FromthePresident - Lancair Owners and Builders Organization

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news
Jan 2010
Volume 2, Issue 1
From the President
jeff edwards
j.edwards@lancairowners.com
Happy New Year to all LOBO
members! 2010 is shaping up to be a
great year for your organization, but
before we get there it might be a good
idea to take a look back.
in this issue
1
3
5
7
7
8
9
from the president
maintenance issues
guest submission
upcoming events
social occasions
builder’s corner
LOBO talk
2009 was a great year for Lancair
Owners and Builders—here are a few
highlights: Lancair flight safety
statistics improved dramatically, our
collective voices were heard by our
fellow Lancair pilots (you know who
they are), the insurance crisis abated
somewhat, and will continue to fade
into
the
background
as
the
community’s flight safety record
improves, and LOBO membership
continues to grow.
Additionally, we instituted several
programs to better serve our members
including: quarterly e-newsletters,
social programs at Sun ‘n Fun and EAA
AirVenture, and owner maintenance
seminars which have garnered rave
reviews by attendees.
Finally, throughout all of this we
worked hard to open and maintain
dialogues with the insurance industry,
the Lancair factory, the EAA, and the
FAA to develop relationships
that benefit our members.
editor: mark sletten
vice president, communications
LOBO
18437 edison ave
chesterfield, MO 63005
www.lancairowners.com
groups have yielded measurable gains
in our safety record; logic would
suggest adding to the dialog can only
be more beneficial to our membership
and the Lancair community in general.
As always, we look to our members for
recommendations and involvement. If
you have a subject you believe LOBO
should discuss with EAA or FAA, or if
you would like to participate in the
discussions, please contact me.
LLaannccaaiirrTTrraaiinniinngg
Rudy Haug and I have been busy
preparing top-notch flight instructors
to conduct Lancair ground/flight training based on LOBO’s exclusive training
syllabi. Mel Hill in Oregon, Keith
Thomassen in California and Mike
Newman in Massachusetts are all now
available as qualified providers of
LOBO-developed training, with other
outstanding instructors soon to follow.
A number of Lancair insurance
underwriters now accept LOBO’s
scenario-based, FITS-approved training
syllabi to meet requirements for initial
and recurrent training. Contact your
broker for details.
Finally, if you are a CFI(I) interested in
Lancair training using LOBO-approved
syllabi, contact Rudy Haug at (636)
346-0415 or me at (314) 308-6719.
What is in store for 2010? I
believe our highest priority
should be to continue building
on our successes. To start, we
plan to strengthen our
relationships with EAA and
FAA officials during a meeting
with LOBO board members at
the upcoming Sun ‘n Fun fly
in. Discussions with these
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jan 2010
SSaaffeettyyCCoorrnneerr
A recent post on Marv Kaye’s excellent
Lancair Mail List (LML) prompted me
to comment on safety in this edition of
our newsletter.
As many of you know, LOBO has been
working hard these last 15 months to
help reduce the Lancair accident rate
that peaked in 2008 with 20 serious
accidents and 17 fatalities. 2009 saw a
large reduction in those accidents to
nine fatal or serious accidents involving
only seven fatalities. That comprises a
more than 50% decrease in total
serious accidents.
More importantly, LOBO members
experienced zero serious or fatal
accidents in 2009. Those of you who
subscribe to the LML may have read a
recent post I made stating pilots who
are members of type clubs enjoy better
accident statistics than the general
flying population. According to the
Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association
(COPA), its members enjoy accident
rates around 50% of the general Cirrus
pilot population, which begs the
question: Does such an organization
make its members safer, or do the
members make the organization safer?
Good question.
One post on the LML suggested our
membership
may
not
be
representative of the general Lancair
population, that LOBO pilots are more
highly experienced. Are all LOBO
members high-time pilots? No. In fact,
many of our members have logged less
than 1000 hours—some considerably
less—and possess only a private pilot
certificate. Yet accident data suggest
LOBO members make decisions daily
that, in aggregate, make them “safer”
than the general pilot population.
I think the answer is pilots inclined to
join type clubs are more likely to
embrace safe flying habits; they are
more willing to seek instruction to
maintain or better their piloting skills
and tend to make decisions that err on
the side of safety.
2
A recent series of posts on
the LML clearly illustrated
the dichotomy in risk
taking
and
decision
making between two
opposing pilot camps
within
the
Lancair
community. One camp
believes it can justify
exceeding
published
airframe limitations such
as VNE and G limits, or
ignoring well-known FAA
regulations. The other
camp endorses prudently
flying within airframe
limits while abiding the
rules established by regulatory
agencies.
