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Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1998 19:08:07 -0400
To: lancair.list@olsusa.com
From: John Cooper <heyduke@digital.net>
Subject: Re: hello and introduction
In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.4.02.9810141240150.15769-100000@pete.nit.disa.mil
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          <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
          <<  Lancair Builders' Mail List  >>
          <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>
Any properly applied paint will block UV radiation, but in Tucson you will
want to hangar a fiberglass airplane regardless. The heat will warp them.
These planes will melt at 200 degrees or less!

Yes, painting involves *very* hazardous chemicals. Supplied air respirators
are mandatory. Or better yet, allocate $5-$10,000 for somebody else to do
it. IMO the preparation and painting is the absolute *worst* part of
building one of these things.

<<1500 hours>>> Haaaaaaaa-haaaaaaaaaaa! Not to scare you off, but I spent
that much time just preparing the aircraft for painting after it was
essentially completed. I have been building my L-235 for ELEVEN years now!
(Most folks seem to finish them in 4-6 years.) Over three-quarters of the
people who buy kits never finish them, so some self-analysis is in order
before taking on a project like this. (This is not hyperbole. Over 250
L-235 kits were sold, and as near as I can tell, less than 40 are flying.)

The cockpit of the L-235 is very comfortable for a 6foot/250pounder like
me. I have flown for 3 hours in my friends' with no seat cushions at all -
no problem. But OTOH there is not a lot of room for chart bags and
miscellaneous junk. It's very compact, but as I said, comfortable on long
trips. Very sweet flying machine.

<<is there an emergency gear deployment system if the regular system fails?>>
Yes. A bypass valve is opened and the MLG fall by gravity and lock into
place. The NLG has a gas spring to assist it.

<<how is the pilot warned if he is about to land with the gear up?>>
Nothing is supplied with the kit. All instruments, avionics, and electrical
installations are completely up to the builder.

<<are the flaps powered or manual?>> Powered. Electric linear actuator.

<<tilting canopy - what's the normal canopy do?>> The old-style canopy like
I have has a parallogram arrangement that lifts the canopy up, forward,
then back down while maintaining a horizontal attitude. Works OK, some
don't like it. Can limit the number of radios you can install in your stack
due to a crossover arrangement behind the panel.

<<larger wheels>> If you intend to land on turf strips. You will pay a drag
penalty.

<<canopy latch>> This is so you can lock the canopy from the outside after
you have tied down the aircraft. No provision was made for doing this in
the original kit.

<<wing tip extensions>> Better high-altitude performance, I think.

<<can anyone put me in contact with a builder working on one in or near
tucson?  i'd really like to get a feel for the work>> Good idea. If nobody
on this list pipes up, then call the factory and they will put you in
contact with somebody nearby.