While most folks were able to breathe a sigh of relief with the much-fought-for recapitalization of the Lancair Company; many more were looking forward to seeing actual signs of life reappear in Bend, Oregon. They need wait no more. In conjunction with Lancair's second annual Lancair Sales and Service Center Conference, Lancair President Bing Lantis, joined a gaggle of Lancair employees in the presentation of the airworthiness certificate and keys to the first Columbia 300 to come off the production line since it restarted just over a month ago.

Lancair says the hard-earned celebration was short lived, however, as the folks who cheered the new red and white Columbia 300 off on the journey to its new home in the Netherlands quickly returned to the task at hand - continuing their production ramp up. There has been a lot of progress in the past month... with more than 200 employees now back at work. Most of them are in the back shops making the components that fuel the production line. Others are on the production line, assembling the aircraft that will shortly be flying out the door at an ever-increasing rate. These employees will be joined by more than 50 additional colleagues during the coming months as Lancair returns to full speed.

In the meantime; representatives from Lancair's ten domestic and three international sales and service centers met at company HQ recently to get them "back up to speed on all things Lancair-Columbia."

More Changes Coming

Lancair notes that "a number of insurance underwriters are now requiring factory approved recurrent training, and several of our customers have contacted us regarding this issue." As a result, Lancair is in the process of developing an interim recurrent training program, and will make it available to all of their Sales and Service Centers as well as all the Lancair Factory Approved Flight Instructors, "in the next month or so." Lancair calls this an “interim” solution since a more permanent program is being worked up with the cooperation of the FAA. For the moment; Lancair expects to offer a program that involves quarterly online training, which will require about one-half hour, or so, of review every three months. This online review will be supplemented with a one-hour+ flight review. The flight review syllabus will also be available online, which will help customers prepare for their training. The course will be structured so that recurrent training can also serve to fulfill the two-year flight review requirement.

Columbia 300 Updates

New Columbia 300s now coming off the production line will have a few new updates. The first is the implementation of a new heater box and control system for cabin heating. The new heating equipment will boost performance and offer greater adjustment control over the system that was installed in previous Columbias. Lancair has also installed a new model of static wick on our Columbia line. The new wicks are stronger and less likely to break when you inadvertently run into them into your hangar (you know who you are...). Better yet; they’ll be slightly less expensive to replace. Both these updates are retrofittable to elder Columbias.

Lancair Columbia 350 Certification Update

Lancair notes that the Columbia 350 program is up and running – fast. They have completed the required design drawings and are in the midst of flight testing to prove the all-electric aircraft’s ability to resist electromagnetic interference. They're also testing changes made to the fuel system and are hoping for the FAA's official blessings by this time next month.

Lancair Columbia 400 Certification Update

The certification program for the turbocharged Columbia 400 appears to be moving along on schedule. Preliminary drawings are complete and the spec powerplant is to be installed in the certification aircraft this week. Prior to taking the test aircraft down for the engine change, Lancair had to put it through some high altitude paces. Lancair claims that their test pilot reported impressive speeds, and also reported that the engine runs nice and cool up to 25,000 feet. The program appears to be on schedule, with flight testing to resume next week with the new engine. They hope to gain certification in July... just in time for Oshkosh.

FMI: www.lancair.com/certified