These kinds of debates have been a
staple of hangar flying sessions since
Orville & Wilbur flew. During such faceto-face discussions it’s easy to tell the
greybeards
from
the
newbies.
Consequently, the “BS” was much
easier to identify. Today, the Internet
gives the newbie anonymity, and the
cover necessary to pose as an expert.
The LML has been a great resource for
many years, but imagine if you were a
relatively new, inexperienced Lancair
pilot who had just joined in the middle
of one of these discussions. Would you
be influenced by a person saying the
Lancair is a great airplane and it is ok to
exceed VNE? Or that buzzing an airfield
is perfectly safe and legal? How would
you know whose opinion to trust? That
is, of course, the problem with the
Internet; everyone is an “expert.”
Fortunately, LOBO has a membership
with a wealth of experience and people
who can steer you to the most
knowledgeable
person.
LOBO
members needn’t rely on anonymous
posters for answers to their questions,
they can send us an email, or pick up
the phone and call—anytime. If we do
not know the answer, we promise we’ll
use all our resources to locate a real
expert who does.
LOBO is currently working with the
FAA to further reduce Lancair accident
rates. We’ve planned a meeting with
agency representatives at Sun ‘n Fun to
discuss ideas related to safe flying,
prudent piloting, Lancair aircraft and
more.
From our start just a little over a year
ago, we have made tremendous
progress toward one of LOBO’s
primary goals: to improve Lancair
accident
statistics.
We
have
FAA/Industry Training Standardsapproved Initial and Recurrent training
syllabi, a growing cabal of professional,
independent instructors, maintenance
clinics, meaningful contacts with
insurance industry representatives and
many more ideas to improve and
benefit LOBO members on the
horizon. If we continue to stay the
course, if we continue making the kind
of progress we saw in 2009, if our
members continue to make prudent
piloting decisions, our collective efforts
will further reduce fatality and accident
rates, which can only positively impact
the
Lancair
community,
the
experimental aviation community and
the general aviation community as a
whole.
In the meantime, LOBO will continue
to reach out to like-minded Lancair
pilots, and to publicly speak out against
ideas which are detrimental to the safe
use and enjoyment of these fine
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LOBO news
aircraft. If you know a Lancair pilot who
isn’t already a LOBO member, please
let them know about us. The more
members we have, the bigger impact
we can make on the safety of the
Lancair community.
members was the highlight of the
seminars for me too, so we’ll continue
to plan for elbow
rubbing time.
r.pastusek@laincairowners.com
Attendees
also
liked the break-out
seminars, typically
involving the expert
demonstration of a
specific task for small
number of observers.
We were lucky to have
enough experts in
attendance to facilitate
three or four break-out
sessions for each seminar, with
attendees rotating from demonstration
to demonstration.
LOBO sponsored three maintenance
clinics for Lancair aircraft last year, and
we plan more for 2010. With
approximately 20-30 active participants at each clinic, including a few
spouses, friends and acquaintances,
interest in the program is high. Of the
seminar attendees, a slight majority of
attendees flew in, but significant
numbers drove.
Experts for each of the sessions
demonstrated tasks applicable to any
general light-aircraft such as changing
a tire/tube without pinching the tube
during reassembly, or setting up a fuel
system for a large-bore Continental
engine. Even better, some of our
experts covered tasks somewhat
unique to Lancairs, such as nose strut
servicing.
We don’t yet have a rigid agenda or
format for our maintenance seminars,
but based on informal feedback we do
have a good idea of what the
membership is interested in. A couple
of themes seemed to resonate with our
owner/flyers and we hope to build upon
them to put together a host/sponsor
guide for future events.
No matter the content, the break-out
sessions proved very popular with
attendees, and we’ll continue to add
more topics in up-coming seminars –
assuming we have the expertise
available. (This is both thanks, and a
hint to potential participants!)
Some say the safe completion of a
flight is determined before the aircraft
ever leaves the ground. Perhaps it can
also be determined with a type-club
membership.
Fly safe!
Maintenance Issues
bob pastusek
W
Whhaattyyoouulliikkeedd..
First and foremost, seminar attendees
considered the opportunity to meet
fellow Lancair owners/operators to be
their most valuable take-away.
Although I know intellectually the
flying community tends to be social,
emotionally I try not to reflect too
much on what this data point implies
about the materiel content of our
clinics. On the other hand, despite my
insecurities, meeting other LOBO
W
Whhoom
maakkeessiittppoossssiibbllee??
These first of what we hope to be ever
better seminars were “home grown”
events put on entirely by volunteers.
Despite the sometimes not-soprofessional connotation of that word,
many attendees are recognized experts
in various aviation disciplines who
unselfishly shared their time and
knowledge. They gave presentations,
engaged in one-on-one discussion and
provided active demonstrations.
