Ric, Ric, Ric --

Please be careful!  The Lancair 360 does, in fact, have a 9G *ultimate* load. That means when you hit 9.1 G the airplane is supposed to break into little tiny pieces.   What we should be careful not to exceed is the *limit* load.  This is the load above which the airplane will bend rather than break.

For an aluminum airplane a safety factor of 1.5 is typical.  This would give the 360 a limit load factor of 6G for an ultimate load factor of 9G.  However, composite structures don't fail as gradually as aluminum so we usually use a safety factor of 2.0, which would result in a limit load rating of 4.5G.  More like a utility category airplane.

Myself, I intend to install a 2 inch G meter with a redline of 4.5G, and do the occasional loop and roll.  (After receiving instruction from my builder buddy who is a CFI and has done competition aerobatics and instruction thereof.)

- Rob Wolf