Jarrett,

 

Keep an open mind and take off the flame "suite".  You may be the perfect example of a low time Lancair 300 series pilot (0 hrs defines low time), suggesting actions that will be totally different after you have experience in your Lancair. With an excess of 930 hours in my 320, I will try to answer the issues brought forth in each of your paragraphs.

 

I don't stall my plane now so I don't know about its spin characteristics.  Regardless of the argument that one can stall at any airspeed, cruise flight is well within the safe flight envelope.  Indeed, the AOA indicator has helped me understand the concept of reserve lift - even in 60 degree banked turns and other maneuvers.  If I were to reach stall/spin conditions, they would likely be close to the ground at slower speeds and non-recoverable.  One of the reasons that such are not recoverable is not a short coming of the airplane, but because it is so slippery that the exacerbation of unusual attitudes happens very quickly.  A slow and steady hand is a useful part of comfortably flying a Lancair.

 

One cannot always go slower than one was going before.  I cannot speak to the flight performance of Lancairs without reflexed-flap wings.  In our case, the AOA becomes quite high as one slows to the 90 to 120 KIAS range.  Partial flap extension can make up to a 7 degree change the aircraft attitude, but not in the AOA (there is not much of a stall speed difference with or without flaps).  Much like jets, there is a very narrow speed band for landing successfully and such landings are not improved by going too slowly. <<Indeed, this discussion will lead me to do some future slow flight experimentation so I can record AOA and attitude indications and the effect of flap positions.>>

 

Your #1 - You are way off here.  Say that the cruise configuration stall is about 70 KIAS.  Best glide is around 107 KIAS (This is the speed I see when the AOA indicates best glide) and safely away from the stall speed.  In our very slick airplanes, the prop can provide significant drag (unlike the draggy airframe of a C150).  At best glide, using a Hartzell CS prop and at some approximation of zero thrust (motor is still turning), my sink rate is about 1500 fpm at cruise pitch and only 400-500 fpm at coarse pitch.  I will not try to stretch it by pulling back on the stick.  Anyway, you should know your sink rate at best glide regardless of prop.  I use 1000 fpm as a rule of thumb since I do not know the sink rate with the prop stopped (the engine could seize at any moment).  Also, any use of flaps adds drag and will not improve the flight profile.

 

Your #2 - A major abrupt pitch change for anything other than a few moments is dangerous at very slow speeds.  However, slick airplanes can get away with a small amount of ballooning.  A pull on the stick followed by an immediate push can be effective because the speed drop lags the maneuver a bit and, by definition, you can't stall at zero G's.  Aborting an approach to landing in a Lancair can be easily accomplished because of the power available.  However, this can be dangerous to the low time pilot because it must not be done by jamming the throttle to the firewall.  Reasonable application of moderate power to stop the descent and achieve a positive rate of climb is the initial requirement.  Clean up the gear and flaps (careful to retrim in the 320 because the nose will want to come up significantly upon flap retraction).  Power as needed, rudder trim as needed, etc.

 

Your #3 - Bird strikes should not make you fly your plane close to stall because of structural concerns.  Assuming the bird is not in your face, it is unlikely that structural damage warrants slow flight.  Bill & Sue had one bash in the leading edge of a wing and landed in the usual manner.  Since our maneuvering speed 143 KIAS, you could safely slow down to 120-130 KIAS and still be far from stall while avoiding structural stress.

 

Your #4 - Egads!  The emergency gear procedure calls for 87 KIAS, thus allowing gravity to drop the mains and the nose gear gas spring should have enough push to overcome the air resistance on the nose wheel.  This is your practice slow flight target speed that should be done monthly to check the procedure (flaps can be used if the nose up angle becomes uncomfortable).  It is still well above stall speed in straight and level flight.  If a skid is required to get a main to lock, that can be accomplished at something greater than 87 KIAS.  Max gear speed is 122 KIAS.  The tower flyby could be safely made between these speeds but remember that no one in the tower will be able to tell you if the gear is LOCKED in the down position.

 

A reasonably sensitive pilot will recognize the onset of control mushiness as the speed drops below 100 KIAS in level flight - become familiar with that feel and recognize that your flying envelope is getting narrower.  A Lancair need not be flown on the edge of stall EVER.  There may be no room to fix a flying problem if the air is the least bit squirrely.  

 

I don't know what your canopy configuration is - if it is forward hinged, please try to find someone that has parachuted out successfully - I don't think you could get it open in flight, thus the parachute may satisfy some requirement but not add to safety in some unrecoverable condition.  I don't know if the parallel arm canopy can be opened in flight.

 

Under US rules I don't think there is an "approved" engine/prop combination for a 320 - thus, one should expect to fly off the first 40 hours.  Use this time profitably to shake out both the airplane and the pilot.  There are many flight envelope tests that can be performed well within safe margins that will make you a better Lancair pilot.  Your first few landings will be beautiful.  Later, on a long straight approach with little wind, your mind will wander - the landing thump & bump will remind you that attention lapses have negative results.  You could also use the fly-off time to work on emergency procedures.

 

Speaking of Emergency Procedures, A Lancair 235/320/360 Simulator won't be of much value. The "customization" of these aircraft means there can be no simulator that would be useful for making such procedures "rote" in your plane.  There are different props, engines, fuel and ignition systems, fuel tankage and selectors, landing gear and flaps, canopy access, instruments, avionics, autopilots, trim systems, switch locations, tail size, wing extensions, etc.  Experimentals have no STC conformity to follow.

