Good Evening All,

I got an email about this aircraft this afternoon, and it's the first I've heard of the design (though it's been out there for a number of years). I was wondering if anyone has any experience, thoughts, comments.

It appears to be essentially a carbon fiber copy of a 210 with a few modifications. This particular bird is outfitted with a Walters turbine in place of the IO-550 that was the original intended power plant.

Looks interesting, but I'd love to hear from someone who knows the design before I allow myself to get too interested.

Thanks,

John IV

I didn't know anything about it so I did some searching. The company website looks like it hasn't been updated in a while, and Wikipedia says that only 7 had been built by 2007.

Seems like a cool idea, but it also seems like it's a dead design.

Eric,

My research mirrors your own. I believe the designer passed away several years ago and the design and production rights have been for sale since then, but no kits are being produced. From what I gather, the designer was a good engineer but not so hot when it came to promoting or selling his product. Sounds like he was a bit coarse and had a habit of rubbing people the wrong way.

I don't really mind the dead design issue. The experimental nature and ability to modify the design are a big plus in my book.

Still looks interesting given the performance, and what looks to be a very solid design (composite over a tubular steel framework). It would just be nice to hear from someone that had some experience with the design, before trekking across the country to look at it in person.

Thanks,

John IV

If it is the same aircraft I am thinking of, the useful load is obscene. Nearly equivalent to the empty weight of the airplane.

Mr. Hollmann was more of a structures guy than aerodynamicist, and I'd want to thoroughly check out the flying/handling qualities of that plane if you're seriously interested. You might even want to engage a DER test pilot if you get really serious about it. While it looks like a 210, I bet it won't handle like one, or any certified plane for that matter. There may be very dangerous characteristics lurking behind the appearance of a very useful plane. That may or may not be important to you.

I just read on his site that Lancair used his Stallion wing to create the ES kitplane with the IV fuselage. He then went on to say Lancair certified the ES, which is most certainly NOT true. The ES flunked a Part 23 flight test evaluation and had to be completely re-designed to meet modern requirements to the point that there were no common parts between the Columbia and the ES.

Having said all that, I do really like the concept of his Stallion. There would of course be issues with an orphaned design and no support. Insurance might be difficult to impossible for a very low volume airplane. It might be a fantastic and useful plane though.

Is that the one?
The ugly 210 of the family.

http://www.aircraftdesigns.com/specifications.html

Vince

Good Afternoon All,

I just wanted to post an update. I flew the Super Stallion late last week. It's actually a very impressive plane. The photo that Marc posted is of the same type, with the same turbine, but it's a different airplane. The one I flew does not have the skegs mounted under the horizontal stabilizer. That was an individual modification that was done to try to make up for some of the instability caused by the increased nose length required for the turbine installation. On the plane I flew, they had enlarged the vertical stabilizer and rudder and also added a small central skeg under the tail.

With regard to Scott's comments, you're 100% correct, it does not fly like any 210 out there. Even the Silver Eagle turbine conversions. This bird is a completely different machine as you can easily see. I think that the issues you bring up can be applied to just about any experimental out there. If you're going to go that route you either need a lot of faith in the builder, or you need to do a VERY intensive inspection of the aircraft.

In the end, I think the design is pretty solid, and this particular plane seemed to be well built. It could use a bit of refinement, mostly on the interior and cosmetic areas, but all in all it is a nice airplane. Flying it was a blast, it performs just about like you would expect a 210 sized airplane with a 750HP engine to perform. It was slightly pitch sensitive, but not bad and certainly not what I would consider dangerous. All three axis trimmed out nicely and hands-off flying was certainly possible. It's not as docile as a Bonanza, but I doubt that is possible with the high aspect wing used on the Stallion. One interesting characteristic was the need to add LEFT rudder when reducing power in cruise, just like adding right rudder when increasing power.

Unfortunately, after we returned from our flight we performed a borescope on the engine and found a small issue on one of the CT blades. The owner called in the shop that overhauled the engine and they were going to split the engine and replace the blade, but apparently they found additional issues once they split the engine and the entire engine is now off of the plane and in the shop for overhaul.

In the end, I decided that the plane wasn't the right fit for me. I love the concept, performance, and the freedom that comes with an experimental bird, but at the end of the day, I came to the realization that I wasn't quite ready to give up my Bonanza.

The plane should be back on the market as soon as they finish the engine work. It's a heck of an airplane for someone that wants an experimental that will haul a big load and get you there fast. If anyone is interested, I'll be happy to put you in touch with the owner/builder.

John IV