Jon Matcho

13 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

Those pieces might last a while but the corrosion process has a good start.  Why install them on a new build?

How much material would need to be removed is the question I'd have before committing to using them.  Following the CP guidance would work, but your suggestion to replace is best given the likelihood of corrosion. 

Leonardi, you can take these pieces to a machine shop and have them remade (tell the shop it's for a tractor or something).  You can do the sealing yourself, or maybe the shop can.  There aren't many options to acquire these parts as the "VariEze Store" has been closed for quite some time.

34 minutes ago, Kent Ashton said:

The motor type 290, prop broken after the gear folded.

Lycoming O-290, which is comparable to the O-235. https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/O-235%26O-290 Operator Manual 60297-9.pdf

The engine is now suspect and needs a full inspection given the prop strike.

No pictures on that listing.  🙄

Except for the last picture I do not see much corrosion in the metal at all.  Please do not take my word for it -- diagnosis using only pictures always difficult -- but it's possible you can fine-sand and polish those parts and then seal or treat with alodine and put them back with new screws and pins.

Again, do not trust me.  I am an amateur.

13 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

Jon, I wonder why you want to widen the rear of a Cozy IV. 

It's amazing how the Internet never forgets.  I was doing an Internet search, looking for pictures based on "aerocanard vs cozy mark iv" and found the perfect picture, which happened to be attached to a post I made over a decade ago answering this question!  Remarkable!

TLDR:  My motivation was to take what I had perceived as a benefit (at the time) of an Aerocanard plans enchancement and apply it to the Cozy design (I had both sets of plans).  At some point I considered myself building an Aerocanard, but am definitely on the Cozy track right now.  Looking back, I would have stayed with the Cozy Mark IV plans 100% and not get distracted with the Aerocanard widened rear modification.

Interesting plane indeed.  Lighter than a Cozy, slightly wider cabin, but doesn't look like much storage (?) and a relatively slow canard.  For some that's actually a better setup than the fast approach speeds and long runways canards typically require.

I wonder why they taxi on the grass in their video using the rear engine with the forward engine off?  I would think they'd want to do it the other way around.

Hi Leonardi, I took the liberty of correcting the spelling of your post title (attach instead of attack).

You'll have to fabricate new wing attachment hardware, but there are those that can answer your question much better than I can.  It's a topic that comes up often in CSA Newsletter articles, the mailing lists, and elsewhere.  

This is from the original Rutan Aircraft Factory's Canard Pusher Newsletter (issue #55, page 5):

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VARIEZE MAIN WING ATTACH - CORROSION
Since we first reported the corrosion problem in VariEze main wing attach plates in CP53, page 7, we have heard from only two or three builder/flyers who had found signs of corrosion. Just this week, we received a letter from a VariEze owner/pilot who found corrosion in the WA-2-2 plate. He has spent a considerable amount of time and energy removing this plate, in fact, he said he almost resorted to using dynamite! He sent us the WA-2-2 plate, the lower plate of the top two plates mounted to the centersection spar. By far the toughest plate to remove and replace. This plate (see photo) has one of the worst cases of intergranular corrosion we have seen. It is absolutely not safe to fly and must be replaced. Unfortunately, this is probably going to be very difficult, and we honestly do not have any simple fix for this. Just removing the WA-2- plate could do serious damage to the centersection spar. The UND wrap around the end of the centersection spar may have to be cut and removed. The foam under the WA-2-2 plate must be dug out, the 8 AN525 (or AN509) screws must be removed (drilling them out may be the easiest method). A replacement plate must be fabricated, duplicating exactly all of the holes in the plate. This is a difficult job and will require an expert machinist and a lot of patience. Brock will not be able to help you with this. Each case will have to be dealt with on an individual basis. The new piece should be alodined and then floxed and screwed back into place. If the UND wrap was damaged, it must be replaced, which requires cutting into the fuel tank (we did say it would be tough!).

This is major work, not anything that could not be done by a person who has built a VariEze, but very tedious, difficult work. And it must be done right. There is no short cut, no easy way. If you find more than simple white powder surface corrosion, stuff you can easily polish off with 320 grit sandpaper, you must ground your VariEze and replace the corroded parts.

A mandatory inspection is required before next flight for all VariEzes. So not take this problem lightly, it could kill you and anyone who may be with you. Remove both wings. Clean all visible aluminum parts at the wing root and centersection spar. Look at the edges of all the WA plates on the centersection spar. Look for a thinner edge or a swollen appearance under the glass. Look in between these plates (where the WA-3 tongue slides in). A white powder appearance that can be completely removed and polished out with 320 grit is OK, but the plates should be very thoroughly cleaned and sprayed with zinc chromate. LPS or a good quality grease as used in marine applications should be generously applied everywhere before re-installing the wings. Check the WA-4 pins and the AN4 bolts and grease both thoroughly. Replace the AN4 bolts if they show any sign of corrosion.

