Drew Swenson

The other thing is that the skybright lights are a lot more aerodynamic than whelan too.

Before I sold my Longez, I put these lights on: http://www.airplanegear.com/skybright.htm Position and tail lights are LEDs. Strobes are regular type. You can program the kind of flash pattern. They were bright, worked great, and ~half the cost of whelan.

I spent many hours/years flying my Longez with the right hand (I'm a righty). I sold my Longez, bought a Cozy---got checked out in the right seat. No problem, pretty much lands like a Longez. Then I got in the left seat. Well...lets just say it took me about 10 flights or so to make what I would consider good landings. It really is no big deal to switch---but it was not instantaneous. I guess in the end, that I prefer to have a pen in my writing hand and the stick in the other. I would not change the setup of the Cozy. But I would also not change the stick on the Longez either.

oops---sorry---looks like I answered a question you did not ask.

The Rutan Aircraft Factory put out a request for proposal several years ago for someone to PDF all the Canard Pusher Newsletters, the Longez & Varieze & Variviggen Plans, and the Operating Manuals to all these planes. There might be more stuff---but can't check since I am away from home. Terf is the company that won that contract----and they sell the CDs. Other than the plans, there are all kinds of parts to buy. But I assume you mean parts like a canopy as opposed to fiberglass roles, foam, wire, etc. You will need things like: -gear legs -canopy (you can blow yourself---or get someone to blow a custom canopy for you---or more or less buy one off the self) -brake/wheel hardware -engine mount (you could make) -engine -avionics (anywhere from $2000-$20000 depending upon what you want -all the hardware (brackets, pulleys, torque tubes, canopy hooks/latches, rudder pedals, bellcranks). You can make most of these yourself -nose gear leg While most of the things I mentioned you can make yourself---I would not (unless you have access to a laser cutter or cad/cam machine like some people do). Main gear and nose gear you pretty much need to buy. Making a canopy probably should not be done by a first time builder---but what the heck---it might be fun. Some people even build their own props

It does not really appear to be much more expensive than a Lyc (maybe somewhere between buying a new O360 or buying a new O360 + 1 overhaul). I did not see what the TBO on this engine was. My swag would be somewhere between twice a Lyc TBO to 5 times---then again, maybe even more than that.----Like I said, I did not see the data posted on the page. If my guess on TBO is somewhere within range, this may be a very good buy. Pretty cool though!

On roominess between CozyIV (per plans) and Longez (per plans) for the pilot: -Moving the strake forward won't help much in this regard----but may help in some other areas. -The 4 things taking room away on the Cozy are: --The longeron is much closer to the shoulder on the Cozy --The canopy comes real close to the head----and it rakes faster towards the front. (Looks like there are several people out there like Wayne Hicks who basically had his canopy blown out to (nearly) the fuselage wall---very cool. The design canopy pinches in somewhat.) --The footwells are kind of confining compared to a longez (The Cozy kind of makes you keep your legs together due to the curvature of the nose wheel well. The Longez has you straddling the wheel well which is more comfortable. Wondering if Steve Wright offset his wheel well for this reason on the Staggerez) --In a Cozy---you have someone sitting next to you---and rather close---I think the S Wright solved this prob by the stagger seating. Even when you don't have someone sitting next to you, you still feel a little confined due to the longeron and canopy With that said, you can always make mods to eliminate these "problems." "Problems" is probably too harsh of a word---more like "just different characteristics". I now prefer a Cozy due to the number of seats, cargo carrying capacity, and Longez type performance. If I did not need the seats, I would go back to a Longez (I made due with the Longez's limited cargo capacity in the past). In the end, they are both very fun machines and attract a lot of attention at airports.

For a Longez, you will be much happier with an O320. A Cozy really needs an O360. You will see many Longezs (Cozys for that matter) with the same engine---flying much different speeds-----mostly due to paying more attention to drag. This is not to say that the engine does contribute to speed----but most of the speed demons have spent a lot of time cutting drag. You really notice engine size in climb performance and takeoff performance. You really need to define your flying requirements (tempered with your funds available) to see which airplane you want. The Longez is a more "roomier" airplane for the pilot----and passengers are more happier in the Cozy. Packing (for two) for a week or two in a Longez is a challange---but can be done. Packing (for two) for a week or two in a Cozy is easy---you can practically take the kitchen sink with you. I find the Cozy to be more sporty in roll. But I really like the view and room better in the Longez. If you think that you will most likely be by yourself the most----the Cozy is probably too much plane. If I flew only myself and/or my wife---I would still be with the Longez. Now with 3, I have a Cozy---still in the Canard world!!

I would use the same extrusion as called out in the plans---except for a 1/2 inch taller vertical web----in case you want to go to a larger engine later. Much easier to do now than rip out the old and put in new later. Doing it now cost you no more money or time---just a slightly different part.

From what I remember, you tell them it is for a Longez and they know how many to sell you---and they put some spares in the package. There are a couple of people who put them on the main wing for some record breaking high altitude stuff. I don't recommend it unless you really know what you are doing. There is a bad thing about VGs. While they tame your canard----and fix some local flow problems, your plane becomes a little bit more difficult to wash.

Ifrers, I used the VGs at the website you mentioned. They are inexpensive and come with good instructions including a template of how to place them (for the canard). They are pretty easy to put on----and does not take too much time. My suggestion is to NOT use the expensive glue that they recommend (good shear but terrible tension-----this means they will stand up in flight real good but won't withstand kids (and some adults) from pulling them off at airshows). I would use clear silicone----works real good.

The CD has the plans and all the CPs----no templates.

I think Jon said vortilons but meant vortex generators. Vortilons are the leading edge thingies that stick out of the main wing (three per wing for the long and Cozy). Vortex generators are the very small triangle looking things that go on the canard that keep the flow attached (there are about 50 to 100 VGs that go on the canard). They work great-----and tame the canard very nicely. EZ guys have also been using VGs prior to the naca inlet----and in places around the cowl where some of the flow is detaching. You can also see VGs on commercial airliners---usually on top of the wing---or somewhere around the tail. Lots of VGs are usually making up for some aerodynamic problem somewhere----more VGs---more problem. Take a look at the Beech 1900 or the back end of the B-1.

Once I converted to downdraft cooling, I had zero issues on my Longez in terms of cooling. Downdraft cooling is extremely easy to baffle. Don't have to baffle around the alternator, starter, or exhaust pipes. I don't have a lot of pictures, but you can see some on my website with the cowls off. I borrowed a lot of ideas from a lot of places. I used George Shell's basic shape for the upper cowl----and like him, I kept the NACA, walled it off, and piped air to the oil cooler, ram air to the carb, cooling to the mags and alt diodes. Unlike George, I did not wall off the two sides of the engine---I tried to keep the baffling simple. I used the Berkut idea of having a nice flat aft baffle----and then built "shelves" to get around the cylinder shape. Also with downdraft cooling is that all the air goes to the top of the engine before it goes thru the engine. In updraft cooling, the air meanders around the bottom of the engine, the wing roots, out the wing roots, etc before it comes up---and by then, you have lost some air. The other "good" with downdraft cooling is that you really know what the cylinder temps are. The Lycoming engines "health data" in regards to temp are based on downdraft cooling with thermocouples plugged into the boss. So am I going to change my cozy to downdraft? Nope. Working fine as is, The Cozy does not lend itself as well to downdraft because the entire engine sits behind the plane---where the Longez engine sticks out wider than the fuselage. It could be done with an S turn---but I am not going to bother. I have seen a couple people get in a little trouble with their downdraft when they build their scoops too close to the fuselage