 

 

 

I've read this discussion w/ interest and because I have [as of yet] no lancair time, I've kept quiet. I am a professional pilot, however I'm far from the experiance level that many of you are. I fly a 414 for hire so I am used to pressurized, reasonable speed, heavier airframe and reasonable approach speeds. When it comes to slow flight, I'm an advocate of training. I've spun C-150's many many times, primarily because in Canada it's part of the training syllabus. It's a required training exercise which must be demonstrated as well as learned and practiced w/ and w/out an instructor on board. [it's been long enough that I can't remember if it's a flight test item or not].

One comment which was passed on to me once was, " you can sometimes go faster, but you can ALWAYS go slower". I don't think anyone here is saying "go flying around on the razers edge for hours at a time & make sure your right over the trees" but rather know your airplane, it's low speed limitations. In the course of day to day flight's we don't ever plan to have emergancy's or inflight problems but they do occur and we do need to train and practice for them. There are many situations where knowing how close you are to a stall is VERY important. The short list that comes to mind [and I'm missing 99% of this list I'm sure];

1-Partial power loss- You are having trouble maintaining altitude, your over terrain on which you cannot land, trying to stretch those last few miles from the airframe.. Typically we should be slowing to a speed which meets Max range in a situation like this..  how close is that to your stall? Maybe you just need to suck it up over that last set of trees, are you going to stall if you lose more speed?

2-  Short final missed approach, like others mentioned runway incursion or possible birds, skydiver [smaller airports] or glider, anything gets into your path on short final and requires an abrupt pitch change, evasion manouver. It'd probably never happen to 99% of us.. but it could, are you ready if it does?

3- Structural issue.. you hit a bird, or whatever and feel that the best way to lighten the structural load on the airplane is to slow down..  REALLY slow down..  how slow would you go? Certainly not to the edge of stall.. and maybe the impact is such that if you slow to much you might lose control authority [roll control 'say'] but if you don't know how your airframe behaves at 1.3x  and are scared to slow that much, are you really doing everything you can to slow the airplane down and minimize structural load due to speed?

4- Failed gear extension. Wanna make a slow pass for the tower to have a look, I'd be wanting to go as slow as I feel is safe.. make sure they have lots of time to look at it.. doesn't mean I'd be right at the stall.. but the slower I go.. the more chance they have to see what's what.

I'm sure there are many many more.

When the day arrives and we get our 320 airborne I plan to know how to learn how to fly it in the green arc and know how it behaves anywhere in the green arc. That's not to say that I plan to spin it but I do plan to stall it, and understand how it behaves at the bottom end of the arc. And, if need be work to tame the stall to a point where it is controlable and predictable, and yes.. to do this may cause a hair raising trip or two. I will be doing it w/ a parachute, and while I'm not a huge fan of jumping, I've jumped a few times before & I will be prepared. Is this testing going to be at tree top level.. hardly.. is it manditory, yes. Can it be accomplished with a reasonable degree of safety, YES.

I think often this type of testing during the manditory 25 is more of a 'ok we're slowing.. there's the buffet... add power.. ok.. we know it will stall.. next item" and leave it at that.. it's my opinion that this is a poor form of flight testing. Often these a/c are built w/ the intent to get flying and going places and the testing phase is just an annoying nuisnace standing between me and where I want to go w/ my a/c. The first 5-10 hrs are spent doing the nesc checks for sign off and there-after it's just burning gas around the local airport until I can get my 25 in and get outta'here..

In the 414 we shoot approaches at 110-120knt depending on load and the airport, however I have done approaches into short strips w/ a lighter load at 90, it wasn't terribly comfortable but it was doable, because I knew from training that the airframe would fly at those speeds.   A extreme example is Bob Hoover. He could fly the pants off a Shrike and it wasn't because he flew it fast, when he did his engine out routine he was using the airframe to either limit [fast and slow]. He was able to do this because he knew what it could and could not do. I'm not saying we need to go to these extremes [Bob had tight margines to play w/ when he did his routine and practiced it] but we should be comfortable knowing our airplane in its normal flight envelope, from either extreme of that envelope. If we are scared to fly to either end of that envelope then either we have to much airplane or we need more training/testing to be comfortable in our plane. Spin/stall training and slow flight is not dangerous when approached from the right perspective [and in the case of spin training, completed in the right aircraft]. Don't spin your Lancair, but if your scared to stall it "..'cause it'll kill ya.." then there is REALLY something wrong w/ the airframe and I wouldn't fly in it period.. not until that issue is addressed and fixed. GA aircraft [and I mean traveling a/c, not aerobatic] should no be that unpredictable, regardless whether it's an Experimental or not.

Ok.. I've said my piece..  Asbestos suite on..

Jarrett Johnson

235/320 55% [zero Lnc Hrs]

 

>
> >I side with Bill and others:  STALL TRAINING AND STALL AWARENESS
> TRAINING AND PRACTICE ARE ESSENTIAL TO YOUR >FLIGHT SKILLS.
>
>
>
> Why are they so necessary?  I was speaking with a friend of mine
> and he
> asked the same question.  I at first thought it odd that he would
> question it.  Then I remembered my last flight review where my
> instructor had me do a bunch of slow flight work.  It was great
> fun and
> everything, but I distinctly remember noticing that I never used such
> skills.
>
>
>
> Why are you flying your airplanes so slow as to require this kind of
> skill?  Isn't that like practicing driving your car on the edge of a
> cliff in case you need to avoid going over a cliff one day?  Just
> don'tget that close.  Don't fly that slow, unless you're flaring
> just before
> you reach your touch down point, then what do you have to worry about?
>
>
>
> I think we (myself included) get so fixated on something dumb someone
> did that we miss the real point in avoiding the same mistake.
>
>
>
> If a 90 or 100 knot approach speed gives you the willies, then get
> intoa 172 or an archer for crying out loud
>
>
>
> Kevin
>
> 
>
>
>
>
>
>

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