Warning: this posting is for airplane nerds and no attempt has been made to explain jargon.
I was teaching an instrument student yesterday and we happened upon the Columbia (formerly Lancair) sales guy at Pease in NH. He took both of us up for a one-hour demo flight in the 400, a fire-breathing turbocharged rocket ship of a plane (same engine as an older Piper Malibu, basically, but pulling a narrow 4-seater instead of a fairly large 6-seat cabin).
Bad: the seat back angle is not adjustable in flight so you can’t vary it during a 4-hour leg. The speed brakes are controlled by a tiny little switch and I can’t remember how prominent the warning light was that indicates that they are deployed. The interior is a bit cramped compared to a Cirrus but at least as spacious as a Diamond DA40 or C172. The doors seem more fragile than the Cirrus G2 doors.
Good: aileron trim is provided but the autopilot does not use it to fly the airplane, unlike with a Cirrus (ergo, when you take the plane back from a screwed-up autopilot you don’t run the risk of having a plane that is trimmed for a 30-degree bank); blistering speed (the 400 will supposedly true out at 230 knots up at FL250); side stick (not yoke) and relatively easy hand-flying.
Flying: When you’re indicating 160+ knots the Columbia feels a bit heavy to hand-fly because of the high airloads. I did two landings, both of which were smooth and nearly full-stall. The second landing probably consumed less than 1500′ of runway with moderate braking. The plane has good control into a full stall though a wing will drop fairly violently in the end if you’re not vigilant with the rudder.
I had never considered Lancair/Columbia to be a legitimate competitor because their production volume was so small but now they are making roughly one airplane per day (250/year?).
Summary: The Cirrus is a better passenger’s airplane. The Columbia is a better pilot’s airplane, especially if you are going to hand-fly.
“Columbia.” Why not “Hindenburg?”
Hindenburg, heh… I’ve lusted after this plane for years, and I’m glad to hear Lancair/Columbia is finally producing them in numbers.
I am not that knowledgeable about modern aircraft, but it seems to me that 250 knotts is not that fast. I believe some WWII fighters are considerably faster.
Keep your powder dry, Cessna is about to come out with a Cirrus killer. Rumor has it similar in configuration to a Cardinal or C-210, but lower to the ground, wider, and with the new IO-390 motor. Will it have a BRS? Inquring minds want to know.
JR: You wouldn’t be famous author, airplane lover and celebrity internet lifestyle advisor John Ross would you?
jb: A quick Google tells me early spitfires did 310 knots, the latest models up to 390. But they did so with 900HP and 2000HP engines respectively. Looks like Philip’s new dream toy does it all on just 300HP, impressive. The spitfires weighed twice as much, but I gues their design had a lot less drag too.
But I guess Philip means “fastest in-production piston engine plane you can just go out and buy”. Not much chance of bumping into a Supermarine sales rep at your local airport I guess! 🙂
Hi Phil – Nice write up. Would love to get a chance to fly the Columbia myself. I’m curious how much it would be to insure compared to an SR22.
Or perhaps a North American Rep…..no room for the dog though and “glass cockpit” means a bubble canopy and a pocket compass…..
SPECIFICATIONS P-51D
Span: 37 ft. 0 in.
Length: 32 ft. 3 in.
Height: 13 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 12,100 lbs. max.
Armament: Six .50-cal. machine guns and ten 5 in. rockets or 2,000 lbs. of bombs.
Engine: Packard built Rolls-Royce “Merlin” V-1650 of 1,695 hp.
Cost: $54,000
PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 437 mph.
Cruising speed: 275 mph.
Range: 1,000 miles
Service Ceiling: 41,900 ft.
After reading your review of your own plane (which you make out to be something of a nightmare to fly), I was beginning to wonder why you hadn’t looked into lancairs (columbias). The guy that won the sport class at the Reno Air Races did it in a lancair (notably averaging well above the Vne for the aircraft)
Sure they’re expensive, but they’re really really cool.
It prices out at 600+K with major options. A bit much to pay for a non pressurized 4 seater, IMHO.
Mike: I own the SR20 with the world’s best partner except that he has only a Private and less than 100 hours of total time. He would not have been insurable in the Columbia 350, which in any case is getting into what you might call real money ($100,000 more than our SR20, I think). The Lancair is a better plane to fly by hand than the SR20 but it isn’t as nice for passengers (same deal as the Diamond Star but much more expensive and faster). I need to save my pennies for an EC120 helicopter…
Philip,
When you do get your helicopter, it might be fun to have it painted black. (especially if you plan to do a lot of rurual sightseeing)
Mike
p.s. How much experience does one need to be insurable in a Columbia?
Mike: Black is certainly not the right color for an unairconditioned Robinson though the latest R44 has an A/C option (only about $20,000 extra and 30 lbs.). How much experience would a person need to fly a Columbia 400 without terrifying the insurance company? Probably an instrument rating and 250 hours at a bare minimum. For one thing you can’t even get up above 18,000′ without an IFR clearance so you’d need the instrument rating just to fly the plane to its service ceiling.
You should see the 2006 model Columbia SL they had at AOPA in Tampa. New adjustable seats, G1000 with FMS, control wheel steering, thermal de-ice, overhead switches like heavy iron, new interior with much more room, and at 235 knots, it’s still the world’s fastest certified piston aircraft – single or twin, fixed gear or retractable. They even lowered the price $20,000 – pretty cool!
K5054 could do about 310 knots at altitude, but not as fast down low. The Spitfire Mk 1 could manage about the same at altitude but only 240 knots at sea level, a speed virtually equalled by Alex Henshaw in his fixed undercarriage De Havilland Gypsy Queen powered (225Hp) Percival Mew Gull at 237 knots in 1938.