Bruce

Any idea who's picture/plane that is? I think it would make an excellent addition to the Big Book of Canards and I'd like to find a higher resolution one. Bruce

I talked with Terf today and I explained to him what Burt had said. The short story from Terf is, he has the exclusive rights to sell and distribute the plans of all the models he carries in his CD's (LongEZ, Defiant, etc.) and he has a signed paper from Burt that states that. I asked if he would copy that document to his web site and he said he would be glad to do just that. It would be sometime around Christmas before he could make that happen. This arrangement was made many years ago and the paper work isn't right at hand. The one thing he did not have permission to sell are the templates, which would make it a complete set of plans and without the templates being included, his liability goes down to almost nothing. As stated on his CD's, this material is for educational use only. For those that do not have his address... http://dragonaero.com/ Now, I think it's up to him. Bruce

Thanks Marc! This answers a lot of questions and should put the issue to rest, but, we know it's opened a new can or worms... I have some new questions for Terf now... should be an interesting conversation to say the least. Bruce

Yes, I've been talking and working with Terf. Matthew(Terf owner) would be interested in making all the changes that everyone is talking about here, however, he would still require that he be the sole distributor of the LongEZ plans, kinda shoots that "open" thing in the foot. With all the changes and rewriting that everyone seems to be willing to do, it doesn't sound like it would be the LongEZ anymore. So, let's get started. Aiman, how long before you can set up the Wiki for this project? I would suggest that the Wiki be set up so only invited members could add or make changes to the OpenEZ project. Raiki, would it be alright to start with your work? Anyone want to handle the oversight in the beginning until some organization starts to evolve? This will obviously be a work in progress, if we happen to cross the line somewhere inadvertently, we'll apologize, make the needed corrections and move on. Mighty big undertaking... Bruce

It's a long read, sorry... So what facts do we actually have here...just off the top of my head... The plans are copyrighted by RAF... even though RAF closed their doors does not mean the copyright went away. TerfCD (Matthew) has only (the only) distribution rights to those plans. Templates... new ones available on the internet thanks to the hard work of Jon and many others, an important step here for those that want to build a LongEZ using the TerfCD. You don't need a "license" or permission from anyone to build a LongEZ from TerfCD's or 20 year old plans or ones you draw up yourself. Would it be nice to have a new and updated set of plans, CP's, templates, etc. for the LongEZ? Seems a shame to have all the great information of the last 20 years or so in so many different locations (web sites, newsletters, etc) and not in one giant PDF. I'd be the first to purchase that or download if available, which leads us to the next thought... That's what you'll need to do in order to not infringe on RAF's copyright. So who's going to take on that "little" project and give it away for free through the internet. I think Spruce/Wick's would be the biggest beneficiary's of those efforts. TerfCD can't help here, he only has distribution rights. Would you sell enough plans to make the venture worth while, really hard to say, except, how deep are your pockets? Which brings me back to this statement. I didn't want to give out this information just yet, but, with the conversation that's taken place, I thought I'd share with the group on what I'm doing. TerfCD and I are working out the final details about updating his CD's with LongEZ plans to include all the changes from the past CP's(it's a start). A LongEZ and Cozy MKIV fuselage "Quick Start Kit" that will have everything pre-cut and ready to assemble, even the fiber glass and plastic sheets. Just mix epoxy and lay glass. The LongEZ fuselage kit is almost finished. Having stated that, with the condition of the economy this project (Quick Start Kits) has slowed down considerably, however the LongEZ CP updates are moving on ahead just fine. Hopefully by early summer that portion will be ready for the public with distribution through TerfCD. So, yes, some of us are doing what we can while respecting the rights (legal/moral) of others trying to help keep a great airplane alive and easier to build for future builders. Having the greatest set of plans is only a part of what's needed to get the next generation of builders building a "plans built" aircraft. Update: The Big Book of Canard's - I have almost 150 great photo's sent in from around the globe of canard aircraft. The book is coming along fine, plenty of work still to go and should be ready by early spring. Thanks to those that took the time and effort to send in those great pictures, still time to send more in, can't have too many you know. Bruce

