On Jun 12, 4:14 pm, Justin Gombos
wrote:
Doesn't it bother you Columbia fanatics that the manufacturer designed
the landing gear to be fixed?

I bet if you were to remove the gear from that plane, it'd only add a
few knots to the speed. Unlike a Cessna, where you can get probably 10
to 15 knots increase, the ~240 knotters have by design slicker gear so
they lose less.

If you ask me, the era of retractable light GA planes is over. It just
doesn't make much sense anymore. Why add weight, operational
complexity, and extra points of failure to the system, when you can
just use fancy high-tech design techniques to achieve the same
outcome. Comumbia, Mooney, Cirrus, and now even Cessna have already
realized this.


BTW, is the Columbia they only single engine prop that has a side
stick?

huh, the Cirrus is a side stick...