As an aside, some attendees (and
potential attendees) have suggested
for future seminars LOBO should
formally engage recognized experts—
experienced, professional Lancair
product and service providers. This is
an excellent suggestion, but it does
raise some issues.
LOBO remains if not in
its infancy, certainly in
its adolescence, such
that financial considerations continue to
loom larger than we’d
like.
Providers
of
professional products
and services to the
Lancair
community
interested in hosting a
LOBO event should contact us with the
understanding LOBO is not yet
prepared to provide services for hire.
Additionally, while LOBO does not
endorse vendor-sponsored events as
for-profit engagements for prospective hosts, it fully encourages
reimbursement for a host’s reasonable
expenses.
How does this affect our members? To
date, more than a few prominent
Lancair product and service providers
have hosted seminars on specialized
Lancair subjects in past years, and
some have asked about doing this
under LOBO sponsorship. The Board
has agreed to sponsor maintenance
clinics at such facilities under
guidelines now being developed. As
you read this, I am reaching out to
businesses owners who have expressed
interest (and some who have not, but
whom I feel have much to offer LOBO
members).
One example: Diemech Turbine
Solutions in Deland, FL is keen to host
a seminar for IV-PT owners in
conjunction with Sun ‘n Fun. Keep an
eye on the website and the LML for
further info.
This is but one of the many exciting
developments LOBO is working for our
members. Initiating and cementing
relationships with Lancair product and
service suppliers was one of our early
goals, and it seems our sizeable and
growing membership is getting
industry attention. Such developments
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
Jan 2010
highlight the importance for each of us
to keep up our recruitment efforts.
Ultimately, our hope is to provide a
schedule of seminars that are
geographically dispersed and frequent
enough to allow every Lancair owner to
attend an appropriately-focused event
each year without having to travel as
far as Krister Wretlind (see page 5 for
more about Krister)!
To sum up, as we continue to grow and
find ways to serve our members, LOBO
wishes to remain an owner-level, grass
roots support organization within the
broader aviation community. As such,
we wish to meet our goal of providing
information, services and support for
our membership, but we’re committed
to doing so at no more than the direct
cost of such benefits.
NNuuttssaannddbboollttss..
LOBO sponsored three seminars last
year, two conducted over a two-day
period, with one – specialized for
Legacy owners and pilots – completed
in a single day. Obviously, the two-day
events
provide
more
schedule
flexibility, and were much preferred by
attendees. For a two-day event,
seminar organizers can plan time for
socializing, presentations to cover
general information applicable to all
Lancairs and model-specific break-out
sessions.
For each of the three seminars so far
we’ve been lucky to kick them off with
“chalk talk” by well-known industry
experts. Their presentations have
included important topics such as FARs
covering light-aircraft maintenance
and specific Lancair maintenance
procedures. Coming at the beginning
of each seminar, these have proven to
be a great way to break the ice, focus
attention and foster team-building.
They also help encourage members to
get to know one another, and allow a
period for organizers to accommodate
late arrivals.
LOBO members have varied opinions
about seminar formats, specifically
4
whether we should cover topics
applicable to all light aircraft (e.g. how
to change tires/brakes), versus Lancairspecific topics and information not
commonly available elsewhere (e.g.
nose strut servicing).
 Door/Canopy Ops
 Nose Strut Servicing
 Lubrication-general
Besides learning and teaching, seminar
organizers have also tried to make
available licensed service providers for
condition inspection tasks that most
owners are not equipped or authorized
to perform themselves. These tasks
include:




Swinging the gear always gets attention!
Seminar organizers plan to cover as
much information as possible, but
Lancair-specific topics are necessarily
based on the ability of owners’ to work
on their own aircraft. Additionally, your
feedback tells us for the most part all
attendees find value in topics
applicable to all Lancair models, and
while learning about model-specific
topics is interesting and informative,
organizers should endeavor to focus on
topics that apply to as the majority of
attendees whenever possible.
Some of the popular items we’ve
included in one or more of the clinics
are listed below. As always, we seek
input from the LOBO membership; tell
us what you’d like to see covered in
future seminars and we’ll do what we
can to add them.
W
Whhaattw
wee’’vveeccoovveerreedd::













Brake/Bearing servicing
Magneto Timing
Spark Plug Cleaning
Injector Cleaning
Fuel System Calibration
Tire/Wheel Changing
Gear Retraction Test
Structural Inspection
Electrical System Tests
Engine Inspection
Cockpit Instruments
Weight & Balance
Flight Control Continuity
Pitot/Static Testing
Prop Balancing
Magneto Timing
Fuel Flow Calibration
The folks providing paid services at our
events
have
generally
offered
attractive pricing for LOBO members.
