longez2006

First of all, anyone wanting to scratch build a Long Ez, don't bother to email me, it is illegal to build an aircraft from copied plans and I will have nothing to do with illegal activities. If you like the aircraft and want to build one, there are lots of unfinished projects out there, with licensed plans to accompany them, and they will actually save you time and money, much better than being charged with copyright infringement. Having said that, I have collected over the years plans for several of the aircraft by Burt Rutan (Long ez, Varieze, VariViggen, Solitaire), as well as templates for the Long EZ, Roncz canard plans, long rudder plans, and all of the canard-pusher newsletters. I also have some reference stuff on aircraft design, some by Rutan, some by other sources. I have seen people trying to sell copies of these plans for the price of originals, I have seen people selling copies as originals, and it is always very expensive to get a hold of something related with the Long EZ or similar canard aircraft. I intend to help those who merely want access to the information with no intention to build, it will give me trouble but I will send as freeware any part of the information that I have to anyone willing to have access to it. There are some issues relating to copyright, so under the "fair use" clause of the US Copyright Act it is not illegal to make copies of someone else's work for several purposes, one of which is education, but it is however illegal to make a profit from copies of other people's work, so I can only ask for a reasonable price of copies and shipping. It is illegal to build an aircraft from copied plans, so once again, if you want to build a Long EZ, find an unfinished project and save yourself problems, time and money. I know of some people who have stalled projects because of a missing page of the templates, or of a damaged page, and it is rather stupid that they cannot continue building because they have to pay 300 dollars to get one specific page of something they already paid for some years ago... If this is your case, email me and I'll help you with that. If you have an interest in studying how an aircraft is put togeheter, or how Rutan designed a specific part of his aircraft, or how he built his wings, etc, email me and I'll help you have access to that information for free. I will not be involved in anything that may be considered illegal, but don't be afraid to email if you have a truly educational purpose. If, however, you want to build a canard aircraft, visit www.ez.org, or join one of the newsgroups of builders and someone will be able to advise on the best choice for you, which, again, is not through copied plans, as the FAA will not let you build an aircraft with those. You have several choices for legal and licensed plans today, Cozy, Eracer, etc. You can reach me at antoine_saint_exu@yahoo.fr

Hello everyone, it seems this all started because of me... It's great that you are putting this up for free, but I will be the devil's advocat now so that you can focus and get this thing done properly: 1. Are you sure that it is legal to distribute the Templates? Yes, you are not refering to Rutan or RAF, and there are other designs out there based on the Long EZ, absolute clones (the french even fly a AcroEze), but I don't recall anyone distributing, it was always individual projects, and in the shadows, as you say... It is quite possible that Rutan is liable for a design that you modify and distribute... 2. Can you make modifications to the design? Well, you are changing things, and those things that were not approved by RAF, haven't been properly tested. Oh yes, there are a thousand other planes flying with these mods, but none of them has gone through extensive flight testing of those mods. Maybe one day one aircraft will enter a specific flight situation and one of these modifications will kill someone. I know a lot of people who remove the lower winglets from the Long EZ, and nothing happens, but in a high AoA slow flight situation the lateral stability of the aircraft is probably lessened... Who is responsible if that happens? The people who distribute? Legally it may put you on a difficult stand, have you thought of that? Just my share of thoughts so that you may think things over and do what you are planning in the best way. If you want to distribute, put the cad or pdf files in a P2P program, such as emule or kazaa and then I assure you it will spread like wild fire, and it will be difficult to trace the distributers. Best wishes

Well John, it seems the EAA sees this differently from you. I contacted them to solve this matter, explained that I didn't sell a single copy, sent emails to everyone saying that my offer was off, but told them that I was sending free copies to some people (students, researchers, I was contacted by a lot of poeple). Here's what they said: With regards to your note, it is illegal to copy and distribute aircraft plans, either for free or for payment. This violates United States and International Copyright laws. Even though the Rutan Aircraft Factory no longer supplies the plans it still owns the rights to the information, regardless if they support the plans, aircraft, information, or not. Rutan Aircraft Factory can be contacted via their website at: http://www.rutanaircraft.com/ Regards, Aviation Services Experimental Aircraft Association Oshkosh, Wisconsin USA

Hello, It seems someone told RAF that I was selling illegal copies of the plans, which is not true, I haven't sold to a single soul. By the way, some builders of this forum contacted me and I told them I would send the parts of the plans they needed for free, only charging shipping costs (ask the Cozy girrls...). I'm not from the US so I'd like to ask someone to pass this message to a person close to RAF or responsible at the EAA. Consider my offer of the Long EZ plans closed, I don't want any legal problems...

By the way, may I remind you of this thread: http://www.canardzone.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8318&postcount=14

Hello, if anyone needs a set of plans and templates for the Long EZ, I have a set of copies made at an engineering firm, high standards, extremely accurate. We can arrange for you to check them against original plans. I also have all the canard pusher newsletters and the owners manual, plus assorted items. If anyone needs part of this or the whole lot to finish their project, please email me at longez2006@yahoo.com. Best wishes Michael