Waiter

Tony, As you progress, let me know if your interested in a controller. I'm working on a simpler model for mine that could easily be modified for your design (maybe) http://www.iflyez.com/gear_controller.shtml Waiter

Hey, What do I need to do to get you to cut a set of wings ??? Waiter

Although this seems like a nice option, especially if you already have a spinner, crush plate, and bolts. But it also seems back wards. I would suspect I would want the thinest prop possible (weight savings) I couldn't even give you an intelligent guess as to what the thickness would be. Have you contacted other prop people and ask them for a quote on a prop? Waiter

Like Marc, I also use an Odessy battery http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc925lmj.htm One of the features I love about these batteries, you can mount them in ANY position. There isn't any acid spillage or venting. My battery weighs in at 23 lbs. Rather than carry useless lead for ballast, consider a larger battery. Waiter

My garage in CA was like this. I made the center post so I could temporally remove it. I made special brackets for the top and bottom to support the post, and "U" shaped brackets to mount the two door tracks to the post. I would roll both doors all the way up, and insert a safety pin so the doors couldn't be lowered. I then removed three bolts, two on top and one on bottom. Pushed the post out of the way and presto, I could get the EZ in or out. I'll look around and see if I can find photos of the post and rigging. Waiter

I took mine out of service for the winter, that was THREE YEARS AGO :irked: The list of things I planned on doing is totally different from the list of things getting done. I keep saying to myself, "It'll be worth it";) Good luck with your "retrofit" Waiter

I played with the artwork to get a better image of a Cozy. I also added rockets and guns for you more aggressive types. Use these for the WAIT and BUSY cursors. www.iflyez.com Waiter

Looks NICE!!!! Waiter

Oh Yah. I'll give it a shot Waiter

Rick I did a couple at 330deg. I didn't like them. I'm now used to the "straight" pointer. The cursor hot spot is at the top center of the cursor window rather that the upper left corner of the cursor window. ANyway, Whats an F1 Rocket??? Waiter

I've taken my aggression out on the cursors, I added rockets to the F14, F15, and F16s. These can be used for the wait cursor instead og the hourglass. Should I put rockets on the EZs??? I also made up some C-130 cursors, Including Coast Guard colors and Blue Angles colors. I'm still working on the C-130 animation though. I'm thinking of maybe parachutes coming out the back. DARN - Its got to warm up soon!!!!!!!! www.iflyez.com Waiter

Is Corel Draw OK? Waiter

EZ.ORG is BACK UP:) Waiter

Looks like a VariViggen on Steroids. Waiter

You can probably shave 10% off the total cost by shopping around, and watching your shipping and tax costs. Thanks to the Internet, This is a lot easier than it was in 1985. Places like Wicks, Chief, Wag Aero, and StienAir are usually a good first stop. Boating supply houses are also a good source of hardware (stainless) and glass supplies. When I was building mine, one source for the Blue foam was "Flotation Billet" used in docks. If it was the same manufacture and part number, I would start with a small sample, and if it looked acceptable, maybe buy the wing and canard foam. ALSO. When you order, think about shipping and taxes. I built my EZ while I lived in CA, so everything I ordered from ACS, I paid Shipping AND 8% sales tax . Often, it was cheaper (bottom line) to order from Wicks in Ill. If you can consolidate shipping, this helps out, avoid spending $5 to ship $2 worth of nuts and bolts. If the part isn't available, cancel it, or wait for a complete order. The Internet makes seeing "IN STOCK" a lot easier. On large or bulky items, (i.e. Wing Foam) Sometimes shipping can cost more than the item. Maybe plan on taking a short two or three day vacation to the LA area. Your about a 12 or 14 hour drive ?? from LA, so if shipping on a complete order of foam is going to cost $500, Barrow a small trailer and head to LA. My wife and I did this when we ordered Foam, We spent the weekend in LA, picked up the foam from ACS on Monday morning, and headed back to San Jose. We did the same thing with our Canopy. We drove cross country, vacation style, to Dayton Ohio, Visited relatives and sites along the way. Basically, the trips were paid for from the "shipping" expenses. DON"T buy ANY Instruments or Radios until you are near completion. You'll kick yourself in the butt for buying the Wizbang model 340 two years ago, Now the new Model 380 With new slipglide feature costs 10% less. ALSO, I would also tend to steer away from USED. ENGINE: Start looking for an engine immediately (LIKE - NOW), Learn what the market is. Learn the engine model differences. Get an idea how the different models will impact your build, i.e. conical vs dynafocal mount. When you fell you have enough knowledge to make a good decision, then start looking to purchase. This decision can be delayed till late in the game, but be prepared to jump if a good deal comes along. (I'm not in the market for an engine, but I always look in case I see a STEAL.) Hope this helps a little Waiter

