Kent's Long-EZ project

[Kent Ashton]

FYI, here is a chart of my cholesterol, hope you find this interesting.   The thing to notice is that I had my first heart attack in 2007 and went on statins.  From 2007 to 2020 my numbers were just what the docs like to see--low Total C. and LDL, in fact, my GP at that time wrote "Great numbers" on one lab report.  The average of them is shown in line 37.   Then I had another H.A.in 2020.  Now, it was partly my own fault.  I was 35# overweight, did not exercise regularly but I rather naively thought the statin and eating a good diet would protect me.  We always ate good food but we loved our bread and carbs.  However, since going on the LCHF diet, I have lost 25 pounds, dropped the statins (my own decision), and see a major change in my bloodwork.  HbA1c (sugar in the blood) has come down but could be better.  Cholesterol has gone up but I am within the new standards I have read about.  I could still have an APOe4 genotype or LP(a) that can hurt me.  The APOe4 problem is pretty rare but 25% of the population has LP(a)--a bad form of LDL.

What I want to see is my HbA1c below 5.0 if I can get there, Trigs below 100, HDL greater than or equal to Trigs (I am way off there).   It is expected to see a rise in Total-C and LDL.  With only one test since I started (the last one), the result is still inconclusive but the weight loss is encouraging.

Recommending two books:  "Cholesterol Clarity" by Jimmy Moore, and "The Clot Thickens" by Malcolm Hendrick.   Lots more good talks at the Youtube channel "Low Carb Down Under".  PM me if you want to discuss

[Kent Ashton]

I have changed my pitch trim a half-dozen times.   I tore out the Cozy's electric motor idea shown earlier in this topic.  It complicated removing the canard and I was always putting my hand on the trim switch aft of the throttles and running the trim to the extreme, where it would jam.  Search back and you will see my installation in the EZ which worked the same but was easier to install and disconnect.  I am happy with the piano-spring Davenport spring but the EZ's spring installation was easier to install on the torque tube.

This geometry (pic) is about right for my short Cozy springs.  I only have to move the trim lever about 3/4" to trim for two people or solo.  It could easily be used with the regular fiberglass Davenport spring.  Cozys are not sensitive to pitch trim.  I will often set it once and not move it again for that flight.

I have lost 30 lbs on my LCHF diet and figured I should re-check my ballast and stall characteristics.  With 40 lbs of lead shot just ahead of the rudder pedals, it will fly level at 55 KIAS and show a canard stall at about 50-52 KIAS (uncalibrated).   I think this is a little closer to a wing-stall condition than before but there is good warning from the pitch forces and nose-high attitude.  Probably fine to fly around at 55-60 if one is smooth with the controls.  My former approach speed was 70-75 KIAS solo-dual.  I think I can reduce that to 65-70 solo-dual.   At KRUQ yesterday, solo, with light winds on R/W 2, (pic) I could turn off at taxiway G with medium braking which I often sailed past before.   That's 2109 feet.  That's about as short a landing as I can expect and I need to thicken my cushion to see better over the nose to do that.

A lot depends on having clear approaches.  It is tricky to duck over trees, especially when you can't see the tree tops.  🙂

BTW, are you aware that terminology-wise, this runway is not "Zero Two".  It is just runway "Two".  I hear "02" a lot but there is no "0" with the number.  I always think "rookie" when I hear someone call it 02.  🙂

[mquinn6]

Interesting trim design.  Wonder if anyone makes nylock wingnuts.... (is that a spring under the wingnut to apply pressure on the washer?)

I am having fun sealing tanks now...  Hope to get it on the second shot!

So I guess "Tin can November one two three four frank taxi 4 runway oh too, will be taking it after a brief runnup" REALLY gets your eye twitching!

[Kent Ashton]

17 minutes ago, mquinn6 said:

Interesting trim design.  Wonder if anyone makes nylock wingnuts.... (is that a spring under the wingnut to apply pressure on the washer?)I am having fun sealing tanks now...  Hope to get it on the second shot!

Yes, a spring.  It takes more friction to hold the elevator down, heavily loaded, slow speed.   I thought your tanks were already closed up.

[Kent Ashton]

From the catalog of bad ideas:  Saw an EZ heavily damaged when the wind ripped tiedowns out of winglets.  It appears there was nothing really holding them in the winglet.

