RSBWingHome Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 It appears that I will have to fight for a set of plans on ebay. What is a fair market price? The current bid is at $155.00 as of 7 March 07. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfryer Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Regardless there is always the Open-EZ project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Matcho Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Long-EZ plans tend to go for $700 to $1,000 and up. They're collectibles, and people also *think* there's extra value in having the registration page in them, and whatnot. If you want to build (vs. collect plans), then get a TERF CD, download the Open-EZ drawings, and you'll be on your way. Realistically, the only value of that page is what Burt Rutan's signature is worth. I think less than Babe Ruth on a baseball, but someday, who knows? Quote Jon Matcho Builder & Canard Zone Admin Now: Rebuilding Quickie Tri-Q200 N479E Next: Resume building a Cozy Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSBWingHome Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 Thanks for the info. My intrest is in building a very scale and accurate 40% maybe 45% R/C model. I was willing to spend a little money for the info I need to generate the plans. Based on the reply, the cost of the plans will be greater than all the materials to assemble the model. I do have the TERF CD on the way and I have merged my old ACAD drawings (generated from a Rutan 3-view) with the long nose drawings from the WEB. I feel better knowing I should have all the info I need to build the model. I will of course call it an Open-EZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfryer Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Curious. The long-ez plans auction ended with a high bid of $150.00. I wonder why that would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSBWingHome Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Strange, I do not have access to ebay here at work (Army Research Lab, APG Maryland). I will have to check when I get home. I placed the first bid at $150. The last time I checked it was at $155 and due to end this weekend. There must be a second auction running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Matcho Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Curious. The long-ez plans auction ended with a high bid of $150.00. I wonder why that would be.The seller ended the auction early. Those plans would have likely gone for well over $500. Oh well... if check search for 'long-ez' and you should see a couple TERF CDs (Rutan Aircraft Encyclopedia) for ~$200. Quote Jon Matcho Builder & Canard Zone Admin Now: Rebuilding Quickie Tri-Q200 N479E Next: Resume building a Cozy Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Matcho Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I will of course call it an Open-EZIf a model, there's no harm nor foul in calling it a Long-EZ. However, if you simply would like to pay tribute to the Open-EZ, then "bravo"! Quote Jon Matcho Builder & Canard Zone Admin Now: Rebuilding Quickie Tri-Q200 N479E Next: Resume building a Cozy Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfryer Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Keeping my eye out on the CDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSBWingHome Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 I now have disk #1 of the TERF collection. Rather than drawing the plans at 40-45% I have started to draw the plane at full-scale using the templates and the CD as reference. Then I can simply use the scale command to generate the size of plane I finally decide on. Along with doing the plans in AutoCad I was also going to model the plane in Solidworks. Since it looked simple I decided to model the head rest last night. Each part was modeled in 3-D then I tried to make an assembly of the parts. To my surprise the parts were close but not close enough. The sides of the head rest were short, the small rectangles on the sides were much longer than required, and the angles that make up the back part of the head rest were off a bit. All is fine if you are building the full scale since much of the construction is "Shape as Shown". For modeling on the computer it is not enough. I should , when done have very accurate drawings of parts as they actually should be made. Once the weather breaks I will be preping my shop for another plane to join the fleet. Anyone interested in my fleet can check out my models at http://www.hcrcm.com/gallery/ I'm Robert, so you can see all thefun I have been having for the last 30+years. I can not wait to all the "Open-EZ" to the photo page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Matcho Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Rather than drawing the plans at 40-45% I have started to draw the plane at full-scale using the templates and the CD as reference. Then I can simply use the scale command to generate the size of plane I finally decide on.Would be very nice if you would be able to donate your results to the Open-EZ project. For things not coming out as desired, keep in mind that most drawings in the plans are NOT drawn to scale, with the actual measurements in the text. Not sure if that's the source of your issues with the head rest. I should , when done have very accurate drawings of parts as they actually should be made. Once the weather breaks I will be preping my shop for another plane to join the fleet. Looking forward! You've got quite a collection in your club's gallery. Did that tubular UAV take pictures or video? Quote Jon Matcho Builder & Canard Zone Admin Now: Rebuilding Quickie Tri-Q200 N479E Next: Resume building a Cozy Mark IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSBWingHome Posted March 12, 2007 Author Share Posted March 12, 2007 This is the third time trying to reply...... I think I have it now. The numbers for the head rest came from page 8-1. Like I said, close is OK for building but it does not work for modeling. Examples: The small base is 2.7" x 6.9" it models better at 2.7" x 6.6" The side pieces are 12.7" tall, they work better if 13.3". I will attempt to add several pictures. Solidworks allows me to save views as JPG's. I do plan to start a folder on the club web page for this project. The UAV with the tube fusalage at one time did have a camera in the nose with a pan and tilt. Last May I left the UAV lab and went to the Materials lab where my experience in composites was needed. I now do rapid prototyping and experimental fabrication of composites. Maybe some day I will do the research to see if the Long-EZ is better built with S-Glass like 6781 rather than the BID in use today. Now for the pictures... The first should show the parts assembled as per page 8-1. The second with the new adjusted dimensions, and the third after smoothing all the surfaces. I still need to figure out how to offset the surface to show the glass build up. Also, I have attached a shot of the rear bulkhead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSBWingHome Posted March 12, 2007 Author Share Posted March 12, 2007 I never did answer the part about sharing. I will share my files as they are completed. I hope they will be reviewed by others and I will make changes as required. I did have this idea to create a cad file of all the templates so that anyone could take/send them to someone with a laser cutter. The cuts would be very smooth and very accurate. It's an idea I will pursue as time allows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashdog Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 RSB, Thanks for your work! I tried to do some drawings from the plans using Rhino, and discovered much the same problem, all over the airplane. I gave up and decided I would draw a shape I wanted, rather than spend a bunch of time drawing an accurate model from an imprecise set of plans, since I was interested in evolving the design somewhat anyway. I am developing an evolution of the design, and am doing a virtual build in CAD as a first step. By this, I mean that I am building 3d models of the fuselage and airfoil shapes, bulkheads, spars, engines, etc. This means separate models of the foam parts, the skins and spars based on the laminate schedules, the metalwork, the control systems, etc. Its a pretty big project and it may bog down. I am about 40% in. I am not sure if all plans-built aircraft plans are as loose as the long-ez and cozy derivatives, but if they are, it explains why more are not being built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Zeitlin Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I am not sure if all plans-built aircraft plans are as loose as the long-ez and cozy derivatives, but if they are, it explains why more are not being built.If you think these plans are imprecise and "loose", you should take a look at what the state of the art was before Rutan started producing plans for aircraft. These are two orders of magnitude better. Quote Marc J. Zeitlin Burnside Aerospace marc_zeitlin@alum.mit.edu www.cozybuilders.org copyright © 2024 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashdog Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 If you think these plans are imprecise and "loose", you should take a look at what the state of the art was before Rutan started producing plans for aircraft. These are two orders of magnitude better. Yah, I was afraid of that. My experience with this whole thing is sort of like that first course in Calculus at university. When I was taking it, I wanted the most complete and thorough description available. A few years later, when I was teaching it, I had difficulty understanding why the students wanted such a thorough description, since it was so simple to me. Right now, I am that first year student, and I want a full and complete picture of the design. All you guys who have actually built and/or designed are like the PhDs, and find my quest for completeness just a little boring! Of course, my experience in physics and math was that because I was nerdy and worked hard to get a more complete understanding on my own, outside of the classroom, I ended up way ahead by the end of it. Maybe the same thing will happen here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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