Kent Ashton

The surfaces have been cleaned off but the pits in the last picture are the start of intergranular corrosion. Google 2024 corrosion and you will see pics of that pitting and how it is working its way into the metal. Those pieces might last a while but the corrosion process has a good start. Why install them on a new build?

This AM on Barnstormers. I did not have time to search for more info LONG EZ • ACCEPTING OFFERS • Selling Long EZ aircraft. It needs work! The aircraft took a hard landing gear was folding on impact. A replacement main landing gear will be included. The motor type 290, prop broken after the gear folded. Air frame and Engine Logs provided. The aircraft is not registered. The aircraft needs repairs to be airworthy. All offers considered. • Contact Douglas Wilson, Owner - located Wellsville, NY United States • Telephone: 585-610-9999 • 585-593-4930 • Posted July 3, 2019

Jon, I wonder why you want to widen the rear of a Cozy IV. It is not really a 4-seater unless the pax are kids and kids wouldn’t care. It causes all kinds of problems like requiring custom cowls and resizing bulkheads. Maybe a custom engine mount would be needed You might have to revise the curve of the jigs for the sides. i have only flown a person in the back seat once.

I have not seen any lately. Here are some posts about making them Maybe you get a machinist to make 5-10 sets and sell the others. http://www.ez.org/smf/index.php?topic=5374.0 https://www.canardzone.com/forums/topic/17913-question-for-varieze-ownersbuilders-concerning-wing-attach-plates/?do=findComment&comment=21269 Try contacting David Orr at canardfinder@worldnet.att.net. He has had them or might know who is making them.

I copied these pics off a VansAirForce discussion about metal found in the oil filter (Hat tip: Dan Horton). I have not thought about "shared cam lobes" before but it's pretty obvious that some are shared by just looking at the top of the engine. Sure enough, the O-360 parts manual shows 5 cam lobes for a 4 cylinder engine. It makes sense that those would show the most spalling. It would be nice to know how my 700 hour engine is doing. When I rebuilt an O-320 with about 1800 hours, the spalling was not as bad as shown here but I still had to replace most of the lifters and the cam. Very expensive part, that cam.

It's OK doc. I am better now. Feel free to delete the post

Jon gave me permission to go a little off topic (right Jon?) so I want to talk about the debt, bitcoin, and gold and see if I can say something you might not have thought about. Pic 1 is from USDebtClock.org. The national debt is up to $22.4 TRILLION dollars growing over $1T per year. It is the same all over the world. Down at the bottom is a block called "unfunded liability per U.S. taxpayer" current running $1,014,000. I have watched this number often in the past few years as grew from $800K to over a $1million. It cannot go on. Can you imagine every married couple coughing up $2,028,000? "What cannot be paid, will not be paid", they say. But in fact, it WILL be paid but with inflated, worthless dollars. We will all get our Social Security, I will get my military retirement but it will be worth less and less. The official rate of inflation will be jiggered as it was in the '90s to show slower cost-of-living increases. It is the way every country solves this sort of dilemma. The currency is allowed and encouraged to become worth less and less until sometimes you carry in it wheelbarrows, then they arbitrarily cut 000's off the currency and a $1000 debt becomes a $1 debt. (pic 2) Good for the government and people who owe money, bad for the lender who is owed the debt. To protect yourself from the inevitable, you must own something of lasting value that will go up to offset the declining value of your dollars: Gold, Silver, land, houses, etc. We see this trend today: Rents are going through the roof as a result of inflation. Corporations and house-flippers are using cheap dollars being loaned at ultra-low interest rates to buy houses to rent. The house-buyers know they will be able to pay off their loans down the road in worth-less dollars while raising rents. They are protecting themselves from hyperinflation (somewhat). I say "somewhat" because hyperinflation is a raging contagion that affects everyone. What about Bitcoin? Peter Schiff points out that people buy Bitcoin as a speculation but it has no real use except to drug-dealers. No one sells Bitcoin if they believe it will go up in value. (No one sold Dutch tulips when it appeared they would never stop going up in value, either.) No one is actually paid in Bitcoin. They may convert a dollar salary into Bitcoin and pay it in Bitcoin but the wage-rate is denominated in dollars. No employer wants to commit to paying a person two Bitcoins per year (currently 2 BC equals about $20K) when Bitcoin could double. No employee would want to see his 2 Bitcoins/$20K salary become worth $10K and take a 50% pay cut. As a store of real value, Bitcoin is vaporware. Talk of that solid gold/platinum astroid out there beyond Mars has disturbed me but I am sure in my lifetime, we will only have the gold that is mined on Earth. The value of one ounce of gold is still about what it was in 1913 while a dollar today only buys 3 or 4 cents of what it would buy in 1913. 1913 is significant because it was the date of creating of the Federal Reserve. For years and years before 1913, a $20 gold coin was worth about $20 in purchasing power. Today it is worth $1350. http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/capital21c/xls/RawDataFiles/GoldPrices17922012.pdf Compare pic 2 to pic 3. Project that gold price line about four or five times higher than it appears on pic 3. It could easily happen and I bet it will happen. I often think how this will end before falling asleep. Will it come to a head in my lifetime? Historically, these reckonings happen abruptly: the Tulip bubble, the South Seas bubble, the tech stock bubble of the late 1980s, the housing bubble of 2008.

