Buying Long EZ kit and have questions

[notafakename]

Hello Everyone!

I am heavily considering buying a mostly completed Long EZ kit that I hope to put finish and fly myself. so to set the scene a little bit, I just got my private pilots licence a few weeks ago and I've been looking at the long EZ or vari EZ for cross country flying and something i can take people on flights. I like the Long EZ for its looks, speed and efficiency and this project i found seems like a sweet deal. I dont have much experience working on kit planes but i am in no rush and am excited to learn about the process. Also I am apart of my local EAA chapter and there are a lot of experienced guys who can help me out.

A little more on the kit, the aircraft was worked on by a guy named Bob Holliston who i understand has built two Long EZ's previously and is pretty involved in the community. The kit is about 95% completed and is estimated to need less than a months work to get up in the air. the engine is an O-320-d3G at 160 hp, and the whole kit thing is being sold for a pretty great price. I am looking forsomething i can start working on during my free time while i go to school so theres no rush to get this thing up in the air. 

 

Some of the questions that i have are,

- What kind of spin characteristics can i expect from this kind of airframe? Ive looked around a lot online but i dont find much about spins. 

- How much might i expect to pay in an annual?

- what kind of insurance options are there? I have less than 100 hours and no time in the long ez

- Do i need to get transition training to fly this? if so how would i go about getting that?

- The max weight for the long EZ is 1350lbs, this thing empty is coming in at about 1080lbs. is there a way i can increase the max weight so that i can take passengers and fuel on longer trips?

- once it is built, what can i expect with the process of testing and registration.

 

Anyway I am sure i will have a lot more questions as time goes on. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

 

[Kent Ashton]

Welcome to the world of Experimental airplanes, my friend.  Long-ezs do not spin.  I suggest reading the Wikipedia entry for long-ez.  Also search google for LONG-EZ OWNERS MANUAL or POH (pilot operations handbook).

[EDIT - the two sites mentioned in this paragraph have left the building   😞   ]  There are three canard forums for EZ-type airplanes.  Two are inactive but they all have SEARCH boxes where you can find answers to questions:   _This_site_ which is active,  http://forum.canardaviation.com/  and  http://canardcommunity.com/  the last two are inactive but have lots of info.

For more current information on insurance, annuals, transitions, checkouts, I suggest you look at  https://canardzone.groups.io/g/canard-aviators   and search the posts for those topics.  That is an old and active discussion group.  The builders and owners of Cozys are also very active and talk about the similar things.   Start here  http://www.cozybuilders.org/  and search their builder/owner discussion here   https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!forum/cozy_builders

The Experimental Aircraft Association has good discussions on registering and testing Exp. airplanes.  For example, try a search like this  SITE:EAA.ORG REGISTERING.

There are piles of other sites for canard airplanes   https://www.canardzone.com/forums/topic/32503-a-heapin-helpin-of-builder-links/

I hope that gives you enough to get started learning about these airplanes.  If no one answers your specific questions, I will give it a go later on.  Cheers.

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Kent Ashton

[A Bruce Hughes]

Hi Whoeveryouare

Yes, the Longeze and other canards (and my Ercoupe) do not stall and spin.    If you don't give them enough fuel, they lose altitude of course.    I suggest that you get a ride in one.   I have no idea where Brandyn, CA might be but there must be some canard pilots/owners close by.   Is you join the Central States Association you will get a directory (Jan. 2020 issue).    There were 138 issues of a the newsletter last October when the long time editor passed the newsletter preparation to others.   It was $35 per year which is the value of the directory alone and you get 4 newsletters besides.  Some of the back issues should be available from Terry Schubert at "JSchuber@juno.com"     I have not seen any of the new ones because I am away from home.   Anyway some CA guy should read this and tell you who is closest to you.    I believe the CA state rep is David Orr (he was last Oct).   Call him at 949-939-1479. 

[Jon Matcho]

You can subscribe to the CSA/COBA here:  https://canardowners.com/

The magazine was recently handed over from Terry Schubert to new owners, which gave the printed version a long overdue upgrade to a color format. There's something special about receiving a canard-specific magazine in the mail.