Unleashed Pirep - Inflight USA February 2005
By Scott Germain

I am sitting in a folding canvas chair at Chandler airport in Arizona watching a wonderful, burning sunset. I sip a beer with a friend I had just taken flying. My new purple and white airplane sits where we shut down moments before. I'm reflecting on how I got here and everything that has lead me to this point. "That was way cool," my friend says as he sips his beer. "It was," I reply.

We are looking at my airplane; the very first I've ever purchased. I call it a race plane; some people would laugh at that. It isn't the fastest racer out there, but it's my race plane. She now wears race number four, sponsor logos, and the name "Unleashed." She certainly looks like a racer.

The Journey

Since the age of ten, my goal - my passion - was to be a race pilot. When would it happen? After building a successful aviation career and getting involved in unlimited air racing, I didn't exactly have people ringing me up and asking me to race their planes. Sometimes you just have to step up and get things done yourself.

I really wanted to follow Skip Holm's school of thought on air racing: never be an owner. Owners have to write checks. But if I was going to be a race pilot, at least initially, I would have to be the mover and shaker. I'd have to buy an airplane. The time to make a move was coming.

About this time, I went to the 2004 Pylon Racing Seminar just to kick around and see some friends. One such person is Ron Buccarelli, the owner and pilot of the Precious Metal Mustang racer. "Scotty, you really need to be up here racing... You would be a perfect race pilot!," he said. Something clicked right then and there. I made up my mind that some way, somehow, I would be at Reno next year ready to race. Ron wanted to make sure I was sure. I couldn't be more sure of it; we shook hands on a $100 bet. I was determined.

I had already kicked around the idea of buying my own plane to race. I had asked all of the obvious questions... Could I really afford this? Did I have somebody that could help me work on the plane? Could I find a hangar? Was I insurable? What airplane to buy?

I briefly considered a Formula One racer. I liked the speed, and these guys really go at it. Unfortunately, I'm a big guy. After sitting in one, that idea crashed hard. I could easily find a Pitts and race in the biplane class, too. But the Pitts - to me at least - is a two trick pony. It would only be good for aerobatics and racing. You can't fly it cross country or take anybody with you. Idea two flamed out. I surely couldn't afford an unlimited, a T-6 or an L-39. That left the Sport class.

I began gathering information on different airplanes and plotted their cost and speed on a graph. The high speed end of the graph coincided with the high cost corner. Amazing how that works. Thunder Mustangs, a Nemesis NXT kit or a Lancair IV resided here. These were all big buck options, and some assembly was required. I wanted to flyer.

The next rung down the ladder was filled with Glasair IIs and IIIs, White Lightnings and some spiffy Harmon Rockets. I really like John Harmon's Rocket III, but it's above my social, economic and airplane building status. The bottom end of my list held Van's RVs and a few other types. I could swing a RV-8, but it would have a wood prop and need a lot more in terms of speed. The expensive ones had the engine and prop that I wanted. The RV-4 was a good choice, but it too needed a lot more speed for my purposes.

In the end, a Lancair 360 with a constant speed prop seemed to have the speed potential to get me into the bottom of the sport class. Aiming high already! I really came to like the idea of having the little Lancair, and it's curvy shape and good performance were pluses. As a starting point, the limiting airspeed of the Lancair 360 is high enough where with some modifications, I could be competitive with some of the other airplanes.

I had noticed a Lancair at the Pylon School back in June, and made a mental note to find out who's it was. It seemed to be perfect for me. It had the biggest engine you could get into the airframe - the Lycoming O-360. It also featured a Hartzel constant speed prop and only one radio. I didn't want to buy an award winning homebuilt with a decked out IFR panel, an autopilot and such. That was just dead weight to me. This airplane was going to be a racer, so all of the extra bells and niceties were unnecessary.

Somebody told me it was Scotty Crandlemire's airplane. He was one of the top dogs in the Formula One class, and I got his phone number. Several weeks after PRS, I called him up and introduced myself. After he told me all about the airplane, he added his family circumstances had changed, and he and his wife Karen would need a larger aircraft. As of that day, the airplane was for sale. "Well, don't sell it!," I said. "I'd like to come up there and take a look at it." Several days later, I was on a commercial flight to Boise to see if I even fit in the airplane.

