Bruce

The plans don't call for the LBGs to be drilled over sized. Not being well versed in this area, it seems to me that an insert would eventually do the same thing that a bolt would do, only become larger (the insert size), provided that the hole for the bolt was the correct size to begin with. Am I using the wrong reasoning here? Don't forget to raise the 3/8 inch hole up .4", don't remember exactly which CP it was but it is recommended, for aerodynamic purposes. A recommendation that was sent to me, "The nuts that attach the LMGAs should also have AT LEAST wide area washers for bearing surface rather than the plans called for AN960-416 washers which the plans call for. The small washers allow LMGA mount bolts torque to be lost when the wood crushes under heavy loads." Another suggestion that was passed along, "Be sure the area between the strut and the tube is filled with flox and not micro or worse yet urethane foam as called for on page 9-2 . That section is highly loaded and several failures are centered in that area. None are catastrophic but they are a big pain to repair." One more recommendation, for future builders it's suggested that a different wood be used for the Spruce blocks that the LMGA's attach to. Spruce is too soft, switch to Oak or something harder to take the mounting bolt loads when the gear is stressed. With the gross weight of these birds going up these days every little bit helps. Bruce Sturgill

Join the Q-LIST at yahoogroups.com or http://quickiebuilders.org/QBA05/qba.htm they'll be able to give you all the help you'll need and then some probably. Some very knowledgeable guys there. Bruce

So for those of us that are using the OpenEZ files, how far off are the drawings? Any other details would be greatly appreciated. Bruce Sturgill

When I started building my glass plane I thought I was going to have to quit because I was breaking out every where from the epoxy and fiberglass. I'd scratch all hours of the night it was so bad. Now I don't have a problem at all by using a few items that protect me extremely well. 1) Invisible Gloves (#1211) from Wicks, I saw Mike Melville use it or something similar in the old Rutan video, it really does help with the epoxy but not the fiberglass. 2) I wear long sleeve t-shirts, put on a pair of Nitrile gloves up and over the sleeves (I was having a reaction to the latex, my hands would itch for hours) and put Duct tape around them and the t-shirt to keep them sealed. Then I use the latex gloves over the Nitrile gloves taking them off when I get to much epoxy on and put on another pair. I can work all day long very comfortably this way. 3) I wear a sweat band and this keeps the old sweat beads from having to be wiped or falling into my layups or on my glasses. 4) I've owned ONE dust mask for several years now and if you want steamed glasses to go away then go to this web site and buy one, they're not cheap but, you can wash it and reuse it for a very long time. I used to think they were a pain in the you know what, not this one. I use it all the time when it's called for and I no longer have a problem with steamed glasses and best of all, it's not a pain to use. http://www.dustbeegone.com/ I was extremely frustrated and I almost gave up because of these problems but, I kept trying to find the right solution for my issues and these have worked now for well over a year with no problems at all from either the epoxy or fiberglass. Which reminds me I need to head out to the garage and mix some epoxy, enjoy the build! Bruce Sturgill www.pursuitofflight.com

Now here's my kind of plane/car! Bruce Sturgill

Hey Jon, Do you know if anyone is doing that or something similar for the "single" engine OpenEZ? Bruce

Hi Jon,I guess I need to do a better job next time on the Fold-A-Plane segment. What you see in the segment is exactly where I am in the process, and yes, I'm still building it in my garage. I'll shoot another segment in the next week or so cutting the elevators out and glassing in the cut off sections, I'll be using the Fein tool for that segment. Talked with Al Wick the other day and I'll be doing what may end up being 2 or 3 segments on his Cozy MKIV, we'll be shooting in about 2 weeks. If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask him, shoot me an email and I'll ask during the interview. Best regards, Bruce Sturgill

We've added 3 new segments at www.pursuitofflight.com and one is about a Cozy Mark IV. The episode about the Aventura II was added earlier. Episode 6: A new composite kit airplane that's designed with the newly developed Fold-A-Plane technique. Join me as I walk you through the unfolding of this unique way of building a kit airplane in my garage. 5 1/2 minutes Episode 7: A story several years in the making, ending with the completion of a beautiful RV-4. Rion Bourgeois of EAA Chapter 105 took a little longer than usual to complete his RV-4 but he never gave up. So the question is, can you finish building a plane just as a "hobby"? 9 minutes Episode 8: The Cozy Mark IV is the featured aircraft in this show. Colby Farmer, builder of a Mark IV takes us on a guided tour of his plane, shares his experience of the challenge of building and flying a canard aircraft. This is just one 10 minute segment from our 3 hour special on canard aircraft. The two DVD set gives you an inside look from 9 different canard aircraft builders, two who are A&P's and one a DAR. Best regards, Bruce Sturgill

