On Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:41:35 -0400, "Gregory Hall" wrote:

http://www.youngeagles.org/photos/gallery/Monoplanes/LancairLegacy2000.jpg

Look at the picture. It's easy to see why the Lancair is dangerous. The
horizontal stabilizers appear to be on the too small side. This would result
in their stalling before the wing. Then the aircraft would pitch up making
the main wing stall. Ill-conceived, IMO.

A good lawyer needs to get on this with respect to BadWaterBill's untimely
demise.

Unfortunately, there are several factors at work that would reduce the chance of
success in a lawsuit against Lancair.

First, of course, there's nothing to say the size of the horizontal tail had any
bearing on this accident.

Second, Bill had been flying this aircraft for several years with nothing but
praise for the way it handled.

Third, Lancair wasn't the manufacturer of this airplane. All they did was
supply parts.

Finally, the situation is strongly muddied by the fact that aircraft was built
by a hired gun. The FAA doesn't list the certification category for Bill's
airplane (not uncommon...John Ammeter's RV-6 was the same way). But the builder
of his plane built two other Lancair Legacies completed at the same time as
Bill's and registered them as Amateur-Built (N36XX and N272AG).

*If* N151HT was also carried an Amateur-Built registration, I think Lancair
would have a strong case that the airplane was built under fraudulent
circumstances. I think it would be hard to show that Bill was unaware of it...

http://tinyurl.com/5atovq

....and I suspect most judges wouldn't be sympathetic.

Ron Wanttaja