Collection Gift Guide: Heart of Glass
December 2, 2003
Lancair Columbia 400
With airports more crowded and delays commonplace, many
executives with places to go and people to see are turning to private business
aircraft. Lancair Certified Aircraft already has the fast Columbia 350 in
production, but has pushed even further with the introduction of a turbocharged
version dubbed the Columbia 400. Powered by a 6-cylinder Continental TSIO-550
engine making 310 hp, the Columbia 400 is an impressive 40 knots faster than the
350, with a top speed of 230 kts (265 mph) at 18,000 feet.
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In addition to upping the power level from Lancair’s Columbia 350, the Columbia
400 uses computer displays for flight data. (Click image to enlarge)Performance is
only half of the story on the new 400 series, as Lancair has equipped the new
aircraft with an advanced instrument panel to match its side stick flight
controls. Instead of “steam gauges” (the quaint term for those round dials with
their spinning pointers), the Lancair 400 has what is referred to as a “glass
cockpit.” The standard “T” formation of flight instruments—altitude, attitude,
airspeed, and direction—has been replaced by a pair of flat plate computer
displays with primary flight instruments and navigational charts.
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Digital displays are used in lieu of traditional flight instruments. (Click image to enlarge)Once
powered up, the pilot’s panel displays a large attitude indicator, with a
horizontal situation indicator below. These images are flanked by the airspeed,
vertical speed, and altimeter, rendered in thermometer-like vertical scales.
Airspeed is displayed in both indicated and true readings. Those pilots with
handheld flight computers and ancient E6Bs now have museum-quality relics to
cherish as family heirlooms. Other pertinent flight information, including
current navigation and communication radio frequencies, is also displayed.
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