EracerFL

You can get some data here. I think the airfoil was modified slightly. http://airfoiltools.com/airfoil/details?airfoil=ls417-il More info in airfoils. http://www.apollocanard.com/4_airfoil%20design.htm This site lists the airfoils listed. http://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html#canards This site makes foam cores for various kitplanes. http://www.eurekacnc.com/Home.htm

Here are a few images and a article on the Gemini GeminiPlans.zip

I just read this PDF by Burt linked from the EAA experimenter email. It has a article about the Quickie and early Varieze as well as comparison to the Dragonfly and Q2. http://www.eaaonline.org/ls.cfm?r=23783234&sid=7019747&m=780565&u=ExAA&s=http://www.eaa.org/experimenter/articles/0907_Rutan_Quickie.pdf VariEze Prototype (1975) and Q2 Rutan Model 78-1 VariEze N7EZ Empty Weight 430 Ibs. Useful Load 450 Ibs. Gross Weight 880 Ibs. Span 22.3' Wing Area 61 Sq. Ft. Wing Loading 14.4 Ibs./ft. Power Loading 14.2 Ibs./hp Fuel 20 gals. Take-Off 700ft. Landing 1100ft. S/L Rate of Climb 1200 ft./min. 75% Cruise 158 kt. Range at 75r% 820 nm N/M Gal. at 75% 41 Max. NM/Gal. 58 Stall Speed 56 kt. Engine 1834cc VW Horsepower 62 Max. Crew Size Two 6'4"

I would make the forward instrument panel higher. It's good to have extra panel space. This might help if the canopy rails need to be more level front to back.

My E-Racer has a O-320 160HP. At 5000' and 2500 RPM and 24" MP it will indicate 152 Knots = 163 Knots true. At 2600 RPM 24.6" at the same altitude it will indicate 155 Knots = 167 Knots true. It has a Performance 3-Blade 61" X 65" prop which seems like a cruise prop with a longish takeoff roll. I think a O-360 or climb prop would be a better performer with the extra weight of the airframe with retracts. Empty weight is 1100 lbs. It has a Roncz canard with slight dihedral. One mod is the fuselage sides were made 1" deeper all the way. With a passenger takeoff is extended and elevator trails down more than solo. Extra room with passenger seat empty is nice vs the Long-Ez.

I found this UAV interesting. Looks just like a Long-Ez Pictures posted here: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread408455/pg1 or also http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v410/Number1azn365/post1311225603672od4.jpg It is from of the recent Nov. 4-9 2008 Chinese Zhuhai airshow http://www.avbuyer.com.cn/e/2008/30783.html "Among numerous UAV project models was a full-scale model of an armed UAV designated CH-3, with canards, pusher propeller and twin tails reminiscent of the Rutan Vari-Eze."

I ran into the same problem on my E-Racer. I have to wear shoes that are as small and slim as possible. I don't have large feet but they will rub together and hit the F-22 at the top if I wear large shoes. I can only manage to stretch out one leg at a time between the rudder pedals.

Here is page for a older HUD unit that I believe is no longer sold. I think it was originally for sailplanes in France and Europe. http://www.hawkinsassoc.com/hudis1.htm

I was looking for a good movable rack for my cloth. I had one made out of 2 X 4's and some conduit pipe but was not easily moveable. I did my wing layups by myself since it was so easy to just roll the cloth over the foam and drop it down slowly into place. Seems to be easy to avoid alot of wrinkles. I found this modular clothes rack that seems to fill the bill. $65.50. http://www.garmentrack.com/easaszrac.html These commercial units seemed to be overkill for me. http://www.fibreglast.com/showproducts-category-Fabric+Racks-134.html The top rod has end pieces that slip over the vertical rods. I will cut off part of the horizontal rod leaving the horizontal ends and leave enough so I can slip in a piece of 1" pipe or conduit. Seems like my cloth has a 1 1/2" diameter paper tube.

I would estimate a T/O roll of 1700' solo with half fuel. Estimate a landing distance about 1200' solo. Stall speed about 60 knots. Landing speed about 70 knots. Speed to rotate about 80 knots.

Aircraft Type E-Racer O-320 160 HP Options Retracts Prop Performance 61"X65" 3-Blade Altitude Ft RPM Knots Ind. Knots True MPH True OAT C Man Press " 1000 2500 158 160 185 18 27.5 1000 2600 160 162 187 18 28 5000 2500 152 163 188 10 24 5000 2600 155 167 192 10 24.6 10000 2500 130 153 177 5 24 10000 2500 130 153 177 5 24.5 Empty weight of 1100 lbs does affect performance vs. a Long-Ez.

