Kent Ashton

The license is a big step but as an A&P you could fix up an airplane in which to take lessons. Not a canard airplane though; they are not well-suited to pilot training.

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.

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/

Today: From the look of the wheels, appears to have been sitting outside for quite a while. Might have some useful parts or maybe something can be done with this one. BTW, the Varieze plans are here in the "Open Vari" topic

That doesn't look to hard to build but I wonder about the stress on the crankshaft and crankshaft bore which were probably only designed for centered, rotating loads. Maybe there is enough case thickness to accept an external bearing or to build the case up with welds to add an external bearing to take the loads. I am thinking of Corvair aero engines that have added external bearings to resist prop gyroscopic loads. Google William Wynne Corvair Yah know, there are guys on youtube who demonstrate aluminum casting. Maybe one could cast a new aluminum case using the original case with a boss as a mold, to accept an external bearing. Fun to think about.

Some people are paranoid about liability--would rather donate their airplanes to a museum and take a tax deduction rather than sell it, even though the liability of an original builder is mostly imaginary and those museum airplanes sometime fly again. A data plate on the headrest should not mean anything for this airplane, mfg'd 2001 (A/W date), it is the external one that should match the FAA records per FAR 45.11. However, it would be interesting to find out if the the external FAR 45.11-dataplate is still there and if it matches the FAA record. If the original builder/owner removed it and sold it with the bogus headrest plate, that sounds like fraud to me. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/45.11

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

Another Craigslist pearl, three days ago. $12950. "Serious inquiries only" for a 1954 Lycoming engine? Good one! 🙂 https://denver.craigslist.org/avo/d/aurora-rutan-long-ez-project-engine/7507225519.html# More pics in the ad

Seen today on Craigslist, Dallas Mid-cities. Ad posted yesterday https://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/avo/d/fort-worth-for-sale/7507632227.html FB commenter says "Oh if only the plans were only available." They are. On this site. Open-EZ

Sounds squirrelly. Also, I wonder why the log book photo and the headrest data plate says it was built by James/Jim Martin but the FAA registry has it built by one Joel H. Dembinsky? (pic) Flightaware lists Martin as a Trustee. Last flight Nov '21 (pic). I don't get it. The FAA's registry is current, I imagine. At least the seller apparently has good title. Sounds like the current owner was afraid to fly such a super-high performance airplane. 🙂 Here's my guess (Yes, I have a suspicious mind). The only Joel H. Dembinsky I see is a lawyer. He sells it to Martin but tells Martin he has to change the log and data plate to show Martin as the builder so he won't be liable for it. However, the FAA won't let them change the manufacturer. Martin disposes of the aircraft to White. White flies in the back seat and decides "too fast for me". The business about "Seller won't tell anybody the N-number" is so you won't look up the Registry and start asking questions. I should write a crime novel. 😉

I am finding that there are more files/drawings/addendums in the original download site so I will need to reorganize and compress some of them. The Builders Manual above is only half the manual (Chap 11 to end). Chapters 1-10 was a file to big to load for the moment but it is there. See "related documents" "Plan A1" and "Plan A2". I will eventually get it organized and clean up the topic. For now, here is the link to the Builders Manual Chapters 1-10 https://vdoc.pub/documents/burt-rutan-varieze-aircraft-plan-a1-4tr7u4nc6r60 Link to load tests and other information https://vdoc.pub/documents/burt-rutan-varieze-aircraft-plan-c1-6j108tr9iv10 Link to Canard Pushers, I believe https://vdoc.pub/documents/burt-rutan-varieze-aircraft-plan-canard-pusher-1-5gioii53v270 and https://vdoc.pub/documents/burt-rutan-varieze-aircraft-plan-canard-pusher-2-462o1cb0n4m0 Link to some other blueprints https://vdoc.pub/documents/burt-rutan-varieze-aircraft-plan-b123-5m4sc84gq8n0 That vdoc site is sort of quirky.

I don't recognize the prop but it does not look like one from Hertzler or Catto. Yeah, a fixed-pitch prop is usually carved for one or the other--either takeoff/climb or cruise but it could be something in-between. Those tips are very wide. They will be draggy. If they are tapered it will give more RPM. Hertzler (now Persson), Catto, Whirlwind (pic) all build tapered tips these days.

Seen on Craigslist in California "Poor man's F-16", he says. 🙂 $32K https://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/avo/d/carlsbad-long-ez-rutan-designed/7503853343.html

Today. Must be about a record asking price for a Cozy III. Nice though, low time engine

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.

It appears the Builder's (Manufacturer's) Manual is to big to upload (>59.9 Mb). For now you can download it from the first vdoc site mentioned above but the site is squirrelly to use. Click on this link https://vdoc.pub/author/burt-rutan or click on the first vdoc link mentioned above and select "Author: Burt Rutan" and look for the file "Burt Rutan Varieze Aircraft Plan A1 [PDF]" which is chapters 1-10 and "A2" which is Chapters 11-end.

I ran across copies of the Varieze plans at this website https://vdoc.pub/documents/burt-rutan-varieze-aircraft-plan-d1-4r17i2m7qe10 including templates, builder manual and POH. They appear to be good plans and I'll post them here in a couple of formats. Just to review the status of copied plans, Burt Rutan said many years ago that he did not object to people building from copied plans but he asked that they not call these airplanes a Long-ez or Varieze to protect his liability. Of course Rutan Aircraft Factory closed long ago and there is no formal support for the Varieze but there is plenty of informal support. The Canard Pushers are still available (see http://www.cozybuilders.org/ ) Many of the required parts can be obtained from current parts-sellers for the Cozy and Long-ez. (See "Other Reference Information - Authorized & Non-authorized suppliers" in the same cozybuilders site. With the price of avgas possibly going to $10.gallon or more. A design that can cruise on 4 gph seems quite a good idea again.vez2.rar Varieze_templates.zip A7.tif A6.tif VariEzeDrawings.pdf A4.tif A5.tif A1.tif A2.tif A3.tif A8.tif A9.tif burt-rutan-varieze-aircraft-plan-d1_compress.pdf

No pics with the ad

Here is a pic of Canard Owners and Builders in your area. I did not want to post the names because you have to be a member of COBA https://canardowners.com/ to access them but there is lots of info on that website and the cost to join is reasonable. There are probably more canard owners near you than pictured. You might post an inquiry on canard-aviators@canardzone.groups.io and get a response there. Checkout my "Sales I've seen" topic here in CanardZone. There are good many EZ for sale out west. Yeah, the EZs are fun but will your wife enjoy riding in back (or you in back 🙂 )? Mine would rather ride in the Cozy.

Seen on FB. Builder is contemporary with me. I recall his mention in the Cozy newsletters. Located in Iowa, it appears. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N750CZ.html

Looks repairable to me. The wing damage could be patched. It is a little concerning where the force on the canard might have displaced the canard bulkheads and/or damaged the canard but that can be rebuilt, I expect. People have rebuilt MLG strut ends or replaced whole struts. New paint, probably. Yeah, a big job but no worse than the drone-EZ we have seen earlier. This one will fly again, I would bet

Regarding this damaged EZ above https://www.canardzone.com/forums/topic/21972-sales-ive-seen/?do=findComment&comment=85051 Owner/executor says he is asking $12K. Airplane has been trailered to Roselle, IL

Seen today on FB

I have seen insurance companies accept time in a Cozy with an experienced Cozy owner. They are very similar and the dual controls are helpful. Worth asking the insurance broker. A vanilla CFI might not want to fly in the back of an EZ with no throttles or rudders.

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.