Lancair 235-1705 D-ELJA Lelystad (LEY - EHLE), 07 November 2004

The Lancair 200 and Lancair 235 are a family of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

amateur-built aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

that were designed by Lance Neibauer and produced by his company,

Lancair Lancair International, Inc. (pronounced ''"lance-air"'') is a U.S. manufacturer of general aviation aircraft kits. They are well known for their series of high-performance single-engine aircraft that offer cruise speeds that surpass many t ...

Redmond, Oregon Redmond is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated on July 6, 1910, the city is on the eastern side of Oregon's Cascade Range, in the High Desert in Central Oregon. From Redmond there is access to recreational opportuni ...

. The Lancair 200 was initially called the Lancer 200, but the name was changed due to a naming conflict. It was first shown at

AirVenture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsi ...

in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in July 1985. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit, for amateur construction. The design later evolved into the

Lancair 320 The Lancair 320 is a two-seat single-engined light aircraft marketed in kit form by the U.S. general aviation manufacturer Lancair. It is based on the Lancair 235, but with a larger fuselage and more powerful engine, and like the 235, it is a lo ...

Lancair 360 The Lancair 360 is a two-seat aircraft marketed in kit form. It is a low-wing monoplane of conventional configuration with retractable tricycle undercarriage. The Lancair Legacy The Lancair Legacy, a modernized version of the Lancair ...

and the

Lancair Legacy The Lancair Legacy, a modernized version of the Lancair 320, is a low-wing two-place retractable-gear composite monoplane, manufactured by the American company Lancair. It is available as a kit that cost US$71,500 in 2011.Vandermeullen, R ...

, all ancestors of the Lancair Barracuda.

Design and development

Neibauer, a fine arts graduate from Michigan State University, designed the 200 because he found the existing production aircraft in the 1980s uninteresting. "That was my primary motivation for starting on the Lancair 200 in the first place, to build what I hoped would be an aesthetically more pleasing design with better performance and handling." The prototype was intended as a "one-off" aircraft for his own use and not for production. Neibauer bought a

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

and salvaged the engine, instruments and

avionics Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...

, selling the airframe. After displaying the Lancair 200 at Oshkosh in 1985, the design generated a high degree of interest and he began selling kits, initially under the company name of Neico. The aircraft features a cantilever

low-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, a two-seats-in-

side-by-side configuration Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

enclosed cockpit under a

bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; s ...

, retractable

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The prototype was made of urethane and hot wire cut

styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and water barrie ...

, all covered with wet lay-up

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

skin. The production aircraft is made from

composite materials A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

, including DuPont

Nomex Nomex is a flame-resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967. Properties Nomex and related aramid polymers are related to nylon, but have aromatic backbones, and hence are more rigid and mo ...

honeycomb structure Honeycomb structures are natural or man-made structures that have the geometry of a honeycomb to allow the minimization of the amount of used material to reach minimal weight and minimal material cost. The geometry of honeycomb structures ca ...

, some graphite parts and epoxy-impregnated

cloth for covering. Its span wing employs a NASA NLF(1)-0215F natural laminar flow airfoil and mounts flaps. The standard engines used are the

Continental O-200 The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

on the Lancair 200 and the

Lycoming O-235 The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-23 ...

powerplant on the Lancair 235. The

Lycoming O-290 Lycoming may refer to the following, most of which are at least partly in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States: Geography * Lycoming, New York, a hamlet * Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * L ...

engine has also been used. The two models are otherwise identical. The manufacturer estimated the kit construction time as 600 person-hours.

Operational history

By April 2019, there were two examples of the Lancair 200, registered in the United States with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

, plus 50 Lancair 235s. In April 2019 there were six Lancair 235s registered with

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...

and one Lancair 235 registered with the British Civil Aviation Authority.

Variants

;Lancair 200 :Model first flown in 1984, powered by a

engine. Overall length is . ;Lancair 235 :Model introduced in 1985, powered by a

engine. Overall length is , slightly longer than the 200, due to the engine and mount dimensions.

Aircraft on display

EAA Aviation Museum The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...

, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Prototype Lancair 200 *

Planes of Fame Air Museum Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum in Chino, California,World Wa ...

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chi ...

, Lancair 235

Specifications (Lancair 235)

References

External links

{{Lancair aircraft

Lancair aircraft Lancair International, Inc. (pronounced ''"lance-air"'') is a U.S. manufacturer of general aviation aircraft kits. They are well known for their series of high-performance single-engine aircraft that offer cruise speeds that surpass many tw ...

1980s United States sport aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1984