Motorglider Soars and Cruises
Cross-country LSA
It may look like a motorglider or
even a sailplane, as the Lambada
is exceptionally clean and sleek
with long, slender wings. But the
Lambada is also a first-class touring
machine in the LSA category.
Recently, Urban Air USA demo pilot
and gliding expert Jim Lee flew a
Lambada from Melbourne, Florida, to
Moriarty, New Mexico. His mission
was to conduct a series of demo
flights for the newly certified motorglider.
Total statistics for the Melbourne-to-Moriarty run prove the efficacy of a
motorglider LSA. Total distance, 1,550
nm; total time en route, 16.2 hours;
average ground speed, 96 knots (110
mph); fuel usage, 57 gallons 100LL;
fuel consumption rate, 3.5 gph at
5,000 rpm. The Lambada could have
used 87-octane regular auto gas, had
it been available, and the motorglider
would have burned slightly less fuel.
¡°In an age of $3-a-gallon auto gas and
with 100LL reaching $6 a gallon,
cruising the country in a long-gliding
Lambada looks pretty good,¡± indicates
Urban Air USA importer, Joe Bostik.
The side-by-side 2-seat Lambada
boasts a maximum glide of 30:1.
Lee¡¯s log continues, ¡°During the
return trip, we left Fort Worth, Texas,
for Panama City, Florida, at 11 a.m.,
arriving at 4:30 p.m. after a 628-mile
nonstop run at altitudes up to 13,000
feet msl.We arrived with almost half
our fuel remaining.¡±
The Lambada carries 26.4 gallons.
Total stats for this flight were as follows:
Total distance, 1,396 nm; total
time en route, 12 hours; average
ground speed, 116 knots (133 mph);
fuel usage, 40 gallons 100LL; fuel consumption
rate. 3.4 gph at 5,000 rpm.
In his trip summary, Lee concludes,
¡°Following 3,268 trouble-free miles,
the 80-hp Rotax 912-powered
Lambada and I arrived home. On the
final 322-nm leg to Melbourne, we
averaged 115 knots (132 mph) over
2.8 hours of flying time.¡± Average en
route speed west and east was 105
knots (121 mph).
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