Lancair propjet

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Assuming you're referring to the turbine powered Lancair IV-P? Yes, a beautiful airplane, and I've always been a fan of the IVs. But they've got the forgiving stall characteristics of a Lear 23 and an engine out descent rate of something like 4,000 FPM.

I really like Lancairs and have wanted one for basically my entire flying career. I generally figured a while ago that having a IV was something best left on the bucket list.
 
Ted said:
Assuming you're referring to the turbine powered Lancair IV-P? Yes, a beautiful airplane, and I've always been a fan of the IVs. But they've got the forgiving stall characteristics of a Lear 23 and an engine out descent rate of something like 4,000 FPM.
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The Lancair IV has the same basic performance envelope as the Curtiss P-40; WWII fighters generally weren't known for gentle handling characteristics.

Looking at my homebuilt accident database, the Lancair IV actually has a lower rate of Pilot Miscontrol accidents, but a higher percentage of those Miscontrol accidents involve stalls. Overall, about 9% of all homebuilt accidents involve stalls or loss of airspeed control, vs. 11.3% of the Lancair IV. The median pilot experience for pilots having accidents in the Lancair IV is more than twice that of the overall homebuilt fleet.

Overall accident-wise, it's not that bad. Its average annual Fleet Accident Rate (average number of accidents vs. the total aircraft in the registry) is about the same as the Velocity or the Zenair CH-601.

Ron Wanttaja
 
That's interesting data, Ron, and better than what I'd last remembered hearing (although what I last heard didn't involve your level of hard numbers-driven info). My recollection is that the things are exceedingly hard to insure, but that same sort of thing has been the case with a number of aircraft over the years and insurance cycles, including P210s. Meanwhile, there was a time when people could move up from an SR22 to a 421 with otherwise zero multi experience and get insurance, which isn't a good idea.
 
Ted said:
That's interesting data, Ron, and better than what I'd last remembered hearing (although what I last heard didn't involve your level of hard numbers-driven info). My recollection is that the things are exceedingly hard to insure, but that same sort of thing has been the case with a number of aircraft over the years and insurance cycles, including P210s. Meanwhile, there was a time when people could move up from an SR22 to a 421 with otherwise zero multi experience and get insurance, which isn't a good idea.
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A couple factors about insurability. Of course, the Lancair IV has a value much, MUCH higher than the typical homebuilt. That'll make the insurers nervous. Second, the Lancair IV has the highest fatality rate of all the homebuilts I've looked at. "Fatality Rate" defined as the percentage of accidents that result in at least one fatality. The Lancair IV has a 50% fatality rate in my tally. Considering that the owners are likely to be ummm, "prosperous" men, the insurer can end up paying a lot after an accident. Not surprised they're shying away.

Ron Wanttaja
 
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