Scotty was nice enough to pick me up and schlep me out to his Caldwell hangar. We pulled the Lancair out and strapped in for a flight. I was surprised by how well I fit into the cockpit, and that I had plenty of room. I was actually comfortable. I allowed myself to get a little excited that this might be "my" airplane.

I decided to go for it. I cajoled the bank into financing my racer, and began jumpseating to Boise several times to have Scotty check me out. On August 4 th , I threw my bags into the airplane, had a photo taken with Scotty in front my airplane, and departed for Phoenix. I was an airplane owner - a race plane owner. For me, the hard part was over.

The Idea

Overall, I have very specific ideas on learning to be a race pilot. I want to do this right, and I had begun to beef up the skills I will need for racing. Last year, I dove back into sport aviation by flying a Pitts with Budd Davidson, a T-6, and checking out in a friend's Citabria. After flying turborops and jets for eight years, it was nice to dust off the tailwheel skills and get back to basic flying, aerobatics and formation. I was thoroughly enjoying myself.

When I got my Lancair home, I sat down and drew up a training program that will allow me to arrive at the June Pylon School totally prepared. I'll be proficient in formation flying, low level flying, and engine-out emergency procedures. My friend and fellow pilot Pat McGarry will be helping me train and work on the airplane.

Now I focused on finding a name for my racer. There would be no "Miss SomethingOrOther" or "Spirit of Whatever." Those types of names are all fine, but they weren't what I was looking for. After searching every conceivable place for a name, I found it while leafing through a magazine. "Unleashed" jumped out of an ad and clicked with me... Most of my friends would say I unleash my personality sometimes... My little racer - all wound up and hauling ass - would be unleashed on the course. I was also unleashing my long held passion to be an air racer. It also occurred to me that if I could reach out and achieve my goals, others could be motivated to unleash themselves and reach for theirs. Not only did I have my name, I had a whole concept.

Getting "Unleashed"

I haven't got a true pulse on what more educated sport pilots really think about the Lancair 360. I came into the situation with an open mind and figured I could learn to fly the plane without problems. When Crandlemire checked me out, I felt it was manageable. I did keep on my toes in terms of fitting in with slower aircraft, energy management, and understanding the airplane's low speed personality.

Wedging yourself into the airplane isn't a complicated affair. Once you are in, you wear it rather than sit in it. The seats are reclined 25 degrees. I find this gives some increased G tolerance and is very comfortable, even if you're six foot and 230 lbs. There is enough headroom for me to wear a helmet for aerobatics and racing. I've seen some other 360's, and I don't think many of them have this much room.

Once strapped in, you notice there isn't a lot of wing out there. With a 22 lf/ft. loading, it flies like a much heavier aircraft. Visibility is quite good, except maybe straight ahead and to the right, where the panel and cowl blocks some vision. Once closed, the canopy virtually disappears.

Unleashed is a ‘small tail' Lancair 360. Later kits came with a much larger Mk. II horizontal tail. I'm told that the smaller horizontal gives me about 5 mph over the larger unit. In terms of handling, I don't have enough pitch trim authority to allow hands off flying with flaps extended. When I extend flaps, I run the pitch trim all the way nose up and hold back pressure on the stick to maintain my pitch attitude. I might be able to make some trim travel adjustments to help alleviate the problem.

Because of this, I limit my approaches to half flaps and keep the approach tight. By doing this, I stay out of the extreme part of this regime. It's not unmanageable, but you have to understand it. Like other high performance airplanes, this puppy can definitely come out of the sky at a tremendous rate.

At higher speed, the control harmony is pretty good; the ailerons are maybe a tad heavy. What gets your attention is how pitch sensitive the airplane is. This is due in part to the small tail, but also because of where I have the CG. Trust me - you can instantly load a lot of G on the airplane if you are not careful.

