We’re On Our Own — Time to Rebuild Lancair Support

[LancairTalk Sales]

Let’s stop pretending that help is coming from Uvalde — or from the group that followed them.

For those newer to the fleet, LancairTalk spent four years working with the so-called “OEM.” We gave them free access, tried to coordinate support, asked for a proper parts catalog, and offered to bring structure to the parts distribution effort. After years of silence, broken promises, and unanswered emails, it became clear: they weren’t interested in supporting the fleet — just in chasing racing headlines and showing up for the occasional BBQ.

The recent sale of the assets confirmed what many of us suspected: owners weren’t the priority. Support existed for a few insiders, but the rest of the fleet was left out.

Meanwhile, another group spent nearly a decade defending the OEM, offering legitimacy while it delivered no meaningful support. That group had the opportunity — and the resources — to push for access to IP, licensing, or even a transfer of rights to actual owners. Instead, that influence was wasted, and those assets ultimately went to another set of outsiders with no connection to this fleet or its future.

The result is simple: We are on our own.

That’s not pessimism — it’s clarity. And clarity means we can stop waiting and start acting.

This post is driven by the daily calls I receive from owners — especially new ones — looking for parts, knowledge, and support. What they find instead is a wall of silence from Uvalde and a scattered parts supply that puts safe operation at risk.

Below is a growing list of critical parts that are no longer reliably available. These aren’t convenience items. These are fleet-grounding components: landing gear struts, engine mounts, over-center links, control linkages, brake upgrades, and more.

We need owners to step up.
If you have original parts, drawings, CAD files, vendor contacts, or build knowledge — now is the time.

We’ve had offers to fabricate engine mounts, but no specs. Someone out there knows how to contact Snowline or recover the original prints. Instead of sourcing one-off parts just for yourself, consider joining the team of owners who are scanning, upgrading, tooling, fabricating, and stocking the parts this fleet depends on.

We can organize this effort — we just need people to raise their hands. Whether it's sourcing drawings, verifying dimensions, building vendor partnerships, or developing tooling, the path forward is clear. And it doesn't depend on wishful thinking — it depends on us.

With existing vendor relationships like EarthX, Garmin, Aircraft Spruce, Grove, Matco, and MT Propeller, we’ve already proven what’s possible. The shops we have are terrific but they have their own business to run. With the right coordination, we can rebuild a sustainable pipeline of parts and support — maybe even create a refurb program that gives new life to aging aircraft.

Because let’s be honest: nobody’s building new kits. The future is the 1,000+ Lancairs that already exist. Those aircraft will need continued support over the next 10 to 20 years, or they’ll become hangar art. That future depends on us organizing — and getting a few key people to help unlock specs, vendors, and know-how.

We need to work with vendors, not get picked off by them. Right now, some vendors view Lancair owners as unsophisticated, scattered, and willing to overpay out of desperation. That perception hurts everyone. If we act together, vendors will take us seriously — and we can negotiate group pricing, parts programs, and long-term support and support their efforts.

Master Parts Recovery List (work in progress)
-engine mounts
-over center links
-upgraded brakes
-3XX GM-XX parts

This isn’t just for today. This is to keep our aircraft flying for the next decade.
Nobody else is coming. But we’re still here.

— Paul
LancairTalk.net

[Alfredo Bresciani]

Hi
I’m Alfredo from Italy. Just to information you that I bought 2 kits and we will start assembling the 2 kits after september.
This happens because I bought an old 360 and I was sorride about the spares. When I saw the ad for the two kits, I called a friend of
Mine and he decided to buy the second one. We will assembly the kits with the help of a dear friend of us that is used to build and repair kit planes.
We will have the opportunity to rebuild eventually some parts. We will have the parts disassembled and will be quite simple to copy. So please tell us which are the more interesting parts to duplicate.

[admin]

Thank you Alfredo. When you have time please send us picture of the Lancairs.

[Bob Mackey]

It's long past time to stop blaming Uvalde or any of their successors or predecessors.
That's just wasted keyboard strokes.