I would suggest a alternate wing attach method like the Jiran type. Here are some photos of it on a flying varieze. http://michaeltdrew.com/photo.html What about a light sport version? Light Sport Requirements - VariEze related specs. (from owners manual) Max Gross Wt 1320 lbs - 1110 lbs could be increased Max Stall 45 Kts - 46-49 knots, 35kts accelerated stall Max Speed 120 Kts - 120 Kts maneuvering speed, climb prop would help Fixed landing gear - Nose gear could be fixed to NG30 or only retractable for parking A ligher engine like the Rotax 912 or Jabiru might help reduce stall and speed.

There was an article in the Dec 06 Kitplanes magazine on page 16. It says the original engine was a cast-iron 302 with aluminum heads. This evolved to an aluminum block with steel sleeves bored and stroked to 360 cubic inches 11:1 compression pistons, , billet crank and other racing parts, 270 hp at 3500 rpm reported to burn 6 gph at 200 mph. Full throttle below 9000 ft will push the Long-Ez past the VNE of 220 mph (190ts). Edelbrock Jr. manifold machined to lower the carb. which is a Holley 2bbl 500 cfm. with a special metering block for leaning. It uses a VW Rabbit racing radiator mounted below the engine and a Stewart water pump. Cool stuff in the pictures are the 8 exhaust pipes coming out of the cowling trailing edge, the large circular cowling outlet with a large Hershey kiss spinner and 3-blade prop.

Here is a picture of the Gemini push pull from the side. This picture shows it with the original VW engines and original canard.

My E-Racer landing gear uses all fiberglass gear legs I bought from Shirl Dickey before he went to all carbon fiber legs and later with metal ends for the Berkut gear I have seen. There are no metal ends on the legs I have and the axles bolt to the bottom of the leg like on a Long-Ez or Cozy. I was worried about the all fiberglass legs at first but have had no problems with them so far. My empty weight is 1100 lbs and I have made some good hard landings on occasion. The weight of the retract gear would be increased by the metal overcenter linkage as well as whatever hydraulic cylinders and pump you use. It all adds up to a fair amount of weight if you total it all up. I feel all this extra weight not desirable for takeoff performance reasons.

I was concerned with the copper foil breaking. I made my antenna's using the RST kit and dimensions. http://www.rst-engr.com I substituted copper braid of the same width for the foil. In two composite homebuilts this has worked fine for me with no problems.

There was a Long-Ez derivative called the Gemini that was written up in the old Homebuilt Aircraft magazine on Dec. 82. Long-Ez wings with cs and fues 18" wider. Two 2000 cc type IV VW engines 188 lbs ea. 65 hp at 3100 rpm. Fixed mains with retractable nose. Fues 41" wide at seats. Canard used airfoil same as Rutan AMS/OIL biplane racer. Wingspan = 27.6' Wing Area = 123 sq ft Canard span est. = 16 ft Canard chord est. = 2.25 ft Empty Wt. = 1150 lbs Gross Wt. = 1850 lbs Top Speed TAS = 185 mph Cruise 65% = 160 mph Stall speed = 70 mph Takeoff speed 70 mph Single engine climb front only = 150 fpm Single engine climb front only = 200 fpm I think it was later retrofitted with O-200 engines and possibly a different canard.

Found this old email where a guy put a Roncz canard on a VE. "To the best of my knowledge RAF never approved the R1145MS Canard on the VE because it was never tested as was the LE. My VE with the GU Canard exibited a high nose down pitch tendancy in rain that took lots of stick pressure to hold level, estimate 30 pounds. The lift is higher on the Roncz which could lead to wing stall so the solution is to reduce the lift by decreasing area through span. I retro fitted a 118 inch Roncz to my VE 5 years ago and it changed the whole personality of the airplane for the better. No pitch change in rain, less pitch sensitivity, convergent stick free pitch stability, 4 Kts more speed and a more stable feel in pitch axis, overall a very worth while improvement. Nigel Field Subaru Vari-Eze (Suze)"

I talked to a local Velocity builder. His was a earlier one and didn't have the gull wing doors. He had a problem with the canard going into a flutter where the tips started moving up and down about a foot. He was told he could either strip the canard and add some additonal glass on the skin layup or make a new canard with more glass skin layups. He made a new canard with some extra glass and that solved the problem. I really like the extra room in the Velocity and they look great.