Lancair Legacy Design Flaw?

On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 01:11:51 -0600, "Highflyer" wrote:


"Gregory Hall" wrote in message
...

I think it makes good sense. Look at the size of that engine up front.
Looks
like a P-51 Mustang for pity sake. When you're being pulled along by that
big prop and heavy, powerful engine it pulls the nose of the aircraft
down. The horizontal stabilizers have to counteract this force by putting
an upward force on the nose by pushing the tail down. If and when the
engine suddenly dies the aircraft will pitch up suddenly and since the
size of the stabilizers are so puny they might easily stall and be unable
to counteract the upward pitch at the nose resulting in a tail down death
spiral.

By the way, the Lancair Legacy is the most fun civilian airplane I've
flown and is the main reason I returned to general aviation after a
decades-long absence. I'm sure there is a Legacy near you and I'll bet
its pilot would be happy to take you for a ride. You can see for
yourself what a great airplane it is.

It looks too much like an irresponsible, hot rod, stunt plane to me. Is it
any wonder so many companies offering homebuilt aircraft have gone out of
business?

http://www.homebuilt.org/aircraft/nolonger.html

This is the safest homebuilt IMO.(VariEze ). The canard makes it
foolproof.

Actually it doesn't. Take an old time pilot coming in at 1.3 Vso, go
into the flare holding the nose up. Bad place to do that in the
canard. And if you don't load them right even they can be put into a
deep stall as opposed to the common kind.



Maybe I'm just used to planes with an attitude, but the Deb has a very
abrupt stall with a very strong tendency to roll left at the break.
Get used to it and it's like flying most anything else. Even if it
does take a bit more to stay proficient.

I would choose the Legacy in a minute. Does it need a bigger stab?
I'd have to play with one for a while, but they are all compromise.
Most of the fast, hot planes are not for the low timer or pilot who
only flies once a month.

Me? I love big engines in small planes, but I do like enough vertical
and horizontal stab with rudder and elevator authority to do
spins.:-))

I don't see the Legacy as any more dangerous or radical than any of
the other high performance planes out there.





http://video.google.com.au/videoplay...77166441&hl=en

--
Gregory Hall


Gregory,

You have managed to prove quite indisputably to the entire group that you
really do not know the first thing about
aerodynamics or aircraft design.

You are totally and incontrovertibly wrong.

By the way, the canard does NOT make it foolproof. As a matter of fact I
recall Burt running up and down the runway
in an old beater car with his windtunnel models mounted on it, getting the
data he needed to make the canard arrangement
he used on several designs safe. It is much easier to design a safe
airplane with a conventional tail.

The Lancair Legacy has very light and quick response to the controls. That
makes an airplane FUN to fly. Especially
if you are a good pilot, and BWB was a good pilot. I flew with him in his
RV-6 at Pinckneyville the year he brought it
to the Pinckneyville Flyin.

The problem with an airplane like the Lancair occurs when the **** hits the
fan at low altitude. The airplane responds
quickly and it is fast. A momentary distraction can allow a considerable
unplanned excursion. If something relatively
immoveable intrudes itself into your flight path during that unplanned
excursion bad **** can happen. I believe bad ****
did in this case. Obviously unusual things were going on. Stuff was
drooling out of the airplane.

I am not going to guess what happened. There was an accident. I lost
another friend. I have lost too many friends that
way over the years. Janice is recovering. Slowly. Painfully. Bill did
not. We disagreed about many things over the
years. Some of them were, I am sure, due to failures in communication or
misunderstandings. That happens. I will
miss his sorry ass.

Highflyer
Highflight Aviation Services
Pinckneyville Airport ( PJY )

Roger (K8RI) ARRL Life Member
N833R (World's oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com