INTRODUCTION In 1981,
Lance Neibauer founded Lancair International Inc., an American company that specialized
in the manufacture and marketing of home-built aircraft kits, ideal for aviation enthusiasts
and amateurs. These assembly kits allow anyone to build an aircraft from scratch.
Lancair's IV and IV-P series groups a family of monoplanes made of composite materials,
with a capacity for 4 occupants, low wing, and retractable gear,
which were enormously popular among aviation enthusiasts in the early and mid-1990s. Oh! And
by the way, the P stands for pressurized. The Lancair IV-P is precisely the version
with a pressurized cabin, one of the most popular, with some 250 assembly kits of this
model being marketed between 1995 (the year it was launched) and 2012 (the year it officially
ended production). The Lancair IV-P is an experimental aircraft, which means that they
are not strictly regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and are built by the owners’
tastes and preferences. DESIGN/EXTERIOR
The Lancair IV-P is an evolution of the 1991 Lancair IV, representing a natural progression
of the 235 and 320 models of the American company, with which they sought to build an aircraft that
would generate greater profitability. Its design is simple but functional,
and it is also very practical and aerodynamic considering the era in which it was designed.
The entire fuselage is made of pre-impregnated carbon fiber that was previously oven-cured
and vacuum-formed to guarantee its resistance and durability. They come in
different models and are fully customizable. One advantage that many aviation enthusiasts
appreciated at the time was that, by having the plans to assemble the kit of their own IV-P,
people could take creative licenses to customize their aircraft and include some
additional details that favored the performance of the aircraft without compromising its safety.
Some of the IV-P owners, for example, made minor modifications to the flaps with the intention of
improving their aerodynamic performance. Of course, none of this can be done if you are
not an expert in aviation, so these were not modifications that many people did.
Structurally, the Lancair IV-P was designed to be capable of operating under an impressive cabin
differential pressure (considering its size) of 5.0 psi, which is equivalent to having a
cabin altitude equivalent to 8,500 feet when in reality the aircraft is at 24,000 feet altitude.
The IV-P measures 35 feet 6 inches in wingspan, 9 feet 2 inches in height, and a length of 25 feet.
Wing area is 98 square feet. INTERIOR
The internal part of the aircraft is also simple. Its space is quite limited, so it was not possible
to incorporate much more than the 4 seats, 1 for the pilot and 3 for passengers, the instruments
to monitor the flight, and not much more. However, there was a small internal space behind
the second row of seats, ideal for storing hats, umbrellas, or small objects. For the rest of the
luggage, there was a small space in the tail cone. Internally the IV-P measureas 10 feet 4 inches in
cabin length, 3 feet 10 inches in width, with a height of 3 feet 11 inches.
ENGINE Power came from a
350-hp Continental TSIO-550 engine, a 6-cylinder horizontally opposed piston, fuel injected,
air-cooled design developed by Teledyne Continental Motors for incorporation into light
aircraft. The first of these engines was delivered in 1983. It is up to you if you want to change it,
as it is an experimental aircraft, but most of the people who build these birds prefer this engine.
It is capable of operating at altitudes up to 29,000 feet. Completing the package is a 3-bladed
Hartzell propeller system, with constant speed and dimensions of 12 feet 8 inches in diameter.
Starting in 2000, Lancair began testing on the IV-P the Walter M601 turboprop engine, produced
in the Czech Republic by Walter Aircraft Engines. This engine provided greater power and improved
performance, but it was up to the customer to decide which one to incorporate into his Lancair
IV-P, depending on their budget. PERFORMANCE
The Lancair IV-P has a standard fuel capacity of 90 gallons and can go up to
110 gallons using extended capacity tanks. With a cruising speed of 219 knots at 24,000 feet,
it is capable of flying for about 6 hours and can reach up to 1,347 nautical miles of range.
In more technical terms, the aircraft has a maximum gross weight of 3200 pounds,
with a fuel payload of 532 pounds and a baggage capacity of 175 pounds.
The takeoff distance is 1200 feet, with a climb rate above sea level of 3000 feet per minute,
and its required landing distance is 1400 feet. At 75% of power flying at a constant altitude of
24,000 feet at 291 knots, the IV-P consumes 17.5 gallons of fuel per hour. While,
at 65% of power flying at a constant altitude of 24,000 feet at 282 knots, its fuel consumption
is 16.8 gallons per hour. AVIONICS AND SYSTEMS
As it was marketed as an assembly kit for aviation enthusiasts, at first it did not incorporate any
avionics system from the factory, however, Lancair recommended the installation of the Electronic
Flight Instrument System from Bendix King. These allowed the pilot to display all aircraft
flight parameters, including altitude, airspeed, flight management system routing concerning
the aircraft, as well as warnings and alerts, through the main flight display, an instrument
display for the engine indication and crew warning system, and a multifunction display.
