Looking to Buy Flying Long EZ

[Test Pilot]

Hi All:

I am looking to buy a flying Long EZ. I am in the Albuquerque NM area and was wondering if anybody in the area is knowlegeable about this plane. I will be looking for someone who can do a pre-purchase inspection and somone to do the Condition Inspection. If there is no-one local, maybe someone in the US?

Thanks.

[Marc Zeitlin]

I am looking to buy a flying Long EZ. I am in the Albuquerque NM area and was wondering if anybody in the area is knowlegeable about this plane.

Do you have a specific aircraft in mind, or are you asking about LE's in general? If a specific one, which?

 

I will be looking for someone who can do a pre-purchase inspection and somone to do the Condition Inspection. If there is no-one local, maybe someone in the US?

There are many folks who can do one or the other, depending upon where the aircraft is and where you're willing to fly it to (or pay to have someone visit).

 

I can't do the CI's (not an A&P), but I can certainly do the PP inspection. I can also recommend other folks, if you desire.

[Test Pilot]

Thanks for the reply Marc. I do not have aspecific plane in mind yet. I am trying to gather info. about the Long EZ in general, and then get specific to particular ones that are on the market. Obviously I may need to go cross country to find the right aircraft, but I need to find someone who really knows the Long EZ well so that I don't end up with a lemon.

Since I live in the Southwest, I think an O320 powered one would be better for the summer months.

Also how do I determine how well the aircraft was built? Should I only buy one that has a comprehensive build record?

Thanks,

[Marc Zeitlin]

Also how do I determine how well the aircraft was built?

If you haven't done any major glasswork yourself, you can't. That's why you need a pre-buy inspection by someone who knows what they're doing. If you know something about aircraft, you can inspect the systems, however.

 

Of course, if the plane's been flying for 10 years and has 800 hours on it, that's probably a good indication that the aircraft is sound.

 

Should I only buy one that has a comprehensive build record?

That certainly helps, but it's not absolutely necessary. However, I would NOT purchase an aircraft that didn't come with the plans, all applicable paperwork, and POH.

 

If you're looking for a LE, you should contact David Orr - he keeps tabs on canard aircraft for sale, and knows which ones are good ones.

[Test Pilot]

Marc:

Are you aware of a ny good LEs near you at the moment?

[dbradford04]

The one and only guy in the whole world to ask these questions is David Orr. canardfinder@att.net

 

He is a great pilot, and charges for what he does, but well worth the time and info. Do yourself a favor and take this shortcut.

 

Dan

[Marc Zeitlin]

Marc:

Are you aware of a ny good LEs near you at the moment?

Nope, but I haven't been looking, either. www.ez.org usually has a few listings, but D.O. keeps track of all of them.

[Jon Matcho]

www.ez.org usually has a few listings...

As of this past Wednesday, they've finally acknowledged what many have been complaining about -- the site has been hacked with attempts to download malware/viruses onto your PC. Windows XP defaults protect you, but one wrong click and you'll need to reformat or reimage your hard drive.

 

...but [David Orr] keeps track of all of them.

Did anyone mention that David Orr is THE person to talk to if you're looking to buy a canard plane or project? He's essentially an agent, and takes a fee for his services. If you don't know what you're looking for, he'll be worth his fee.

[dpaton]

Did anyone mention that David Orr is THE person to talk to if you're looking to buy a canard plane or project? He's essentially an agent, and takes a fee for his services. If you don't know what you're looking for, he'll be worth his fee.

Even if you're just looking around and haven't decided to commit yet, he's still THE MAN to talk to. He's probably forgotten more about a lot of these birds than their owners can remember. His database of planes, pilots, mods, success and failures, projects, references, inspectors, and clubs is overwhelming. The price for his knowledge is small considering the lengths he goes to make sure you match your project. His service to the canard community at large is indispensable.

[Delta Mike]

Hey Test Pilot,

 

If you are interested in seeing a Long EZ that was bought "in flying condition" just this May you can take a drive north to Durango and check out mine. "In flying condition" is a relative thing. I picked mine up in Coeur d'Alene and flew it home to Durango with the owner - after having it "thoroughly" checked out by a "EZ expert / FAA advisor".

