A series of factors, including new regulatory requirements and immense legal liability lawsuit settlements made the GA field unprofitable and most manufacturers had abandoned production of piston-engined light aircraft to concentrate on the business turbine aircraft market.

Free of some of the problems that certified aircraft had, and populated largely by experimenters looking for better performance, the kit market expanded rapidly in the 1980s.

[5] After a lengthy development and certification process the aircraft was officially certified on September 18, 1998, as the Model LC40-550FG and marketed under the name Columbia 300.

Neibauer sold the kit-build portion of the company, Lancair International, to Joseph Bartels in March 2003.

[3] The 300 was the fastest fixed-gear aircraft in the world when it was released,[5] but held this title only for a short period until the turbocharged Columbia 400 (Model LC41-550FG) flew in June 2000.

The 400 also featured a new glass cockpit developed under the AGATE program, which Columbia refers to as the "Highway in the Sky" (HITS).

[6] In January 2003, Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM) bought a controlling interest in Columbia for over $50 million.

These were Columbia's competitor, Cirrus Design as well as Versa Capital Management and Park Electrochemical Corp.