Len Evansic

Seriously, there's an autistic kid at my club that matches this diary. The awful thing is that he's at the same point I am, and he started after me. I take solace that my flights are at best weekly, while his are almost daily (excepting weather). I had been using the same instructors as him, but they keep disappearing. The only flight instructors left have gone pre-maturely gray... -- Len

I think we've finally licked the e-mail problem (hopefully). We're still filling out the site with more stuff. The first two non-canard designs were added tonight, the Thorp T-18 and Van's RV-6. We've added a privacy policy and a Customs Paint Jobs page, with special thanks to John Slade for graciously allowing us to use a picture of the Slick Kitten with his customized Flying Ace chair. The "News" page has more details about upcoming products. There are other tweaks and additions, so poke around. http://FlightlineChairs.com -- Len

Al's lack of return e-mails may not be entirely his fault. I know this because I had to deal with this last week with my new domain (flightlinechairs.com). Some, but not all ISP's would reject my mail, but I was not getting mail bounces until five days later, if at all. Unfortunately, all of my other e-mail services would accept my new e-mails, which made diagnosing and fixing the problem very difficult. I eventually fixed my problem with a lot of twiddling with my mail server and by buying and subscribing to a an e-mail relay service. It seems that the IP address of my server was within a large block of addresses that are rejected by AOL and other ISP's because of spammer activity. IT is not my job, and I know it isn't Al's either. He may be having the same problem. Not being one of his customers, and not knowing his current situation, I'm just speculating. It takes a large amount of time and effort to start-up a company, even if you buy it turn-key from someone else. -- Len

Just a quick note to all who may have e-mailled us in the last week, we're still dealing with some e-mail issues that are in the realm of black magic. I've just received a bounce from a message sent five days ago to an AOL account, so it may take a bit more time to fully resolve the issue. We will be contacting anyone who has gotten through to us via alternative e-mail addresses and forum Private Messages. We also want to thank everyone for their patience while we figure this out. -- Len

The FlightlineChairs.com website has been updated with other products that may be of interest to builders and flyers. Hats, shirts, neckties, laptop bags and duffel bags. Our news page has also been updated with the status of upcoming designs. -- Len

Many people glue the full-size drawings to masonite and cut them out to use as templates for cutting with a router. -- Len

The Chairs page should be fixed now. -- Len

Yeah, um. Well, that worked before. I must have screwed up something in updating the website. Never fear, my wife will fix it. Hopefully we'll have that working some time today. -- Len

Yes! We are always looking for new designs, and we try to capture all of these planes in-flight. I'll contact you off-forum for details. -- Len

PDF's are more accurate for hard-copy output than straight prints of DWG's have ever been or will ever be. PDF is an open, device-independent and resolution independent format that is built for accurate representation in all media. The problem is, as Hans mentioned, that some PDF readers try to make everything fit the paper size and margins that the output device is configured to use. The DWG format is not open or close to standardized for writing or reading. The same is true for DXF. Unfortunately, they are the least common denominator for 2-D CAD formats, and are handled poorly by every CAD program not written by AutoDesk. The drawings should be accurately output to PostScript, and then converted to PDF for the most universal usability. For scaling concerns, a verification scale in both X and Y should be part of the drawing, preferably in all corners. -- Len

First off, I want to thank our current customers who have taken the chance to buy chairs from us. We enjoy making them, and appreciate your business. For everyone still watching this thread, I have to say that it's finally up! We're rolling out our new website for the camp chairs. Not everything is fully working yet, but enough is there to get an idea of what products we are offering. The price of the chairs has unfortunately gone up, but don't worry. For the original chair shown at the beginning of this thread (now called the "Flying Ace" chair), we will be honoring the original price quoted here for all Canard Zone and Canard Community members. That means only $45.00 for the personalized Flying Ace chair, with a personalized bag, which is a savings of $15.00. For this discount, just mention the forum in your order e-mail. We still have a lot of work to do on the site. Expect improvements at a rapid rate. -- Len

After a much-too-long wait, I finally finished the VariEze design. Between extended family visits and the ensuing extended family flu, we've been delayed in finishing new designs. Our first cut of a website will be launched next week, so expect a link shortly. We do try to make designs that people want, and Mike (Fearless) alluded to a customization in the "What airplane stuff did you get for Christmas?" thread. Apologies to Chrissi and Randi for not giving a heads-up in advance, but the Cozy Girrrls Strakes are a popular mod for current builders, and we've added this mod to the Cozy Mark IV design. In the new design pipeline are the Velocity 173, the Velocity XL in a different position, and our first non-canard planes. Of course, any firm interest in any design mentioned or not, will jump to the front of the queue. -- Len