Well, to add a little humor, maybe she's not into fur lined cuffs and whips.. does this latex make my butt look fat? Sorry, I couldn't resist. Bruce

I wasn't itching until I read this... I was having the same problem until I started wearing long sleeve shirts and taping the Nitrile gloves to the sleeves to ensure no gaps and using the latex over those. It took a couple of times before I got use to the extra layer but now it's just fine. You'll find that your hands stay dryer because of the shirt soaking up the excess moisture. I can leave the Nitrile gloves on all day with no problems at all and just change the latex as needed. I thought my problem was just the epoxy, turns out it was the glass also. Seems I was barely touching the glass with my arms on those long cuts. Now I tape up whether I'm cutting glass or mixing epoxy. For awhile there I thought I might not be able to work on composite planes because the itching was so bad. Not a problem of itching since and that's been close to 3 years. Bruce

Very well done and funny, great sense of humor... hopefully there will be more with the History Channel. Bruce

You're absolutely correct about the quality and from the photos I'm getting so far, quality is not going to be an issue. I can see I'm going to have to use my "A" game for this project. Somewhere along the way I'll make a copy of the pages available so everyone can see what they'll be getting. At blurb.com you can see a preview of the first 15(?) pages only, I'd like to be able to see them all, kind of like you would thumb through a book at the book store. That's a good idea about the Polaroid section, I'll keep that in mind. Bruce

Sounds like you're going to be a good resource for some pictures. Actually I'm working on two airplanes. I'm a beta builder for the folks at Pro-Composites, I'm building their Personal Cruiser, it's a single seat composite V tail airplane. I have a video on a web site that was shot about 1-1/2 years ago, www.pursuitofflight.com. That site has I think about 8 flying videos on it and needs updating something terribly. My web guy lost interest and I'm learning how to do simple web sites now. The other is the LongEZ built from the OpenEZ world. Both are at completely different stages as you can imagine. We've been working on the canopy fitting with enough head room for the last 6 weeks and that has slowed progress down on both planes. Being a beta builder definitely has it's challenging moments. Bruce

As much as I like having my pictures on my computer, I really enjoy a good "Coffee Table Book" and unfortunately, we don't have one just for canard aircraft. There's just something about feeling the glossy paper between my fingers while turning those pages and not looking at a computer screen. So the idea of "The Big Book of Canards" (working title) is something I've decide to do for the canard community. Also, it makes it easier to let those that are not at my computer to enjoy the photos as well and I think a lot of non-canardians will enjoy the book. Since there are about a billion photos already taken of canard aircraft (during construction, on the ground, in flight, etc) I thought I'd solicit for donation photos. Having looked at many over the years, there are some absolutely beautiful ones out there. Here's my offer, I'll assemble the book by retouching/cropping, editing photos as needed, write captions and other info that will be supplied by the donors. Of course they would have their name/photo credits and any info included in the book as well. I would build the book and store it at www.blurb.com (or similar company) where anybody can order a book at anytime from Blurb (or similar company) and it would be shipped directly to them, I don't have to do a thing, except create the book and store it at a company like Blurb. The printing price will be the same for everyone (including me) and cost will depend on how many pages are in the book, anywhere between $30 - $100. This will become a winter/spring project for me and I'm not looking to make any money off of this especially since the photos will be donated. Here's what we'll need: The photos need to be high resolution images, 72 dpi will not look good at all for printing, great for TV or computer viewing. We need at least 200dpi or better for printing. I'll need as much info about the photograph as you can supply, the typical who, what, where and when information, at the very least who took the photos. Any and all types of canard aircraft are welcome, AeroCanard, Berkut, Cozy's, Defiant, Dragonfly, ERacer, Ibis, Long/Vari EZ, SQ2000, Velocity, Quickie/Q2/Q200/Tri-Q and others that I didn't mention or know about. I'd like to include some construction shots as well. You can send them via email or snail mail on a CD/DVD. bruceATpursuitofflightdotcom Bruce Sturgill PO Box 652 Troutdale, OR 97060 Any and all suggestions/questions about the book are welcome, this is our "Big Book of Canards". Best regards, Bruce Sturgill