AS Raiki pointed out, Some of the materials specified in the plans no longer exist, and substitions need to be made. The different Foam types used in various places were selected for their weight and structural characteristics. Before making any substitutions, I ask the question; "Am I willing to bet my life, and the lives of my family, that this component is acceptable". Because thats exactly what I'm doing. One of the problems with substitutions, I will always have a question mark In the back of my mind. ALSO, Could I make the decision to take a chain saw to my flying aircraft, because the foam, or glass, or epoxy that I "decided" to use, was failing or had failed in other aircraft. I make every attempt to stick with what is specified, If it no longer exists, I ask on the forums. More often then not, there is a replacement foam or Epoxy that is satisfactory and specified by one of the newer model manufactures. I steer clear of cost savings replacements. i.e. Frank's Foam Emporium manufactures a Blue Styrofoam that is identical to the foam used in the Wings, at half the ACS cost. Because this is a structural component, I would bite the bullet and spend the extra $1000, and go for the original specified foam. Probably like everyone who's ever built one of these, I "experiment" a little. If I do make a change or modification, I think it out in advance, and in almost every case, submit the change to the forums and mail lists for a peer review. Normally, unless I'm a trained expert in a particular area, I stick to the plans. I've noticed from your submissions, that you seem to do this also. So it sounds like your getting off on the right foot to build a safe and reliable airplane. Waiter

And this number doesn't include engine, prop, and instruments! :( TIME. You don't need to write check for the entire amount, This cost can be amortized over the building time , several years. Waiter

She may fit OK, as long as she's not one of those Tall torso people that I described. This is my opinion, I like the tandem seating. Although I take a lot of people for rides. I built the plane for what I want, an F16 fighter. I'm not interested in my plane being a taxi service, --- WELL, EXCEPT MAYBE THIS ONE TIME --- WOW - MEMORY TIME --- I was in South Lake Tahoe in Feb 1999, The airport had just reopened after a major snow storm, but the commercial flights had already canceled. There were two REALLY S--- H-- girls that said they would do ANYTHING, and they reiterated ANYTHING, to get a ride to San Jose. This is the ONLY time I regretted having a tandem. :bad: Where was I??? Oh yah! Visibility is excellent from the front, and very good from the rear ( I have strake windows so the GIB can see down). Although the GIB is reclined and comfortable, they can't move around a lot. When I have the Goldfish with me on a trip, I usually keep the legs to a max of three hours (unless she gives approval to extend) On those very rare occations that I need to haul a couple people, I either rent as plane (twice in fifty years), or more often then not, Drop The Goldfish and her friend off at the airport, The friends husband and I Hop in my plane, fly to the destination, pick up a rental car, then go wait for a couple hours at the airline terminal for the Goldfish and her friend to arrive. Waiter

