In article ,
"Maxwell" wrote:

"es330td" wrote in message
...
I searched controller.com for lancair and found an entry that says
"Professionally built." Now I know that a homebuilt owner does not
have to build the entire thing themself but I thought it still had to
be an amateur undertaking. How does this pass muster with the FAA?

I have no idea who is selling the aircraft you mention, but "professionally
built" is often just a buzz word used in attempt to say the builder of the
particular aircraft was "special" compared to most. I have seen this stated
because an A&P had built the aircraft. He felt it was professionally built
because he works on aircraft every day for a living. As opposed to an
experimental that has been built by a postal worker, lawyer, doctor, etc. I
think the main thing to remember is when it comes to what you will be
receiving, it might not mean zip! The quality of every experimental airplane
comes down to the skill, integrity and interest in "whoever" built it, and
has little to do with what they do for a living. Just think of it as a
laundry detergent that is "new and improved", or "fortified", etc. You know
the drill. Walk through a supermarket.

The "professionally built" term really doesn't amount to a hill of
beans. A friend here bought a Harmon Rocket that an A&P built. The metal
work was good, but the engine installation was very poor. I coined the
term "flyable but not airworthy" to describe the plane as purchased.

He could not maintain cruise power in vevel flight without overtemping
the oil. Our "Spruce Creek Skunk Works" took on the job of sorting it
out.

What we found (and corrected):

1. The oil cooler had insufficient airflow (both in and out). Remember
-- any cooling MUST provide an exit path for the air, as well as an
entry path. This installaltion had neither.

2. There was no blockage of cooling air in the nose bowl behind the
spinner, allowing air to exit behind the spinner. We installed the
appropriate baffles and seals there.

3. The air entering the cowling inlets passed over a sharp lip behind
the inlets. We added some internal fairing to the inlets.

4. Baffle seals were poorly thought out, allowing air to leak out the
top of the baffles, rather than passing over the cylinder fins.

5. Exhaust pipes were cantilevered, creating the opportunity for fatigue
failure. We added some support to reduce stress there.

6. The owner had the pipes ceramic coated, both inside and out, to
reduce heat transfer into the engine compartment. IMHO, it is more
important to coat the INSIDE of an exhaust pipe than the outside -- to
reduce heat transfer into the metal.

Result: The plane runs cool and FAST!