lancair crash scapoose, OR

On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 08:35:48 -0700, "gatt"
wrote:


Yesterday, according to the news, a pilot and his grandson walked away from
a crashed Lancair after it had an electrical failure on takeoff and made a
gear-up crash landing.

Question: Do Lancairs not have a hydraulic dump or something to lower the
gear in the event of such a failure?

The following, posted on a local aviation forum by a friend of the pilot, may
help:
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"During the flight, he experienced total electrical failure. An emergency, yes,
but not something that would cause the airplane to fall out of the sky. He
headed back to Scappoose, where he entered the downwind. He turned base then
final, visually clearing each leg, as his radio was not working. He DID extend
the gear by using the emergency extension, which on that airplane is simply a
lever that allows the gear to free-fall. Upon VERY short final, he noticed an
airplane on the runway. He quickly side-stepped the runway to land on the grass.
At the same moment, he added full power to initiate a go-around. The immediate
torque of the engine caused a left bank and descent. The airplane hit the ground
in a left wing low attitude. It cartwheeled on the left wingtip, smashing the
nose into the ground. At that point, the airplane came to rest on its belly. The
gear was down, but got torn off by the impact....Everyone is fine, but the plane
is totaled."
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Ron Wanttaja