Those
few inches make a difference, at least that is what my wife always told me
;)

 

 

About
buying a Lancair 4-p

 

Well,
if you can find it already done, then things add up very quickly….but if you
find one that has most things you love like….now there is where you can
actually save time and lots of money.

 

I
have my plane for sale (loaded) with Garmins (G3x, GTN750 etc), BRS parachute,
AM-SAFE seatbelts, 4g impact seats, Wing cuffs etc etc

 

Why
am I selling the plane, that I really like, well…my son outgrew the plane. He
is a 250 pounds, 6’3ft, wide shouldered guy and still growing (playing
football and heavy weightlifting).

 

So
you can understand my frustration selling the plane. Now I am looking into a
p210 Silver Eagle….just because I need the space
side-by-side.

 

And
yes this plane is real fun, I have over 250 hours in it, and loved every
flight with it.

 

==
Ronald

 

From: Lancair Mailing
List [lml [at] lancaironline.net (mailto:)

]
On Behalf Of PETER WILLIAMS
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2014
7:58 AM
To: Lancair Mailing List
Subject: [LML] BUYING A
LANCAIR 4, 4P

 

HI THERE

WHAT TO BUY AND
WHAT TO LOOK FOR

--ENGINE

1. A     low time
engine is not necessarily LOW TIME
     many of the
Lancair for sale now were built 12 or more years
ago
     the engine may have 150 hours on it but it
has timed out for years.(CHECK WITH
CONTINENTAL)
     B. does this matter? YES. these
engines have flat tappets and they tend to
spall
          over time if
not used regularly. even regularly can be a
problem
     C  how am i sure. well, i have a 4P
that had an 1996 install and a 2000 tear
down
          and i have just
had to have a tear down due to a damaged cam (big
money
     D  there is a 4P that i looked at in
Florida with 475 hours total time (sold for $175k)

          , now has a fresh
overhaul with 45 hours more and  is up for resale at over
$300k
     E   there is a $5,000 AD on the
starter drive that may not be done

AIRFRAME

1.   
No reasonable amount of money will correct a bad airframe, have it checked by
one of the Lancair
experts
          (i suggest
other than Lancair, as their love of the moment is the Evolution and not the
4P)

2        Pressurization. that is
afterall what makes the 4P special. will it achieve full 5psi?, which should
give you a 3,800

           cabin at
17,500. a good bit of time can be spent solving pressurization, (not just in a
Lancair)

3.     Landing gear' lots of potential for
issues, Again you need a Lancair
expert
              
a. nose strut check ($65.00 part that can cost $20,000 to fix if it
fails)
               
b. accumulator
function
               
c. gear movement
4      Weight and balance should
be rechecked

AVIONICS

1     Chelton screens
are an orphans and i would not suggest maintaining
them
         ; but. the recent
Garmen and Dynon systems are so inexpensive that you can end up with a
superior system for
         
$10,000-12,000 range
2      Maybe a Garmin 530 or
MX 20 (200) is enough for you; it is for me and i fly to VERY LOW IFR in the
northeast

FLIGHT
TESTING

        get one of the pro's
to test fly before you buy; you will know at least what you are up against.
EVERY ONE FLIES DIFFERENTLY
        my
4P when stalled rotates 110 degrees off either wing. i have not stalled the
plane, this was test pilot report

FLIGHT
TRAINING

        VITAL>
VITAL
        11% of Lancair's flown
home by NON-trained buyers crashes in some fashion. this includes 20,000 hour
professional pilots

         I
have over 200 hours in type in a year and half and am beginning to "own" the
plane... beginning ! at 50 hours i felt i
could fly it and at
         100
hours we became
friends
          remember
there is NO general aviation airplane that  is as demanding as a Lancair
4.


INSURANCE
 
         
A    before you buy, check that you can get insurance. if you
are financing; hull insurance will be
required
         
B    My quote for the first year was $14,000 for 200k hull and
$1m liability only 100k per seat and a $10,000
deductible
                  
at the time i had 3,600 hours IFR & Multy and 2,700 hour twin
time
         
C    recently a 500 hour pilot bought a 4P and never flew it as
he could not get insurance coverage. he sold the plane for
$160,000
         
D    many owners go naked on hull and some Turbine pilots go
naked on Liability as well

         
E    there is only one market for Lancair
insurance
         
F    last year i had Liability only on a 4P and the cost was
$3,200 a year; at the same time i had Liability only on a Lancair 4 and the
price
                
was $576 a year. Same pilot; same time frame, same
coverage.
                    
INSURANCE COMPANIES  DO NOT HAVE A GOOD HISTORY ON THE LANCAIR
4P

PRICES

         
In the last two years, i know of three 4P's that have sold in the $160-175K.
and i believe that the prices are not firm.  a 4P turbine just sold 

          $300,000 and the
seller said that he had only one offer in two years. there was a short sale of
a 4P turbine that sold for
$250,000
           I do
not see that the bottom has been reached for prices and i do not believe that
the pricing reflects the quality of the build. some  are  good and
some are bad.
          
you might be better off buying at or below $200k and allocating the rest of
the money to fix what ain't prefect


i may have missed some points,
but this gives you a start


good
luck

peter