Jon Matcho

For the perfect convergence of Internet + canard humor, check this post out (from the CAI forum).

I finally have my own Web site to bore everyone at a whole new level! This is my first ever personal site, with a progress report topic here: http://www.canardzone.com/members/JonMatcho/chap_04.htm This represents 30 minutes of sanding from the most recent pic here. Going forward I'm going to put content over there, and just use the forum as a place to discuss my inefficiencies, etc. However, I do want everyone to feel more than welcome to open up their own thread to begin a discussion of their own progress. Use this forum however you like.

Clive, welcome! You touched upon a nerve here I built RC models before I ended up where I am now -- building my biggest one yet. I recall two things as a model builder: I never did anything that was plans-built only, and I thought fiberglass would be difficult to work with Vacuum bagging was a mystery to me Now that I've had the chance to do the first 2, I can look back and tell you how easy it is to work with this stuff. It's a joy. Unlike balsa, you can really lean into the stuff, and still be light. To top it off, I'm about to begin using a technique known as 'low pressure vacuum bagging'. I know there is a Long-EZ model kit as well as a Velocity model kit. There are also 1 or 2 canard type kits, not modeled after any plane specifically. I built one of these (see attached pic) and have the other still in the box. Another member on this forum, Marshall Adams, is big into modeling and I believe looking to do the same thing as you. I asked him to check this thread out, so expect a response in a day or two from him. Be sure to keep us posted going forward!

Paul, here's what Terry Schubert had to say on this: I didn't even think about stiffness...

Paul, I asked the [C-A] group to give their $0.02 on this. We'll see what happens. I'm not going to hazard a guess on this one.

Welcome home! Rise and shine! As long as you have Cozy Mark IV plans in addition to the AeroCanard plans, you don't have much to worry about. The AeroCanard plans are 99.9% the same, except for the widened back seat and turtleback. Legally (for lack of a better word), I am also building an AeroCanard. Technically, I consider myself to be building a Cozy Mark IV with modifications published by AeroCad 2 LLC. The AeroCanard widens the back by ~5 inches, and might allow 2 kids in the back that are bigger and older than 2 kids in the back of a Cozy Mark IV. Then again, I sat in the back of a per-plans Cozy IV for a good 1+ hours without much difficulty. I'm 5'9" 165lbs. I would think so. I ordered mine from them about 3 months ago. You need to be persistent, but call the number on the Web page, and leave a message that you want to buy plans. As a Cozy plans holder, Jeff will give you 50% off his list, which amounts to $242.50 for the "Cozy Mark IV modifications by AeroCad". I believe the Cozy Girrrls are doing that. However, my opinion is that retracts in a Cozy do not amount to "family friendly". I think you'll end up sacrificing a lot there for the gains you intend. Some have -- try searching the archives at www.cozybuilders.org. There are also bunch of guys looking talking about a "Wide EZ" at the other canard forum which you may want to check (but be sure to come back! ). They're in the conceptual stage, but are looking to share ideas among a number of builders. They may or may not get that far... so take care before jumping in with them.

Attached is a pic of my hardpoints in action. Also attached is last night's distraction (nothing to do with planes, other than it made my wife happy). The brown spots you see on one of the LG bulkheads are just cured epoxy from the other side. I just sanded rough and put the layups over it. It doesn't look good, but is fine structurally.

Just bought my ticket on Continental (rate went down $13 from a week ago)! Very much looking forward to talking shop with everyone.

Congratulations! Your journey has officially begun. Not a bad idea. That's a lot of work in 5 months! Even so, I couldn't think of anything better to do with your down time. I calculate the Section 1 kit is actually $1,496 more expensive than buying by the individual chapter. Can't imagine why this would be. I attached a spreadsheet if you want to play with the numbers. I also compared with buying through Wicks Aircraft, which has a reputation of being more expensive, but giving better service than Aircraft Spruce. I'm thoroughly confused. There may be an apples-oranges thing going on, but regardless, it should be cleared up. I'd call AS&S if you're seriously considering ordering this much all at once. I avoided this problem by ordering just a few individual chapter kits from Wicks (for chapters 4-7 "the tub"). I figure after this I'll know enough to order from wherever I like, such as http://www.discountcomposite.com/inven.html. I hope you do too. Feel free! Good catch Dan, I forgot about that (even though that's exactly what I did at Sun-n-Fun). Material Costs.xls Material Costs.csv

I'm impressed! And I thought I was a Google expert. I'll one-up you with this though (use the 'Insert Image' button in the WYSIWYG editor)... Copyright © Paul Drexler. Good show and great pic! I also attached the large image.