They also incorporated an Aerosance FADEC ignition and fuel control system,
as well as the entire autopilot system. In order to technologically upgrade the IV-Ps,
many owners opted to incorporate newer avionics, such as Garmin G3X touch screens
and the Garmin GTN 750, thus optimizing their aircraft and ensuring that they had a GPS
navigation system in line with current times. Another interesting and quite strange detail
that this aircraft has is that it incorporates an air conditioning system. This is much appreciated
considering that most single-engine aircraft do not have this luxury. It has vents on the roof,
at the rear for the passengers, and at the front for the pilot.
VARIANTS The Lancair IV
series of composite monoplanes came in up to five variants for commercialization, among which were:
1. Lancair IV, a non-pressurized four-seat, flat-kit aircraft, which came powered by a
350 horsepower Continental TSIO-550 engine. 2. Lancair IV-P, today's main character,
incorporates the same engine and design as the Lancair IV, except
that in this variant the cabin is pressurized. 3. Lancair Propjet, is a four-seat pressurized
aircraft kit, could reach cruising speeds of over 300 knots and an altitude of up to
30,000 feet thanks to its Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop engine.
4. Lancair Tigresa, is a pressurized version of which only the prototypes were completed
due to the cancellation of the production of its 600 horsepower Orenda OE600 V8 engine,
capable of a cruising speed of 351 knots. 5. RDD Enterprise LX7 is a remanufactured
version of the IV-P that replaces the wing with a new airfoil to reduce the stall speed,
and has a new interior, avionics, and fuel system.
MARKET Although
the Lancair IV-P is an aircraft that could be built by aviation enthusiasts,
it was not exactly cheap. The company claimed that the estimated time to build the aircraft
to be fully operational was about 2,500 hours, and, of course, time translates into money.
At the time of its release in mid-1994, the base cost for the IV-P model was 66,900 dollars,
and to this had to be added the cost of the Continental TSIO-550 engine,
which cost about 45,000 dollars new from the factory. In addition,
the cost of the system configuration and avionics ranged between 25 and 50 thousand dollars.
An additional 10,000 dollars would have to be added to complete the exterior
paint and interior design, resulting in an overall sum of between 150,000
and 200,000 dollars, needed to put the Lancair IV-P into flight.
As mentioned above, the production of this kit ceased in 2012, so if anyone wants to
get a working model of the IV-P today, they will have to acquire a second-hand one, whose market
price varies between 330,000 and 450,000 dollars, depending on the condition of the aircraft and the
systems it incorporates. PROS
Having a composite fuselage facilitates the execution of the cabin pressurization process,
due to its rivet-free, continuous structure with a calculated and therefore predictable
stress distribution. Compared to the competition, the IV-P model was faster and less expensive,
especially considering its pressurized cabin. In 2014, the IV-P series achieved a milestone
thanks to pilot Bill Harrelson, who set a world speed record for an aircraft under
6600 pounds by achieving a solo flight between the Earth's poles. It took about 175 hours in
total to accomplish the feat in an aircraft modified to hold 361 gallons of fuel. This
plane is really fast. You will be able to go from California to New York to Michigan,
wherever you want. CONS
Although at the time, the IV-P was presented as a revolution due to its pressurized cabin,
performance, and speed compared to other similar aircraft in its class, not everything turned out
well for the operational history of this aircraft. Since its presentation, many pilots have stated
that although the IV-P was a fast aircraft, with great performance,
it was difficult to operate under certain conditions where the headwind was strong.
Specifically, one of the most outstanding problems had to do with the aircraft's
approaches to the ground, in these descents the speed did not decrease as expected,
being necessary to use the optional brakes on many occasions to be able to land safely.
For this reason, the descent and deceleration maneuvers required to be carried out by more
experienced pilots with a high degree of concentration and planning in these cases.
In fact, Lancair was aware that this situation undoubtedly represented an inconvenience for
pilots and their safety, so they organized training courses with the company FlightCraft,
at its headquarters in Portland, Oregon, for people who were going to fly the IV-Ps,
also offering a simulator and airframe inspections.
Due to this and some other failures that occurred over the years, in a report published by the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in June 2014, 20 accidents were recorded in the
NTSB's aviation accident database in which 18 people perished, involving IV series aircraft.
One of the most notorious cases was that of Steve Appleton, director of Micron Technology,
Inc. who died in an accident on February 3, 2012, while attempting to make an emergency
landing aboard an IV-P. In these circumstances,
the IV-P is not popular among most pilots, and they even avoid it as much as possible,
for good reason. CONCLUSION
The Lancair IV and IV-P series since their release have broken numerous performance records for the
speed and altitude achieved for an aircraft of its type and class. Offering a kit with
so many positive features that could be used to assemble an aircraft with such performance
was a first in the industry that had never been seen before. With all its imperfections,
this plane would be the dream of many pilots as it is designed to be fast, very fast. It is ideal if
you need to travel around the country or simply want to get somewhere as quickly as possible.
However, there were problems and controversies that were difficult to overlook and that will
undoubtedly mark its legacy, but at least it will always be remembered as a unique idea that
perhaps in the future can be taken up again. So, you've been warned. If you like speed,
this beast is perfect for you, but pay close attention to your numbers when
you're in the air because these planes leave no room for mistakes and it could go wrong.
So, what do you think of the IV-P? Please let us know in the comment section below.
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