Lancair 235
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The Lancair 235 is the original Lancair of 1985, Lance Neibauer's two-seat composite retractable with a 23 ft 6 in laminar-flow wing and a 100-115 hp Lycoming O-235, quoted at 140 knots cruise, a 55-knot stall and 870 nm; the 320 and 360 grew from it with a larger fuselage.
The 235 is the smallest, lightest and least powerful Lancair and the one most often modified, since many builders fitted an O-290 or O-320 and some airframes were registered as 235/320; the engine actually installed and the weight-and-balance that goes with it matter more than the type designation. No manufacturer weight figures were found in this research, so useful load is blank and the aircraft's own paperwork is the source. It is a tight two-seater with a very small wing, a quick stall and retractable gear, which makes it complex for endorsement purposes and expensive to insure for a pilot without retractable time, and the 1980s wet layups and fuel systems reward a thorough pre-buy by someone who knows early composite homebuilts. Kits are long discontinued; the Lancair owners' community is the support. The owner may maintain it and the condition inspection needs an A&P or the repairman certificate.
Variants of the Lancair 235/320/360
- Lancair 235 · 1985 · 52 active · this page
- Lancair 320 · 1988 · 132 active
- Lancair 360 · 98 active
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
Compare with…
Put Lancair 235 side by side with up to three other models.
- Lancair 235
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming O-235 (100-115 hp; O-290/O-320 conversions exist) |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1985 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | 140 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | 870 nm |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 1,300 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 55 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | — |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | — |
| Empty weight | — |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 105 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 52 |
| Median year built | 1992 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 134.62 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 115.38 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 9 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 17.31 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 52 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0.4 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 2.2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 2 of 103 |
| Support | 3.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.7 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 11.9 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 8 · scores Sep 30