Hi-
I fly a Lancair 235/290 which I built myself. It's not fancy, but it's (almost) as fast as a Bonanza on 140 HP and 7GPH (wink). There goes the neighborhood.

Welcome to BT.

Homebuilders bring a lot to the discussion. We need pics and video of your plane now.

Best,

Thanks for the warm welcome, Jesse. Here's a recent photo, taken in Greenville, SC:



I don't have any videos OF the Lancair, but I have a tail cam (barely visible in the above photo) and another in the cockpit. I have Terabytes of that stuff. The cockpit cam is mostly for training purposes, since I can see the gauges and hear ATC. I've been flying the Lancair for a little over three years now, and I still learn things by reviewing the video.

The tail cam is useful for perfecting my landing technique, but mostly it captures the beautiful scenery below. Last month I flew out to the Southwest - Santa Fe NM and Page AZ. That's some beautiful country out there. Here's a sample video from a couple years ago when I made a low pass at Marana (near Tucson).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/knhrdat6qgz0m ... s.mp4?dl=0

WARNING: If you let this guy in your hangar he will try to drink all your beer.

Welcome aboard, John!

Evad

Welcome John.

My Brother built a Lancair 360 and sold it after a few flights. He enjoyed the building more than the piloting. Here is a pix of us formation flying over New Hampshire. I say flying formation but it was more of a flyby. I was at 130kts in my Skylane and he and his son were at 200

Kevin

That's kind of sad. How long did it take him to build it? Was there any particular reason he sold it?

Welcome John!!!

That's kind of sad. How long did it take him to build it? Was there any particular reason he sold it?

Nice Looking Plane John
You'll Love it around here

Yup, there goes the neighborhood!

We thought this place was well hidden, yet somehow you found it anyhow.

Dan

Welcome John, what a nice plane, and so efficient!

That's kind of sad. How long did it take him to build it? Was there any particular reason he sold it?

Repeat offenders LOL! I honestly can't imagine how anyone can build more than one aircraft in a single lifetime. What you wrote about the unfinished kits is true. Twenty years after the Lancair 235 kit came out, I think only 20% were flying. I found that difficult to believe at the time, but I believe it now. (The completion rate may be up to 40% now.) I almost became one of the 20% because the finishing part just about killed me. It took two full years to fill/sand/primer/repeat 20 times/top coat. I finally had to hire some help.

I have always liked to build things, and I liked to fly - although I couldn't afford it until I was in my forties. I had a little money left over from the sale of a house and had a choice: Buy a used C-152 or a beautiful Lancair kit. I bought the kit for $15,975, but had no idea what I was in for. Back in those days, there was no such thing as a "fast build" kit; I had to do it all myself - including the engine, panel, interior, paint - everything. It's still not "done" and probably never will be. I'm retired now and can't really justify spending $10,000 here and $15,000 there on the latest avionics. So I fly with my Stratus and iPad and a blank in my radio stack where the Garmin GNS-430W will probably never go. Works for me. The little Lancair is fast and can go a long way quickly on not much fuel. I file 165 Kts and figure 7.5 GPH although I usually do 170 on 6.0. Even though I can't afford a fancy paint job, I can afford to fly it