For you, probably OK, If you intend to haul your identical twin (same size and weight) as a GIB, This may not work on a continuing basis. Its not so much a weight issue, its, physically, uncomfortable for the GIB. You need to try one on for size, both front and back. AS far as the back seat, if they can fit in it, I'll take them for a ride. I've hauled some pretty big people in the back seat of mine. One memorable GIB was indeed an Ex-Air Force F4(D) GIB (With the 49th TFW when we were in Takhli Thailand, circa 1972). He was just about your size and weight, and was just about the tightest fit you could get in the back seat of a LongEZ After the flight, his remarks were "Most fun I've had since Vietnam". On the other hand, I have a friend whose about 6ft and weighs about 180, he won't fit. He has an unusually tall torso, but shorter than normal legs. I can't get the canopy closed when h's in the back seat. Waiter

He had some photos if you follow the link. I was consideringing buying it, but I need to stay focused and get my current project flying. IMHO: This project would be an excellent kick start for someone who is serious about building. Even if you decided to take a chain saw to the fuselage and partial canard, you would still be money ahead just with the plans and the hardware included. This is a good deal, JUMP. Darn near talked myself into it again. - STAY FOCUSED WAITER Waiter

I don't know if this will work with a VariEZ, but this is how I did it on my LongEZ. I was also concerned about structural integrity, especially with a 30 lb battery sticking way out there in the front. I have a couple photos of the cover layup on my web site: http://www.iflyez.com/LongEZ_Construction_Photos_Nose.shtml Also look at some of the other photos and you can see how it looks with the cover off. I made a quick drawing, hope this helps. I did my nose cover AFTER I had the nose laid up. Basically, I covered the nose are with plastic sheet, then laid up 4 layers of BID a little larger than I wanted the cover to be. If I were doing this today, I would put peel ply on the bottom and top, and may use the LO-VAC system. When cured, pop it off, and cut it to the shape you want. Transcribe the lines from the new cover to the nose. Now redraw the line on the nose, but subtract about 1/2 inch. The opening will be smaller than the cover by 1/2 inch all the way around. Cut through the skins with a dremel. Cut the inside skin (if there is one) so its approximately 1/2 inch LARGER than the cover. The outside skin will become the LIP that the cover mounts to. Clean up the foam between the two skins. The inside surface of the outer skin needs to be clean and sanded back to at least 1/2 inch for good bonding. Layup 3 layers of BID between the two skins, it should completely cover the inside of the outer skin, and go an inch or two over the outside of the inside skin. (read this again very slowly and carefully). Knife trim when ready. This should form a nice 1/2 lip all the way around your opening that is at least 5 layers of BID thick. Place the cover over the lip and drill mounting holes. I mounted nutplates to the bottom side of the lip. Prep the area (maybe 2 or 3 inches) around the lip for micro filler. Put duct tape on the cover so micro won't stick to it, bolt the cover in place, then put micro on the nose, all the way around the cover. When cured, sand the micro until its flush withe the cover. Waiter

Velocity Dreamer; My LongEZ is a standard Plans built, with an O-320. The fuselage width is per plans. I did beef up the longerons and engine extrusions to accomidate the O-320. I also layed in extra layers of BID tape in all the spar caps (canard, centerspar, and wings), mainly to fill the troughs, not for extra structure. I licesensed my Gross weight at 1,650. When I finish my Retrofit, I will relicense my new gross weight to 2,000 lbs. Waiter

Your in luck. I made them. Goto: http://www.iflyez.com/LongEZ_Cursor.shtml Follow the instructions Waiter

I just posted a short (1 minute) of the gear retracts, http://www.iflyez.com/LongEZ_Retrofit_JAN_07.shtml Look under 28 JAN Waiter

I've been cycling my landing gear most of the day. Although I got most of the air out of the system, My local A&P says the only way to get the rest out is cycle it. I'll post the full story and a video on my web site later tonight. Waiter YYEEEESSSSSS:dancbana: :dancbana: :dancbana: :dancbana: :dancbana: :dancbana: :dancbana: :dancbana: :dancbana: :dancbana: