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Clarence and I took a small cross-country trip last weekend - from central

Florida to Pickens County, SC. I guess the most notable statistic was the

gross weight, and I do mean gross!



I weigh 260, and Clarence weighs 210, so with a little baggage and 26gal of

110LL (the most the PIC would allow of the 42gal possible) we were up to

1700# at takeoff. The departure airport was elev. 40', the OAT was 37.2degC

, and the altimeter was 30.07".



Initial climbout was at 1000 fpm at 120Kts, but we powered back to

25squared and 140Kts to keep the cylinder heads below 400degF. We got about

500fpm that way, and climbed to 6500' in 18 minutes. Density altitude was

almost 8500' under these conditions. Highest oil temp I saw was 212defF,

but mostly it ran around 180.



We leveled out and trimmed the flaps at cruise power (23.5" and 2400RPM).

IAS was 145Kts, OAT was 20.2degC, and Loran GS was 154Kts. Fuel burn was

8.5GPH for most of the trip and 10GPM on climbout. Wind was forcast at

060@8Kts. Further North over Ormond Beach, our GS was 166Kts.



Averaged over the entire trip, we were truing out at 168Kts as near as I

can calculate.



Prudence dictated that we stop for fuel at Plantation, GA, although we

would have had 2 gallons to spare had we flown nonstop :-0  With the fuel

stop, we took 3:15 for 420NM.



Returning the next day, it was hazy over Georgia - might as well been IFR.

I flew on the instruments from the right seat for about 15 minutes, and was

pleasantly surprised that I could fly the Lancair better on instruments

than when looking outside. Better altitude control...



We ran into some TRW and rain showers near JAX, and landed at Craig to gas

up and check the weather further South. Ran into an intense rain shower on

left base for Rwy 14 that got out attention (it just fell down from out of

a cloud and the runway disappeared), but the metal leading edges on the MT

prop and the 3M tape on the wing leading edges prevented any damage (except

to my shorts!).



After checking the Wx and talking it over, we filed IFR for the 45 minute

flight down to Titusville and launched off in light showers. We were in and

out of the clouds most of the way, and the Lancair was a stable IFR

platform. (We were glad we had the Stormscope, though.)



We spent $100 in gas for a 850NM trip. Flight time was roughly 6 hours with

fuel stops. (In opposition to $60 in gas and 22 hours had I driven the

Toyota.)



I love this plane!



--John