Everything's Coming Up Roses!

July 2004 - It’s looking like there might be some new and exciting “toys” coming our way in the near future, if they haven’t already. First off the list is the newly certified turbocharged Lancair Columbia 400. Yes, it’s now official. The Columbia 400 was certified at this spring’s Sun ‘n Fun air show in Lakeland, Fla., where the FAA handed Lancair its certification papers. Despite the aircraft’s forgiving slow-speed handling, it boasts a cruise speed of 235 knots at FL250 and an Avidyne FlightMax Entegra glass panel, which makes navigation a breeze. Lancair also has enlisted a manufacturing consulting firm called Technical Change Associates and hopes that by the end of the year, it will help ramp up Lancair’s production from one aircraft every two days to one every business day. For more information, contact Lancair at (541) 381-1144.www.lancair.com

And for those high-utilization, low-budget operators, Diamond Aircraft has introduced its new fixed-pitch Diamond Star FP for a projected asking price of only $179,900 for the standard version. With its Lycoming O-360, 180-hp engine, the Star FP’s overhaul costs are expected to be $5,000 cheaper than the original Star with its constant-speed propeller and governor. Certification for the Star FP is expected late this year. For more info, contact Diamond Aircraft at (519) 457-4021. www.diamondair.com

Extra Aircraft also is expecting certification for its EA-500. Meanwhile, the company has partnered with Honeywell and Rolls-Royce to equip the EA-500 with goodies. Honeywell’s APEX system, which consists of two 10.4-inch screens, will furnish the panel and provide weather radar as well as traffic and ground proximity warning systems. And Rolls-Royce will add its 250-B17F/2 engine to the mix. Weighing only 205 pounds, it will give the EA-500 450 shp and over 1,600 nm of range. For more information, call Extra Aircraft at (717) 394-9797. www.extraaircraft.com

And just when things were looking pretty grim for the Symphony 160, surviving members of OMF’s North American management team, manufacturers of the Symphony 160, might give it new light. They’re negotiating with Canadian trustees to acquire the right to make the Symphony 160 aircraft on their own. The team has a tentative agreement with SMW, a manufacturing concern that purchased OMF GmbH’s assets (and the Symphony type certificate) when it filed for bankruptcy. For more information, call OMF Aircraft at (866) 663-1600.