Lancair Receives TC for Four-Place Single

"It's been a very long road marked with a lot of hard work by Lancair employees and FAA officials, but we did it." So remarked Lance Neibauer, founder and president of Lancair International, on the achievement of obtaining FAA type certification earlier this month for the Columbia 300, a four-place, fixed-gear single, powered by a 310-hp Continental IO-550N.

With the TC in hand, Lancair now will focus on getting the production line at its 140,000-square-foot facility in Bend, OR, "up and running." Lancair expects to deliver the first Columbias-from an order book claimed at more than 250 units-before year-end. But before Lancair can begin to deliver finished aircraft, it still must clear one more FAA hurdle: production certification. This approval was pending at press time.

The Columbia is of composite construction. "In stark contrast to metal airplanes, the Columbia's surfaces are rivetless and smooth, providing a low-drag airframe and allowing speeds unseen in this type of aircraft," says the company. According to preliminary performance figures, the Columbia 300 will be one of the fastest normally aspirated piston singles in production: more than 250 kts. at 75 percent power.

"Our goal with this airplane from the outset was to bring turn-of the-century aviation technology to a segment of the market that is populated mostly by aircraft that were designed in the 1950s," said Neibauer. He is referring to Cessna's reintroduced Models 172 and 182, initially launched in 1955 and 1956, respectively.

Lancair Standard avionics include an AlliedSignal KA256 flight director and KX165 navcom with GS, an STEC 55 AP, a II Morrow GX60 IFR GPS/Com and a Stormscope. The Avidyne flight information display, originally planned as a standard item, is now an option that won't be available until 1999.

The Columbia is Lancair's first attempt at a certificated production aircraft. The company was founded in 1984 as a kit aircraft manufacturer.

By Gordon A. Gilbert