Flying the Remos GX to Florida was a lot of fun. And moving along at 130 mph while burning less than six gallons an hour is great — and affordable. But we’re no strangers to looking up the ladder to other options available for travel, especially if they include a cruise speed of 385 mph.
Here at the Sun ‘n Fun airshow this week, the massive nose on the Lancair Evolution is drawing stares as if it were some sort of monster. Turns out it is. The proboscis houses the secret to this little airplane’s massive speed capabilities.
The four-place airplane is the latest design from Lancair of Bend, Oregon. The company has been producing beautifully designed airplanes for more than 25 years. The Evolution is the company’s response to several owners who were adding turbine power to the company’s first four seat design, the imaginatively named Lancair IV.
The Evolution was designed from the beginning to handle the Pratt & Whitney PT6-135A turbine motor. The turbine power means the Evolution can cruise at 385 miles per hour if you’re in a hurry, or a still impressive 310 miles per hour if you’re aiming for max endurance.
Fuel flows a little faster through the PT6 than the Remos’ Rotax 912. At max cruise you can expect to burn just under 40 gallons per hour. The economy setting cuts the fuel flow nearly in half to a more reasonable 23 gallons per hour. It’s not super fuel efficient, but it means the Evolution can carry four people at more than 300 miles per hour and roughly match the mileage of a big SUV.
Expect to pay more than $700,000 for one by the time everything is accounted for. And that assumes you put in a lot of elbow grease. The Evolution is a kit plane and is assembled by the owner. Lancair says you can build one for yourself in as little as 1,000 hours.
If that seems like a lot of time and even more money, remember there aren’t too many garage projects that can rival the Lancair.
Photo: Jason Paur / Wired.com
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