31 July 2018
There’s something fishy going on at Lancair. The US kitplane company has just announced a new two-seater, the Barracuda, to sit alongside its bigger brother, the four-seat Mako.
“The Barracuda is a ‘2 / 2 / 2’ proposition – two seats and 200 knot cruise for only $200K!” said Lancair President Conrad Huffstutler.
“We’ve taken the best features of the Mako and created an entry-level Lancair for the pilot who wants maximum performance with a minimum investment of build time and budget. We’re expecting to take a big bite of the two-seater performance market.”
The all-composite Barracuda is a similar design to the classic Lancair Legacy. It will incorporate numerous airframe improvements, notably a new one-piece wing with greater span. The new wing makes aircraft handling more docile and significantly reduces build time.
The ‘auto-retracting’ nose gear from the Mako is also fitted, adding 10-12 knots to the aircraft’s cruise speed by ‘cleaning up’ the turbulent slipstream behind the propeller.
The nose gear is operated by a fully automatic retraction/extension system that requires no action by the pilot. Numerous options are available to customize the aircraft to the owner’s budget and mission needs.
Inside the cabin, the the Garmin G3X Touch glass cockpit and GTN 750 navcomms unit feature. The power unit is Lycoming’s O-390-X putting out 210hp.
Barracuda pricing starts at $200,000 for a complete kit, including airframe, engine, propeller and avionics. Kits will be available in component groups (sub-kits), allowing builders to obtain and complete each major section of the build before purchasing the next subkit. The first subkits will not deliver before 1Q19 and all kits will not be available before 3Q19.
