Retractable Gear

I'm quite keen on the idea of retractable under carriage.

Is it possible on the Cozy?

I see aerocad sell a retract, and velocity, can their systems be integrated to the Cozy?

Cheers

Check with Chrissi and Randi.

CozyGirrrl@AOL.COM

They'll show you the ropes.

The most informative page I have seen on retractable gear for the Cozy is here:

http://www.geocities.com/plmjohnson/retractable_gear.htm

See also http://www.infinityaerospace.com/infgear.htm

Originally posted by No4

I'm quite keen on the idea of retractable under carriage.

Is it possible on the Cozy?

It is definitely "possible", although Nat will recommend against it. Others have pointed out installations and web sites, although none of them are flying (yet).

I see aerocad sell a retract, and velocity, can their systems be integrated to the Cozy?

IIRC, the AC retract is the Infinity retract system (which, BTW, _IS_ flying on a number of aircraft, including SQ2000's and L.E.'s). The Velocity system is completely different - it mounts on the fuselage and retracts up and out, while the Infinity system mounts on the end of the spar and retract up and inward. The Infinity system is the only one that has so far been integrated into a COZY, although there's no TECHNICAL reason that a Velocity equivalent gearset couldn't be engineered into the COZY structure.

Thanks for the info guys. The Infinity rig looks very speccy, almost exactly what my minds eye had conjured.

What are they like as a company?

Any reports on what the gear is like operationaly?

Cheers

Any reports on what the gear is like operationaly?

Cheers]

Brice Daunay installed the Infinity gear in his very modified Cozy. The plane is registered as "Viper" and it's been flying since 1997. Registered as N6227S.

Brice sold the airplane around 2000 to a Glen Taylor of Horse Shoe, North Carolina. You might try to contact Glen about the gear.

BTW, that airplane has a very nice 3 rotor Mazda engine installation.

Omar

Omar,

You don't happen to know what the performance figures turned out to be do you? I would love to see some info on that Mazda installation as well. Any info floating out there on the web?

Jake

Jake, I do not have any performance numbers for you. Brice told me the engine develops 300HP and that there is a serious kick in the back upon advancing the throttle on takeoff. This was a twin-turbo motor from an RX-7.

I have a few photos of the plane, including shots of the engine and landing gear. I'll see if I can post them here...

RX-7's only had two rotors, not three. The Cosmo engines are three rotor engines capable of 300HP non-turbo, while you can easily reach 300HP with a turbo'd two-rotor RX-7 engine.

i wonder which one he has...

Aaron, you're right. He had the 20B engine. It was imported for him. Brice had a turbo gate lever by the throttle lever on the center console.

How's the posting of the pictures coming along? I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to see the installation.

OK, here goes, but I'll post the engine pics in the Mazda forum. These are photos of the Infinity gear.

more gear

More gear.

Wheel well shown.

Another shot of the wheel well. The original well was too small, or misplaced so Brice fabricated a new one. This is a pic of the new well.

Engine running, left main visible.

Brice at the controls and I'm kicking the tire.

Omar, great pictures of the gear and the engine installation, thanks. Did Brice do a retrofit of the gear? Is his "Viper" a modified SQ2000?

Tha Viper is a modified Cozy Mk4, although one wouldn't draw a connection based on the looks of the planes...

Brice did all sorts of modifications, gull wing doors, folding front seats, retracts, Mazda engine, fuselage shape and size.

I think the gear was an original item, not retrofit.

Probably the only thing that were built per plans are the wings.

Before his demise, this was Steve's retract kit.

http://www.geocities.com/ezrg/

Demise? So this is no longer available, I take it? You'd think someone would have taken this concept and run with it... Unless his demise was somehow related to this system?

No that’s not why he died. If you have access to the CSA newsletters and old CP articles, Steve Drybread is referenced throughout them and is well regarded as a knowledgeable canard builder.

He died via a canard departure. It’s a long story but the condensed version is that he was distracted with a phone call and a customer who inadvertently tipped the Berkut back on the prop. The bolts that retain the canard hadn’t been reinstalled. After replacing the broken prop he hauled out of there. The retaining pins sheared and the canard departed.

I’ve heard that his wife might be attempting to sell them through one of the co developers.

I spent some time with Steve prior to his death and discussed his retract system as well as looking at it closely. He had a lexan viewing window in the bottom of the fuse so that you could see the attachment and retract hardware. He said he had well over 1000 landings and no problems. The design is very similiar to the Velocity and looked very good. He was still asking about $3000 for the system at the time. I've heard that his partners have taken over his EZRG business. His wife sold his plane early this year, for a very low price from what I've heard. It was a very nice bird, by the way. His craftmanship was excellant and he was very inventive.

Do you know who the contact person for purchasing the retracts?

I'm guessing Scott Swing? You wouldn't happen to have his contact info?

I would like to purchase the video they have and compare with Infinity.

I heard it was a decent system, it's obviously less expensive than Infinity.

The cost of the Infinity system is probably tied up in the Oleo struts and such.

David Orr sent me a decent word document detailing the pros and cons of several systems. Give me a holler if you want it.

Nathan,

I would like a copy if you don't mind. I tried to PM you about it but it said your mail box was full . Here is my email address: admin@homebuiltairplanes.com . Thanks.

Jake