New construction VariEzes, or anyone replacing wing attach fittings with new ones, should clean all aluminum parts with Alumiprep 33 or Metal Prep #79 then alodine them with Alodine 1201 which puts a tough, corrosion-resistant, visible, golden finish on. We are reluctant to try alodining parts in place due to the acid etch (Alumiprep 33) possibly getting under the glass onto the aluminum.

When you inspect your VariEze, be very conscientious. Check very carefully, it is difficult to find, you may have to probe under the glass over the WA-2-2 plates. Look hard and long at it before you decide it is safe to fly.

The only good news about this is that where the epoxy was bonded to this WA-2-2 plate which we have, there is no corrosion. The surface of the metal is as new. Intergrandular corrosion is very common in airplanes that live near the ocean.

Sea planes are especially prone and require constant inspection and maintenance aimed at preventing just this problem. The salt in the air plus water from rain or condensation, plus heat and aluminum and, presto!, you have a battery! Galvanic reaction and you have corrosion. Keep the aluminum parts clean, grease them often, and you will have no problems. People who live far from the ocean may not see this problem but they must check for it just the same.

This problem is confined to the VariEze. The Long-EZ wing attachment is completely different and this same problem should not occur. Of course, all metal parts must be protected from corrosion - aluminum with alodine or zinc chromate, steel with zinc chromate (after cleaning in metal Prep). Wing attach bolts and parts should be generously covered with a good grease in VariEze and Long-EZs. Replace any rusty bolts and nuts.

Feel free to discuss the Velocity type, its pros and cons, and whether you should go the kit route or another option such as building a Cozy Mark IV from plans.

If you happen to be an owner, flyer or builder of a Velocity, check out our friends at the Velocity Owners and Builders Association.

This happens on schedule every year I choose to miss (or cannot attend) Oshkosh, the largest and most popular fly-in of North America and possibly the world:  I am having significant regrets about not attending this year.  I am beginning to wonder whether this is just something that I need to attend every single year so I don't find myself in this state of despair, writing to y'all about my first world troubles.  

I've rationalized this in the past by dedicating the week, or at least an extended weekend, to 100% plane building/progress.  As I write this, I realize this is what is best so that I can someday consider flying in to OSH as one of the many jockeying for position on multiple runways and taxiways (used as runways).

So there it is.  Thanks for listening.  I will be spending this OSH watching from the web cams and moving my own projects forward, which need to be my true priority these days. 

I found this recently, a Defiant-like canard but much smaller.  It looks about the size of a Cozy III, but with a larger canard and with only two 50hp engines.

http://www.eulair.fr/en/

I'll bring it back... I have heard that if you were to buy a dozen airplane engines in the 1950s, pickle them, and then sell them today you'd be rich.  Point being that some portions of an airplane have stored value.

There, I tried.

Holy Heck Kent!  I'm a fan of money and even own a few fractions of a Bitcoin, but I didn't imagine our discussion would result in something not at all connected to airplanes.

I just setup the Blog feature for myself (to log my build) and will do the same for you with any completely-off-topic "rants" in the future.  How about that?  Making a blog post here is just like making a forum post (no training required).

Jon

I have an untouched Cozy IV nose strut and can take dimensions.  What are the Long-EZ nose strut dimensions?

Unfortunately, in our world of practically orphaned aircraft, this is typical of how it works.  These are small shops that need to make decisions for how and when to produce these unique parts of ours.  If Aerosport were only doing Cozys and Long-EZs they'd be out of business by noon.  With some patience and timing of your build you can likely delay this area.  You can always design your own...

21 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

If somebody has original copies of Long-ez drawings, plz download my drawing of the F22 bulkhead, print it out and and see how it compares to the original or if you contact me directly I will get one printed and send it to you for a check.  It's in dxf file but I can put it in other formats.  I tried to take the A3 Open-ez drawing, put it in the proper scale and draw over it.    Should be well within tolerance to build from.

I can cross-check your drawing against the originals used for the Open-EZ package.  I'll print and compare and report back.  I'll also use this as an opportunity to finish Open-EZ Revision 7!

Hi Dan, I'll get you setup on www.quickheads.com for this, but in the meantime you can post your item for sale in the For Sale section here.

The VW engine may not be worth anything to some potential buyers, but worthwhile for others, so consider allowing that to be a separate purchase.  The engine shop is still in business and that engine block can be upgraded to use some of their latest parts:  http://revmasteraviation.com/

The foam may not be worth shipping, and replacement foam can easily be acquired from Aircraft Spruce or Wicks Aircraft.