They generally do so only with prior
arrangement, and only if enough
attendees express interest to make
setting up shop worth their while.
Again, if you have suggestions on
services you’d like to see available pass
along your request.
SSeem
miinnaarroonnee––M
Maannaassssaass,,VVAA
We used the EAA Chapter 186 facilities
at Manassas, VA, for the first clinic on
6-7 June, inviting all the local EAA
members (Lancair owners or not) to
join us. This was a big hit, generating
lots of favorable publicity and good will
for LOBO.
My Lancair IV-P, N437RP served as the
demonstration aircraft. This aircraft
first flew in May of 2008, so the initial
condition inspection, at 220 flight
hours, was of great interest. Overall,
the airplane turned out to be in
excellent shape, and was even in
flyable condition when we finished
(whew!). During our demonstrated
‘inspections,’ clinic attendees were able
to identify several minor discrepancies,
to include an incorrectly installed
aileron hinge bearing that had gotten
past
the
initial
airworthiness
inspection. Thanks guys!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LOBO news
Additionally, Dave McCoy, regional
broker for NationAir Aviation Insurance
not only gave us some important
information about how aircraft
maintenance can affect insurance
coverage, he also agreed to sponsor
the event providing coffee and various
delectable breakfast treats—yum!
SSeem
miinnaarrtthhrreeee––CCoolluum
mbbiiaa,,CCAA
Transportation for some of the Manassas clinic fly-in attendees
Local A&P Bobbie Boucher provided
hands-on instruction about injector
cleaning, fuel system set up and engine
maintenance/inspection. Bill Harrelson
demonstrated brake/bearing servicing
and tire changing, and Jim Auman
provided classroom instruction on the
FARs applicable to inspection and
maintenance of experimental aircraft.
A&P Phil McLanahan provided advice
on general maintenance items and
provided complimentary inspection of
specific issues for several fly-in aircraft.
One thing we could have done better
was photo documentation (in the
works for future clinics). As it turns out,
one of the attendees provided a couple
of “proof of meeting” shots, but none
captured the size or spirit of the clinic—
next time we’ll do better.
Although the owners of several 2-seat
Lancairs opted to fly to the clinic, we
did
not
use
one
for
our
demonstrations. We intend to correct
this oversight in the future if we can
overcome limitations on space,
expertise and owner willingness to
accommodate.
SSeem
miinnaarrttw
woo––CCrreevveeCCooeeuurr,,M
MO
O
Jeff Edwards and Rudy Haug hosted
our second clinic of 2009 at Creve
Coeur, MO (1H0) on 12-13 September.
Jeff recently sold his IV-P, N619SJ (I
guess Shelby won’t let him have both a
IV-P and an Evolution), and its new
owner agreed to allow its use as a
demonstration aircraft along with
Scott Krueger’s Lancair 320.
Experts on hand included Steve
Schulte (A&P/IA), Jim Auman (who
provided a review of the MX FARs) and
Brad Simmons of Airframes, Inc, a
company specializing in builder’s
assistance.
Some 25 attended the event, including
Krister Wretlind (pictured to left
speaking with LOBO president Jeff
Edwards), winner of the attendee-whotraveled-farthest award. Krister flew all
the way from Sweden (no, not in his
Lancair—more’s the pity) to learn
about maintaining Lancair aircraft.
The third LOBO-sponsored clinic was
hosted by Don Barnes and Jim Thomas
on 7 November at the Columbia Airport
in California (O22), using Don’s Legacy
as the demonstration aircraft. They
had nine beautiful Legacies fly in, and
would have had more had the weather
been more cooperative. This was
actually the second maintenance clinic
Don has held for Legacies, and I’d like
to acknowledge and thank him for the
idea as well as much of the format and
content we currently use in the clinics.
Leighton Mangles drove 12 hours to
share his detailed knowledge with the
group. Don and Jim issued a very nice
certificate to attendees at this clinic;
we plan to make this a standard for all
future events.
Bill Hogarty has offered to host a clinic
in Southern California in March or
April, and we are now trying to finalize
a date that would not conflict with
other events of interest to Lancair
flyers during that time frame. We’ll
plan to send an announcement to each
registered LOBO member and post the
information to the LML when we fix
the date. If any of you are willing to
Columbia Legacy clinic—that’s a lot of nice hardware in the background!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
Jan 2010
host a clinic this year, particularly in
other parts of the country, I’d
appreciate an email or phone call, and
will provide all possible assistance.
Please contact me via email or by
phone; 757-286-4802.