Nat's hole through the wing spar & winglet layups works for me.  A loop of rope over the winglet is probably OK, too.  I do not like the tiedowns which hinge down from a wing attach bolt.  It seems to me that wind-under-the-wing could exert a lot of leverage at that point and rip out what was put in the ground.

The Facebook sites are always having people ask where to find Long-Ez plans and builder's manuals.  Of course, they are all found at this site in the Open-ez topic, free for download.   Help them out.  I do not patronize FB.

[mquinn6]

When I see this sort of change from the plan - (and in this case proven not to be a good solution) - I wonder how much of the rest of the plane had deviations like this.  

 

[Marc Zeitlin]

2 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

From the catalog of bad ideas:  Saw an EZ heavily damaged when the wind ripped tiedowns out of winglets.  It appears there was nothing really holding them in the winglet.

While I have seen decent implementations of tie downs embedded in the lower winglet, this was obviously not one of those.

 

2 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

I do not like the tiedowns which hinge down from a wing attach bolt.  It seems to me that wind-under-the-wing could exert a lot of leverage at that point and rip out what was put in the ground.

The wing attach bolt tiedowns (colloquially known as "DuBois style", after the first implementer), are the most robust of all the tiedown schemes. They attach to the most structurally robust point in the whole airplane - the point where the wings attach to the strake. They do not compromise the wing spar or winglet attach area, as the holes through the spar near the tip do (and that's from the LE (and maybe VE) plans - Nat did not invent it) and they don't compromise the integrity of the Trailing Edge in high winds, as the rope over the whole wing/winglet area do. They don't put bending point loads on the wing, as a wingtip tie-down does. They have no extra drag or aerodynamic affect, and are aesthetically invisible. And with an airplane that can rock side to side, the closer to the fuselage the tiedown is, the lower the force on the ground attachment will be.

All in all, the best solution. IMNSHO, of course.

[Kent Ashton]

22 minutes ago, Marc Zeitlin said:

they don't compromise the integrity of the Trailing Edge in high winds, as the rope over the whole wing/winglet area do. They don't put bending point loads on the wing, as a wingtip tie-down does. They have no extra drag or aerodynamic affect, and are aesthetically invisible.

And with an airplane that can rock side to side, the closer to the fuselage the tiedown is, the lower the force on the ground attachment will be.

I agree about the rope-over-the wing/winglet but not the last statement.  EZ/Cozys  on the nose are pretty stable but it would seem that an EZ in a windstorm with winds blowing from the tail-quarter could lift a wing and the lifting force would have 10 or 12 feet of leverage on a ground tie-down at the wing bolt.  I doubt the part on the airplane would fail but it might pull out a ground tiedown.    I do not find any standard dimensions for airport-installed tie downs but they are often pretty far apart especially if sized for larger aircraft.  I would rather have my ropes close over the tiedown point.    I use the hole-in-the-spar&winglet-overlaps with a steel insert in the hole and large washers on top. 

[Kent Ashton]

I was just reviewing the medical record for my brother who had blockages of his coronary arteries, had a coronary bypass , seemed to be doing well, and died 16 months later in his car after leaving his gym.    50 years old.  STRESS, my friends.  What killed him was stress and it almost got me, too.  He managed his own clinic, worked 10-12 hour days, hired all the staff and filed all the insurance (without any computer).   He was overweight and divorced; he probably did not eat well but his bypass was successful; he had slimmed down and exercised often.  He looked good, seemed healthy, however, he did not reduce his stress and 16 months later he was dead.  His cholesterol numbers were OK; HDL was low but otherwise within modern standards.

If you are a middle-aged person, perhaps with markers of metabolic syndrome (overweight, hypertensive, high HbA1c, under stress, low HDL),  https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/metabolic-syndrome  get a Coronary Calcium Scan.  It is a cheap ($100-200) CT scan that looks at calcium buildup in the coronary arteries.  The calcium comes after repairing arterial damage due to stress, smoking, poor eating, etc.  A low score means you will likely never have coronary artery disease.  A high score (400+) means you ought to change something.   https://www.umms.org/ummc/health-services/imaging/diagnostic/cardiac-calcium-scoring

The docs and drug companies do not favor this simple test because it makes no money and it eliminates a host of people who have no likelihood of CAD but it is a good warning for those who do, warning them to change their lifestyle.

