Neal Longwill and Kevin Jackson, both from Austin, Texas, have been busy for the last 10 months building two Lancair Evolutions. Wednesday, Oct. 19, both aircraft flew for the first time.
The Evolution kits were assembled side by side by Neal and Kevin in a rented hanger at Roberts Field-Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM) in Oregon, where the company is based. Longwill and Jackson temporarily moved to Redmond to build their planes so that they could be close to the kit manufacturer’s headquarters for advice during their building process. Also, they provided the factory with feedback to fine-tune the build manual supplied to kit builders. Each had built Lancairs before — Neal a Lancair IV-P and a Legacy, and Kevin a Lancair ES. They worked less than full time on their Evolutions and “kept it fun.”
The test flights were performed by Pete Zaccagnino, whose company, High Performance Aircraft Training, supplies test pilot and training services to Lancair builders. The first flights and transition training are included with the purchase of each Evolution kit. The flights were nearly squawk free with only a high idle reported on the second aircraft, he reported.
Longwill is the sales representative for Lancair in the southern U.S. His company is Austin Composites and his plane, N248AJ, will be his demo aircraft based at Spicewood, Texas. Jackson’s aircraft, N282CA, will be used for personal transportation for him and partner Chris Avery.
Each aircraft will continue flying to complete initial testing, subsequent Phase 2 flight test period, and then receive final paint and interior upholstery.
Lancair International Inc., founded in 1984, is celebrating its 27th year. To date, the company has delivered more than 2,000 kits.
For more information: Lancair.com or 541-923-2244.
