MudFlap

Man. I've been reading some of these jobs yall have and most are pretty interesting. Don't know that I can compete. I'm just and A&P. Work at Raytheon Aircraft Services ICT. I work on Bonanzas and Barons (My Faves), King Airs C90/C90GT, 200, 350, Beechjets, Hawkers, Premiers, and 1900's. I just wish I could smoke in the hangar Currently serve in the Kansas Army National Guard, and am going to BlackHawk avionics tech school soon. Hope to start flying sometime within the next 100 years or so..... Semper Fi, my bretheren, Semper Fi

Wow. I sent this in an email to the Cozy group almost 2 years ago and never realized it was here. Kinda interesting to see where I am now, compared to when I wrote that first post. Welp, still dreamin' bout buildin that plane. Pop still hasn't flown his. He got his LSA a year ago. I went down last weekend and helped him go over it, giving him ideas on what I think he should address before he flies it. Hopefully it'll not be too long, but that's what he's been sayin for a long time now. As for me, well, I'm out of AP school. Graduated in Aug and workin at Raytheon Aircraft Services @ ICT. Like the job and it's feeding me, so all is well. I transferred to a National Guard unit in Salina, KS (SLN) because it's Aviation - BlackHawk. Looks like I will be going to an Army Avionics School in April, so I'll be busy with that for 6 months. My old multi-colored turd Dodges still run, so I keep drivin em. Thought I'd buy a nice truck when I finished school, but quickly discovered that the more $$ ya make, the more ya spend. They suck fuel like it's a nickel a gallon, but I'd rather hear the 4-bbl and Glass Packs than pay full coverage insurance premiums anyway. Loud pipes save lives Well, I guess I'll sign off. I have kinda been lurkin around here for a while, and think it's time to put more serious thought and motivation into getting started on a plane project. KEEP THE SHINY SIDE UP!!!!!

Sarge, I may be interested in this plane. Is it still available, and would you send me some pics? Thanks Scott

Hey guys. Just thought I'd introduce myself and ask some of those pesky goofy newbie questions. First, a little about me. I guess you could say I like to be different, to take the path a little less traveled. When I went into the military, I chose the US Marines. It's the smallest branch, the hardest to get into, and the hardest to get thru. While 90% of the ppl out there have Chevys and Fords, few have an old Dodge layin around, but I drive 2 of 'em. I don't really have much Aviation background. My pop just finally got his plane done, it'll soon be taken on its airworthiness voyage. It's a fabric covered steel tubing plane. I think the plans call it a Mohawk, but I can't find anything about it on the 'net. I think it was discontinued years ago. Anywho, it has Kit Fox wings, just to give you an idea what it is. My father-in-law has a C-172. My dad's plane is no comparison to the 172. Lighter, slower, etc. But I have a lot more respect for his little plane than for your standard run-of-the-mill C-172. Again, there's that "I just gotta be different" attitude I tend to project. I've really never had much interest or passion for Aviation. My father in law is an A&P. He works for Bombardier here in Wichita, KS, in the flight test center. He makes damn good money there. So after I got laid off last summer, I knew I needed something better. I worked for the State of Kansas (unemployment) for 6 months before starting A&P school myself. I started really getting interested in Aviation about 4 months ago. So, I decided to start looking into pilot's certification and plane ownership. On a whim I looked on ebay for a 172 and found a 1980 model for around $80,000. After removing the defibrillator, I definitely knew that was not the path for me. So I really looked at what I wanted in a plane, then started to search from there. I decided I wanted a 200mph or better, 4 seater, with a decent useful load and good range. IFR capable preferred. I also knew that to get what I wanted in something I could afford during my lifetime, I was gonna hafta build it myself. So, it also had to be relatively easy to do. Safety is a huge issue to me, 'cause I plan to carry my ole lady and kids with me. National Guard wouldn't be happy if I can't perform my duty 'cause I crashed a plane, either. I looked at RV's and dozens more homebuilts. Then I spotted a Cozy. I thought "that's odd. I've not seen one of those. Must be a different design." Well, that definitely peaked my interest. So, I've spent hours poring over diferent plans to make sure the cozy is what I want. The more I compare it to the others, the more certain I am it's the one for me. So, now I hafta convince the ole lady that I NEED this plane. (She has already pretty much given up on talking me out of it. She knows once I have my mind made up, it's set.) Then I need to finish skule. About another 14 months (I just started Airframe, with Powerplant to follow,) Then I need a job that'll support this habit. And finally, I need to buy a place with a shop big enough to work in. Sheesh. This is gonna cost me a fortune. I still have lotsa things to figure out about the building of my Cozy. My real concern is the powerplant. Here's my delimma. I would rather not spend the money of a Lycoming or Continental when an automotive engine would do the job just as good for half the price. Also, replacement parts are less expen$ive and more readily available. And isn't that what "Experimental" is all about? I was looking toward a Porshce engine. The only prob is the horsepower is built at higher RPM's, but I think a gear reduction prop will take care of that. What powerplants are y'all using? Well, I know this has been long-winded. Sorry for that. Thanks for your time and hopefully all my plans will come together before I'm dead. Happy flyin' Scott