marbleturtle

>... ever go swimming on a windy day? Yes... but never at 200mph. I was COLD! But I did get Sun burned. (?)

Is silver on the color chart? I would think reflective silver would be cooler than white.

I finally had a chance to talk to Nat last night. He said that the license agreement was originally to aid in building the kit that Aerocad is selling. Nat also said that he never gave Jeff permission to sell modified "Plans Built" plans of the Cozy (the AeroCanard FG) or exact plans of the Cozy (the AeroCanard SB). Nat also said that he obtained a copy of the Aerocad Plans for a pending law suite and that the Aerocad plans are from version 1 of the Cozy Plans and that none of the updates and revisions from the last 12 years are included. (Current plans are Version 3 with letter updates). Also, the extra rear passenger space comes from the removal of the NACA duct underneath replaced by less efficient (less airodynamic) armpit ducts. >... Jeff is a stand up guy... I know that there is always two sides to every dissagreement, but Nat is the owner of the 4-place Cozy MKIV design. He did the work (and continues to) and I'm not going to do anything that will give him "the short end of the stick."

So is this just for Cozy's that are parked out in the sun all day? I couldn't imagine the surface getting hot in flight.

Okay... I had this nice Ominous Darth Vadar "don't mess with me" image of a Black with Silver racing stripes MKIV. Then I noticed on one of the builder pages a comment about no dark colors. It mentioned about the color destroying the foam underneath and another site mentioned the composite fibers of the fiberglass. Is this a U.V. thing or a thermal retention thing? New paints can protect against U.V... or could be a form of Ice Protection. (*snicker) But seriously, what is the issue and how serious is it? The CCF mascot Cozy has red on the upright rudders in full view of the sun... hmmm...

I will next week. I'm going to see Greg at Blue Mountain Avionics and try his Cozy on for size. After that I'll give you a call!

That's why we need a BRS!

Make the entire exhaust run through the wing (with mufflers)! No no... make the exhaust the LEADING EDGE of the wing! Hey... if these red-necks around here can turn their exhaust pipes into the shape of a Chevy bowtie, why can't we form the exhaust into the shape of a LE airfoil?

Speaking of flutter limits... Is there a Vne for the Cozy design? I haven't found one yet. If you want to do 2 turbines, how about the design of those Venuzualianitian (?) guys with the twin engine compound counter-rotating prop?!?! That should be easy to duplicate with turbines!

I think the technical term for those are "BLIMPS." Got Helium? (What goes up...) There must not be any Volvo owners in this group.

How about running the exhuast through imbedded pipes in the wings?!?!!?

I weep for you...

I hope you make it work and get a few hours in before I get to a point where I need to buy an engine. I'd like to compare notes. Are you going to have your Cozy done by Sun N Fun?

I'm still not convinced that a BRS will be an effective device, but I can't sit by and watch as bad arguments are thrown around. First of all, no one is suggesting that a verticle decent at 15 - 30 ft a second is a great idea. A mostly horizonal path is always the best way to approach the ground. The only way I would deploy such a system is in an extreme situation which would prevent an emergency landing. A verticle decent is not a good idea... not at 15, 30, or 2 ft/sec. But it is PREFERABLE to a verticle decent of 300 ft/sec. I'll take 30 ft/sec nose up, nose down, inverted, in a cartwheel, on the moon, kids kicking the back seat all the way down, in a lake, day or night, whistling dixie in the middle of Oshkosh before belly flopping at at 200mph. Don't care if the aircraft survives or not. Building another sounds like fun and should only take half the time. This argument might be a moot point anyway. I mentioned to my wife that the next time we go to Florida, she can leave at 5 AM and spend 10 hours in the minivan with the kids. Then she can pick me up at the airport after my comfortable 3 hour flight sans BRS. I do believe the wind direction is changing.

I think it is true that with a BRS, some people might be inclined to yank the cord when they could continue to fly the plane to a safe emergency landing site. But I don't think that is a valid argument against having a device that could save your life in an extreme incident.

... now my wife just came in here and threw a fit about the time I spend on the computer. (Let's forget for a moment that I'm a programmer and the computer pays the bills!) I'm beginning to think Slade has the right idea. Nat... I'll call you soon but I want to get to try a local Cozy on for size first. That will ultimately finalize my decision. I'm actually looking for a snug fit (like the sport seats in my car), just not an impossible fit.

