233 Kts, FL230, 26 Minutes From Brake Release... Wow! Part Two

Thankfully, the folks behind the current generation of Lancairs understand that two doors make for a far more agile entry process. Big gull-wing doors offer excellent access from the wing, after one steps up on the mid-thigh-high step (which some owners may elect to delete… they cost the bird a whopping two knots in cruise speed… and to many that is simply too great a price to pay for such a “luxury”) just behind the trailing edge of each wing. While the step-in process can be a bit cumbersome here and there, Lancair has maximized the efficiency of the process with the size (33” tall as well as 33” wide) of the doors and the excellent access offered to the back seats once the front seats are swept forward (also easy to do, thank goodness… moving some seats forward these days takes an act of Congress…). After stepping in, back seat access is plentiful and the back-seaters will experience little of the claustrophobia seen in earlier generations of aircraft.

The interior is well appointed… as Lancair has also learned the lessons I have previously droned on about in terms of making sure that multi-hundred thousand dollar airplanes LOOK like they’re worth the money a pilot pays for them. Dimensions are pretty generous. The 139.6” long cabin (from firewall to the back of the baggage area) is 48.17 inches wide, and 49 inches tall. Tall, well-padded seats offer excellent lower back support and acceptable upper back and head support (an adjustable head rest would be welcome here… I’ve yet to see any GA manufacturer do this right… but I have “high” hopes). Cabin appointments appear to be well thought out with handhold straps in the appropriate place and few obstructions to get in the way of a fidgeting/moving pilot or passenger. Seat spacing (side to side) is generous and with two big guys in the front (and YOU know who you are…), there is room to relax, spread out and not feel like you’re getting too friendly with Bubba, sitting next to you. Door closure is accomplished readily via pulling down the gull-wing door’s HUGE hand-strap to the point of mating with the doorjamb, and sliding the throw-over capture lever to the locked position. Nicely done.

With this done, one spies the first (and possibly, only) annoying aspect of the Columbia… the inside of the cabin slopes up and in pretty heavily from shoulder level on up and while this does not impinge too much on interior comfort, it definitely hampers your field of vision. The frame that separates the windshield from the support structure winds up prominently within the outside edge of one’s peripheral vision. Since the seats are only adjustable fore and aft some seven inches and the seat backs require a somewhat involved process to adjust the reclining angle (with no vertical adjustment… an oversight in our opinion), dealing with this issue does not always have a satisfactory solution. In an otherwise beautifully appointed cabin, this aspect was a true annoyance—though it may not affect everyone the same way depending on their dimensions.  

Excess Baggage

We got yer baggage area right here! If ya got bags, the Lancair’s got room. Accessible from the outside right of the aircraft, a 28” wide swing-up door offers excellent access to a cavernous baggage area measures 38.5’ wide, 52” in length and is some 34.5” high. You can load up to 120 pounds back there (CG permitting) and one of the things I particularly like is the fact that the baggage area is accessible from the back seats in that there is no divider between the cabin and baggage area… for those of you who have to throw something (or someone…) into the baggage area in flight (and not been able to do so), you KNOW how cool this is.

Panel Planning 101

The C400 boasts one of the nicest panel designs I’ve seen in a while. Well laid-out, I’m particularly appreciative of the way that various control systems have been designed to mimic/draw attention to their function in terms of their appearance and mode of operation (note the flap lever, in particular). Due to the nature of the accomplished Avidyne EFIS system, a lot of the panel space is vacant… meaning that more of what a pilot needs to deal with lies closer at hand/eye. While I have my preference for a landscape presentation for the PFD, I have to admit that the portrait presentation for the MFD works quite well. I also STRONGLY prefer that secondary attitude instruments be located in a way so as to minimize the visual/equilibrium traumas associated with the IFR to VFR transition. If mounted to low or to far off to one side, the potential for a loss of control owing to spatial disorientation induced by aggressive head movement is (in my opinion) too great a risk to allow. Lancair does a fairly decent job of positioning the back up gauges… as the electric AI is positioned at the top of the stack of the backup gauges (AI, airspeed, and altimeter in descending order), between the PFD and MFD.

The far left side of the panel sports a number of conventional/backup system gauges, whose functions are otherwise presented on the Avidyne Entegra system. To the bottom left-hand side of those, a VERY good venting outlet takes up position in area where it can do the most good… and with all glass in the C400, you better know that the vent is likely about to become your new best friend on warm/bright days. A small strip of annunciators lies between them and the PFD (with the marker beacon receiver’s indicator lights just above them).

To Be Continued...

FMI: www.lancair.com/certified