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Lancair 360

 

 N91CZ is a Lancair 360 MkII with a stock Lycoming O-360A1A.  Construction was started in December of 1995.  First flight occurred November 1997.  Build time from a standard kit to flying was 2500 hours.  After a year of flying, painting required an additional 500 hours over a period of six months.  While not built with the goal of becoming a show plane, it did capture Champion at Oshkosh in 1999.  The plane has provided an endless source of projects aimed at improving maintainability and performance.  On this site you will find reports on a number of these projects.  Some are specific to the Lancair, while other should be of general interest.

Enjoy,

Chris Zavatson

christopher.zavatson@n91cz.com

 

 

Studies pertaining to the Lancair 320/360

 

Testing of a new composite Hartzell propeller for the Lancair 360

 

Longitudinal Stability of the Lancair 320/360 with the Original and MKII Horizontal Stabilizers - The original and MKII stabilizers are compared in flight test

 

Lancair Stability and Control Evaluation – Evaluation of the dynamic stability and stick force gradients in cruise and landing configurations

 

Cruise Flap Investigation – Drag Polars were generated to quantify the effects of flap deflection on total aircraft drag

 

Lancair Static Stability – Analysis and testing of the longitudinal static stability of the Lancair 360.

 

Vibration Analysis – Vibration Summary in cruise and take-off flight phases

 

Critical Angle of Attack – The rest of the Story – Despite the popular phrase, a wing does not always stall at the same angle of attack.  A look at five factors that affect the critical angle of attack.

 

Operation:

 

Avoiding Loss of Control without AoA – Some easy math to help stay away from stall in the pattern using just the ASI

 

Landing Energy Dissipation – Examines energy dissipation and landing on the same spot regardless of approach angle

 

AoA, Common Myths and Misunderstandings – Examines factors affecting the utility of AoA instruments in GA

 

 

Projects:

 

Brake Caliper Design – Dramatically improved braking performance was achieved with a custom designed 3 piston caliper.

 

Engine Cooling Improvement – dramatic improvement in cylinder head temperatures while increasing air speed using diffusers and a plenum chamber.

 

Cooling System Evaluation – Pressure and Mass Flow measurements were made to evaluate the effectiveness of the new cooling system.

 

Cooling Power – Horse power lost to cooling – a continuation of “Cooling System Evaluation”

 

Outback Gear Door Drag Reduction – A little known or discussed problem with the ‘Outback Gear’ doors is that they do not remain closed in flight.  

 

Induction System Improvement - sealed inlet with 100% filtering and ram pressure recovery.

 

Induction Inlet Sizing – How large should the inlet be made?

 

Autopilot Servo Installation – Utilizing space efficiently for a CG friendly servo installation

 

Carbon Spinner Back Plate – Eliminates cracking issue common with Aluminum

 

Incorporating electric trim into the original small tail

 

False Triggering of the Mountain High Oxygen O2D1 System

The cause and fix to false triggering of the oxygen system.

 

 

Maintenance

 

Main gear micro switches – mount the switches directly on the over-center link.

 

Nose Gear Strut Spacer – eases installation of the nose gear strut, eliminates lateral play.

 

Hinge Play – How to eliminate the play and wear inherent in MS20001 hinges.

 

Hinge Replacement – How to make an exact copy of an MS hinge

 

Hydraulics – Detailed description of the Lancair 320/360 Hydraulic System

 

Hydraulic Cylinder Overhaul – The details of overhauling hydraulic cylinders used on the Lancair

 

 

 

 

Other Links:

Interesting Technical Reports

2005 Lancair Fly-in, Redmond, Oregon

2006 Medford Lancair Gathering  

2007 Medford Lancair Gathering

2009 Susanville Air Fair

In-Flight and other Photos

Video Clips

 

 

(last updated 11/22/2020)