Sizzle sells. If that sizzle is an all-composite fixed-gear single with a modern panel thats faster than most retractables, it sells well. Just ask Cirrus. That sizzle is the premise behind the Columbia (ne Lancair) 300/350, normally aspirated versions of the companys subsequent flagship, the turbocharged Columbia 400. The 300/350s slippery airframe and the large-displacement Continental up front combined for 185 KTAS at 10,500 feet MSL when we first flew an early 300 10 years ago. A lot has happened since then.
Speed was important when the Lancair/Columbia first hit the market, but the airplanes greatest initial appeal probably had more to do with not being made of
metal or wearing a Beechcraft, Cessna, Mooney or Piper label. It was one of the new-generation singles, spawned by NASAs AGATE (advanced general aviation transport experiments) program and promised growing small aircraft use in inter-city transportation. The concept also brought forth the Cirrus SR20 and SR22, which proved more popular.
The good news is a 300 or 350 will still outrun an SR22 by 10 knots or so, and theyre still rare enough to attract a crowd on many ramps. The bad news is-although both the Columbia 300 and SR22 have identical empty and maximum gross takeoff weights, according to the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest-the 300 gives up 150 pounds in full-fuel payload to the SR22, because its tanks are larger. Its a little more sensitive in loading, too, and lacks the Cirrus airframe parachute system. More on weight and balance issues in a moment. And, of course, Columbia is no more, having been acquired by Cessna during Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
History
Founded by Lance Neibauer in 1981 as a producer of composite homebuilt aircraft kits, Lancair fielded its first offering in 1985. The kit-built Lancair 200, powered by a Continental O-200 of 100 HP, quickly grew popular and was followed by higher-horsepower versions of the same basic two-seat airframe. In 1990, Lancair began developing a four-seat model, coming up with what is perhaps the companys most popular kit, the Lancair IV, a retractable-gear screamer. A fixed-gear version soon followed, known as the Lancair ES. Those two kit-built four-seaters served as a foundation for the LC40 model, also known as the Columbia 300. But before the LC40 model arrived, NASA launched AGATE in 1994, which was designed to breathe life into a deflated general aviation market. Huge liability claims had rendered the industry unprofitable a decade earlier, although the higher-end market for turbine-powered aircraft was doing okay, if not thriving. In fact, the only bright spot for piston-powered GA was in the home-built, experimental market, where liability issues were minimal.
Lancair had become a prominent player in that market, and NASA, among others, encouraged development of an FAA-certified aircraft. In 1993, Lancair spun off a new company, Pacific Aviation Composites USA (PAC), in nearby Bend, Oregon to manufacture certificated aircraft. The first Lancair LC40 prototype flew in July 1996; a certification prototype followed in early 1997 but the 310-HP model wasnt certified until 1998. That same year saw Cirrus obtain FAA approval of its SR20, with “only” 200 HP but with an airframe parachute and much more of an organization behind it. The Cirrus product took off, soon followed by the 300-HP SR22 in 2000, providing real competition for the LC40-550FG, as the 300 is formally known.
The turbocharged Columbia LC41-550FG/400 came out in 2000, also, featuring a glass cockpit developed in part on NASAs own Columbia 300. That same panel later was incorporated into the 300 airframe/engine combination, which became the LC42-550FG, or Columbia 350, type certificated in March 2003.