The CONCEPT of the Rotary is fascinating. Small size, low weight, good power, spinning instead of recipricating parts, et. al. The EXECUTION of the idea is the problem. I don't have experience with the engine in the aircraft world, but the engines are auto conversions (mostly) and I do have experience in the automotive world. They seem to have continuous cooling and oil seal problems. (Check the extended warranty rates) I've seen several sites raving about the rotary engine in an aircraft... only to find a mention in passing about an oil leak or cooling problem. Scary... Count me in the Sooby conversion camp. No offense intednded, My 02... <--- *Most opinionated member who hasn't even ordered plans yet!

Nat. Apology accepted. I was a little taken aback after talking on the phone with you. But I am aware that the weight needs to come down. My Father said that you are Ex-military from the WWII generation and that you probably have no patience for idle chit-chat or placating whiney customers... "An honest rebuke is always better than false flattery. And He's right. Get your butt off the couch and loose some weight!" My wife reminded me of the time I asked a customer when her baby was due when I was a BMW salesman. I learned the hard way that unless you see an "outtie" belly button indentation under a "Baby On Board" T-shirt, don't ask a fat woman when her baby is due. She bought a Benz. (Wider seats!) Anyway I originally brought up the subject of BRS to see if anyone had first hand experience installing a system on their airframe. I think that 99.99% of all problems I'll face in a Canard can be solved with enough altitude and a good glide ratio. But my wife is completely freaked by a small airplane. The mother-in-law has never even flown commercially. Guess what the conversation with her is going to be like when SHE finds out I'm building my own plane. I don't need my wife's permission to build the plane, but without a BRS, she says I'll be flying Solo. I'm almost to the point where I don't care if it works or not. If it makes my wife feel safer, like airbags in her car, then that's all that matters. I have no intention of using it if I have even the smallest hope of recovery or emergency landing. The only way I would deploy it is if an aileron fell off, no... the whole wing fell off (caused by a severe impact with a meteor)... or something else equally drastic that will probably never happen. (I'm eyeing the Canadian Geese in my back yard suspiciously as I type this.) If it doesn't work, I'm no worse off for having it. If it does work, listening to my wife say "I told you so" will be the price I pay for surviving. (Then again maybe I should duct tape a short piece of rope with a handle to the canopy and call it a day.) I just want to build a great airplane and go places with my wife and kids. The only down side I see is if mounting the system structurally compromises the airframe in some manner... that and possible the price. This is why I posed the question. I have everything else sorted out. I have private hangar space with a small office I can rent for $80 a month on a 5000' runway (ILS soon to be added). I know I want the Cozy MKIV or the slightly larger AeroCanard (to be settled when I get a chance to try on a Cozy for size). I know what engine I want. I know the instruments I'm going to use. I even decided on a paint scheme (no dark colors). What's left? Frustrating...

Some of the "facts" thrown around here don't sound right... 60mph? The decent number I've seen is 15-30 ft/sec which is 20 miles/hour max by my rusty head calculator. 1500lbs too heavy? The test vehicles I've seen are a Cessna 172 and a SR20 --> http://www.airplaneparachutes.com/ I know this site lists many ultralight saves... but there are one or two I saw listed at heavier craft and 200mph The speed issue (as I mentioned before) seems to be resolved with a slider that holds the parachute closed until the drag slows the craft down to 160 mph, which then allows the chute to open. Although its obviously not the same chute system... I seem to remember certain Appolo space captules streaking through the atmosphere at 28,000+ mph before deploying parachutes. Surely someone somewhere remembers how to get those things to work 250mph. A productive discussion requires real "facts".

When I find a Cozy to try on for size... I'll decide then whether to go with the MKIV or try the larger AeroCanard. But a few extra inches inside in every direction seems to be on the wish list of a lot of builders' web sites.

35 Full sized drawings... N/A last line on the page. http://www.aerocad.com/plansbuilt.htm Sounds like the Cozy MKIV has the 35 full size drawings but the AeroCanard plans don't.

How about little spray jets that squirt hot anti-freeze onto the wing... like headlight/windsheild sprayers on a car? Obviously not a long term solution, just a quickie fix to help get out of a jam.

From what I can tell, the speed issue is addressed with some form of disk that holds the lines together until the drag of the partially-opened parachute slows the aircraft down enough to fully open. BRS is not my first priority right now since I'm still researching which aircraft to build. When I do start building, I need to know up front what structural changes, if any, are needed. I'm not fixated on the idea of a BRS. I like the concept but I'm not fully convinced yet. My wife on the other hand saw something on TV about it. Now she says the only way she's getting in any small plane with the kids is if it has a BRS. Maybe I just need a Varieze...

> If you have the equipment, you will use it. That's why I decided to rip the airbags out of my car!

I have a little rubber tube on my car that sprays hot anti-freeze on my headlights. No wait, that's a coolant leak! Hmmm...