Bob Pastusek, with IV-P 437RP @ 450
hours, and flying like the Magic Carpet
that it is!
Guest Submissions
Your LOBO News staff (ahem, me!) is
always
looking
for
newsletter
submissions. So far I haven’t been
successful in motivating any LOBO
members to provide grist for the mill.
Yet. They say hope never dies…
Claudette Colwell, however, was able
to convince Bob Mackey, senior Vice
President with Falcon Insurance, to
give us a few insights into the airplane
insurance business.
Thanks Claudette, and thanks Mr.
Mackey!
W
Whhooiissiinnssuurriinnggyyoouurraaiirrppllaannee??
bob mackey
bmackey@falconinsurance.com
During EAA Airventure last year I
attended a LOBO social gathering
where a very productive exchange of
information concerning insurance took
place between LOBO members, Jim
Stewart and Fernando Monroy of
Falcon Insurance and JT Helms of
Chartis (formerly AIG). For the benefit
of those who were unable to attend,
and to further explain the role Falcon
and other insurance agencies play in
aviation insurance, I agreed to write an
article for LOBO.

Why won’t you insure my airplane?
The simple answer is this: I’M NOT
YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY… I’M
YOUR INSURANCE AGENT!!!
Most Lancairs are
high-performance and
high-value homebuilt
airplanes; insurance
for these airplanes is
not easy to obtain and
is also somewhat
pricy.
Further, because of the highperformance nature
of these airplanes, insurance companies typically require annual pilot
training and in some cases annual
airframe inspections by an authorized
facility.
Some of the costs and requirements
may seem arbitrary and onerous, but
the reality is insurance companies base
them on a fairly simple formula:
premium (income) vs. losses (claims
paid).
Lancairs are very sophisticated and
enjoy
tremendous
performance
advantages over the average homebuilt aircraft, but those advantages
come with a price—literally. Lancair
aircraft are quite expensive in
comparison to the majority of the
homebuilt fleet. Consequently, it
doesn’t take many claims for an
insurance company to be upside down.
Since they are in business to make
money, the proven ways to prevent red
ink are to raise premiums and take
steps to encourage behaviors proven to
reduce mishaps such as recurrent
training and airframe inspections.
So, what’s the role of an insurance
agent in this situation?
These are the most common questions
we get from airplane owners:
There are four key ingredients to being
a good airplane insurance agent:

Knowledgeable


Why are you requiring me to get x
hours dual prior to solo?
Why did you raise the price of my
insurance on renewal?
Why can’t you approve another
pilot?
6
A good insurance agent must be fully
up to date about the types of insurance
they arrange for their clients. A good
insurance agent must know the various
insurance companies they use, and
what those companies like and don’t
like to insure. Further, a good insurance
agent must know the terms and
conditions of the various insurance
policies.
They say knowledge is power,
and this is very
true
when
it
comes to being a
good airplane insurance
agent.
Knowledge of the
underwriters and the differences in
policies between them allows an agent
to best match price and coverage with
the needs of the insured.
Reputable
Although many might say this is a
universal truth, reputation in the
airplane insurance industry—good or
bad—has tremendous impact on an
agent’s success or failure. The airplane
insurance industry is a people business;
an agent with a good reputation
among insurance companies is able to
get more accomplished for his clients
than one who is disliked or distrusted.
Involvement
Being involved means many things, but
most of all being involved means being
an advocate for individual clients as
well as the total universe of airplane
people.
Involvement means anything from just
being an active pilot, to belonging to a
local aviation group, or to an
international aviation organization.
Involvement means staying attuned to
the aviation community which enables
a good agent to do good things for the
clients and insurance companies they
represent.
Indeed,
clients
and
insurance
companies may very well look to the
involved airplane insurance agent for
advice or information, and this is where
the advocacy role is really highlighted.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LOBO news
Innovative
The airplane insurance business is not a
cookie cutter business; one size does
not fit all. Consider the many different
types of airplanes, pilots, airports and
flying missions. All of these factors
(and more) must be considered when
matching underwriters with insurance
purchasers.
If all airplanes were four-place, fixedgear (tricycle please!), sheet metal
construction, used the same engine,
based at airports with 5000 ft. paved
runways, flown only during day VFR
conditions by pilots with at least 500
total hours in the same airplane, it
would be easy for insurance companies
to set insurance policy premiums. In
fact, there probably wouldn’t be much
need for insurance agents.
Fortunately this isn’t the case. One of
the attractions to aviation is the wide
variety of airplanes, airplane people,
places to fly, and reasons to fly.
Lancairs attract a special group of
people who are looking for very high
quality combined with very high
performance. Even within the Lancair
community, however, there is a vast
difference between the complexity,
speeds and building abilities of the
pilot/owner.
