Big Pilot Big Passenger

[zies8]

I am 6'-2" and my son is 6'-3". I have been interested in building a Long Ez forever. Is it a pipe dream for us to fit into a Long Ez?

 

I have located a project that has the fuselage already built. I will be looking at it tomorrow. I have searched this site for info regarding useful load and I can not come up with difinitive information on the usefull load of a Long Ez. One of the post's mentioned Burts flight with a gross weight of 2000lb. The weight added to the rear seat in the form of an auxiliary fuel tank.

 

 

If I could get some feedback from you guys it would be much appreciated.

[Wayne Hicks]

6-2 fits okay in the Long EZ front seat. My hangarmate is 6-2, 240-ish and fits fine in his Long-EZ. It is built to plans with the exception that he moved his seatback aft by 1.5 inches.

 

6-3 in the back seat is a tough fit. It gets narrow back there and there may not be enough headroom under the canopy.

 

There are oversized canopies that offer more room for front seaters and back seaters. And there are tricks you can do to give more arm, shoulder, and leg room for the backseater. If you're willing to figure out dimensions, you can widen the fuselage.

 

Weight is not much a problem because the rear seater is over the CG anyway.

 

It ***can*** be done!

[zies8]

Thank you Wayne;

 

To give you a little more information. When I say that I am 6'-2" that is not all of the equation. I went to buy a new suit for church the other day and I caused a little bit of consternation for the salesperson. You see... I am a size 62 suit. You'all might think that to be funny for some one that is considering a long ez. The problem with a size 62 suit is that it comes with size 60 pants. It is impossible for a tailor to tailor a size 62 suit to fit my size 42 pants. The option was to get a sport coat and buy pants that fit me.

This is where I am at. I know that the fuselage can be widened and the nose streatched and the seats moved. Waynes answer as to the capability of the aircraft makes sense when you weigh it against the cozy which is a wide long and has a gross of 2050 lbs. and a useful load of 1000 lbs.

Is it logical to assume that you could write your weight and balance sheet to show a useful load that matches the cozy?

I am a pilot who has looked into homebuilts for a lot of years only to be discouraged by the FAAs "standard pilot weight of 170 lbs". That is a rediculous # to use. Practically most "4 place " airplanes are not 4 place at all. I would bet that the average person in the U.S would weigh in at more that 170. For safety's sake would'nt it be better to design aircraft around a person who weighs more like 220? If you start to take into consideration density altitude on a hot day in the Rockies your aircraft that is designed around the 170 lb person leaves no margin for error when calculating W&B. Many have been killed flying from the plains to high altitude, loading to max gross and taking off without figuring D/A (density altitude).

Sorry for the rant. Guess I am just making excuses for my fat ass.

[--D--]

Guess I am just making excuses for my fat ass.

Some folks are building big ones here (Joe Berki, tonyslongez). Not sure if you'll find one on the market that'll fit your dimensions, but if you're interested in building I bet those guys would help cheer you on.

 

Your rant about the 170# pilot and "4 place" airplanes is right on! A complete joke!! However, it isn't as bad as the "2 place" airplanes. Try explaining to the "gal you hang out with" that the ideal passenger only weighs 130#...

 

Building your own airplane is MUCH easier (... and less painful)!

 

D

[zies8]

On a fishing trip to Alaska a few years back we fllew out to one of the rivers on Kodiak. Our ride was in a Cessna 206. This 206 had a baggage pod. It is interesting to note that the pilot was an approximately 180 to 200 pound boy and four of us all relatives from a big boy family are 200 to 250 each. We put all of our fishing gear either on our laps or in the baggage pod on the belly. That was a fllight to remember. I recall looking out the window at the landing gear and noting that the gear were flexed (loaded) to the point that the tires were on at least a 20 degree angle to the ground.

The airplane had no problem taking off. At sea level it is amazing how much better an aircraft performs. The pilot never weighed anything. That plane really took a beating if that is the way it was loaded day after day.

It is no wonder that the safety record in Alaska is the worst.

I will be looking at a Long Ez project today that has the fuselage complete. If I were to consider modifying an already built fuselage would I be considering something that is kosher?

[--D--]

I will be looking at a Long Ez project today that has the fuselage complete. If I were to consider modifying an already built fuselage would I be considering something that is kosher?

If by "modifying" you mean "cut in half longitudinally to widen and laterally to lengthen" I'd seriously reconsider. Certainly try the stock fuselage on for size first because you might actually fit without mod's. I'm 6'3" and 220 and my fuselage is snug but still comfortable.

 

Be sure to take a look at some of the build logs to get a feel for just how much (or little) time you're "saving" by picking up a prebuilt fuselage. For example, check out Wayne Hicks' excellent log:

 

http://www.maddyhome.com/canardpages/pages/waynehicks/status.htm

 

It really doesn't take that long to build the tub, and the experience/skills you'll pick up while building things like bulkheads and other "flat" stuff will serve you once things start to get more complicated.

 

My $0.02. Hope your search is EZ!

 

D