We're at 16,500 feet and looking clown at three states. I glance over at Steve Lackey, who built the 51 percent of this Lancair IV-P that homebuilders are required to complete themselves. He's smiling too. Lackey and partner Mike Moffitt have reason to, because there aren't a lot of piston-powered airplanes out there, production or kit, that can do what the IV-P does—and what theirs does particularly well. And that is fly fast and fly high. While there are pressurized piston singles available (the Cessna P210 comes to mind), there's only one you can build yourself. And none can go as fast as the IV-P. Lancair International began developing the IV series in 1990, and the -P was introduced in November 1992. Now most builders opt for the pressurized model for its ability to take pilots above most of the weather (to 24,000 feet msl at an 8,500-foot cabin altitude) and speed them on their way.
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