Kent Ashton

There's lots of info out there. I favor EZ-Poxy for most things but MGS wets out a little easier when doing spar caps. Take a look at Cozy Newsletters: http://www.cozybuilders.org/newsletters/ Cozy builders archives (search for epoxy): http://www.maddyhome.com/cozysrch/

I'm a Cozy builder but I looked at my Long-EZ plans and it looks like you're right--I didn't see any jig shown for giving curvature to the sides. But . . . the cozys use a simple jig, two long pieces of particle board cut to the curvature of the sides and bonded to the work table. The foam sides get weighted into the shape of the curve and temporarily hot-glued in place, then the inside glass and longerons are installed. I'm sure you can find some pictures in the builder pages at http://www.maddyhome.com/canardpages/main It'd be easy to take width measurements off the EZ bulkheads and make a similar jig to give shape to the sides. You might want to add a couple inches to the back seat width while you're at it. (Nat added a lot of tips and info in the Mark IV plans.)

Why don't you tell us something about yourself and what kind of airplane you're building (there are several canard versions)? If you're building a Long-EZ, the plans call for a simple jig on the work table to give curvature to the sides. If you don't have Long-EZ plans, they're available on a "TERF" CD. Search this site and the site below for TERF or "open EZ". http://canardaviationforum.dmt.net/

UV damage causes the epoxy matrix to weather away leaving the fiberglass weave showing. The surface will begin to look like a layup that barely had any epoxy in it. You sometimes see this on the fiberglass wingtips of Cessnas/Pipers that have been abandoned in the sun for years. It's very obvious. If the paint is intact and the structure looks good and passes the tap test (no delams) it's probably sound. Canopies will craze after years in the sun but might still be OK after some buffing out--or they can be replaced. I would look for corrosion at the hinges, buried aluminum hard points, wing bolts and signs of fuel leakage. Most things can be repaired Good luck.

The Long-EZ is a great little airplane but the Cozy IV has a lot more utility and the design benefits from integrating a lot of Long-EZ changes over the years. The Cozy plans are better and more detailed and the Cozy gear is sturdier. It doesn' take much more money to build and operate a Cozy vs. an EZ and you can throw a lot of stuff in the back of a Cozy. The downside is the need to shuffle ballast around in the Cozys.

Never seen one. I took a steel AN834-6 (or you could use an AN804-6) T-fitting, cut off one of the short legs and tapped it for a steel AN816-3 NPT-to-flare fitting. Routed the line off the -3 end to the primer solinoid and used a AN924 bolt and small aluminum angle to secure the 834/804 fitting to the firewall.

Can't answer your question but here are a couple of tips that might help: -Let the wire temperature stabilize before you start a cut. -tighten the wire after the temp. stabilizes -the wire will cool in the foam, so expect the cut-rate to slow down after about 3/4 to 1 inch. -if you are using wood templates, you might put some 1/4 inch copper tape--available from stained glass shops--over the edge of the templates to make the wire run smoothly over the templates. Personally, I like formica templates. -when you pause at corners, listen for the hiss to stop, then move on - Replace the wire after a few cuts so it doesn't thinout and break. - don't force it. Just gentle pressure. Let the wire do the work

I had a Great American prop on a Cozy III O-320. Seemed to run just fine. Great American had a good reputation for many years. Heck, it was just a sturdy, well-made wooden prop; I don't know why someone would have great difficulties with that. Of course, you had to get the right pitch and size. Yeah, a person might get better performance out of a more modern thinner, carbon fiber/wood airfoil. Doesn't sound like the prop is his problem.

With updraft/NACA, you have to create a rather complicated sealed plenum below the engine by using extensive baffling and, as well, add ramps in the bottom cowl to force the air up through the forward cylinders. This baffling is a lot of work to fit and troublesome to seal up. Air does not really like to flow into a NACA, so the opening has to be bigger than for a ram opening. You're also generally pushing heat from around the exhaust pipes up through the cylinder fins. With downdraft, the plenum above the engine can be made much smaller and more easily sealed. Ram openings can be fairly small. Less air is used and it is used more efficiently. There are no real good plans AFAIK for how to do a downdraft installation but lots of pictures out there of how various builders have done it, so a resourceful builder can do what all real homebuilders do: steal, copy and/or borrow.