A good airplane insurance agent must
have the skills to insure all kinds of
airplanes flown by all levels of pilots for
any number of different flying
activities. It’s easy for the airplane
insurance company to simply decline to
offer insurance when they are a little
uncomfortable with the proposed
airplane, pilot or flying mission. Good
airplane insurance agents have to be
willing and able to roll up their sleeves
and find a way (be innovative) to
arrange for the airplane insurance their
clients need.
The next time you’re looking for an
airplane insurance agent, think about
the above points.
When you’re
discussing with your agent premium
costs, or the need for pilot check-out
requirements, remember you and your
airplane insurance agent are a team—
or at least you should be!
When you find a knowledgeable,
reputable, involved and innovative
airplane insurance agent with whom
you feel comfortable you can place
your trust and loyalty, you can procure
and maintain an airplane insurance
policy that protects you and your
airplane at a competitive price.
Happy flying!
Bob Mackey is Senior Vice President of Falcon
Insurance Agency which is the official insurance
agency for the EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan. If you
are interested in a quote for airplane insurance
from the EAA Plan, you may submit a quote
request online at www.eaainsurance.org, or call
the EAA Plan at 1-866-647-4EAA (4322).
Social Occasions
claudette colwell
c.colwell@lancairowners.com
April is fast approaching; it will be here
before many of us are through
shoveling snow—something we all
seem to be doing these days. As I write
this here in central Texas we feel like
we’re in a deep freeze, albeit with no
“white stuff.” Brrrrrrr!!
So why should you be looking forward
to April (aside from the warmth)?
Because LOBO is planning another
social at this year’s upcoming Sun ‘n
Fun. Last year proved to be loads of fun
for everyone who attended, and
provided a great opportunity to
exchange valuable information.
We’re holding the social this year to the
Huntington Hills Country Club, a bit
further from Lakeland Linder Regional
Airport (KLAL) than last year’s venue.
Concerns about getting people to and
from the social last year proved
unfounded since so few people actually
needed rides.
As Bob mentioned earlier, LOBO is still
a young organization with limited
funds. Despite that, we want to hold
our socials at appealing locations and
allow as many people to attend as
.
.
.
upcoming events
When: March 2010
Where: So Cal (TBD)
MX Clinic
Tentative date and location for next
MX Clinic. Check website for
updated info.
When: April 15, 2010
Where: Huntington Hills Country
Club, KLAL
LOBO Sun ‘n Fun Social
Meet and greet fellow LOBO
members in a ‘cocktail party’
atmosphere. RSVP ASAP!
When: @S-n-F (TBD)
Where: Deland, FL (Tentative)
Turbine MX Clinic
IV-P/T maintenance clinic to be
hosted by Diemech Turbine
Solutions. Check website for
updated info.
When: During AirVenture
Where: Hilton Garden Inn, KOSH
LOBO Oshkosh Social
For the latest information check our
website at: www.lancairowners.com
possible—all without breaking the
bank. With that in mind, the board has
elected to ask a nominal fee for this
year’s social.
As we did last year, we will need
reservations as early as possible so our
host can properly plan for the feeding
fenzy. This will be a catered event
requiring several weeks advance
planning, so get out your calendars and
let us know how many are in your
party. The fee allows us to remove
restrictions on the number attending,
so bring as many guests as you like!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
Jan 2010
Don’t forget, though, we need your
reservations as soon as possible. The
date is Thursday evening, April 15,
2010. Additional details will be
published soon; look for them in an
upcoming newsletter or online, and
plan to attend!
We have almost 200 hours on our
Legacy now, and I’ve yet to lose the
thrill of flying her. I still get that
Cheshire grin when that big 550 roars
to life! For all of you still building, keep
the faith! It’s worth it.
We’re also planning a social for
AirVenture. This year we’re looking at
the Hilton Garden Inn adjacent to
Wittman Regional Airport. Watch this
space in upcoming newsletters for
more information.
Builder’s Corner
AAbboouuttM
MXXcclliinniiccss..
My husband Steve and I attended the
November
Legacy
maintenance
seminar hosted by Don Barnes, Jim
Thomas. Leighton Mangels, who has
built several Legacy kits, drove all the
way from Portland, OR to Columbia,
CA to share his knowledge and
expertise.
The clinic was very well attended, and
our hosts prepared great hand-outs
containing a great deal of valuable
information about our aircraft. The
level of participation by all in the
discussions added tremendously to the
wealth of information. Thanks Jim &
Don!
Plans to hold more clinics in California
are in the works, including one
emphasizing the Lancair IV series.