Brazilian Bumerangues: I have not seen this sort of intake used in real life before (the stubby wing thingy on the aft end of the fuselage, pics 1, 2) but something similar is pictured in Dr. Hoerner's book on drag. I see that they have at least two versions. The airfoil version appears less draggy to me than the version in pic 3. It'd be interesting to compare it to the drag of a wheel pant. The airfoil is smaller and finer-tapered but of course the open inlet will be draggy compared to the nose of a pant. Funny looking but it gets the intake out of the boundary layer and doesn't result in a blunt, draggy rear.

Generally you can use any other epoxy on a cured epoxy laminate structure. The bond becomes a mechanical bond which is not quite as good as a chemical bond but mechanical bonds are all over the airplane anyway unless you built them in one day. :-) Is that your question? Take look at Gary Hunter's epoxy presentation here. It is pretty informative. http://www.cozybuilders.org/Oshkosh_Presentations/index.htm And his epoxy reference table is posted here http://www.cozybuilders.org/ref_info/ Gary is an epoxy expert for Shell, I believe, and has always been the go-to guy.

Jon below is a DXF file of a Cozy nose strut. If you wouldn't mind, print it out and compare it to your actual strut. Let me know how close it is. There are no dimensions for either strut in the plans. I can send it in a PDF format if that will be easier. CozyNoseStrut.dxf

If somebody has original copies of Long-ez drawings, plz download my drawing of the F22 bulkhead, print it out and and see how it compares to the original or if you contact me directly I will get one printed and send it to you for a check. It's in dxf file but I can put it in other formats. I tried to take the A3 Open-ez drawing, put it in the proper scale and draw over it. Should be well within tolerance to build from. F22.dxf

That's what they said to Burt. :-) Grabbed this shot (pic 1) off a FB page. It seems to me that a small map at the distance shown here is going to be hard to read and adjust. I put my Ipad Mini right in my face and it is about right. (pics 2, 3)--just the right viewing distance and the angle is good for minimizing glare. Another problem with touch-screens is using them in turbulence. There are many times flying around down low that it's hard for me to hit just the right spot on the Foreflight to select some bit of data when the plane is bumping around. I suspect it's going to be even harder at arms length on a small map display. I like the portable maps/ipads but they need to be brought closer to the face and the ipad needs a pretty sharp angle to avoid glare. It would be good to have some sort of steadyrest for the hand that you can rest your palm against when tapping the map. Hmmmm ... Perhaps a Ram mount or fold-out on the side. I am mod'ing this ipad mini holder so it holds the correct angle for me in the right seat but I can swing it away (forward) for takeoff and landing and it stays in that position. Right now it flops around a little.

Aerocomposite shows $122 for a Long-EZ and Cozy III strut and $130 for a Cozy IV strut which leads me to think they are different. I have had both but I can't recall for sure. It seems the Cozy IV strut was thicker. Price lists below. AeroComposites LE price list March 2018.doc AeroComposites Mark IV price list March 2018.doc

A project more dangerous than building your own airplane: I saw a recumbent bike like this on Craigslist (pic 1). Whoa, that thing was twitchy! I modified it thinking it would be easier to ride (pic 2) but it was still a bear to control and at my age I can't afford the contusions to get good on it. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you. Back to Craiglist!

