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Message
I'm not a Lancair
owner or operator but have been a fan and wannabee for the past ten years, and
like all on the list, am bothered by the steady stream of Lancair
accidents. I'm inclined to think that many of the accidents are the result
of high performance, unforgiving aircraft becoming more available and
affordable. This trend will most likely escalate with the introduction of
the Eclipse, Mustang, and others coming in the near future, where the only
real barrier to entry is the capacity of one's checkbook.
Plain and
simple, flying a Lancair is akin to flying a fighter jet or an
airliner. The margin for error is significantly less than it is for
our Piper Cubs and C-150's, and not everyone is qualified to fly one. With
airliners and fighters, most often one washes out if they demonstrate that they
can't cut the mustard. Many who fail have the ratings, lots of time and
experience, but can't keep up with the airplane and all that goes on in
it. There is no such winnowing out process with Lancairs, and it's my
guess that this is the reason for many of the accidents. I don't have
any solutions to this problem other than to suggest that anyone who wants to
have a long career as a Lancair pilot, find an accurate way to have his/her
abilities evaluated along with a very high level of training. Being a
very safe pilot is probably not enough.
Also inherent in the
Lancair bunch is the curiosity to see how things work. I could never
understand the discussion that went on about understanding what
happens when the plane stalls. When I learned to fly bigger planes, we
were taught to not let the airplane fly slow enough to stall. In training
we would slow down to a mild buffet, apply power and be instructed that that was
a place we didn't want to go. There are lots of things
that we don't want to do in an airplane that we need
to practice to the extreme to avoid.
Peter Van Arsdale
Naples, FL
(239) 253-8246
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