Big Steve

The american dream is to buy low and sell High. Dream on. STeve

Working on my second composite plane the only down side I find to composites is that when you are doing a large layup you cannot quit. You have to finish or you could ruin the whole part. I did the bottom of my longeze all by my self I started at 8:00 am and finished at 12:00 am that night. That plane is now 23 years old and is still flying. So yes composites do last a long time. I think it is a lot easier to learn how to build with composites than metal or tube and fabric. So quit talking get down and buy your plans and start building your dream!!!! STeve:D

I tried to order the internal rudders from raf several months ago and recieved a letter signed by Tonya Rutan saying they no longer would be selling any plans. So I think getting plans from raf is over for good. STeve

Edge: You de man: I could not have said it better. I think a lot of the Probies (I like NCIS) Have a tendency to get all excited about there new Idea of building and airplane. They get excited about motors that dont exist or some slick salesman at Oshkosh promises them will be ready when they finish. I believe in looking ahead it keeps me busy thinking about the whole project. I plan on building my own prop. In 4 years or so I talk about it but dont spend to much time on it because right now I am building my landing gear This in itself takes lots of concentration. I do like to think, and act, a chapt. or 2 ahead of time it keeps me from running out of things to work on. So all you probies or non builders Try to concentrate on BUYING your plans first then try and stay ahead of your build. It only takes 2-3 thousand hours to build one of these puppies. my .02 STeve

Hans: I want to try my hand also at prop building. I will settle for a 2 blade fixed composite though. I am going to build a copier machine and then beg a used prob off of the boards. I dont think I am savy enough to try and figure one out by airfoil design. STeve

Guy: I live 2 1/2 hours north of you . I know this because I worked down your way for a couple of months. If you want to see a Cozy under construction you are more than welcome to come and see mine. You could bring your parachute and jump off the bridge in Twinn. You can go down there almost any calm saturday and guys and gals are jumping off of it. STeve

Guy I take it you are sensitive. I was talking about me highjacking the tread. I figure a nice one of these planes is worth $90,000 but I have not sold one either. Dont be so sensitive you take all the fun out of these forums. My .02 STeve

Well If you like base jumping come on out here to Twin Falls Idaho. We have the only bridge in the country that is legal to jump off of. It is over the snake River canyon that Evil Kneivel tried to jump back in the 70's And not to hijack this tread your airplane is worh what someone will pay for it. Hopefully more than you spent building it. STeve

I dont think you will like one of those fold up tables. You cannot get them long enough. I use a 4'X8" plywood board on horses and sometimes it is to short. You have to cut some really long uni in Chapt. 10. Jut my .03 STeve enjoy the build.

Why dont you try to do it the way Burt said to. Get some 36 grit sandpaper and work off some of that dinner. I know I sure need to get my plane to loose 20 lbs maybe a little more sanding will help.

Remi: It is good to see you posting. I just came in from beating my head against the wall. I am trying to line up my main gear I have it drilled the plates mounted and the sucker will not line up. I have a fix in mind but I have to get a right angle drill from work to drill the floxed in screws and plates. I should be putting on my axles by now. Steve

Jon: promises and more promises we will see:cool: STeve

Once you get the fuselage finished you can put parts in it and then throw plastic over it with a small heater works pretty good and a lot better than going out all night long every couple of hours to put wood in the stove. STEVE

Guy: Having been involved in the canard community for over 20 years I have met a lot of interesting people. I put them in different catogories depending on personality. Some guys build and fly airplanes some guys build airplanes but they only build so they never fly. Some guys build and airplane and are so sharp they want another one with all kinds of mods and they are smart enough to do it. Then there is the guys who dont build anything just talk and talk and make all of these fancy parts for a plane that will never fly This of course before the internet. I have built and flown a longeze. I did not build the whole thing to the exact plans. IE>( long nose and brakes in the front and a couple of other minor things. Now I am building a cozy 4 I will make a few changes but pretty much stay with the plans at least for the first one. I guess what I am trying to say is that most of the really sharp builders Who fly dont say much except for Marc he is a rarity. I personally appreciate his honesty. I have flown with him and he is a by the numbers kind of guy. When he talks you aught to listen, his plane has over 500 hours and he is still alive. I think that is why a lot of the sharp builder/flyers argue over all the theoretic changes They really dont want to see the design get a bad name buy someone building a rutan derivitive with all kind of mods and crashing it and the community suffering for it. I would be real careful about modifying to much These planes bone stock fly great and are easy and fast to build. I am now open for my online beating. My $.02 STeve

