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Message
About every 6 months
a discussion on Lancair stall characteristics comes to the list with the
thrust of much of the analysis being how to better understand these
characteristics and what to do about them. It often germinates from the
report of a fatal stall/spin accident. The analysis is good, but from
these mishaps I think the best advice Lancair flyers could heed would be to
avoid stalls/spins under any circumstances. In the late '60's, when I
started flying large twins and planes over 12,500 lbs., we never did
stalls. An approach to the stall and most often a recovery before
a buffet was the drill. We then flew the planes as airliners, by the
numbers and conservatively. Rule #1 was to keep the plane flying until it
contacted the ground, whether on a runway or not, and that's still the case for
me.
Lancairs are not
forgiving airplanes and it's unlikely they ever will be. Couple that with
the existence of low experience and/or capabilities, we wind up having to
many tragic losses.
If someone has a
need to do radical maneuvers or aerobatics buy a Pitts.
Peter Van Arsdale
Naples, FL
(239) 253-8246
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