Just an idea: I think I would try to make a strut before I would mess with an EZ strut that I'd want to change-out later. The strut is likely S-glass, post-cured. http://aircraftproducts.wicksaircraft.com/product/fiberglass-kevlar-carbonfiber/s-glass-roving-filament-spool A U-shaped mold to make the shape does not seem hard to fab-up. We can come up with dimensions. Loop the rovings in the mold and wet-out as you go. Make it just a little thicker if you are nervous about it. I imagine Burt and Nat made their own first struts.

So the Uavionix tech just called me back and we established that because my existing encoder, a Trans-Cal 120-(XX)A, uses a 10-wire gray code output to the Garmin 327 transponder, Uavionix' MUX (multiplex) cable will not work and I will have to rely on the sniffer mode or get a new encoder (or dive into the MyRV14 box above). A newer encoder would use RS-232 output which would work with their cable. To correct what I said two posts above, I got good baro altitude in that report because I was likely in sniffer mode and the cable issue did not come into play. (I still need to check the Flight ID issue.) To be clear, when the Echo is hardwired to the transponder it needs a squawk from the transponder and an altitude from the encoder. In sniffer mode it receives both over the airwaves.

Further on the ADSB: "Apparently" to hardwire the Uavionix EchoUAT to a Garmin 327, you need a special MUX (multiplex) cable that resolves differences in baud rates between the Echo, the transponder, and maybe the altitude encoder. Neither the EchoUAT install manual nor the product webpage tell you that. The tech who said he would call me back to discuss my configuration has not done so after 24 hours so I called their order department to get a cable. The clerk was a little hazy about which MUX cable I needed but I hope to see one in the mail. It looks like this thing is going to work, even if I have to use the "sniffer" ("TRANSPONDER MONITOR") mode but I see others have similar complaints. Not sure I would buy this unit again. https://www.myrv14.com/N14YT/The_Box/index.html FWW, it seems that when I got a good Baro report and good Flight ID report, I had been in "sniffer" ("TRANSPONDER MONITOR") mode. However, when I tried to input the Garmin transponder data via the hardwire in "EFIS/PANEL" mode, the baro worked but the Flight ID failed, thus the need for the MUX cable. BTW, the tech confirmed that the "FLIGHT ID" should be left blank at all times as stated in the manual. See what I mean? You aren't using it but it still fails? :-( Which reminds me of another thing: Poking around the airplane I heard a very faint squeal coming from my Artex 345 ELT. The battery is good to 2023. It was not an ELT signal. No changes to wiring or switches. Squeal stopped when I disconnected the D-Sub. It took several days again to get a response from Artex and no explanation for the squeal but maybe I have a replacement unit coming. Airplanes do not make your life less complicated. And I do not like the ADSB. 98% of the targets are no factor. They divert your attention into the cockpit and the buzzards do not use ADSB.

Big mark-down on this EZ, N19LE. Originally $35,000 on page 4 of this thread. Still a bit dear for a strictly VFR airplane and 925-hour engine, though. PRICED FOR QUICK SALE • $28,000 • FLY CHEAP • 1987 Long EZ, burns 4 to 5 gal/hr, Lycoming O-235 C2C, TT925, SMOH 925, Sensinech wood prop 925, Naviad autopilot coupled to Garmin 230 GPS, new transponder, no ADS-B out, basic VFR instruments, vortex generators, new main tires, new mags and spark plugs, electric starter, new battery, battery trickle charger installed, located at AAO airport in Wichita, KS. N19LE, needs some loving, priced for quick sale, come fly it home, annual due Sep 2019. • Contact Billy Whiting, Owner - located Wichita, KS United States • Telephone: 316-259-6699 • 785-249-4948 • Posted June 26, 2019 Ya know, I would never own a VFR airplane without a traditional turn needle. When you blunder into the weather, a 12V turn needle off the battery will keep you upright. In the T-37, we would fly instrument approaches on the turn needle for entertainment. Oh, you're saying, "synthetic vision on the ipad w/Foreflight". Gulp, "subscription expired"! :-)