We've added another video for everyone, sorry it's not about canards, that's coming soon though. Episode 5 Aventura II - We shot this at Sebring Florida during the Sport Aviation Expo. One of the planes I had a chance to go up in was the Aventura II. What a thrill to land a plane on water for the first time, everyone needs to experience this at least once. Want to see what a power on and off stall looks like in this plane, you'll have to watch. Bruce Sturgill www.pursuitofflight.com

If you enjoy watching video's check out my new "work in progress" web site www.pursuitofflight.com Pursuit of Flight is a web based TV series involving all things flying, and our emphasis is light sport and experimental aircraft, but we'll mix in anything interesting. For example a friend of mine down the road is rebuilding a Jenny and I'm stopping in from time to time, shoot some video and get some interviews. Hopefully Al Wick will let me drop in and do a segment on his conversion (he's only 40 minutes away) and as soon as I can get out Jack's way I'll do a new segment on his changes to his ERacer. My goal is to add at least one new episode a month and I'll be adding some canard segments in the future. Some of you may have already watched these segments, but a lot of people haven't had the chance, so now I'm making them available for all. If you have any ideas for a segment, please do drop me an email I'm open to suggestions. These are the four that are ready to watch... Episode 1 RV-12 - I was shooting at Twin Oaks Airpark and the RV-12 flew in, it had less than 10 hours on the Hobbs. This is Van's Aircraft entry in to the Light Sport Aircraft world and I caught it out in the wild. More on this craft in later segments. Episode 2 Glasair - We interview Andrew Seefried, builder of an award wining Glasair at the Arlington EAA Air show, take a flight, get a guided tour and receive some encouragement for other builders. The details of this plane are just fabulous and the instrument panel will knock your socks off. Episode 3 Lancair- In this episode we visit the Lancair facility during it's yearly three day fly-in. We have some really great air to air shots with an in depth interview with Carl Lewis (not the runner or writer) builder of a Legacy an absolutely beautiful aircraft. "It's really like you'd like flying to be, it just soars through the air with great enthusiasm". With a quote like that how could you not watch this episode! Episode 4 Viperjet - It's the Viperjet, need I say any more! Tag along as I get the privilege of riding in the back seat of a truly great airplane and go up side down for the first time. Oh my! This is part one of a three part series, the other two will air sometime in the future so stay tuned. Coming soon... Episode 5 Aventura II - We shot this at Sebring Florida during the Sport Aviation Expo. In one of the planes I was able to go up in was the Aventura II. What a thrill to land a plane on water for their first time. Everyone needs to experience this at least once. Want to see what a power on/off stall looks like in this plane, you'll have to watch. Hope you enjoy the segments, we've had several thousands of downloads so far. Best regards, Bruce Sturgill

Thanks for the educated guess, that's what a few other people have thought as well. Bruce

I have an chance to purchase a LongEZ tub but I have some questions regarding some dark colorizations on the fuselage. The color in question is above each of the yellow lines. I can't figure out what the dark area may be, any thoughts from the group? Thanks in advance, Bruce Sturgill

I put a couple of calls into the Velocity folks but never got a reply. I had some footage but not enough for a segment. I also talked wih the new Aero Canard owner and he did not have any footage, so I was unable to include them either. Aircraft Spruce has international shipping I would believe. The DVD set is NTSC and will work in PAL players. It's funny that PAL DVD's will not work in NTSC players. Bruce Sturgill

Yes, you can purchase the DVD through Aircraft Spruce. Bruce

Jon, you have one on the way, went out yesterday (along with 15 others), you should have it by Monday at the latest. Just my way of saying thanks for the work and effort you put in on the forum. Bruce

Here's a copy of the DVD cover... Bruce

Well, it's finally done. It took a little longer than I had hoped for, but the end result was worth the extra time, I think you'll agree. A three hour special on two DVD's about canard aircraft only, truly a one of a kind DVD. It covers the Cozy MkIV, LongEZ, Berkut, ERacer, StaggerEZ, Bateleur, Defiant, LongEZ Jet and a custom LongEZ. Want to know what it's like to build a Cozy aircraft? Or see what it looks like to do a high speed fly-by from the cockpit? Then you'll want to see this DVD. You'll hear not only why they choose their particular aircraft, but what kept them going through the building process as well. You'll get lot's of encouragement from every builder for you to continue on your journey to complete your canard aircraft. You'll get a guided tour of a LongEZ Jet and a customized LongEZ. If you enjoy watching canard aircraft fly, then you'll be thrilled with the 60 minutes of air to air shots, high speed fly-bys, take offs and landings. It includes all the natural sounds as they fly over head at more than 200 miles per hour! We're still working on the web site, but you can email me or call: 503-491-5040 or bruce at pursuitofflight dot com, I'll be glad to email you the cover of the DVD set. The cost is $49.95 plus $5.00 S&H. A special thanks to everyone that gave their time for the interviews and flying. Bruce Sturgill