LLeeggaaccyyLLoovvee
A recent trip in our Lancair Legacy
illustrated once again why we love our
airplane. Steve and I loaded up N15SC
on Dec. 28 and departed our home
field to join some friends in Pickens,
South Carolina—a beautiful part of the
state if you’ve never been there.
What a joy it was cruising at 15,500
feet, a nice quartering tailwind pushing
us along, throttle wide open pulling 23
inches of manifold pressure, all while
burning a hair over 10 gallons of fuel
per hour. The 3 hour trip seemed to be
over before it even began.
8
jeff edwards
j.edwards@lancairowners.com
After spending three years building a
very nice IVP and flying it for seven
more, I never thought I would attempt
to undertake another aircraft project.
Well, you know what they say: Never
say never…
In May 2009, my wife, Shelby and I
once again found ourselves in
Redmond, OR at the Lancair build
shop—this time under the direction of
Brian Harris. We purchased an
Evolution kit and were quite excited to
begin.
Shelby and I learned so much about
aircraft construction building our IV-P
we were sure we would enjoy building
another Lancair.
On the first day we fabricated all wing
fuel and hydraulic lines from stock
tubing. Over the next two weeks we
finished fuel bays; closed out the
wings; aligned and installed landing
gear and more. It was great to be
building again!
Between May and December last year
Shelby and I traveled to Redmond
monthly to continue working on our
Evolution kit. We elected to keep the
kit in Redmond due to proximity to the
people who comprise
Lancair’s corporate
knowledge;
proximity to the
Lancair supply chain
and because with
our low kit number
(#11) we knew that
significant changes
to the design were
likely, and closer to
the parts source was probably better.
As we learned with the IVP kit, you can
spend a lot of money on shipping
charges for items coming from Lancair
or elsewhere and we wanted to keep
that to a minimum.
Of course there is no free lunch in
aviation, and what we saved in
shipping charges we likely made up for
with travel expenses; flights, lodging,
rental cars, eating out, etc. Our
business, fortunately, permitted us to
be gone each month and in the end we
are pleased with our choice to build in
Oregon.
Andy Cruce was tremendously helpful.
He was a trail-blazer in building the
first customer completed Evolution,
and kept the rest of us EVO builders
apprised of his progress with weekly
progress reports. Many thanks Andy!
The Evolution turned out to be an
extremely easy aircraft to build—much
easier that the IV-P we built from 20002002. The composite parts are
manufactured to much tighter
tolerances than any other Lancair kit.
There is very little trimming and fitting
of composite parts. This eliminated
many hundreds of man hours. The
hydraulic and fuel lines had detailed
fabrication instructions—so good that
they fit perfectly the first time. My IV-P
lines took a month of trial and error to
fabricate; these took only one day…
wow!
Another area of improvement is the kit
windows. Shelby and I installed the
windows in a couple of days as
opposed to the weeks required for the
IV-P. The Lancair factory stream-lined
most of the processes involved in
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LOBO news
building—consolidating
or
eliminating steps formerly used
with better results. For example, on
the windows you simply trim to fit
the window in the aircraft
structure, bond in some small
wooden blocks to the aircraft
structure to lock the window in
place, then bond with hysol and let
it cure overnight. No more drilling
the fuselage for bolts and area
washers, and no more body working
the resulting holes.
Not all things have changed.
Pressurization demands still include
the use of chicken blocks. Shelby tells
LOBO Talk
mark sletten
m.sletten@lancairowners.com
I would also recommend while still
building you read the new AC 20-27G.
First flight was uneventful (as it should
be) following a thorough inspection
and several runs of the PT6A-135A to
confirm
proper
engine
rigging.
With many of the good folks
from Lancair (and elsewhere)
standing by, N818SJ lifted off
from Redmond’s runway 10
late in December. All I can
say is what a tremendous
flight;
performance
is
outstanding!
me it was 144 chicken blocks to be
exact. She should know—she drilled
and de-cored all of them. What a
trooper! And before anyone asks, no
she doesn’t have a twin sister; if she
had we would have completed the kit
in only two months!
If you are contemplating
building a new highperformance, four-place kit air-craft
anytime soon, you would be cheating
yourself not to check out the Evolution!
Hello LOBO members, and thanks
for reading this edition of LOBO
News.
As
you’ve
probably
surmised, our efforts to release
quarterly editions of LOBO News
haven’t been as successful as we’d like,
but we did get three editions out last
year. To continue with a theme I’ve
harped since Volume 1 Issue 1,
submissions from LOBO members are
not only welcome, they would be very
interesting for the rest of the
membership, not to mention make it
possible to fill up four issues annually.
W
Whhaatt’’ssnneew
w??
