What web site is best for learning and discussing the 400-Corvalis. I have looked on a couple of Cessna forums but very little mention of these planes.
Thanks in advance for your help.

+ for CAAC

Good group but rather small, nonetheless, the éminence grise for Lancair / Columbia / TTx is there.

everybody is too busy out enjoying/flying them

Just go buy one! Awesome airplane! Lance Neibauer created a beautiful airplane!

They do seem to have stood the test of time quite well.
Not a "problem" like the Lancair IV is.

To me they are a bit analogous to the Eclipse in that its a somewhat off-brand. Often this isn't a great thing in aviation. But both have acquitted themselves quite impressively.

We had a Columbia 400, which was in between the original Lancair Columbia 400... and then Cesnna Corvalis. There's a fascinating story about the company and Lance going to Malaysia to get financing and then what happened to the company as the Chinese began to wrangle the company from him, hence the name change...I think they hated that his name was on the company. Obviously the name change was a catastrophic marketing mistake. The confusion and change in the way the company operated caused their backlog of orders to evaporate. The ultimate result was that Cessna purchased Columbia Aircraft out of bankruptcy for $25M a fraction of the Malay's original investment... not to mention far less than the company was worth before they got involved.

I'm glad that Cessna stepped in and have continued to build this great airplane, but it is still sad that it is no longer the "Lancair Columbia 400" it just lost some of it's cool factor.

On a side note, I went into the hangar one day and moved the 182 out of the way to pull the Columbia out to fly... when I hooked the handbar onto the nose and gave it a stiff pull it didn't move! Curious I went and looked at the POH... that sucker weighed 2600 lbs! More than 600 lbs heavier than the Cessna 182!

I called Lance and said "Hey buddy, why is your darn plastic airplane so heavy?"

He explained that they actually certified it in the utility category, and that their very tough Seattle FSDO gave them a lot of grief over the composite airframe. He said that his engineers calculated that the airplane ended up being over built by 225%!

It is a heavy, smooth, Cadillac of an airplane. It handles turbulence better than any piston single I have ever flown. It is wicked fast and fun to fly. Unless they fixed the book you'll want to land 5 kts faster than what the it says... otherwise you run out of elevator in the flair. I like the Cirrus too... but the 400 is a lot more airplane!

Absolutely this ^

and if anyones browsing turns to buying, the experimental version of the Columbia/Coravlis/TTx airframe is the Lancair Super ES

We weigh less, carry more, go faster, and allow experimental avionics and other luxuries not found in certified aircraft- there's even a few with the BRS chute system installed!

I love my airplane, can't see parting with it anytime soon

Ditto for the Columbia 300 !

I've got just over a year and >100 hours on mine and I am loving it !

Another tid-bit : They are a Mechanic's dream come true -: just 3 - 4 inspection plates, very simple and pragmatic design, over-built & super tough. An Annual can be knocked out in a day and a half.

Yes, the 300 and 350 get overlooked... same airplane... simply the number of turbochargers... or lack thereof!

Has anybody ever modified the ES with the tail skeg like the Columbia 400? Seems like it would be a good idea. I know the 300 & 350 did not have it, so NO it is not the same airplane as a 400.

the columbia series has a lot of things added that the ES didn't need- but the columbia did to appease a wider audience and certification, the tail fin you speak of is one of those things, the IV/IVP guys usually install something like this to house a camera so they can see their gear and/or troubleshoot gear issues in the air, you could easily add to any ES, just more drag

Thanks for the info

The best years were after the name change. Sales in 2006 and 2007 were awesome but the company was just in a big hole.

Also, another factor in the name change was the confusion between Lancair kits and the Columbia, especially from the insurance industry.