AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2021 - 78

the three-color paint scheme provides
high gloss.
Even the electrically heated leading
edges of the elliptical wings, horizontal
tail, and engine inlet are smooth to
the touch because the heating system is
embedded in carbon fiber.
A step on the left side of the fuselage
leads up to the left wing, and sliding into
the cockpit requires some contortions.
The relatively small pilot's-side door
makes sense for a pressurized airplane,
but getting in without stepping on the
leather seat is tricky. The cockpit is roomy
and comfortable once you're inside, but
climbing in and out can be inelegant for
the unpracticed.
Two handles (and nine locking mechanisms)
secure the door, and the airbag
seatbelt crosses your chest and waist and
connects at a single point like a car.
Engine start is normal for a PT6A, and
the power, prop, and condition levers are
mounted on a center pedestal. Over-thenose
visibility is good, and nosewheel
steering is natural. The Cleveland double-puck
toe brakes apply smoothly and
evenly with no surprises.
After takeoff, the airplane accelerated
like a missile. The next step, however,
landing gear retraction, was an awkward
and somewhat bewildering rudder exercise.
The LX7 landing gear doors impose
a significant yawing moment that pushes
the nose alternately left and right during
the roughly six-second retraction process.
Hough had told me to expect a rudder
dance when the gear went up or down,
and it was a klutzy two-step.
As the LX7 accelerates through 140
knots, it finds its groove. Elevator pressure
through the sidestick controller is moderate,
and the ailerons are borderline heavy.
Rudder pressure is moderate and highly
effective, and a sliding pyramid on the G3Xs
shows pilot coordination (or lack of it).
Elevator and aileron trim on a stickmounted
hat switch are even and smooth
and the airplane has a solid and stable
character that belies its greyhound
appearance.
Slow flight, both in cruise and landing
configurations, is rock solid. A digital
angle-of-attack indication on the primary
flight displays gives a graphical illustration
of the wing's lifting potential, and it automatically
accounts for flap position. A dot
in the center of the display shows the target
approach angle, and at our relatively
light weight that corresponded to 80 knots
in a 500-foot-per-minute descent.
Aural warnings provide increasingly
urgent alerts to impending stalls, and
recovery is immediate with the instant
hurricane the fan out front provides. The
propeller also serves as an anchor-like
air brake-so there are no speed brakes
on the airframe.
The avionics intelligently prevent
pilots from errantly deploying flaps
at excessive speed by blocking their
movement above 160 KIAS. Another
impossible-to-ignore aural warning is
meant to prevent gear-up landings.
QUAL I TY, PERFORMANCE, AND SAFETY
In an age when new piston singles regularly
top $1 million, an " as-new " turboprop
The four-blade, full-feathering MT propeller is
electrically heated for ice protection, and its
wide-chord blades provide rapid acceleration
and deceleration on the ground, and in flight.
The LX7 relies on carbon-fiber construction
for light weight, structural strength, and
corrosion resistance. The elliptical wing shape
is meant for high efficiency, and LED lights are
embedded into the wing to reduce drag.
with dramatically higher performance at
the same price is intriguing.
LX7 airframes aren't exactly new,
of course. Their fuselages are largely
original. But with new engines, props,
avionics, windshields, wings, and tails
made from modern materials in a specialized
facility, they're far more capable
than they ever were.
Used single-engine turboprops such as
six-seat Daher TBM 700s, Piper Meridians,
and JetProps can be had for similar
prices-but they typically consume far
more fuel and have less range at the max
BasicMed altitude of 18,000 feet.
Experimental/amateur-built rules
governing the LX7 come with some real
limitations. Experimental/amateur-built
airplanes can't carry paying passengers,
and there are restrictions on using them
for flight training.
The quality, performance, and safety
differences between FAA-certified and
experimental/amateur-built aircraft used to
seem as big and broad as the Grand Canyon.
Now, in airplanes like the LX7, they're
hard to distinguish.
dave.hirschman@aopa.org
78
AOPA PILOT / December 2021
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2021

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