This blog brings us back 25 years to 1996. This was the day that the Extra EA-400 got air under its wings for the first time. The aircraft has a high wing design and seated 4 passengers in a club arrangement,
It was a complex aircraft to build, requiring around 16,000 manhours to complete. It has a pressurised cabin and is largely made of carbon fibre. It is powered by a Continental TSIOL-550-C Voyager 6-cyl. horizontally opposed liquid-cooled, turbocharged, intercooled fuel-injected direct drive piston engine (261 kW (350 hp) for takeoff, 242 kW (325 hp) continuous).
Engineering support during the developmental stage was provided by the Technical University of Delft in Holland. Some more 'remarkable features' of the Extra EA-400:
- Weather radar as optional equipment in the left wing tip
- 58 knt stall speed at max take-off weight due to the fowler flaps with an internal drive mechanism (no flap fairings!)
- Stall sensor connected to the autopilot
- Fully equipped for flight in icing conditions, including windshield heating.
All this gave the aircraft a hefty price tag of $ 1.000.000,-! Only 27 were produced before the manufacturer ran into financial trouble. 4 of these are known to have been involved in accidents.
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