Instead, look to modern small-volume manufacturing methods. One-off CNC parts are not nearly as expensive as they were 20 years ago. Scanning parts to generate new CAD files is within reach of casual hobbyists like me.
The hobbyist-builder community is all that is needed to continue building and supporting our aircraft.
My 235 is now a much better airplane than the day it first flew in 1988. I've broken some parts and repaired or replaced them. Many parts were upgraded and distributed to others in the community. All we really need to keep that going is communication among us builders.

[Shane O'Day]

I think the community is doing a really good job of this, many of the custom parts are already being made or developed by a number of owners like the likes of Chris Z, Bob, myself and many others. Regardless what happens with the Lancair assets the fleet will continue to be supported, I see blue sky's in the (near) future.

[LancairTalk Sales]

the community is doing a really good job

I think you are right Shane. In fact, when you look back at the last 10 years, we started by supporting the OEM but they never did anything to support owners. They were removed from this website after a few years of non-performance.

The OEM ignored the 2XX and 3XX owners completely. The OEM followed a misguided strategy of dreaming of building new airplanes while ignoring parts for the fleet. It cannibalized the few parts that were trucked from Redmond until those ran out. Reno and junior's vision of racing trophies trumped running a proper OEM. Parts are the main source of profit for supporting staff and inventory. New airframes only beget parts for the next 30 years. It is that simple.

The result is that we have essentially survived without the OEM for 10 years. We've already learned that we're on our own. There are no airframes grounded for lack of parts and there are still a ton of parts and airframes to be completed. In addition, resale of existing airframes is turning out to be a viable option. LancairTalk is helping a record number of owners market their airframes and we've helped or participated in more than 100 aircraft on this site since inception.

What do we need? Vendors, support, community involvement and participation.

[admin]

It's long past time to stop blaming Uvalde or any of their successors or predecessors.
That's just wasted keyboard strokes.

I appreciate Bob’s input and the incredible work he’s done on his aircraft — he's one of the more technically capable builders out there, and I respect that.

That said, I’ll continue to share the history of the OEM and the realities we face today, especially for newer members and prospective buyers. It’s not “wasted keyboard strokes” to give people context — especially when those people are wondering why no one answers the phone, where to find parts, or whether a Lancair can still be supported. Many owners were left high and dry for years, and ignoring that fact does no one any favors.

The builder community is vital. But so is an honest and unfiltered account of how we got here — and what that means going forward. That’s part of what this site was created to provide: clarity, transparency, and peer-driven support — not selective memory.

Bob, if you believe the OEM deserves more credit, I encourage you to share your research and perspective — it’s a valid discussion. But don’t assume you can dictate what I or anyone else says on this site. You don’t fund this platform, you don’t support it through purchases, and you don’t acknowledge the value it provides when you benefit from its audience.

I’ve spent years working with buyers, sellers, and owners trying to navigate the absence of a functioning OEM. I’ve seen firsthand how silence and denial allow nonperformance to continue unchecked — including with the latest group claiming to have acquired the OEM. That’s why the history matters.

This isn’t about blame — it’s about making sure owners and prospective buyers have the full picture. Understanding the past helps us avoid repeating mistakes and focus our energy on what matters most now: building solutions, market aircraft as owners begin to age, developing parts, and strengthening this community for the long haul.

Does this work for you Bob?

[Bob Mackey]

I do believe the OEM deserves more credit.
Lance Niebauer, and his team in Santa Paula and later in Redmond are the OEM. They hired help in the Philippines and locally and built nearly all of the aircraft parts that have flown with a Lancair label. Then there was Joe Bartell... He fired or drove away most of the suppliers like Snowline.

Eventually the pile of remaining parts, but no real manufacturing capability, was sold to Uvalde. They never were original or equipment manufacturers, so I wouldn't call them the OEM. Bashing Uvalde is still a waste of your time and ours. The need for alternative suppliers started years before Uvalde got involved. Instead of whining about it, let's just make the parts we need.