The Lancair IV and IV-P are a family of four-seat, low-wing, retractable-gear, composite monoplanes powered by a 550 in3 Continental TSIO-550 twin-turbocharged piston engine. Production of the aircraft kit was ended in 2012.

Development

The Lancair IV and IV-P were designed by Lancair around the Continental TSIO-550 — a twin turbocharged engine that is capable of developing 350 hp at sea level, and capable of operating at altitudes as high as 29000 ft. By the fall of 2011, 110 Lancair IVs and 250 IV-Ps had been completed and were flying. In July 2016, the company announced it would sell the older Lancair lines of aircraft, including the Lancair IV, to concentrate on the Lancair Evolution instead. Once the transition was complete, the company changed its name to the Evolution Aircraft Company. The buyer of the old lines of aircraft continued in business as Lancair International, LLC.

Operational history

In 2014, Bill Harrelson piloted a Lancair IV, and set a world speed record for solo flight between the earth's poles for an aircraft under 3000 kg in a 175-hour-long series of flights. The flight also broke a record from Fairbanks, Alaska to Kinston, North Carolina. The aircraft was modified to hold 361 u.s.gal of fuel.

Variants

Accidents

On November 11, 2023 a Lancair IV-P overran the runway at Aero Country Airport (T31) in McKinney, TX. As of June 2014, the NTSB Aviation Accident Database recorded 20 crashes involving 18 fatalities across all IV variants. On February 3, 2012, Steve Appleton, CEO of Micron Technology, Inc., was killed while attempting an emergency landing in a Lancair IV-PT turboprop at the Boise Airport in Boise, Idaho, moments after takeoff. He had aborted a take off a few minutes earlier.

Specifications (Lancair IV-P)