Lancair 320
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 320 is Lance Neibauer's two-seat composite kit of 1988, a retractable-gear low-wing with a 160 hp Lycoming O-320 and a constant-speed propeller that cruises at 209 knots, climbs at 1,650 fpm and carries 43 gallons for a published no-reserve range of 1,260 nm. Empty weight is 1,040 lb, gross 1,685 lb and the stall 55 knots.
The small wing that gives the speed also gives the handling: stalls on take-off and in the pattern dominate the 235/320/360 family's fatal accidents even though the two-seaters' overall record is close to the homebuilt average, which is why the Lancair owners' body runs transition training and insurers increasingly price the type on whether it has been done. Approaches are flown at 85-90 knots, the cabin is small, pitch forces are light, and the aircraft rewards precision and punishes its absence. The retractable gear and constant-speed propeller make it complex and need the endorsement. Being amateur-built, examples vary more than the designation suggests: many began as 235s and received 320 engines, some 320s now carry O-360s and are effectively 360s, gear systems and wiring were builder-installed, and empty weights spread accordingly, so the figures here are a reference for the kit rather than for any aircraft on the register and the builder's logbooks, the composite's condition and a current weight-and-balance are the evidence that counts. The kit is long out of production and support is through the company that bought the legacy designs in 2017 (now Lancair Aerospace, Sacramento) and the owner community. The owner may maintain it and an A&P, or the builder-repairman, signs the annual condition inspection.
Variants of the Lancair 235/320/360
- Lancair 320 · 1988 · 135 active · this page
Also consider
- Extra Aircraft EA 300/LScore 20.2/50 · 2 seats · 185 kt
- Game Composites GB1 GamebirdPartial 17.9/30 · 2 seats · 178 kt
- Van's Aircraft RV-6Score 25.4/50 · 2 seats · 172 kt
Compare with…
Put Lancair 320 side by side with up to three other models.
- Lancair 320
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320 |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1988 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 209 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,260 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,650 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 55 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 645 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,685 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,040 lb |
| Usable fuel | 43 gal |
| 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 | 219 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 135 |
| Median year built | 1997.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 37.041 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 37.042 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 30 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 22.223 |
| Airworthiness directives | 12 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 135 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 135 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 135 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0.9 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 2.8 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 2.4 of 103 |
| Support | 6.4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 6.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 18.8 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 31.56 · 197 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 1,000.75.
- Support: class median 89.
- Liquidity: class median 19.74.
- 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 6 · scores Sep 30