Lam Aileron: Does It Live Up to the Hype?

Sunday, September 15, 2013 at 11:31 PM ET

Verified

** With a new aileron and a wing of smaller
area and larger span, a modified Lancair
Columbia boasts surprising performance
gains.**

Key Takeaways:

Lam Aviation announced remarkable performance gains on a Lancair Columbia testbed, initially attributing them to a novel, horizontally split aileron designed by Larry Lam.
The Lam aileron functions as an upper spoiler and lower flap, which facilitates full-span flaps and offers potential benefits like reduced adverse yaw and lighter control forces.
The article clarifies that the significant performance improvements were primarily due to an entirely new wing, designed by Greg Cole, which had less area and more span, enabling a higher aspect ratio, not solely the ailerons.
Despite the misleading emphasis in the press release, the author considers the Lam aileron a promising concept for its ability to enable full-span flaps and their associated aerodynamic benefits.

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We received a press release from Lam Aviation concerning a novel type of aileron, which was said to have brought about remarkable performance gains on a Lancair Columbia testbed. Cruising speed increased by 12 to 16 knots, fuel consumption decreased by 20 to 30 percent, and rate of climb increased by 40 to 50 percent. Useful load rose by 200 pounds. I know that the writer of an advertisement is not under oath, but I wondered how such millennial improvements had been achieved by merely modifying an aileron.

The Lam aileron was developed by Larry Lam, an aerospace engineer who died in 2010. He flew around for years in a two-seat homebuilt with a full-span flap and his novel ailerons. His son Michael is carrying on the idea, with the help of Greg Cole, a respected and innovative sailplane designer and builder.