by bob pastusek

If you're planning to join us for the LOBO/Lancair Landing in Denver later this month, consider arriving in time to attend the FREE maintenance clinic at the airport, starting at 2:30 pm on Thursday. We'd really appreciate knowing in advance that you're coming--and specifically what model of Lancair you're interested in, so please register for this if you've not already done so. Prior registration, and a dinner ticket, will be REQUIRED to attend the BBQ immediately following the clinic.

What To Expect

Those of you able to join us in Colorado next month for the Landing can expect a cool relief from the Dog Days of Summer, and some spectacular scenery. If you can't make it to Denver this year we hope you'll try for next year's event--the planning for which will depend upon inputs we receive from this year's Landing attendees.

Many of you are planning to arrive on Wednesday to take advantage of the training being offered on Thursday morning: Ground School for Fliers, First Flight Preparation for Builders, or the Companion Pilot Course. These will start at 0830 on Thursday, 24 September, so you'll need to arrive the day before unless you travel with Bill Harrelson--who has the current record for arriving the minute the airfield opens at Oshkosh for the past several years. I plan to bring Judy along, so arriving in time for a morning class on Thursday is not an option for us…

If you are not planning to attend LOBO Ground School (prior registration required), consider arriving at the Rocky Mountain Regional Airport (KBJC) in time for the maintenance seminar starting at 2:30 pm on Thursday. We've not written much about this event because we're still working on content. We added this seminar in response to a number of maintenance-related accidents and incidents that have come to our attention during the past months. Although it's free to all Landing attendees, including vendors, we ask that you register so we know how many to expect for each model of Lancair.

We intend to gather all seminar participants at the airport terminal main briefing room to review maintenance and inspection requirements common to all Lancairs. For example, I've received several requests for condition/annual inspection checklists--principally from new second-owners of Lancair aircraft. We'll discuss what manuals, checklists and similar information you should have for your aircraft, and where to get them if you don't. Then we'll break into separate groups, by model, to review maintenance and operating issues unique to each. For example, we'll discuss the need for a more visible canopy-unlocked warning system for Legacies, and pressurization checks/recommended instrumentation for ES-P, IV-P and EVO models.

Although the seminar is specifically oriented at "second owners," that is, owners who did not build their aircraft, we plan to have useful information for builders as well--such as problems that are starting to show up in older airframes.

We added this event very late in planning, so the time (and perhaps organization) doesn't do justice to the topic. If this subject appeals to a majority of you, we'd appreciate your feedback to help us plan a more extensive and detailed maintenance program for the next Landing--a full day, or perhaps more?

We expect to have many of our sponsors/vendors join this session, and to walk the ramp with us during the detailed model-specific reviews. Many of these folks have extensive building and maintenance experience with all Lancair models; this is your opportunity to engage them one-on-one during the seminar and during dinner afterward. We'll ask any spouses that did not participate in the afternoon event to join us about 6:30 pm for a BBQ dinner at the airport's Blue Sky Bistro. Bring your camera! If you are arriving by airplane on Thursday afternoon, Lancair and LOBO folks meeting your plane will have tickets for those who have pre-paid during registration. Be sure you to register so we can be sure the Bistro has enough food prepared for all attendees. There will be no admittance without pre-registration AND a dinner ticket!