320 into a flat spin after loosing the prop with a well aft cg . I
would like the factory to get involved in a valid safety program to help the
less apt to become apt with meeting and sims And we need more Charley
Kohlers
.
Bill Maddox
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