If we're talking about bulkhead templates, they would be nice to have, but are not required and most do not use them. If you can find someone who has made them to cut their bulkheads, great -- they'd come in handy. Otherwise make like everyone else and get out your tracing paper or order some full size drawings and cut them out.

Nick left word w/me that he made it safely out of the weather mess in the pictures. Apparently this turned into blue skies with patchy clouds just 6 miles south! Here is a link to a short movie (small display size, but still 1.4MB on disk!). You can see the water on the runway spraying up from his tires during takeoff.

I managed to catch up w/Nick Ugolini in Virginia at KJGG after his visit with Marc Zeitlin and the Cozy Girrrls. It's been raining just about non-stop since Friday here. The guys at the airport had me convinced that nobody was going to land in this today. I had just about accepted this while eating my lunch, when someone announced "your plane just got here." Sure enough, it was Nick. Nick had a quick bite to eat with me and my wife, and we just talked about stuff. Apparently the work of the Cozy Girrrls made a very positive impression on him. Sounds like they have some tricks that impressed both him and Marc Zeitlin. I'd like to know more about their techniques, as if you can impress these guys, that says quite a bit. After lunch, Nick had to call for an IFR route to get to Wayne Hick's airport. Attached are some pics. I also have a short movie of Nick's departure (1.4MB) in horrible conditions, which I'll upload tonight. Thanks for the visit Nick!

Don't forget 'bumble bees' -- those that talk the talk, have opinions galore, know better than those down the road before them, and many will never actually begin their projects let alone finish them. The thing about bumble bees is that they look big and scary, make a big noise, but are actually quite harmless if you just leave them alone. It's fine to hang out as a non-builder, but don't let yourself be a bumble bee -- get some plans, read them, and start building in your garage, basement, or spare room. Once you do that, you'll be a certified card-carrying builder with permission to have an opinion. Of course questions are tolerated prior to certification, just be sure to check your ego at the door. I recall that thread, but I guess I stopped reading it just before it went careening out of control. I'm actually quite shocked -- if I saw it then I hope I would not have been too gunshy to say something. It takes a moment to realize that builders (people like me) are a dime/dozen, whereas flyers are worth quite a few bucks. Until you throw yourself into the process, you really don't have a feel for the scope of your own questions, or how applicable they are to the present time. I recall some of this way back, and some thought I was out of bounds to step in and say something about it. Maybe I was, but these flames are NOT here right now. Maybe this is part of the personality differences... to evolve further. I'm not sure if you're describing bumble bees, or the required traits of a canard aircraft builder. I'll figure it out in a couple years I hope. Heck NO!!! Otherwise we wouldn't be left with this great summary of yours on what should be the mission statement of our 'club': Thanks Norm!

aviator, summarizing a KISS approach... Get yourself a Fein Multimaster. I got the 'start' model because I didn't think the variable speed option was required or worth the extra $ (I still feel that way). Cut the foam however you feel is best. I used a 'razor saw' for the low density foam, and a Dremel with a cut-off wheel for the high-density foam (along with other Dremel bits). I suppose I could have used the Fein as well for the high-density, and could also have used a bandsaw or jig saw -- up to you. Without testing cutting glassed foam in a bandsaw, I'd be very careful. It seems to me that it would delaminate, or worse yet, do so without you being able to tell. Use the Fein tool to cut the glass close to the foam, but not butt up against it. To finish the edges, just sand. Sanding glass edges is relatively easy and painless. I have found the Permagrit line of sanding tools to be excellent (not the rotary tool bits). I mentioned I used a bandsaw to cut out the hardpoint material as traced in the attached image. There was no foam to delaminate from, and the bandsaw made quick work of this. However, notice the rectangular shape of the bulk material. That was cut using the Fein tool. Neither approach will assure you of straight edges -- use a long Permagrit sanding block for that. Templates for bulkheads have been used by others in addition to dust. However, I'm not convinced what value they really add considering you need to invest time into the creation of the templates themselves.

I check in now and again as a guest over there, looking for project ideas... I agree that there are many nice people over there -- I've met several in person and traded e-mails with many others. I don't see this as a forum vs. forum thing, but I do feel this forum is better built, run, and managed. Because we do have freedom of choice here, in time the membership here will develop to give the Canard Zone Forums its own unique personality. Everyone is welcome to join the discussion, and give or take from this what you need to have fun in such an awesome hobby.