Another interesting way to increase the amount of fuel is what Ken Murphy did with his Cozy. He had a 172 gal fuel tank made for him that fits in the back seat area. Ken said it only takes him about an hour to put in, with the mains and the extra tank he has a range of 3,000 to 4,000 miles. Of course you loose the back seat but, with a range like that it's a tempting trade off. The most he's had in it so far is 150 gallons and the CG was fine. The max he can carry is 212 gallons, now that has to hurt ($$$) at the fuel pump. I'll try and get some photo's the next time he's in town with it. Bruce

Fondling canards for three days... priceless! Bruce

That's good news Jack. Bruce

Saw this on the news yesterday. One station reported the gear was up when the pilot landed at Troutdale, Oregon and another reported it was a "hard" landing. Thankfully the pilot wasn't hurt. http://www.katu.com/news/17240839.html This link provides helicopter video. http://www.kgw.com/video/video-index.html?nvid=232429 Bruce

I don't remember the previous post but I saved a picture, you could use the gear that's being used on some of the current SQ2000's. It has the break line inside the gear, it's cut and formed then heat treaded, it's 8 feet wide, attaches to the wing spar and can be purchased for "only $3,000". Stan doesn't see any reason why it wouldn't work on a Cozy MKIV. It does offer some advantages but a couple thousand dollars worth of difference, it seems pretty costly for an aluminum gear leg. Here's a picture from the other post on this forum. Bruce

Yes, that's already incorporated in the drawing. The 3/8" hole is moved up and the outline is modified to accommodate this, that's why the "tear drop" side looks flat on the top instead of rounded like the original drawings. The picture shows how it'll look (like everybody else's) with the lower portion trimmed off. Just curious if any body else had the same issue with using the plans drawings. Bruce

I guess I didn't explain it very well, so I cut the parts out and taped them together and hopefully the picture will explain better than I did. In the yellow circle at the bottom you can see where the ends do not line up correctly. These are from the full scale drawings and I was wondering if any body else had the same issue I'm encountering? I'm going to cut off the extra 1/4" and smooth that bottom corner area. Thanks, Bruce

I talked with Terry (CSA) and his thoughts were not because they are wrong, it's worked fine for many years and many aircraft, however for the unfortunate ones that have had an issue in the area when the gear is stressed the spruce blocks that the LMGAs attach to are too soft. It's an area that can be improved on that's easy to do with negligible weight since the pieces of wood are so small. He also mentioned the nuts that attach the LMGAs should have AT LEAST wide area washers for bearing surface rather than the plans called for AN960-416 washers. "The small washers allow LMGA mount bolts torque to be lost when the wood crushes under heavy loads". It's a suggestion for improving the durability of our plane and I can only imagine how difficult it would be to repair this area if it did fail. If you're not a member of the CSA I'd highly recommend it. Lot's of good wisdom from experienced builders and fliers. Bruce

I'm having an issue with the full scale drawings of the 2 X 2 aluminum extrusions on page 9-3 not aligning up correctly? I was having a set made and the metal fabricator called and said the bottoms don't line up. He had me cut out the two sides and put them together like you were going to cut them from the 2 X 2 aluminum angle. In the attached photo I've moved the teardrop over to the left side where it would complete the right angle, looking at the bottom of the image things don't line up. The tear drop seems short or the other side is to long. I'm thinking maybe he and I are doing something wrong, anyone else run into this issue? I'm thinking that it needs to look more like picture #2, in order for the shape of the bottom to come out right. Any thoughts? Thanks, Bruce Sturgill

Tom, Could you give us a little more information about the accident, more importantly for me, who changed it back from CP #25 and where is the change located? Thanks, Bruce

The CP's state you can replace the stainless steel firewall (.016) with aluminum, do you use the same thickness for the aluminum? I couldn't find the thickness in the CP's or I missed it. Thanks, Bruce

I called the folks at http://3rsales.com/an.htm and they have 150 of them in stock (AN6-80A), $15.00 and some change a piece. Bruce Sturgill www.pursuitofflight.com

I'd keep them as well. Sorry about the late tips on the wood, just learned those today. Bruce