Gene Cernan: Cessna 421B Pilot & Apollo XVII Commander

     First, your design, development and installation of the strakes were extremely professional. The quality of your work is uncontestable and something I sincerely appreciate. Although the precise airspeed advantage gained with the strakes depends upon the weight, power setting, temperature, etc as well as pilot technique, I can confidently say my 421 gives me an additional 6-9 knots under most conditions. The rate of climb advantage gained is around 100-200’/minute. Noticeable is the flat (lower angle of attack) attitude the aircraft assumes immediately after liftoff. Landings appear normal but I’d like to believe the rollout is a bit shorter. I haven’t really checked out the extremely low speed characteristics yet, but I would hope that the strakes would provide somewhat more yaw stability in the event of a loss of engine on takeoff. Last but not least, they look awesome the 421 and now we can fly with the ‘big boys!’