The stick takes ounces of pressure from your fingertips to fling or float the airplane about the sky. It's really a kick. The rudder is a bit more stiff than the ailerons, but gives a good feel. The plane does tend to yaw hunt a little in turbulence. After some testing, I placed a small tab on the left side of the rudder to get rid of some right rudder requirement during cruise. I'll have to fiddle with the tab during testing at race speeds, as I have to hold a good 10 lbs of left rudder to keep the ball centered.

Upside Down

As part of the checkout at Pylon School, race rookies must demonstrate rolls without losing altitude. This simulates being rolled upside down on the race course, and recovering without hitting the dirt. After I had ten hours and felt comfortable, I began to train for this requirement in the local aerobatic box. Sitting in the left seat means you fly with the stick in your left hand and the throttle in the right. The ergonomics means that right rolls are easier, but left rolls present no problem either. For an airplane that is not purely aerobatic, the roll rate is sporty and lots of fun.

When it came to loops, I snuck up on them with additional caution. I got a lot of advice from other Lancair pilots who had more experience with aerobatics. I had read where spins are not recommended, and did not want to find myself snapping out of the top of a loop and having a problem. I don't mind spinning airplanes, but I have been advised not to spin the 360. Good enough for me.

With all the advice in mind, I ventured out for my first loops. With plenty of altitude, I entered at 180 kts and used a 3.5 to 4 G pull to start. Coming vertical, I kept the wings level with a breathe of right rudder.

Over the top, I relax the backpressure slightly and look overhead for wings level. Another 3.5 to 4 G's on the bottom and you'll nail your entry altitude every time. Through the whole maneuver, the airplane feels solid. Several times, I was keeping in too much backpressure and got a mild burble. By relaxing the stick pressure going over the top, the burble went away and the loops seemed to be more round.

These gentleman aerobatics are really fun, but the lack of inverted fuel and oil systems, as well as weight and G limits, prevent any serious acro.

Pylon Height

Since the goal is being a race pilot, I've been getting acquainted with the low-level environment over unpopulated portions of the desert. I fly a profile much like they do at the races. After takeoff, I clean up the airplane and run through a race checklist, then climb for my course entry. Coming downhill at a high power setting, I enter my practice course and begin my pylon turns. I've picked out a number of cactus and dirt road intersection as my points. It's pretty interesting to see how much speed you can bleed off by not being perfectly coordinated, or by pulling too many G's in the turns. I've gotten fairly comfortable flying at 50 feet. It seems that flying a good line is all about finesse and looking two pylons ahead of where you are.

You can get yourself in trouble fairly quickly if you allow it to happen. The power, speed, and G capability of the Lancair is fairly impressive. You can be at 3,500 AGL and be on the deck in several seconds with airspeed at redline. Conversely, you can be at 30 feet and 200 knots and convert to 100 knots and 2000 AGL and nose-high in a snap. You can really go places - fast - in this airplane. Situational awareness is important.

Personality

Most airplanes fly about the same when they're cruising along, but all airplanes show their specific personalities when you get then slowed down. With Unleashed, slow flight doesn't present a problem as long as you are trimmed and coordinated. Turns at 80 knots shouldn't be any steeper than 15 degrees or so. Stalls are like many other high performance airplanes; there is no real stall warning and the break breaks . Relaxing the rudder at the break keeps things relatively calm, but only use ounces of stick pressure to lower the nose. Any more and you'll go negative and lose a lot of altitude. Ask me how I know...

Power-on stalls are ridiculous! Your nose attitude is so high it's uncomfortable, and the spinning prop out front makes the airplane want to do the funky chicken at the break. Again, coordinated rudder and ounces of forward stick pressure get the airplane flying again. You also have to be careful not to enter a secondary stall. The rate of descent in all stalls is impressive; stalling this airplane below 2500 AGL is not a good idea.

Return to the airport at 25 inches and 2600 rpm, and you'll eat most other aircraft in the pattern. If traffic permits, I'll fly a 360 overhead and bleed the speed in the break. Otherwise, just step cool the little Lycoming when you are 10 miles out from pattern entry. Slow to 140 mph for gear extension and 120 mph for the flaps. Abeam the numbers, another power reduction will put you on speed at a rather steep approach. If I'm not following anybody and it's smooth out, 90 knots is a stable approach speed. If there is wake turbulence or any bumps, 95 knots or a little more works well.