There has been a change in the LOBO
organization we’d like to share with
you. Joining the LOBO board is Bill
Harreleson. Bill has chaired LOBO’s
Aviation Safety committee almost
since its inception. As a frequent poster
to the Lancair Mail List, many of you
probably recognize his name. Bill
brings many valuable assets to the
Finally, doing all we could at the
factory, we moved the “kit” to the
airport where it magically (and
officially) became an aircraft.
On December 11, Charlie Kohler came
out from Florida to inspect the aircraft
and issue its airworthiness certificate,
just as he did for our IV-P in 2002. What
a real pleasure it was to work with
Charlie again. He’s a true professional
in every respect.
For those getting close to finishing
their Lancair project that have not yet
selected a DAR, I would recommend
you call Charlie and get on his calendar.
Jeff’s and Shelby’s Beautiful (well, once they paint it) Evolution!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
Jan 2010
LOBO board, not the least of which is a
long-standing positive relationship
with the FAA. Look for more info about
Bill when we get his bio posted on
LOBO’s website.
Bill’s first major task is to develop a set
of talking points the LOBO board will
take to the meeting scheduled with
representatives of the FAA during this
year’s upcoming Sun ‘n Fun Fly-in at
Lakeland, FL. As many of you are
aware, a recent letter published and
then rescinded by the FAA held many
implications for the future of the
Lancair fleet and Lancair owners. Your
LOBO board is committed to ensuring
that before it drafts and publishes
rulemaking documents the FAA has all
the pertinent facts about the Lancair
fleet and the benefits of LOBO
membership for Lancair owners and
pilots. Bill’s knowledge and expertise in
this area are invaluable, and we are
lucky to have him. Welcome aboard
Bill!
LLO
OBBO
OIInnffoorrm
maattiioonn
We continue our efforts to improve and
expand our website and other
information-sharing capabilities with
our members. If you haven’t looked at
our website lately, Don Barnes volunteered his labor for a major site make
over, and he did a great job—go and
see for yourself!
The amount of information available
on our website continues to grow, and I
encourage everyone to visit regularly
to keep up to date on LOBO
happenings.
There are a couple of changes to the
site I’d like to highlight:
First, on our Contact LOBO page you
can now find a list of names and
telephone numbers for instructors who
10
have agreed to follow LOBO’s syllabi in
providing Initial and Recurrent flight
training for Lancair pilots. Look for the
name closest to where you live to meet
your Lancair training needs. Look also
for this list to expand as more
instructors go through LOBO’s
instructor standardization and certification program.
Second, on our
home page next to
our LOBO mission
statement you’ll
find a link to our
new LOBO Model
Code of Conduct,
or LMCC. Based
on the original
Aviators’ Model Code
of Conduct (AMCC) created by Michael
S. Baum, the information in the LMCC
is used and modified with the
permission of the AMCC’s Permanent
Editorial Board.
I am personally very excited about our
decision to adopt the LMCC. While
some may view such a document as
micromanagement of their behavior, I
would like to point out it is only a
model; LOBO members are free to
abide by all, part or none of the Code
as it suits them. Indeed, as you read
them, you’ll find in the initial sentences
the Code is not intended as a standard
of behavior, rather it represents a
‘vision for excellence.’ meant to
‘compliment and underscore’ regulatory guidance promoting flight
safety.
I view the recommendations in the
LMCC as but another guidepost for
those on the path seeking ways to
better manage risk, further efforts to
improve Lancair safety and enhance
our relationship with General Aviation
and the public at large.
Just as the original, the LMCC is a
living, breathing document. Your
recommendations for its revision are
not only welcome, they are expected.
Some of you may be wondering about
the proposed web-based LOBO
member forum. I asked for input from
the membership in
earlier newsletters about
such an endeavor. Based
on the lack
thereof, it would
appear the consensus feels Marv
Kaye’s excellent
Lancair Mail List
serves our needs in
that area. Indeed, just
as he has been doing for the Lancair
community for years, Marv has been
very gracious about posting LOBOrelated information (including previous
editions of this newsletter) with
nothing asked in return, for which we
are very grateful. With that in mind, we
are shelving the idea of a web-based
LOBO forum for now.
Finally, you may have noticed this
edition of LOBO News is a bit longer
than previous editions. That’s thanks in
no small part to a submission by guest
writer, Bob Mackey of Falcon
Insurance. Look for more submissions
by industry professionals in future
editions of LOBO News. If you know an
industry professional you believe has
something to offer your fellow LOBO
members let me know. As I may have
mentioned, I’m always looking for
submissions for LOBO News… nudge,
nudge, wink, wink!
Thanks again for reading LOBO News.
Until next time, blue skies and
tailwinds!
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