I wish I could have helped my brother but I did not know then what I know now.  PM me if you have questions.

 

 

[mquinn6]

https://www.wordgenius.com/words/canard - I was not familiar with the first definition... I am now -->  <-- this much smarter...

 

[Kent Ashton]

I saw this tip from Vic Syracuse on the VansAirForce site.  Makes sense

Quote

A quick test [for an intake leak], if you have a 4-cylinder EGT gauge, is to pull power back to idle while on base leg or final. Watch the EGT's. They should all go DOWN. If any or all of them increase, you have intake leaks.

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by Kent Ashton

[Kent Ashton]

Saw this today, inflight parachute deployment:  No engine turning, that I can see.  Watch to the end.  Pilot stumbles out.  Cameraman not very helpful.  😞
 

https://www.itemfix.com/v?t=jgssqt

Another Link to the story  https://www.aviation24.be/miscellaneous/accidents/pilot-deploys-parachute-on-which-light-aircraft-crash-lands-in-bruges-belgium/

Edited July 17, 2022 by Kent Ashton

[mquinn6]

People are more interested in being cinematographers than being decent humans and helping a fellow human.  See it WAY too often.  It is a sad world we live in....   PUT DOWN THE CAMERA AND HELP FIRST!!!!

Edited July 18, 2022 by mquinn6

[Kent Ashton]

Chap on FB complaining of high CHTs (pic).  His upper side silicone baffles flop the wrong way and are probably releasing a lot of the plenum pressure.  Large gaps seen at the corners--those are  not good.  Also, I wonder about the high aluminum structure aft of the cylinders.  I seems to close off a lot of exit area.

[Kent Ashton]

Observations from Oshkosh:  Lower turnout than I've seen in the past.  My hall in the non-A/C dorms only had two rooms occupied.  Wx was beautiful, cool and clear the two days I was there.  EZ and Cozy turnout was OK but the general homebuilt parking down in front was only about 3/5ths full.   LOTs of RVs with beautiful paint jobs--sort of boring, though.  Lots of people eyeing the new RV-15 prototype.

I did not see as many of the homebuilt equipment/engines/kits sellers as before.  For example, Bede had a BD-4 frame but did not come with any of their other designs.  Alturair, which has faithfully appeared for years and years with their display of BD-5 components, was absent.  Aeromomentum was there with engines but I do not recall any others.  The Yamaha-based engines are interesting.  I did not see a Miller welding exhibit--surprising.  Nobody bending sheet metal or building props that I saw.  Saw about 6, maybe 8, aeronautical school and college exhibitors--an indication of how pilots are needed.

Shame that no one is pushing the Cozy/EZ/Varieze anymore.  There must be many people interested but no one to really point them in the right direction.  (Idea for next time:  set up a simple canard exhibit by an airplane discussing where to get Cozy and Open-EZ/Open-Varieze plans.  That could be a lot of fun.)  Good turnout of ultra-light exhibitors.  I was interested to see Air Command gyros has a new owner pushing them again.  The rest look pretty expensive for what your get.  Saw lots of powered parachute vehicles but I am leary of them.

Huge, and I mean HUGE turnout of commercial aircraft exhibitors selling everything from biz-jets to helicopters.  Saw a couple of electric prototypes--ugly as heck.  The military/commercial/non-experimental /vintage presence has made homebuilding a small part of the show these days.   The F-35 put on a LOUD display but no vertical landing.   I saw four of them parked on the Whitman FBO side but they didn't have one in the military area when I was there.  Read a couple days ago that they were grounded for an ejection seat problem.  Maybe that's why.  A soft-serve ice-cream is up to $5.  $6 with a waffle cone.  🙂

The Bally Bomber (1/3 scale B-17) was crunched.  I read it had a gear collapse,  nose turret was dinged, two inboard props removed and a cylinder removed.  There was a sign saying for "purchase".   Sad.  That was about the only special homebuilt featured near the EAA Arch.  I have a friend interested in the Thorp T-18.  I took a look at some of them but the cockpit is so deep it's like sitting in a hole.  I don't know how you taxi those things.  Since returning, I read about many landing ground-loop incidents on Kathryn's Report and a taxiing RV that over-ran another RV and chopped up his tail.