 

Just for good measure I had another EZ expert fly out to Durango and test fly it for a final thumbs up. Well, I got a thumbs down, specifically because the engine was not generating enough horsepower. Turns out the O-235 was a lemon, the intake valves were leaking on all the cylinders, which led me eventually to a top engine overhaul.

 

One thing leads to another and now I'm redoing the electrical system, the firewall and firewall back fuel system, the baffeling, instrument panel, throttle cables, throttle body and air intake, and a few other things. So she's been in the hangar for the past 5 months - though I set out specifically to buy an airplane that I could start flying. There are a lot of things to learn by just getting into it. You're welcome to come and see my bird with the firewall off, engine out, panel and electrical removed. I'm about to start putting it all back together.

 

David Orr is a great resource, however he is not able to provide any kind of guarantee for the airplanes on his lists. You will need an EZ expert to check out your potential airplane. The difficult part is that it will cost $1000 - $1500, and at the end the prognosis may be that there is something lemony about the plane.

In my experience, two names to trust for checking out Long EZs are Burrall Sanders (craftsman@freeflightcomposites.com) and Bill Ortell (ezeflight@charter.net). Sounds like Zetlin would be a good option too.

 

Best of luck,

 

 

project just like you have described

[Test Pilot]

Thanks for the advise DM. Sounds like you have had a tough time of it. Sounds like David Orr is a good go-to guy when the time come to start looking.

[cdavis]

I'd be curious to know what a proven, top-notch Long EZ with all the desirable mods (Roncz, Long Nose, 0-320, etc) and decent avionics is selling for these days.

 

Are prices increasing or decreasing?

[rpellicciotti]

I turned down $70K for mine this weekend. Not sure which one of us was crazy.

[cdavis]

Given the time, effort and expense to build one new, and the technology, capability and economy of a well built and equipped Long EZ, I'd say it would be a bargain at that price.

[rpellicciotti]

I'm getting ready to install a dual MFD EFIS from Grand Rapids Avionics in it this winter. It will be really overequipped then but what the heck.

 

I also have a Trutrak Digitrak II autopilot to install. I am still looking for someone that has done the pitch servo installation so that I don't have to reinvent the wheel. Trutrak told me that they had installation drawings and details for the Long when I bought the autopilot but so far, they have not been able to provide anything.

[Marc Zeitlin]

I turned down $70K for mine this weekend. Not sure which one of us was crazy.

Both of you. Him for offering that ridiculous amount for a LE, and you for turning it down.

 

Never heard of a LE going for anywhere near that amount. The really nice ones are in the low $40's. Two folks at Scaled have purchased O-235 LE's recently for the mid-high $20's each. They're a little ratty, but they both fly fine. $35K will get you a nice one, and $45K will get you a REALLY nice one.

[rpellicciotti]

Marc,

You are right, there are a lot of nice looking, nice flying Longs in the mid 30's to mid 40's. I did see one at EZ Jets the other day that had sold for 60. The question was, what does a really nice one with all the mods, big engine, good avionics suite go for. I think that describes my airplane fairly well. It was appraised by Robert Harris as "one of the 10 best Longs in the country".

 

Although there are still some new ones being built, most of our airplanes are getting a little long in the tooth. Like you said, a lot of them look ratty on the inside and most have panels and avionics from 20 years ago. They all fly great though and I get a real kick out of running off and leaving the O-320 powered, fixed pitch, RV's in our local group.

 

I'm a thirty year avionics and computer guy. I have put a lot of equipment in my airplane that is not necessary but I like doing that stuff. I have accepted the fact that if I ever wanted to sell my airplane, I would probably have to pull a lot of the stuff out of it in order to lower the price to the median value. That's ok though, I'll just put it in the next airplane.

 

Sorry to hear about your problem with the prop. Like a lot of others, I went straight to the hangar and whipped out the torque wrench even though I did mine just a few hours ago. I was composing an email to you with an offer to ship my extension and Silver Bullet when I read that you had sourced one from someone else already. Hope you get your plane home soon.

[cdavis]

The value of anything is what someone is willing to pay for it. But if you build a LongEZ from scratch with a good used 0-320, new avionics, nose lift, etc., I believe you'll have over $50K in it. That does not include labor.

 

A new RV would be more $, but I think they would require less man-hours.

 

The LongEZ is a very nice plane, and I think under-valued for what you get.