John Little wrote:

Could this explain the David Hickman experience?  He was in a nose high attitude, losing or having lost power, the wings were stalling and he was experiencing an uncommanded roll to the left.

 

It appears to me as a non-aerodynamist, a non-engineer, but a keenly interested follower of the tragedies that are befalling our community, that this aircraft cannot be flown slow, cannot be inadvertently flown close to its stall and must be built with great care and an even higher level of precision.

    As someone that has done thousands of stalls both for a manufacturer and in the experimental Lancair community, I have discovered that the Lancair has no more serious design problems than most certified aircraft. Mostly I find that the builders have not maintained sufficiently accurate angle of incident.  This is fixable and when adjusted by one or if necessary several methods then the line of Lancers have acceptable stalls with minimum prestall warning.  That said they will stall straight ahead without serious rolloff or divergence about any axis.
    The problem is more basic than stalls and it really seems to be judgment and proficiency.  You could kill yourself just as quickly in a Malibu, Comanche, Bonanza (known for years as a doctor killer), C210, and many others.  I have done much instruction in high performance aircraft and check rides and find that most pilots do not respect a high performance airplane properly. Respect includes having good judgment and maintaining a high level of proficiency to fly high performance aircraft safely.

Jack Webb
L360, LIV

AeroSpace Engineer BSAE
FAA Designated Check airman for C421, C404 & C310
ATP, CFI Airplanes & Instruments, Multi, & Sea
Numerous Jet Type Ratings
Experienced Experimental Test Pilot both multi and single engine aircraft
Former Chief Engineering Test Pilot for a Major Manufacturer
Chairman Turning Point of Paulding County

Ohio