EAA had a nice tent and fenced area for Lifetime Members but it looked pretty empty when I passed by.

Going, I had to divert into Greenwood, Indiana for a couple hours, then go around some wx west of Chicago that just refused to move out of the way.  It was a long day but the wx was great coming home and we logged a 3.7 chock-to-chock from Kenosha back to N.C at about 7.56 gph for 541nm (with no bladder stops!).  Total of 67 gallons both ways at about $7/gallon.  I am thinking a 4 gph Varieze would be a good project.

BTW,  with regard to the post above, on the way up, I noticed #1 and #3 getting hotter than usual.  Sure enough, I had mounted the upper cowl with one side of the silicone baffles flopped in the wrong direction.

Edited August 1, 2022 by Kent Ashton

[Kent Ashton]

I noticed that Klaus had an interesting cuff taped to this wing/strake joint.  Did not have a chance to ask him about it.  Also, with his carbon-fiber (covered?) prop he had extended the wood core at the inboard leading edge to make a wider blade and shaved off the trailing edge.  The blade thickness at the flanges appeared to be standard. 

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Kent Ashton

[Voidhawk9]

Is that a cuff on the wing, or a transition piece between new strakes / old wing? I presume he came without the new short-span wings?

[mquinn6]

20 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

Observations from Oshkosh:  Lower turnout than I've seen in the past.  My hall in the non-A/C dorms only had two rooms occupied.  Wx was beautiful, cool and clear the two days I was there.  EZ and Cozy turnout was OK but the general homebuilt parking down in front was only about 3/5ths full.   LOTs of RVs with beautiful paint jobs--sort of boring, though.  Lots of people eyeing the new RV-15 prototype.

I did not see as many of the homebuilt equipment/engines/kits sellers as before.  For example, Bede had a BD-4 frame but did not come with any of their other designs.  Alturair, which has faithfully appeared for years and years with their display of BD-5 components, was absent.  Aeromomentum was there with engines but I do not recall any others.  The Yamaha-based engines are interesting.  I did not see a Miller welding exhibit--surprising.  Nobody bending sheet metal or building props that I saw.  Saw about 6, maybe 8, aeronautical school and college exhibitors--an indication of how pilots are needed.

Shame that no one is pushing the Cozy/EZ/Varieze anymore.  There must be many people interested but no one to really point them in the right direction.  (Idea for next time:  set up a simple canard exhibit by an airplane discussing where to get Cozy and Open-EZ/Open-Varieze plans.  That could be a lot of fun.)  Good turnout of ultra-light exhibitors.  I was interested to see Air Command gyros has a new owner pushing them again.  The rest look pretty expensive for what your get.  Saw lots of powered parachute vehicles but I am leary of them.

Huge, and I mean HUGE turnout of commercial aircraft exhibitors selling everything from biz-jets to helicopters.  Saw a couple of electric prototypes--ugly as heck.  The military/commercial/non-experimental /vintage presence has made homebuilding a small part of the show these days.   The F-35 put on a LOUD display but no vertical landing.   I saw four of them parked on the Whitman FBO side but they didn't have one in the military area when I was there.  Read a couple days ago that they were grounded for an ejection seat problem.  Maybe that's why.  A soft-serve ice-cream is up to $5.  $6 with a waffle cone.  🙂

The Bally Bomber (1/3 scale B-17) was crunched.  I read it had a gear collapse,  nose turret was dinged, two inboard props removed and a cylinder removed.  There was a sign saying for "purchase".   Sad.  That was about the only special homebuilt featured near the EAA Arch.  I have a friend interested in the Thorp T-18.  I took a look at some of them but the cockpit is so deep it's like sitting in a hole.  I don't know how you taxi those things.  Since returning, I read about many landing ground-loop incidents on Kathryn's Report and a taxiing RV that over-ran another RV and chopped up his tail.

EAA had a nice tent and fenced area for Lifetime Members but it looked pretty empty when I passed by.