What is the distribution stats now? Just curious. -- Len

For those people wandering over here from the Velocity list, welcome! Please take a few seconds to kick the tires and register with the forum. This place is open to all canardians, and registration will allow you to send me a Private Message (PM) if you want to order chairs. Sadly, Christmas delivery is no longer possible, but there's still time for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years, and Orthodox Christmas! The VariEze should finally be done and posted this evening. We've been busy trying to lay the ground work for a web site, and current pricing will probably change at that point. Also, we will be offering other embroidered items (hats, shirts, jackets, etc.) which can be customized with your plane. -- Len

Thanks! I've hand-digitized all of them from flying pictures or from Pov-Ray rendered, CAD-derived models. We searched for existing embroidery designs, but they were all too small (scaling poorly), too expensive (~$75.00 each), and too restrictive with licensing. My hope is that I can fund my building with selling these chairs. Right now, my wife is chattering about expanding into the larger market of experimental designs and setting up shop in the FlyMart at Oshkosh. I'm hoping to sell some chairs (or other things) before then, to get started in my build and to hopefully make enough to pay for gas to tow her trailer to Oshkosh. I'm going to try to use the inlining image tag here to post correctly named pictures, and a better-quality Velocity image. -- Len

Thanks Jon. I guess I've seen so many variations, I can't keep them straight anymore . Actually naming issues are one thing keeping me from posting my Cozy/Cozy III/Cosy/Cozy Classic design. Changing the images is easy enough to do. -- Len

OK, I finished up the Long EZ this evening. The Vari-Eze is about half done, and should be finished tomorrow. There is still time to order one or more of these for Christmas delivery. Like the others, the gear can be "retracted" on the Long EZ. -- Len

To threadjack further from the subject at hand, this reminds me of my wife's family motto, which adorns their family crest. I can't remember the exact words in a bastardized latin, but they roughly translate to "you're paid what you're worth." I'm sure this was supposed to be inspiring at some level, but the guy credited with coming up with this motto shoveled the stalls at the local duke's stables. -- Len

I can't afford Mr. Eggenfellner's conversions for a tractor, let alone a pusher. I'm just wondering what internal modifications are necessary for aircraft use. It seems doubtful that he adds $17,000 worth of parts and labor to a Subaru crate motor, to make it airworthy. How much twiddling does he do inside the crank case and between the valve covers? Does he change the cams, valves, pistons, or add new bearings that aren't used in the automotive use? That's what I'm wondering. How much of his rework is functional, and how much is cosmetic and packaging? -- Len

Hans, That's good information to know. The IBIS is still on the slate of future canards, just in case people need a seat when they aren't using their plane to travel. -- Len

We are accepting orders now, and the first 8 or so can be delivered for Christmas. I have two more Velocities ready, and I'm working on an alternative XL/XL-5 that doesn't have the near canard buried over the body. This is not a problem if you want your XL or XL-5 matching a paint scheme other than basic white . On deck are the Velocity XL FG, Long EZ, Vari-Eze, and Berkut... -- Len

In addition to the original retract-version of the Cozy, I now have the plans, fixed gear version and the Velocity SE FG. It's not too late to get one or two before Christmas. Any of these designs can be customized to your paint scheme at no extra charge. -- Len

Get the ultimate accessory for the next fly-in, your own Cozy Camp Chair, customized with your plane and your plane's numbers or name. This chair folds up and a pair of them can be stashed inside a baggage pod, or in the rear seat. This seat is comfortable with a padded shoulder area and breathable mesh in the back. It has two beverage holders in the arm-rests, and a safety locking system to keep the chair from folding up and pinching fingers. The accompanying bag is also embroidered with your plane's N-number or name. XL Cozy Camp Chairs are available in Navy (shown) and Gray. There are two less-deluxe versions available in varying colors. A very compact arm-less chair weighing 5 lbs. is $35.00 and a 7 lb. arm chair is $40.00. The Cozy Mk. IV is available now, but other canards will be available soon. PM me to order or for more details. -- Len

... with a chain gun and/or a tractor beam. or with-a-compass-in-the-stock-and-a-thing-that-tells-time:D -- Len

Neverquit, You beat me! The only thing I'd want more was one of those that I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg to have fixed. Then again, if I Santa could afford to get me one, he could afford to leave a maintenance and fuel account in my name too. -- Len