AeroCanard Plans Builders

[CFernandez]

Any builders out there? How about with a website/pics?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Jon Matcho]

I believe you and I are it Carlos. All other "AeroCanard builders" seem to be kit builders, or just using an AeroCanard top on Cozy Mark IV plans. I haven't been able to spot anyone else, but I could be wrong. I hope so...

[hookdriver]

I am looking at building what you guys are calling a "modified cozy". I like some of the aerocanard mods. I don't see how as builders if we choose to make informed decisions about the modification of OUR aircraft how anyone could have a problem with that. That is what this sport is all about. That said I don't think I gonna try and get kit production parts. I am thinking of wussing out and getting some of EZAHAB'S cnc foam cores. We will see. I am curious if anyone has bought the aerocanard dvd set. If so how were they? Cheers fellas, JOSH

[Jon Matcho]

I don't see how as builders if we choose to make informed decisions about the modification of OUR aircraft how anyone could have a problem with that.

It's only in the case where someone informs themselves about making a Cozy out of wax that the community would not want you to call it a Cozy.

 

That is what this sport is all about.

Some feel it's finishing and getting up in the air in a timely manner.

 

I am thinking of wussing out and getting some of EZAHAB'S cnc foam cores.

I know hot-wiring would have been fun, but I am very much looking forward to having my cores CNC cut given what I've seen so far.

 

I am curious if anyone has bought the aerocanard dvd set. If so how were they?

Excruciatingly dry and boring, but filled with good information. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch them through just yet.

[mak790]

http://canardaviationwiki.dmt.net/wiki/index.php/Shareware_complete_plans_for_the_Aerocanard_and_Aerocanard_SB

[argoldman]

I am curious if anyone has bought the aerocanard dvd set. If so how were they? Cheers fellas, JOSH

Greetings Capt. Hook,

 

The aerocanard disks are a record of Jeff building, what seems like, 3 different aerocanards from kits. Because the tapes are not shot in a linear fashion, following any single part (with few exceptions) is difficult--no, chaotic-almost schizophrenic, as the part may start its manufacture in disk 3 and finish in disk 7.

 

The quality and audio is more than acceptable, although not professional. As things are being discussed, air compressors cycle, phones ring, rain pours on the hanger roof, and Jeff's cat even makes an appearance.

 

These disks are a must for anybody considering the Kit, or any of the major kit components. As a matter of fact, many times the material on the disk is much clearer than the instructions, although you need both.

 

For those building from plans, the disks will be beneficial, although no as much so as for the kit or with some prefab parts.

 

Viewing the disk set, it is very easy to get lulled into seeing how easy it is to build these beasts, and how short a time it will take to accomplish a specific task. When Jeff does it, everything fits perfectly the first time. What takes him 10 minutes to do on disk, will take you, and probably him, off disk, 3 days.

 

Additionally, the disks are not a complete record, Some non-major tasks are omitted

 

I give the disks 3 1/2 canards up (out of 5).

[hookdriver]

Thanks for the support fellas. I was looking online last night having a little debate with myself as to weather or not to get the dvd set. Since I am planning on plans building I am not sure they would be all that great. I am stationed in Germany now.....goin to Iraq later in the year, so my project is not gonna go anywhere for at least another year. But I was trying to find some construction videos to get to take downrange. I will probably end up getting the aerocanard videos just because. Thanks for the current aerocanard link....knowledge is not power, it is simply information witheld. I plan to look over the pdf files and compare them, just to help make a better informed decision. I want to try to make modifications only once, but we all knowhow that goes. Thanks again fellas, JOSH

[Joel Charest]

HI Guys,

I am also a Aerocanard builder, I just purchased a old kit s/n 43. I have the bottom tub, top, landing gear no bulkhead... You guys are the only people I have seem building the Aerocanard. I am building the FG and I do have a lot of the parts already. I have not started on it yet but I will in the next month. I am still waiting for epoxy pump, fiber glass... from AS. I put my order in December and still have not received yet.

 

Is any of you know some Aerocanard web sites?

Sorry for my spelling it is not my language!

 

Joel

[Joel Charest]

One more thing,

I do have the videos and they now sell them in DVD but it is the same info but maybe better quality video. I can say the video quality is not good but the info is great. It sure help visualize the how it can be done or measure, I think it has some good tips. For me, since my English is not so good, it sure help me understand what the instruction mean.

 

Joel

[malibuskiboats]

HI Guys,

I am also a Aerocanard builder, I just purchased a old kit s/n 43. I have the bottom tub, top, landing gear no bulkhead... You guys are the only people I have seem building the Aerocanard. I am building the FG and I do have a lot of the parts already. I have not started on it yet but I will in the next month. I am still waiting for epoxy pump, fiber glass... from AS. I put my order in December and still have not received yet.