The FAA doesn't care where you got the plans or whether you have a license to build the airplane. There's been a lot of discussion on building from copied plans on this website, so read some of those discussions to get up to speed. The problem with any of the Long-EZ plans is that there have been so many good modifications since the plans were published that it takes some study to determine what mods to do and how to do them. Why not build a Cozy IV? The Cozy plans are more detailed and the airplane has a bit more utility. Cost would not be much more than a Long-EZ.

If you can get ahold of "Top End", a book published by Light Plane Maintenance, the book has a good discussion of whether to top an engine or overhaul it. If your's is a high-time engine since a (real) major overhaul--more than say 1500-1700 hours--I wouldn't just top it, I'd do a major overhaul. They are not hard to disassemble, send all the parts out for inspection/overhaul, and (with some A&P help), reassemble. However, O-235 parts are said to be a fair amount more expensive than O-320 parts because there were far more O-320s made. If you decide to do a major overhaul, I would suggest trading the engine in for an O-320.

How has this engine/prop combo performed in the past? Is the airplane new to you? I'm an east-coast flatlander (775' field elevation) but it seems to me that at your field elevation (6675'?), even a new engine would not make 2700 static RPM. At your elevation and at the 2250 RPM you're turning, the engine might only be making 60 or 70% power--just a guess. Perhaps some folks who fly at your elevation will comment. You might check that the carb butterfly opens fully at WOT.

You could offer to cover all the costs up to $14K, then 50/50 after that. Since your friend has his $14K in it now, that's a pretty good motivation for him to work to get it completed. --Kent

Just reread your first post. Move to amend and extend my remarks. ;-) $14,000 (total) for a 75% airplane seems a bit high. Why don't you offer to help him work on it and see how it goes, with the understanding that if you enjoy the work you can buy-in later for $7,000? He gets your labor for free, you get a chance to see what kind of partner he'd be and decide whether it's worth it. --Kent

These unfinished projects can be a good deal but frankly, I'd be leary about buying an airplane FOR someone else. As I understand it, your friend is asking you to foot the entire purchase price of $7000. If he can't come up with $3500, how's he gonna cover his share of a $10K-$18K engine and $3K-$6K avionics? If the kit has been well-built so far, buy it yourself and tell your friend he's welcome to work on it and buy in when he gets the money. If you lose interest or your friend backs away, you can sell it for about what you've got in it. Good workmanship is pretty self-evident. If it looks good, it's probably been built OK. Best to take someone along who is familiar with EZs, though. --Kent Cozy IV N13AM

Jon, The Cozy IV is a pretty decent three-person airplane but the canard airplanes are runway hogs and expecting to haul four full-sized persons is asking a lot from the design. Of course, there's a guy in Texas with a Cozy/ 0-320 who didn't hesitate to haul four adults but gosh knows how long the takeoff roll was with that combination! What I'm saying is that it doesn't make much sense to me to widen the rear of the Cozys. I've only put one seat in the rear of mine. However, I'm 325 and my wife is about 180. With three people and half fuel my Cozy flys pretty well. If you are a lightweight, it might make sense to make it a wider four-plance but I don't think you'll find a lot of adults crazy about riding around in the back of a Cozy. I would guess that a wider fuselage, if it was faired into nearly the same sort of cowl, would probably not have much effect on the prop but the current shape is a nice losenge shape that works pretty well. -Kent Cozy IV N13AM

That's sweet Mike. ;-) Seriously, though, no need for the special apparatus. A 2X4, couple of pipe, safety-wire, visegrips and you're building. My wife helps me cut cores. They come out fine. A bit of practice helps to know what you're doing. If you can find some 2" blue polystyrene foam to practice on--it is often used for building insulation, you'll be a pro after a one or two tries. Love, Kent

I don't think you need to fret about the Cozy hardpoints, Aubry. They're pretty bulletproof on the Cozy IV. I do agree (political science major talking here) about the need for the yellow tubes with the conical mounts. If you imagine twisting the engine around a vertical axis, i.e., the same kind of forces the mount would see in a rapid pitchup or pitchdown, it appears to this poly sci eye that you'd impart lateral bending forces to the upper tubes. Most of us Cozy builders are using the same tube layout as Chrissi is using, but with a dynafocal ring welded in, I imagine the ring imparts a little more rigidity to the upper tubes. Not sure the green tubes you're suggesting would clear accessories on the accessory case. Could be why they're as they are. --Kent Cozy IV N13AM