Update on the ADSB: Yup, my EchoUAT Baro failure went away when I changed the Garmin 327 RS-232 output setting to "remote" _AND_ moved the cursor off that field so the Garmin would store the change. (The Garmin is hardwired to the EchoUAT) However, the next FAA Performance Report showed failure of "Flight Plan ID"! This was not a previous failure. Uavionix' instructions say to leave this field blank. I have posted a question with Uavoinix that will take "3 to 5 days" to get answered. This is poor customer service. They could help us out a lot with some same-day responses and by posting some simple troubleshooting FAQ. This guide to the Performance Report was useful. https://adsbperformance.faa.gov/paprusersguide.pdf I have about four hours on the new prop and have run it at WOT at 3000' MSL. Still has two blades attached. :-)

Some pics of your baffles would tell a lot. Easy to post pics in these threads if you can get them from your phone to a computer. It's easy to make the bayonet CHT probes. If your thermocouple wires are long enough, you can cut off the ends and make the bayonets but the type J wire is common enough. See some here: https://www.canardzone.com/forums/topic/18661-kents-long-ez-project/?do=findComment&comment=63649 I see the wire on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/Glass-Insulated-Thermocouple-Wire-GG-J-20-25-N-High-Temp-20-AWG-Type-J/253706994421? Or you can order it from Omega https://www.omega.com/en-us/search/?text=GG-J-20

Weeding out some old pics on my computer. Here are two ideas that didn't work: First, NACA-style cooling intakes. I think they are naturally inefficient and subject to any backpressure inside the cowl. The air is just as happy to skip over the intake. Later I modified them to a forward-facing scoops The next idea was that downdraft cooling air would exit mainly around the large exhaust openings. Nope. There was probably a lot wrong with this design: intakes that didn't want to intake, too many corners and obstructions between the bottom of the cylinders and the exit openings, and exit area rather small. Another bad idea was the oil-service door that did not hinge at the forward edge. Pic 3, 4: Making some strut fairings. I used the two small templates in pic 3 to cut a foam "airfoil" and sliced it and micro'd it to the strut. Pics 5, 6: Oil flow test of the cowl and later intake - I the pattern behind the cowl was about what you'd expect. This is why I do not think the standard cowl opening on a EZ is a very good spot; it is area of turbulent, disorganized air--not the low pressure area you might imagine. Note the puddle in front of the intake. I would like to see a smoke test of that area in one of NASCAR's wind tunnels. It would probably give the NASCAR aero guys a good laugh!

This is a little aileron trim idea from the LEZ project. I use a similar idea on the Cozy. It's a bit fiddly to install but very precise to adjust. Uses 3/32" spring wire (music wire) captured by a fitting on the control rod with a welded-up screw device that moves the trim spring up and down. BTW, if you are building an EZ, use the Cozy stick weldment shown in pic 2. It has advantages over the original EZ stick although you might have move the control rod inboard just a tad. Also, homemade CHT bayonets. I probably posted that before but a good hack is worth repeating. Hardware store 3/8"-24 flare fitting, type J thermocouple wire, small spring. Coil up the wire and silver-solder it into a ball.

Nuggets from the late Jan Carlsson of JCPropellers. His posts on HomebuiltAircraft.com and the Yahoo propeller group were always very interesting:

A post about long-noses on EZs. I just want to cross-reference it in this thread https://www.canardzone.com/forums/topic/32714-hangar-electricity-and-other-rants/?do=findComment&comment=63634

Here are other examples grabbed from a FB page of what seems to be a destabilizing nose forward of the aerodynamic center. One flying, one under construction. One of the comments was I would think a pointy nose is going to act somewhat like an airfoil with the trailing edge pointed forward. Any yaw will tend to increase the yaw. I bet you would see that if you made a simple cone shape and held it out the car window. I suspect it will also decrease pitch stability for the same reason. Also it's lot of extra glass in a shape that will be harder to utilize. Sort of ugly, too, IMHO.