 

Is any of you know some Aerocanard web sites?

Sorry for my spelling it is not my language!

 

Joel

 

Hi Joel,

I'm in the same boat as you. I have just purchased an older kit also (FG) and will be looking to this group for tips on how to get it finished and flying. The goal is to have it in the air in 15 months or less. Can I ask how you are coming since you received your kit? Any suggestion for starting out (FAA, forums, EAA chapters, etc.). Thanks

 

- Richard Peters

[Joel Charest]

HI Richard,

I have not yet started but most of the material arrived last week. I am still missing the epoxy pump and I need to complete my night class before I can start spend time on the kit. I have looked at the instruction and I find difficult to follow. The instructions don’t have enough info to build with and the building is somewhat different than the Cozy. So far I have found that; I have to use the Areocad instruction with the videotape and to help the Cozy plans. The videos have a lot on info in them but they are not well organized but I found that listening to the video really helps understanding what the instruction is trying to say.

 

The instruction suggests to start with the wings I think it is a bit critical part to start with. I will start with the bulkheads since mine are or appear to be incorrect. Then I will level the longerons, install the bulkhead just by the firewall and at front before the nose cone. From there I will do like the video suggest to get the landing bulkheads… this is as far as I got.

 

Do you have the video, Aerocad instruction and a set of COZY plans? How much of the kit do you have? Did you ID all the parts? Some of mine I still don’t know what they are.

 

Joel

jxj@shaw.ca

[Jon Matcho]

Hey, you AeroCanard kit builders are hijaaking this thread! Seriously, it's good to hear there's AeroCanard building activity going on.

 

The instruction suggests to start with the wings I think it is a bit critical part to start with.

I completely agree with you. If you have the Cozy (or AeroCanard FG) plans, I would consider shadowing those as best you can.

 

Enjoy, good luck, and please do post some pics when you guys get the chance.

[jpolenek]

Hi everyone.

I'm new to the Forum and am seriously considering building an AeroCanard from plans. I was building a Dragonfly for a few years but realized that I need a 4-seater. I've narrowed the selection down to the Cozy and AeroCanard, and I'm leaning toward the Aerocanard FG due to its slightly larger size inside. It is good to see that there are others who are already building the AeroCanard from plans. I had been under the impression that the AeroCanard was only for kit-building, but Al Aldrich of Aerocad informed me that the AeroCanard can be built from plans just as easily as the Cozy.

 

Can somebody tell me if the AeroCanard plans and the Cozy MKIV plans are essentailly identical in terms of layout, sequence, how they expalin things, the diagrams they use, etc? Are the designs themselves close enough that the cost to scratch-build would be basically the same?

 

Joe

[Jon Matcho]

Hello Joe. I decided to plans-built an AeroCanard FG because of "its slightly larger inside" (rear seat area) and for, what I feel are, an improved interface between the fuselage, strakes, turtleback, and cowling.

 

However, if I had to do it over again, I would choose to build a Cozy Mark IV relatively stock (except with a forward-opening canopy and possibly Long-EZ style strakes). Then again, maybe I'm just being a wimp.

 

Can somebody tell me if the AeroCanard plans and the Cozy MKIV plans are essentailly identical in terms of layout, sequence, how they expalin things, the diagrams they use, etc? Are the designs themselves close enough that the cost to scratch-build would be basically the same?

The AeroCanard SB design is virtually identical to the Cozy Mark IV. The AeroCanard FG has wider landing gear bulkheads, different fuselage side jigs (to adjust to the new curvature), and larger turtleback.

 

The AeroCanard plans are essentially identical to the Cozy Mark IV plans, since they were scanned and OCR'd from Cozy Mark IV first edition plans (AFAICT). As a result, the chapter names, page numbers, diagrams, build order, etc., are identical for each. The AeroCanard plans should be considered just to be 'retouched'.

 

The biggest concerns I have with AeroCanard plans-building is when I compare the AeroCanard FG plans to the Cozy Mark IV plans and find mistakes -- either from bad OCR or Al/AeroCad's recent efforts to replace some of the hand-drawn diagrams with CAD drawings. Some of it you can decode without the Cozy plans, but other times I wonder how others might be making out.

 

However, the NEW AeroCanard plans are on the way to becoming better than the Cozy Mark IV plans. You can find more mention of this on page 4 of this thread. Basically, all that's needed is for Al to collect feedback from plans-builders and incorporate fixes into the plans.

 

Hope that helps... keep an open mind. Do you want to build, or do you want to fly? Build = AeroCanard FG/mods. Fly = stock Cozy Mark IV.

[malibuskiboats]

Hi Joe and welcome,

 

I can't help you out much as I'm about to get going on my kit. However, if you're near by, you can feel free to check out the kit version for question you may have on a area you're building. If you're willing, update your profile so we know what city and state you're from.

