Danny -
Some thoguhts from a 360 builder (but not yet flying).
1) Canopy -- If you are considering retrofitting a forward hinged
canopy to a finished 360 with a parallelogram canopy, here are some things to
consider. The forward hinge canopy attaches to brackets which go into
"pockets" in the aft face of the header tank. If the back face of the
header tank is flat, you will need to "make" pockets by hacking up the header
tank. That would be a real pain, in my opinion, but anything can be
done. There are instructions for doing this with the forward hinge canopy
hardware. My 360 came with parallelogram canopy hardware but a "pocketed"
header tank, and I subsequently purchased the forward hinge hardware. So
you might luck out there and find a parallelogram canopy installation onto a
pocketed tank. If the plane does not have a header tank at all you've got
a bigger problem -- no place to attach the brackets for the hinges.
Regardless of header tank configuration, you will have to reinforce the front of
the canopy with 80 feet of unidirectional carbon fiber. You may also
choose to trim the canopy sides to make them thinner and gain about an inch of
shoulder room. This particular modification work should not be too hard,
but you'll trash the interior paint on the canopy. Not a biggie, I
think. You'll also need to cut a slot in the back rest for the handle and
affix nylon pivot blocks to the inside walls just behind the seat. Plus
cut slots into the rollover structure for the latches and make a hole in the
side of the plane for the handle. Also cut holes in your glareshield for
the hinges. All is doable but I'm not sure I would bother.
Guesses? $1000 for materials and parts and 250 hours labor. Plus
paint. Just a guess.
2) Long engine mount -- This will probably make maintenance a lot
easier. Will also move your CG forward and make it fly better. I
think all you'll need to do is unbolt the mount, make sure the new mount fits in
the old holes, and move the engine and its accessories over. Then you'll
need to extend the cowling to fill the gap. As fiberglass work goes that's
not too bad. You will have to re-do the cowling fasteners, of
course. And you might need longer hoses in a couple of places, but that's
just writing a check. Guesses? $500 for a new mount, $700 for
materials including new cowl fastener parts and new hoses, a weekend for the
changeover and 75 hours labor for extending the canopy and redoing the cowl
fasteners. Plus paint.
3) Landing gear -- I have long considered the Lancair landing gear to
be the weak link in the airplane. Tinkertoy struts supporting go-kart
wheels and bicycle brakes. Okay, so maybe that's a little harsh but if you
compare the Lancair gear to any certified airplane of the same or similar weight
and you see Twiggy supporting the Lancair and (fil in your favorite female WWE
start here) supporting the spam can. (wait, where was I? I lost my train
of thoguth for a moment) Oh, yes, and it's not just the gear -- the flaps
are totally different as well. This is a huge modification which I would
stay away from. But again, I know nothing about the outback gear.
Guesses? Megabucks for the parts and a year or two for the labor.
(Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little.)
Hope this helps.
- Rob Wolf
Tucson AZ