After 600 hrs in mine which has a well calibrated AOA (3-4 kts above stall speed 76 kts!) I can feel the residual lift in the airplane, on final I maintain 90 which I know is excessive and if a short runway is ahead a long final is called for a stable descent, then I bleed the extra lift by throttle and keep an eye on the AOA I rarely look at the speeds in this phase the airplane tells you, concur with fred that angle of attack is essential. At that high angle of attack wings level 14 inches rpm close to the runway the airplane behaves very well, lowering the nose takes the AOA warning off.
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Palo Alto was my home drome for 40 years before I left California 11 years ago, and at the tail end of that time there was at least one Lancair IV based there, and several flew in and out regularly. They were early build, and probably a lot lighter than later versions which I understand can go as high 2500 pounds. I make no recommendations, merely observations. Pilot decides, as always.
Let me reiterate: I think a GOOD angle of attack indicator, carefully calibrated, is mandatory for these airplanes. In my case I transition at about one mile final and fly the AOA the rest of the way in except when it gets real bumpy and the AOA is a bit jumpy. Then I use both, averaging the AOA and then cross checking the air speed which is much slower and a better averaging machine. But I would not do that on a short runway without a big head wind.
Prudence has it own rewards.
Fred Moreno
-------Original Message-------
Date: 17/12/2012 7:13:56 PM
Subject: [LML] Re: Getting back into the air
Au Contraire, Mon Ami.. Palo Alto is NOT for the faint of heart in a IV-P.
Been there, done that, You have to be on top of your game or you end up on the overrun with smoking brakes and a red face (dont ask).
Why take a chance when you have so many suitable runways available in the immediate vicinity????
Is there something to prove?
Fly safe, Regards, Bill H.
.
On Sat, Dec 15, 2012 at 4:33 PM, Frederick Moreno <frederickmoreno@bigpond.com> wrote:
Hi John:
I originally flew off my Phase 1 off 3000 feet of dirt strip with no problems, AFTER I based at the nearly big airport for the first ten hours to gain landing skills.
Lancair IVs operate out of Palo Alto without difficulty, 2500 feet.
I hope you have an angle of attack indicator as it is extremely valuable for setting approach speeds which for my airplane vary from about 95 to 110 knots depending on weight. I routinely fly into a grass strip of 800 meters (2750 feet) with two people and half fuel. But you have to nail the numbers to prevent float, and once on the runway it just rolls, so lots of braking.
Full disclosure: my airplane is not pressurized and has an empty weight of 1984 pounds.
Fred
-------Original Message-------
Date: 16/12/2012 2:57:21 AM
Subject: [LML] Getting back into the air
My Lancair IVP after 55 hours of total flight time is having an engine overhaul (it was a “new engine” to start with from Performance Engines – I’ll tell that story later) and I expect to get the engine back from Barrett in Tulsa in January or early February. It will take a while to get the engine back on – all the other upgrades and fixes completed, taxi tests etc etc and so I expect to be ready to get airborne again in the spring or early summer.
I have about 60 hours of personal IVP time – 50 of them in my airplane. I am hangared at 0S9, Port Townsend International Airport in Washington State.
The advice I’m looking for centers around the fact that our runway is 3,000 feet long, certainly more than adequate for this airplane but not by a lot. The first flight after reinstallation will be a test flight with several different concerns.
1. Although I have much confidence in my decision to have Barrett overhaul the engine, it’s still a break in flight and carries more risk than normal for that first takeoff.
2. Because I am still a low time LIV driver and I will have had almost 6 months of rust developing in my IVP skills, that will be a factor
3. Because the airport environment is not conducive to emergency landing after takeoff (trees and salt water at both ends) engine problems during this takeoff would be problematic.
Port Angeles is about 6 or 7 minutes away in the IVP and has a nice long and wide runway, so the plan is to head directly there and perform engine break in over head that airport followed by several landings there prior to returning to home field. There is another runway at Sequim midway between that is 4,000 ft long - it’s narrow but could be a satisfactory emergency strip if necessary.
Is there advice other than hiring another test pilot and/or buying time in someone else’s IVP that I should be planning for to lower risks in this upcoming event? Any other concerns I should be thinking about I haven’t mentioned?
Regards,
John Barrett, CEO
Leading Edge Composites
PO Box 428
Port Hadlock, WA 98339
www.carbinge.com
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