When I flew the 400 at the same time as Rick Lawrence, I talked to the factory pilots. They said when there were only pilots upfront they always carried weight in the baggage area and the plane flew and landed much better

210 drivers do that also.

I've learned to do that with the 182 also. Makes my landings much easier and better.

I have roughly 20 hours in the Columbia 350 and 400. The 350 does lack elevator authority in the flare and you'll never get a full stall landing with the horn chirping, but you can smooth the landings out by carrying a little extra speed. I found 85 knots over the numbers works well. Apparently the 400 does have a larger horizontal stab and elevator as full stall landings are a non-issue, and 80 knots over the numbers works well in the turbo model.

I trim down quite a bit to compensate if I do not have much weight in the back. With no weight in the back and take off trim then lack of elevator authority IS AN ISSUE in the 300/350. With at least 20 pounds in baggage compartment and trimmed half way down it is NOT an issue.
400/TTX turbo pilots tell me it is not an issue in their planes.

The Cessna was on my list before we decided on breeding a bit more and I had about 80 hours on a TTx. It is a magnificient aircraft, BUT, I never could get myself into considering to purchase one and went for an A36 NA.

My major reason against it was simply the runway length you need to be comfortable with a TTx. It is blazing fast, it is fun, it is a dream machine, it is a pilots aircraft (in contrast to the SR22, which is an A/P aircraft with a reset = parachute button) but on the other side it should burn the other fuel and it is definitely a friend to your adrenaline when homing into 2,000ft runways. If I would dump wifey and kids and decide to abandon going to 75% of the place I like to go to, I would seriously consider a TTx.

Btw and as it was mentioned before, the better choice would be an Evolution Turbine ... I had the chance to spent almost 10 hours on one as Pax and yes, THAT is the dream machine par excel-Lancair . T(O and LDG on 1,200ft, no problem. Go FAAAAASSSSSTTTT, no problem :-). BUT, BIG BUTT, the price ... all of a sudden I feel poor .

Back to normal, I feel very satisfied with my A36 and the family does as well!

This has been said, but I second it and back it up with the fact that it came right out of Lance Niebauer's mouth... land 5 knots faster and you're good. I started flying it onto the runway like a big airplane and it lands like a dream.

This has been said, but I second it and back it up with the fact that it came right out of Lance Niebauer's mouth... land 5 knots faster and you're good. I started flying it onto the runway like a big airplane and it lands like a dream.

I've observed no such issue in my Columbia 400. The 400 and TTx have more elevator authority than the 350 does. These difference are due to the certification process, which differed between them. The 400, being certified to FL250 has a different elevator and elevator travel limit.

I routinely use the short field landing speeds (74-80kts on final depending on weight) and methods, with CG near the forward envelope, with no problems in the flare. It does land a lot better, if I toss some extra weight in the back to move the CG back a little. But the exact same was true of my Cherokee 180 and my Seneca II as well.

The Columbia 400, being fast and very slippery, does consume more runway on landing than most light singles. But landing it with book performance isn't difficult. Just requires the same thing it does in any other airplane, attention to technique and airspeed discipline.

I just do what it says in the POH, fly the speeds according to landing weight, bring up the flaps after touch down and brake smoothly. No drama, no need for extra knots.

Last time I landed at BQ1 (2500 feet with trees on both ends) I stopped with 1000+/- feet of runway left. Because I need to fly Tuesday and my home airport will be closed until Tuesday night I am taking my 350 to 28A for the night (2300 feet) Tuesday I am picking up a vendor at
9A9 (3300 foot grass strip) and headed to visit a supplier in Eastern TN then returning via same grass strip then home to EQY.
Once you get used to this airframe you do NOT have to fly it like an airliner.
If you go out and stall it over and over, then accelerated stalls then slow flight until you get used to it. Then 3 weeks later when you doubt it was really that forgiving go out and practice some more.
The versatility of this plane is much of the reason I do not have a 58P or Malibu currently.
Too many short/grass strips I would miss.
VNE of 235
Slow up a bit first then deploy speed brakes and descend @ 6,000 feet per minute with indicated staying under 220....SMOOTH AIR OF COURSE

My first 500 landings were "accidental contact with runway"

+1, and another 350 more to go !

Thanks for the great feedback guys!

Good Plane & Pilot report comparing TTX to a Cirrus. The pilot states he has over 1000 hours in the Cirrus.

http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article ... EbeKbIrKUm

Anyone interested in the 350/400 would be very welcomed to as Max says: Come fly with me/Users/emmittknight/Desktop/IMG_0789.jpg

Well...gotta figure out how to import/attach a picture!