Friday, I was walking the wingtip as the Baron was being backed into a hangar by the FBO at the airport near my lake house. They put me next to one of the hottest looking aircraft I've ever seen--a turbine Lancair Evolution. It has an awesome gunmetal gray paaint scheme with winglets. It looks fast as hell just sitting there. I mentioned to the lineman that some people think of it as a squirrelly dangerous aircraft. He said it belongs to a retired Fed Ex and former Navy fighter pilot who flew the F-4 off carriers. He probably knows what he's doing, huh? Some photos of it should be included here if I figured out how to do it. Lancair's website says the turbine gives 300 kts, FL 280, and a 1100 nm range. The piston gives 270 kts, FL 280, and 1300 nm range. Hot stuff.

That is a Lancair Turbine IV-P not an Evolution... The IV-P is a very challenging airplane whether piston or turbine... The Evolution is a very different airplane and well within the capabilities of a competent Baron/Bo pilot with some training. (full disclosure, I have flown the Piston IV-P and the Turbine and Piston Evolution, not the turbine IV-P.)

I would love to have an Evolution, It is a marvelous airplane.... If someone gave me an IV-P I would sell it ASAP... I am not a fan at all of the IV-P

The turbine IV-P has a terrible safety record.

My hangar neighbor has the Evolution I hope it fairs better. Totally different design.

IVP is getting into jet speed ranges.... Mainly because of the small laminar flow wing. So you need to fly it appropriately, that's all. A Helio 295 is also a "handful" for a 65hp cub pilot...

My bad. Thanks for the correction. Great looking aircraft. I assume same speed as the Evolution?

I believe there is something like 15-18 knots difference in the stall. The Evolution is like the Bo, 61 knots.

The high stall speed is why the fatality rate approaches 50% for the IV in crashes.

Sexy looking beast though. Just fly it like a fighter, a pray the engine never quits.

I flew the airplane for an air to air photo session and had no trouble flying the airplane, but I was taken back by the level of concentration it required to fly it well.

It was very pitch/airspeed sensitive... Maintaining airspeed on final is like flying a swept wing jet. It has miserable stall characteristics. The factory policy is no stalls at all for practice/proficiency. (I was told this by a very reputable test pilot with lots of experience in type. He advised me not to stall it, at any altitude) It has poor control harmony... Engine/climb management is high workload to keep temps in limits

It makes any WWII fighter that I have flown seem like a pussycat... It is a formidable airplane on a calm VFR day... I can easily understand the miserable accident statistics.

I flew the airplane for an air to air photo session and had no trouble flying the airplane, but I was taken back by the level of concentration it required to fly it well.

It was very pitch/airspeed sensitive... Maintaining airspeed on final is like flying a swept wing jet. It has miserable stall characteristics. The factory policy is no stalls at all for practice/proficiency. (I was told this by a very reputable test pilot with lots of experience in type. He advised me not to stall it, at any altitude) It has poor control harmony... Engine/climb management is high workload to keep temps in limits

It makes any WWII fighter that I have flown seem like a ***... It is a formidable airplane on a calm VFR day... I can easily understand the miserable accident statistics.

Anyone know what changes were made to the Evolution to correct the problems?
Whatever they did, they didn't mess up the looks. It also looks great in the Lancair website pics.

Lost my AME to one of those planes

Ed

The Evolution has much lower wing loading, higher aspect ratio, and a larger tail. It is a total redesign...

Nothing was shared. Evolution was a clean sheet redesign. The IVP was a gradual progression of the original legacy planes which kept getting faster, stronger, heavier without changing much in terms of the wings. For the Evo, they started over,

Tim

I concur with Doug's opinion of both planes. I've only ridden in a IV-P (and gotten a tiny bit of stick time) and have no experience with the Evolution. My disclosure... I worked for the Lancair-Certified/Columbia/Pacific Aviation Composites company for a spell.

I know the aero guy that is responsible for the Legacy and Evolution.... and in my opinion he is among the best there is and fixed the inherent handling problems with all of the Lancair kits (ie Super ES--> Columbia, 360--> Legacy, IV-P--> Evolution). The Super ES was not certifiable and that is why the Columbia was a 100% clean-sheet redesign even though our charter was to simply certify the ES and make it easier to produce in a factory vs. a garage/hangar. The large-tail 360 is a pretty good plane IMO, but the Legacy is better in all respects. Like Doug, if gifted a IV of any flavor I would sell it with a big liability release and then buy something else. It is a handful under the best of circumstance with a very high wing loading, very high stall speed, and atrocious low speed behavior as well as control harmony.

The IV is one of the best *looking* planes ever flown IMO, but I value safe behavior over great looks. Lance was trained as a graphic artist and got "help" with the actual aerodynamic design, which didn't turn out as pretty as it looks. The Evolution is a bit odd-looking to me, but still attractive and I would love to have one.