Lancair Legacy RealAir - Hard to fly

[Loek 0]

With great enthousiasm I have bought the Lancair from RealAir. But it is very hard to fly. I followed the settings RA advised me, but too difficult. Who is able to help me?

 

Regards Loek from The Netherlands

[CoolP 283]

Can you add some description of the actual behaviour you are experiencing, kerel? E.g. 'she pulls hard to the left at takeoff' (mind the torque) or 'I always come in too fast at the approach'. This helps the folks trying to help.

 

Perhaps add which sort of flight controls you are using too. Yoke or joystick, with or without pedals? Well, information helps.

[Ron Attwood 3,464]

There are two things that may throw you with the Legacy. 1: The take off run is longer than you might expect, keep an eye on your air speed indicator and rotate at about 85kts

2: Landing. It takes a lot to lose speed in this slippery 'lil' devil. It's all about speed management. Plan ahead, don't think you can just dive in to a strip and plonk it on the ground.

In the air there are no difficulties. She's a sweetheart.

Now go practice. It'll be worth it.

[HercFan 1]

Loek,

 

1. Feel free to join the RA Lancair Legacy Owners Club here (if you have not already): http://forum.avsim.net/groups/45-realair-lancair-legacy-owners-club/ There are already close to 50 of us fans ready to help.

 

2. Make sure you set up your "realism" settings as per the manual.

3. Practice! The Legacy is quite the beast. But by practising a bit, you will learn much... and quite fast. It's too much of an awesome product to let go!

[Ken_Stallings 2]

With great enthousiasm I have bought the Lancair from RealAir. But it is very hard to fly. I followed the settings RA advised me, but too difficult. Who is able to help me?

 

Regards Loek from The Netherlands

 

There are many reasons why an airplane may not be flying as you expect it should in FSX. Some of these issues that could be unique to yourself are the setup of your physical controllers (joystick, throttles, rudders, etc ...). Others could be the speed of your video card and therefore the issues you are having is the result of insufficient frame rates to promote good flying experience.

 

However, I suspect that your concerns are rooted in the flight dynamics of this aircraft. So, if I am correct in that, then I have to say that the FDE for this Real Air product is very accurate based on my own piloting experience. The Lancair Legacy is a high performance aircraft. It is also a very low drag aircraft in a small airframe. So, that means speed and the airplane slows down very slowly compared to other GA aircraft. This is why you have the spoilers on the tops of each wing. If you need to descend and slow down, or at least maintain a lower speed, you have to deploy those spoilers.

 

There are not many GA aircraft that are capable of flying over 200 KIAS -- that is very fast. You have to plan further ahead in terms of speed control and altitude control. Also, your pattern speed needs to be about 100 KIAS, and you have to configure your landing gear and flaps to first notch down on the downwind leg. The flaps should be delpoyed first and then when your airspeed drops into the upper region of the white arc on your airspeed gauge, you then drop the landing gear. You will need to maintain about 17 inches of manifold pressure to maintain that approach speed with flaps and gear down with about a 500 feet per minute descent rate.

 

It will take a lot of practice to master all this. Keep in mind, in real life, you don't start off flying an airplane like this one. You start off on something a lot slower, build experience, and then work up to something this hot.

 

Ken

[Loek 0]

First thanks for your reactions. I made myself member of the ownerclub.

 

Some about my stuff:

Computer: nice Dell Alien

Pro Flight Rudder Pedals and CH Flight Sim Yoke

As you advised, I started again with the settings RA.

 

I will return with more questions

 

First thanks for your reactions. I made myself member of the ownerclub.

 

Some about my stuff:

Computer: nice Dell Alien

Pro Flight Rudder Pedals and CH Flight Sim Yoke

 

As you advised, I started again with the settings RA.

 

I will return with more special questions. Must I do it here or in the social group?

[Loek 0]

Hi again,

 

After all the settings as written in the documentation, special the settings for the yoke, I had a perfect take off and landing at Ibiza.

 

Next flight is to Lisboa. See you in the sky and ... the owners group.

 

[raymar 969]

Another happy pilot.

 

Ray

[HercFan 1]

Tough not to have a smile on your face when flying this one...

[robert young 2,897]

We do try to make the flying guide pleasant reading. Almost all our support queries could have been solved by reading the docs! And I'm certain this is also the case for many other developers too.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Rob - RealAir

[anthony31 63]

We do try to make the flying guide pleasant reading. Almost all our support queries could have been solved by reading the docs! And I'm certain this is also the case for many other developers too.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Rob - RealAir

 

If I had a dollar for every question I've been asked that could have been answered by reading the docs... :)

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

Also, your pattern speed needs to be about 100 KIAS, and you have to configure your landing gear and flaps to first notch down on the downwind leg. The flaps should be delpoyed first and then when your airspeed drops into the upper region of the white arc on your airspeed gauge, you then drop the landing gear. You will need to maintain about 17 inches of manifold pressure to maintain that approach speed with flaps and gear down with about a 500 feet per minute descent rate.

 

 

Just what I was looking for. I live to beat up VFR patterns. I took it up and set up on a 7 mile final this morning just to see what it handle like on final. I think I'd be inclined to try to fly the VFR patterns just a tad 'bigger' with this aircraft...especially while I'm getting used to it. Since it is so very maneuverable, I think there'd probably be a a tendancy to whip the aircraft to correct the square pattern close to the ground...a real mistake, I think.

[Ken_Stallings 2]

Flying this airplane was pretty natural for me as I essentially matched all my perfornamce and power numbers I set for my 310R. I figured since the engine was roughly the same power output that power settings would yeild a similar result. It did.

 

I suggest that when approaching the pattern, you set about 19-20 inches of MP and maintain about 2400 RPM. This should get you to about 110 KIAS. Then, you throttle down to 17 inches when you lower the flaps the first notch and this drops you down to where you can drop the landing gear. Keep 17 MP and go to full RPM, trim for a 500 foot per minute descent rate and when on a 45 degree angle to the runway on downwind (past the runway) turn to base leg and drop flaps to its second detent.

 

On final approach, when landing appears ensured (meaning good glidepath and no traffic on the runway), drop flaps to full and keep 17 MP until crossing runway threshold. Your speed will likely bleed down on short final to about 85 KIAS and then pull power slowly to idle as your cross the runway threshold, or if the runway has no threshold, then pull the power smoothly so that when you cross the start of the runway you are at ground idle.

 

When half a wing length off the runway (meaning if a single wing is 20 feet long you do this at 10 feet high) pull on the yoke until you are in level flight, neither descending nor climbing and then as the speed bleeds lower and lower, you keep pulling back on the yoke until you get about a five to ten degree nose high attitude and the plane will touchdown at something less than 100 feet per minute.

 

You should have a good experience landing the Legacy with this technique, and it is also how you land a real plane unless you have a plane with unusual characteristics in ground effect.

 

Ken

[raymar 969]

Hello Ladies,

 

Just checking in to see what my new Signature box looks like. I hope Ron Attwood doesn't pay much attention to it. I'm looking for the avsim review of the Legacy to be posted in the next few hours, days, weeks, months, . . . I'm working on my choice of words to complete the last sentence.

 

Ray

[HercFan 1]

Ken, thanks for those last tips you just posted. Might come in handy... For me, every flight in the Legacy is a learning experience. I finally really "nailed" a landing this morning, but just a few minutes ago it was quite the fail (mechanic might need to check the landing gear...).

 

Ray, be careful... I am looking for someone to work on some Owners Club forum banners... :). Looking forward to reading your review. Will make sure to link it on our group page.