 

Worst case and you can't get to my place, maybe I can send pictures, etc. Good luck in building.

 

Any other AeroCanard FG builders that may be in Maryland?

 

- Richard

[malibuskiboats]

Does anyone out there have a good collection of pictures of completed AeroCanard planes? I know there has to be some somewhere. But, I just can't find too many on the web.

 

It would be kind of nice and motivational to put a few of these pictures up in my shop as I build my kit.

 

Thanks,

 

- Richard

[Jon Matcho]

Ken Laundrie has the best looking AeroCanard that I've seen (I've seen one that I know of ). I believe Ken has a Cozy Mark IV bottom, and AeroCanard top (canopy, turtleback, and cowling).

 

Search for posts on Ken's name here and on the web (keeping in mind that everyone butcher's Ken's last name).

[Marc Zeitlin]

Ken Laundrie has the best looking AeroCanard that I've seen .....

How do you really feel about Ken's plane, Jon? :-).

[Jerry Schneider]

How do you really feel about Ken's plane, Jon? :-).

I, for one, think he likes it.

 

He's right. It is a Cozy IV w/Aerocanard top. (Like mine.)

Also, down-draft cooling. (Like mine.)

Also, push/pull vernier throttle/mixture controls. (Like mine.)

 

I like it too. (And I'm copying the heck out of it! )

[Jon Matcho]

How do you really feel about Ken's plane, Jon? :-).

Ha ha! I started to get mental trying to figure out what you guys were talking about before finally scrolling up to see all those posts. Must have been some sort of webfart.

 

Jerry, yes! Yours is the only AeroCanard project I've seen in person. Still, yours or Ken's plane isn't really an AeroCanard, is it? Also, I'll be in your neighborhood from 6/23-69 and would like to see your project again. Please...

[Jerry Schneider]

Yours is the only AeroCanard project I've seen in person. Still, yours or Ken's plane isn't really an AeroCanard, is it? ...

Nope. It's not. It's a Cozy MKIV/WBHM (=With Blaspemous Headroom Modifications.)

Also, I'll be in your neighborhood from 6/23-69 and would like to see your project again. Please...

Cool. Just lemme know when. (Last I checked, there were only 30 days in June. Are you hitting the sauce today??? )

[Jon Matcho]

Cool. Just lemme know when.

6/23-6/29

 

(Last I checked, there were only 30 days in June. Are you hitting the sauce today??? )

Funny. Here's the end of how this post came across as e-mail on my mobile device (a limited number of characters are downloaded by default):

 

... (Last I checked, there were only 30 days in June. Are you hi

[malibuskiboats]

Ok, here's the challenge...

 

Someone find me just one link or contact for an owner actually flying a AeroCanard FG. I just need one (of course, I'll take more!)

 

I had a lead on one Ken Laundrie. But, all links out on the web say his plane is a Cozy MkIV. I want an AeroCanard FG! There are suppose to be about 16 of them flying. Where are they?

 

I know you guys (gals too) will come through for me. In the mean time, I'm still trying to get a picture or two of one of the completed birds

 

Thanks,

 

- Richard

[jpolenek]

Jon;

 

Thanks for the insight. I'm still on the fence, but based on the improvements AeroCad has made, it sounds like they offer more for the money. Let's see if I have it straight...

 

- AeroCanard plans are originally copies of the Cozy MKIV

- they have been updated with CAD drawings

- they provide the flexibility to scratch-build the original Cozy (AeroCanard SB) or one of the wide-bodies (FG or RG) from the same set of plans (?), so if you're like me and don't know which model you want to build, you can still buy the plans and complete the wings before making up your mind

- AeroCad offers the flexibility to swap in numerous pre-fab parts

 

It sounds like my $500 would go further with an AeroCanard. Am I missing something here?

 

Maybe the errors you mentioned. Are the AeroCanard print errors obvious? (e.g. your example of AN-S versus AN-5) Or are they errors that could easily be followed and lead to a screw-up before they were detected?

Has anybody compiled a list of errata, if AeroCad hasn't?

 

Joe

[jpolenek]

Hi Joe and welcome,

 

I can't help you out much as I'm about to get going on my kit. However, if you're near by, you can feel free to check out the kit version for question you may have on a area you're building. If you're willing, update your profile so we know what city and state you're from.

 

Worst case and you can't get to my place, maybe I can send pictures, etc. Good luck in building.

 

Any other AeroCanard FG builders that may be in Maryland?

 

- Richard

I'm about 10 hrs to the north, but I pass by you on the I95 every few years when I take a road trip to Virginia to see relatives. Next road trip is due soon so I might take you up on the offer this summer. In the meantime, some pictures of your project would be great!

 

Joe