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RZ-1 Single seat canard.


RaptorAirWorks

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Hello all!

I had received an e-mail from Kent Ashton asking if I would be interested in posting my project here.  So I thought I would give it a shot. I will say right up front that this is very different from the Rutan canards your used to. The "Why" is simple...Because. :) 

I hired an engineer to help me with the design and  have been working on it for a while and it still has some time to go. 

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Excellent, Keith, and you are much further along than your pics show above.  I hope you will just keep the FB page as a place-holder and put the rest of your project here where real canard builders are interested in it and can track the progress.  ?  I am linking to the FB page which has many more pics.  https://www.facebook.com/pg/Raptorairworks

Do you have an estimate yet what it's going to weigh compared to the Varieze?

It looks as if you will have room for a second seat.  Possible?

37095898_1878367142213254_7115644272593862656_n.jpg

-Kent
Cozy IV N13AM-750 hrs, Long-EZ-85 hrs and sold

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3 hours ago, AlwaysEZ said:

Great looking build! Can't wait to see future posts. Just wanted to ask why you are building from a mold? Do you plan to sell parts or a kit in the future?

When I started I was thinking about kits, but lets see how it flys. I think I am going to build more than one for sure. 

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22 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

Excellent, Keith, and you are much further along than your pics show above.  I hope you will just keep the FB page as a place-holder and put the rest of your project here where real canard builders are interested in it and can track the progress.  ?  I am linking to the FB page which has many more pics.  https://www.facebook.com/pg/Raptorairworks

Do you have an estimate yet what it's going to weigh compared to the Varieze?

It looks as if you will have room for a second seat.  Possible?

37095898_1878367142213254_7115644272593862656_n.jpg

Thanks!

 

You let the cat out of the bag too soon :)

Weight with the O290 was going to hit around 690 but with the Honda/Viking it is looking to be about 720. It is a little heavy but I guess all prototypes are? I know where to cut the weight on the next one. But I will say that my seat is 25#, it was an extravagant addition...

8231_blu14.jpg.e0ba02db97b82d2073d689e769fd02b6.jpg

As far as a second seat... my thoughts are that there is a LE for that so why not resurrect the VE as a single. The pilot seat is 8" aft and the fuel is behind the pilot seat, 18 gallons with room for 30 total. the strakes are empty. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
33 minutes ago, Kent Ashton said:

All Very interesting, Keith.  So it looks like you could have a two-seater if you removed the tank. 

What is your ultimate goal for this aircraft?  To just build a one-off?  Sell plans?  Fly around the world?

Well the frame is only 12" where the GIB's shoulders would be so making it a two seat plane would require major modifications. Right now I see the plane as a concept demonstrator. There are things I want to try out so the modular construction will allow me to try different things. I don't think there is a need for a tandem two seat plane that is just marginally smaller than the LE. In this single seat configuration, 200# lighter than the LE and with 130 fuel injected HP from the most technically advanced engine in experimental aviation,  I think it will be a hot rod. The next version could be without strakes or perhaps put the engine in front of the spar an have a single seat E-Racer. 

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