A pristine unstarted kit that is still in boxes is rare, so you should get a premium.  Putting a thumb in the wind I'd suggest a few thousand dollars.  I have an unstarted kit as well and that's about what I am looking for.

A recent update to the forum software has given us another way to quote posts when replying: 

1. Click and drag your mouse over the text you want to quote to get a "Quote selection" button to appear right near your selection. 
2. Click the "Quote selection" button and the selected text will be included in your reply at the place where your cursor was last at.
3. Repeat as necessary.

Simple, and works great!

That's a shame, and now a fairly involved repair (replace the entire canard, rerun lines, cables, etc.), but at least you can keep the wheels.  The first thing I think when watching folks stress-test their wings is, "ok, now get that stuff off of there now!"

4 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

I understand they behave better on more conventional landing gear.  Perhaps it is a blessing.  🙂

You'd still want to rebuild that Quickie as a taildragger, which (being a taildragger) is the source of most of the Q's reputation.  In other words, you could say that all taildraggers would behave better on more conventional gear.  With the Quickie taildraggers, the effect of braking is much more pronounced than if the wheels were closer to the centerline.  In the air the setup is more efficient than a conventional tricycle gear.

I think the 3rd airplane I build/own will be a Q1.  Looks like great fun with a tiny engine! 😉 

The very next email in my Inbox after this post's notification was from EAA about a discount for a prop balancer!

What type of wood did you use?  I'll just have to re-read this topic.  Interesting stuff.  I just figured out now how you used the templates as a reference for your cutting machine.  My next question are:  How did you get the stations/positions for the profile templates?  Are you working from published plans of some sort?

 

 

 

2

30 minutes ago, Kent Ashton said:

Left hand stick?  It can moved.

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/avo/d/corona-rutan-long-ez-80-built-plans/6874274828.html

Or imagine you're in a Cozy where a left-hand stick is standard (unless you fly from the right seat).

The canard may be a GU so just build a new one if need be.  Looks like a great buy!

Impressive Kent.  Much of this is just short of magic for me and I can imagine how much research and learning you've had to do if you were not an engineer already (or even if you were)!

At worst the 3rd time will be a charm and you'll be a certified prop builder at that point.  

16 hours ago, Voidhawk9 said:

Debris into the prop is much less of an issue with wide-set gear like that and a deflector on the nose-wheel.

Use of unpaved runways is much more common outside the USA, even with canard pushers. There's one up north of here that even Lears have been known to use.

Yes, and I'm sure the quality of the strip comes into play.  Still, FOD is greater on grass than paved.  My recent propeller research taught me that even rain can make a mess of a prop.  I would definitely like to fly out of grass strips, but don't plan to in a 4-place canard.

16 hours ago, Voidhawk9 said:

A bigger issue is likely the nose gear. Probably OK with the Long, but barely adequate on a Cozy, and a bit of a gamble in a Cozy on unpaved surfaces.

Not arguing, but why is this a bigger issue in the Cozy?  Weight on the nose?

Where are the general aviation "hubs" in New Zealand?  Which cities/towns/areas are known for this over others?

23 hours ago, Kent Ashton said:

Saw this "Open eze" on a FB page.  N871CG     Said to be for sale at $35K with overhauled O-290 (50 hrs) and about 150 hrs airframe.  You will have to call the owner for more details.  Wow, Jon, someone is actually building from the Open-EZ plans, huh?

https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=871CG

Wow!!!  I figure those that are building Open-EZs register as Long-EZs, which -- based on a recent discussion on the Cozy Builders list -- would make sense for insurance purposes.  Regardless, this is quite interesting.  The timing is good too as I am halfway into the Open-EZ Revision 6 update.

The FAA registration also brings up a few pet peeves of mine:

1. It's 'Long-EZ', not LongEz, LoneEze, Long Eze, etc.  Long-EZ.
2. It's VariEze, with the same points to be made.
3. EZ and Eze are pronounced as if you were to pronounce the letters 'E' and 'Z' individually, or "easy" as a shortcut.

</rant>

Awesome find Kent!

Pretty pictures, but "yikes" -- a pusher on grass!  Obviously not impossible on manicured grass, but problematic with grass of any length and issues of debris being thrown into the prop (which happens with rocks on paved runways as well).

Grass runways are generally to be avoided with canard pushers.

Quote

Get your self up and flying for the low cost of $3,500 which is only the cost of the engine! It’s like your getting the rest for free!

Now that is funny!

Clean plans are available at www.quickheads.com  I much more like the idea of running a Rotax on this, but Onan's were the standard for the original Quickies way back.

Kim, well done with your approved milestone!  You just have to do what is necessary. 

I wonder how much crackling is too much crackling?

Thank you for sharing and I look forward to your future updates.