Okay I am back from RR and a visit to the grandkids and my daughter whose husband is in Iraq. Had a great time at RR. Did everything on the list. 1. Sit in a finished cozy IV ( I have never seen one in the flesh yet) 2. Scope out noses, Canopies cowlings. 3. Decide on rudder pedals. 4. Meet other builders 5. If I am lucky get a ride. 6. Have a great time checking out canard aircraft. My first day there (Thursday night) I saw my first in the flesh Cozy IV marc's plane. I looked at rudder pedals:cool: but hard to decide on flying aircraft. Met tons of other builders and made some new freinds. Marc Zeitlen was kind enough to give me a ride in his often flown Cozy IV it flys very similar to my old longeze just more control pressure. Yes I did get a good canard fix. My thanks to the organizers and all who attended to make it a great event. I am planning on attending next year if life allows. STeve

I have been using the 50" Thayercraft bid and it works great has actually saved me a lot of glass and not so many seems. I bought a bunch of 38" cheap from a previous builder I do not like it near as much. STeve

So far I have $8,550 into my Cozy IV project. I have a complete tub and a complete canard I have my wheels and brakes in hand and nose strut and main gear leg bow. I have enough epoxy and glass to finish the project. I also have enough metal to make most of the parts left to make. I have not yet bought the canopy. I am waiting till after Rough River to decide on which canopy I want to buy. I think I will be able to finish the airframe for 15,000 If I can keep on this track. Of course I make all of my own metal parts. I will also make my own motor mount and exhaust and I am going to learn how to make a prop. I think I might be able to fly for around $30,000 if I can get lucky on a motor. STeve:scared:

Tonight I finished my elevators. This was a very long chapt. for 2 little pieces of foam and fiberglass. Of course it had lots of metal parts and lots of things that needed to be fitted. I lost count of how many times I had to take them on and off of the canard. I made all of the metal parts including the lead weights. I am starting on the landing gear tomorrow. STeve

I am using eze poxy I wont pay 100 a gallon for epoxy until I have to. Steve

Thought some of you might like to see what a Diston abrador looks like. I like the perma grit tools better. Steve

I have low tolerance for no money for the Plane. When I started a year ago I had just enough to buy the plans. Since then I have dumped over $8,000 dollars into this project. Where does it come from you ask. I dont know I do know that if you start building your desease will grow to the point of finding the money. I do side work for my airplane money (welding machine work mechanics) I figure it will take aprox. 3000 hours to build the plane and 1,500 hours of side work to pay for it. So far I have kept up. Like the saying goes { If you build it they will come} So start building. ps. you dont need half of those tools to get started. Yes I do have them all even a diston abrador. Steve

Whoa Nellie: West 105/209 Proset 125/229 are approved epoxies. Check your plans chapt. 3 Page 4 left side at the bottom it has all the approved epoxies. I do not know about the other west system hardners. my.02 Steve

I dont think you need to waste your time or money on practice parts. Buy the foam and start making airplane parts. The bulkheads are flat and really easy to make and that is where you start. my.02 STeve

Well I just bought my ticket to go to Rough River I am very excited. It would be more fun to fly my own plane instead of going commercial but That is the way it is for a few more years. Who else is going? Some of the things I want to accomplish while there. 1. Sit in a finished cozy IV ( I have never seen one in the flesh yet) 2. Scope out noses, Canopies cowlings. 3. Decide on rudder pedals. 4. Meet other builders 5. If I am lucky get a ride. 6. Have a great time checking out canard aircraft.

It is about time I posted an update. I am now jigging the elevators to the canard. I built all of my own metal parts so it is taking quite a bit longer to finish. I built the parts on Philip Johnsons site I think they were esier to make than the plans parts and lighter. I also recieved my main gear bow and nose gear strut this weekend. I am enclosing a picture of them in comparison to a Varieze bow that I have for sale. building the elevators has been a lot of fun but very time consuming.