Krylian,
I have been flying with these for over year now. I believe VH-XTZ was the Legacy RG wing cuff guinea pig further to Lancair's testing on a Legacy FG; I fitted retrospectively.
I have made some remarks about these on this forum before – may be easiest to just go back, review and let me now if you need more info. But, in answer to your specific questions – there is no material detectable reduction in speed in the cruise for identical engine settings / fuel burns (may be a knot, if that); and the aircraft – based on Gary Weeks experience of regularly flying both VH-XTZ and his own Legacy VH-ZYA without wing cuffs - is more stable in the pattern and approach. If you are asking about what happens as the stall approaches and / or is reached – in nutshell, for example, can fly around in circles at low power with 30deg AoB on the edge of the stall and when forcing it by progressively increasing the AoA, the aircraft just drops in and out (with no corrective actions) the stalled condition, accompanied with a great deal of "shuddering" - so you'd be very distracted to miss the sense that something was not quite right; full aileron control authority is available throughout.
Hope that helps.
Regards,
John
John N G Smith
Tel / fax: +61-8-9385-8891
Mobile: +61-409-372-975
Email: john@jjts.net.au
I've recently read about a few interesting low speed aerodynamic improvements.
The first is the Lam Aileron (http://lamaviation.com/), which has been tested on a Columbia 300. It looks like they installed a smaller wing to improve cruise performance and full span flaps to retain low speed performance and flying qualities. Ailerons that act like spoilers (only go up) provide roll control. Apparently handling characteristics are good and adverse yaw is reduced with this design. Greg Cole is a partner. Any thoughts about how this could be implemented on Lancairs?
The second is the Legacy wing cuff option (see below). Does anyone here on the list have any experience with these? What's the real high speed penalty? Are the low speed characteristics significantly improved?
On the topic of Legacy mods, have any of you implemented the AeroChia speed mods (
http://www.aerochia.com/kits_Legacy_speedmod.html) on an otherwise stock Legacy? I'm curious what the fuselage panels and wing leading edge root fillets do for cruise speed.
Thanks,
- Kyrilian
Dear Legacy Owners,
Lancair is announcing the latest option for the Lancair Legacy kit, the Legacy Wing Cuffs. The attached flyer shows what is included in the wing cuff kit. Even if you are currently flying, this option can be retrofitted. With safety in mind, Lancair created these cuffs to improve aileron flight control at lower speeds.
If you are interested in this option, please call Lancair and ask for Kit Components Inc. This option may have a 3-week lead time. The kit cost is $1,495.00 plus S&H.
If you received this email in error and you no longer own the Lancair Legacy kit or aircraft, please email or call Lancair so we can update our database.
Thank you for your continued support.