Going, I had to divert into Greenwood, Indiana for a couple hours, then go around some wx west of Chicago that just refused to move out of the way.  It was a long day but the wx was great coming home and we logged a 3.7 chock-to-chock from Kenosha back to N.C at about 7.56 gph for 541nm (with no bladder stops!).  Total of 67 gallons both ways at about $7/gallon.  I am thinking a 4 gph Varieze would be a good project.

BTW,  with regard to the post above, on the way up, I noticed #1 and #3 getting hotter than usual.  Sure enough, I had mounted the upper cowl with one side of the silicone baffles flopped in the wrong direction.

It greatly saddens me the focus AWAY from the "E" in Experimental with the NEED to make money...   I often challenge chapters to review the 5 top significant things they have done in the last year and explain how ANY of that has anything to do with "Experimental Aircraft"....  Corporate growth and greed seem to be the underlying focus as far as I can tell.

They had a HUGE number of employees did leave EAA this year (not due to old age - but from frustration of direction) and a new generation (younger) have filled the spots.  There were a LOT of subtle changes at OSH including the overall layout and costing for vendors (much cheaper to bring your own free standing than have a hanger booth).  Shell was on the field (had to get my cow poster, even though I use Philips and cam guard in all my planes now).  I think they may have the prerequisite that you fly an electric plane in for next year or you will not be allowed in....

The Vari-Vigan was there - Jet Guys have locked the gear for safety - but glad to see it going.  There is supposed to be a guy in Charlotte, NC that is making one fly (have you heard of this Kent?).    They say it was painful to fly formation the whole trip with the long-ez as the speeds were QUITE different...    

Had record number of airplanes and people this year - I know vintage was 110% full on Sunday by noon o'clock.   Saturday night fireworks were great - the flying the airplane thru the fireworks (or near) made me a little uneasy - but if they could do it in the wonderwoman movie with a jet... guess it was deemed safe...

I am playing with both the Phazer and Apex engine options (maybe the Apex on a Vari?!? (will probably finish it with the o-200 and learn how to fly it first then convert))   Teal (guy who does the full gear box) seems to be very careful and focused on making what he does as solid and reliable (more engineering talk than marketing).  Biggest drawback is the clutch system (limits the kind of oil - as well as a strange taxi conditions (free spinning prop below 2300 rpm).  Cruse at 6200 rpm I think he said is the sweet spot for THIS Yamaha engine.  Has been flying the heck out of his RV6 and Steve Henry with that Highlander STOL (he cannot be beat!  Cannot think of a more abusive load on a gear box shy of aerobatics!)  Sourcing the engine is a bit problematic - found a guy that will put you on the list if anyone is interested.

I got "trapped" by weather on the return trip - had to spend the night in KTEL.  A VERY accommodating airport - he found hanger space for the 6 airplanes and had courtesy car and bedding and even frozen meals at the FBO.  Could not have picked a better stopping place for certain!!!

Edited August 2, 2022 by mquinn6

[bmckinney10]

21 minutes ago, mquinn6 said:

It greatly saddens me the focus AWAY from the "E" in Experimental with the NEED to make money...   I often challenge chapters to review the 5 top significant things they have done in the last year and explain how ANY of that has anything to do with "Experimental Aircraft"....  Corporate growth and greed seem to be the underlying focus as far as I can tell.

...

 

I have tried to not complain too much about the changes at Oshkosh because it is still a great aviation event that I get to see a massive amount of planes and connect with like-minded airplane guys, BUT, I get more aggravated as years go by.  This year they had ONE Homebuilt showcase flyby on Tuesday with about 12 planes who each got to fly one lap.  They should have one EVERY DAY before the start of the airshow.  I recall there used to be the something similar to this not that long ago.

As I watched thousands of people walk in the main gates each day, I wondered if they understood what the EAA acronym stands for.  You are greeted initially by multi-million dollar airplanes on the main path that many could never afford.

I usually spending a few hours a day hanging out by my VariEze on EZ Street with the canopy open and talking to people.  Next year, please stop by and introduce yourself.  It is always fun to meet fellow EZ people on this forum!

 

[Kent Ashton]

16 hours ago, Voidhawk9 said:

Is that a cuff on the wing, or a transition piece between new strakes / old wing? I presume he came without the new short-span wings?