Again, I am only using half flaps for approach. I have used full flaps on several approaches, and besides more aft stick force required, the approach is just a little more steep. I really don't like how far back the stick is with full flaps at that airspeed. There isn't a lot of nose-up elevator left. Over the runway, a gentle flare sets the airplane down in what appears to be a nose high attitude, but is actually very flat. For those not used to the light pitch forces, it is easy to get into a pilot-induced-oscillation. If you do, your best bet is a firm pitch up to the climb attitude, add power, and go around.

After landing, roll-outs are easily controlled with rudder and mild braking. It isn't a short field airplane, but you certainly don't need 4,000 feet, either. Unleashed has small Matco wheels and brakes; there is an option for Grove units that improves braking performance. With the low wing and high loading, crosswinds aren't a big deal.

Grow Some Hair

For all of its graceful lines and curves, some pilots view the Lancair as a hairy little airplane. I think it's a wonderful sport plane in its current form. But what I want is a hairy, knuckle-dragging, snorting, whipped-up, sport racing puppy that will spool up and move out. However, there are limits.

The Lancair 360 is limited in terms of what kind of horsepower you can install, and how fast you can fly it. With these limits in mind, the goals I set for my first year at Reno are to have a safe race week, run laps around 250 mph, and pass at least one airplane. These goals are attainable, but I'll need to make some modifications for the speed.

As it stands now, Unleashed only has a 180 hp Lycoming O-360. To see my current speed around 220 mph on 180 horses speaks to the airplane's cleanliness and efficiency. It's very impressive. If I can secure an engine sponsor, I will install an IO-360 with 11:1 pistons and electronic ignition. This will put me into a higher level of competition and give Unleashed some of that knuckle hair I want. I might not have Greenamyer's horsepower and speed, but I will be out there pushing everything I have to the limit. I want to race .

Quirky, With Goals

I kind of like quirky. In a way, Unleashed is an airplane full of personality for a pilot that has personality. Perfect match! There are things that make this racer a very good choice for me, but it might be a little much for pilots with limited sport aircraft or high performance time. Training is key to operating the Lancair - and similar aircraft - safely.

If I had built the airplane, there are things I would've done differently. But the builder had his own goals back when it was completed. Mine are simply different; this is a racing airplane to me. We would like to secure sponsorship for a Garmin 430. This one item replaces a quirky Narco 12E and will give me GPS navigational accuracy. Cooling drag is an important area we'll be looking at, too.

I've spoken to Pete Law about the cowl, its cooling drag, and its hideous induction scoop. Overall, the design is good, but we can make some improvements. If we can get an IO-360, most of that scoop can be done away with, and the rest we can tuck up under the cowl, Dreadnought style.

Even at full power, my cylinder head temps are only running at 325 degrees. I've discussed it with Law and Bill Kerchenfaut, and we all agree we can cut down some cooling flow through the cowl. This will be done with some foam cut to decrease the intakes and exhaust areas. Even on a 106 degree day in Phoenix, Unleashed's oil temp runs up around 280, so my NACA inlet and oil cooler are sized right. Kerch doesn't like how the cooler dumps air through a louver and over the left wing root. He'd like to change that, but recognizes that the current setup might be okay.

I hope you've enjoyed being introduced to Unleashed as much as I have enjoyed sharing the airplane and my experiences with you. Over the months leading up to Reno, I'll be writing about my experiences - good and bad - as my journey unfolds. You can log onto www.UnleashedAirRacing.com for more information on the race team, what is going on with the airplane, and a comprehensive log book on many of the test flights I make. You'll also be able to receive information on the team's sponsors, and read about a possible television show that will follow our effort to make Reno in 2005. When Unleashed appears at a local airshow, we hope you'll come out to share our passion for racing, see the airplane, and get yourself Unleashed.