The topic at the time was to give others a chance to post as well. I never intended for you to stop posting altogether. Throwing stones again, and your statement is just not true. If someone asks a question here, it will get a response and some guidance. I suppose unanswered posts are okay on your forum though, such as these: http://canardaviationforum.dmt.net/showthread.php?t=321 http://canardaviationforum.dmt.net/showthread.php?t=264 Here you go again throwing stones. Where and when did I ever say that I did not like this forum? Other members pointed out issues with its organization to me, such as all posts dumping into the Coffee House, and so I improved the overall structure. I tried to find an easy way to do this, but there is no such option in the software. Since you keep asking for this, I am inclined to go after the data directly via the database, but it's not something that ranks all that high on my list of things to do 'just for fun'. I would have to agree w/John at this point... you are grinding an axe here, trying to disrupt things, and frankly, you're just not being canardly. At this point I suggest that you to take your mission back to your own forum and help us floundering 'newbies' over there.

I was referring to Owensboro, KY, which is ~35 miles away and a $551 commercial flight. Commercial into Louisville is $280 and ~55 miles away (I understand a 90-minute trip). Looks like I'll be flying into Louisville.

I'm trying to figure out how to get there. Not a problem w/scheduling, but flights to Backwoods Airport are a handful of $$$. I am doing my best to get myself there...

Dust, you're welcome to join the discussion over here, and certainly reference posts on your forum. Just keep in mind that this isn't a one-way road. I wouldn't make a post like you did here on your forum, as I can only imagine the backlash. Please keep this in mind going forward. The day that you guys broke off and started your own forum, I came to realize that if there are going to be 2 canard-related forums on the Internet, then I should be thinking about specialization as opposed to competition. I was a 'newbie' once... wait... I still AM! My build has just started, but amazingly enough, I'm getting through it. Before I start every major part, I read as much information as possible. This includes all the sites you mentioned, and then some. Let us move on and talk about canards. John, how about a shot or two of your project sitting in that brand new shop of yours? Jerry... I don't know what the magic formula is to coax posts out of you, but I read your site all the time. Everyone else, feel free to come in from the virtual cold and post anything you like... Enjoy!

Was reading Wayne Hick's site last night and refound a link to Bil and Mary Kleb's "AeroCozy" project. There's another name for consideration...

As Dust is pointing out, there are several sources for information relating to Rutan-inspired canard aviation on the Internet, with this forum being one of them long-term. Thank you. Ah, the "catch". Posting a proud pic of my bulkheads does not make this my own site. Everyone is encouraged to post their own pics and anything to do with their own plane or project in the Progress Reports section. I wasn't going to publish it yet, but since I'm being called out, you can find my personal Web page here: http://www.canardzone.com/members/JonMatcho There's no point in throwing stones. This forum isn't necessarily a support site, and is certainly different than the CAI forum you setup, and Version 1.0 of this forum. I would foremost recommend joining the Cozy Builders mail list for most everyone. Beyond that, you're on your own and free to do what you wish.

I can't take it any longer... every time I see the subject of this thread I find myself asking, "Why?" Sure, the Cozy is a great plane, and I am building one, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't have acquired a Velocity kit if funds permitted. If I had the money a year ago, I probably would have purchased one of the Velocity kits. The Velocity SE FG is very similar to the Cozy, and is a kit from a well-established company. Presently, aside from the AeroCanard (which remains in questionable status), the Velocity is the only canard-kit game in town. If you can afford to purchase the entire kit contents outright, then you have a real decision to make. Regardless, and in hindsight, I am VERY happy with my decision that has me building a high-performance aircraft from "scratch".

I'm in the middle of my bulkheads (chapter 4, step 4), and only used a bandsaw for cutting out the hardpoint shapes. I didn't have a Fein tool when I started, but would highly recommend it at start for anyone convinced they're going to make the long haul with this project. I could have cut the hardpoints with the Fein, but the bandsaw worked great in that case. You don't have to worry about using a bandsaw or not for many of the bulkheads anyway, as there are quite a few internal cuts that prevent you from using it altogether.

Jeff confirmed that 5.25" is being added to the width of the landing gear bulkheads. I still don't know why this only results in 3.5" of rear seat space being added.