|
As a IV-P builder, I find the discussion on IV-P
weight very interesting. Let me offer the following to re-focus those of
you fortunate enough to fly Lansairs all the time. This summer I flew a
IV-P...full fuel, the two people in the front seats were 220 lbs each, the
person in the back seat was 6'3" and 185 lbs. Late July in Redmond was 95
deg F. We climbed to 17,500 at 165 kt cruise at 1000 to 2000 fpm (not
continuous). It seemed to me the climb improved above 10,000 ft.???
The flight characteristics were fabulous and the guy in the back seat
thought there was lots of room. You could not wipe the smile off his face and he
was new to flying in a small plane.
On the other hand, I just finished my IFR cross
country in a Piper Cherokee. After shooting the ILS approach into Tucson, we got
clearance to Nogales. Then came 20 minutes of being "vectored for
climb" by the Tucson tower to get us to 10,000 ft, and off to
Nogales. The last 2000 ft of climb was at 57 kts, and God help me if I'm
lying, maybe at 150 fpm. 70 kts produced a zero climb rate. Now
please note, I'm talking 70 kts not 170 kts. I can't help but smile when I see
someone complaining about the performance of a IV-P on "hot summer days".
Also, a TSIO 520 A36 Bonanza has 1372 lbs of useful load and 194 kt
cruise. The IV-P has 1350 lbs of useful load and 294 kt cruise.
22 lbs for 100 kts....sounds good to me. I think I'll keep gross at 3550
lbs until I know the airplane (maybe that will be forever) and as one of my
earlier posts indicates I am trying to build as much forward CG as
possible.
I intend to always fly safe....just can't wait to
fly fast.
Craig Berland
7VG
|