It appeared to be taped into place.  I couldn't tell if it straddled the strake-wing joint.

Haven't heard about any new short wing span?  Tell us more.  His wings appeared normal length.

[Kent Ashton]

One of the dumbest things I have heard lately from FB folks talking about Cozys and forward CG, i.e., adding weight at the centerspar to offset a forward CG (pic) and getting two "thumbs up".  The airplane is already heavier with two people in front, then you add another 20-40? pounds of unneeded weight?    The centerspar is only inches aft of the aircraft center of gravity so there is very little effect.  The only rationale I can see for it is that you want to drop off a pax and move the ballast up front for the next solo flight.  However, I have flown my Cozy solo with no ballast but I was careful not to over-rotate on takeoff, not to get slower than my usual final approach speed, and to land a bit faster than normal, trying, of course, not to get so slow as to induce a wing stall (and I weighed 225 lbs at the time).   If you ever think you might try that, you might check that you have enough elevator trim to counteract the lighter nose.  Man, that airplane was responsive!

Forward CG in a canard airplane is more of a suggested limit.  The aircraft will fly with a CG well-forward of that recommended but it will take longer to rotate and probably need to land land a bit faster than you are used to because it will lose canard effectiveness earlier.   I flew my Cozy III with 450# in the front seat a couple of times which put it well-forward of Nat's recommended limit (350?) .  I did not do like to do that routinely because I was afraid I would land faster in an off-airport landing situation and the energy to dissipate in the crash is the velocity squared.

Edited August 2, 2022 by Kent Ashton

[mquinn6]

1 hour ago, bmckinney10 said:

 

I have tried to not complain too much about the changes at Oshkosh because it is still a great aviation event that I get to see a massive amount of planes and connect with like-minded airplane guys, BUT, I get more aggravated as years go by.  This year they had ONE Homebuilt showcase flyby on Tuesday with about 12 planes who each got to fly one lap.  They should have one EVERY DAY before the start of the airshow.  I recall there used to be the something similar to this not that long ago.

As I watched thousands of people walk in the main gates each day, I wondered if they understood what the EAA acronym stands for.  You are greeted initially by multi-million dollar airplanes on the main path that many could never afford.

I usually spending a few hours a day hanging out by my VariEze on EZ Street with the canopy open and talking to people.  Next year, please stop by and introduce yourself.  It is always fun to meet fellow EZ people on this forum!

 

Might have talked with you,  I never miss a chance to poke my head in EZ planes and chat with the pilots.  It was nice to see 3-4 Vari this year.  HOPE to get mine up next year!  (hope + lots of work will get me there!!!).   Only way we can get "E" back in EAA is to raise our voice and be heard.  I think the best web site (aside from this one of course 😉 ) is the https://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/  .   There are a lot of type specific (like vans) that are very active - but have a very vertical focus.   

I miss Paul P!!!!!!

M.

[longez360]

21 hours ago, Voidhawk9 said:

Is that a cuff on the wing, or a transition piece between new strakes / old wing? I presume he came without the new short-span wings?

New wings. 

[Voidhawk9]

Thanks Wayne.

The new wing has shorter span, two-segment (spanwise) ailerons, and a new laminar section. Still a WIP.

He definitely has the old wings on at Osh, I have seen other photos now.

[Kent Ashton]

Seen on our FB friends:  What would you do with this prop (pics)?.  Appears it has sat a while outdoors and rotted some of the wood.  Dumb, because a prop cover is easy to make.  Anyway,  the smaller dings can be repaired with micro.  No telling what the prop will look like when removed but I think I would remove the rotten wood and build up the area with flox or flox and a wedge of new wood  if it was no more than what is seen in the pics.  As long as there is plenty of wood left  to clamp the prop between the flange and the [other piece, the name of which eludes my elderly mind at the moment], I think it would be OK.   I would guess there is plenty of wood  left in the hub to clamp it properly and resist any loosening or failure.  It would probably change the balance but it can be rebalanced.  Also, before I would throw away a $2000 prop I would think about glassing it, as discussed before in this thread.  I doubt any professional prop builder is going to yellow-tag a prop like this so you gotta decide for yourself.  Looks like maybe a Great American prop to me.  Good props but no longer in business.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Kent Ashton