finaltable

Thanks. I also surfed over to trade-a-plane (should have done that first) and found several more under 40K so it looks like 30-35K should be a reasonable figure for buying one of these used.

So I went and searched controller.com and found a single Long-EZ, http://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft-for-sale/RUTAN-LONG-E-Z/1985-RUTAN-LONG-E-Z/1121954.htm?guid=6FFC3096119F4DBAB9C6EE2133F19178 I am curious to know how that compares to other used EZ's that have been out there in the past. I realize it is only a 235 but for only $31,000 for a complete and flying airplane that I would have plenty of money available toward upgrading avionics or even the engine, though I certainly could fly for a while on a 235 and decide later that I need to go faster. I'm curious to know if that price is typical of an airplane like that or if that is a "priced to move" range I am not likely to see again.

I don't plan on doing any hard IMC flight; at least not by myself and certainly not in icing conditions. While I realize that I will be capable of doing it, I will be far more likely to never even take off if it looks like that is a probability. It isn't worth it. If I have to get there that bad I'll fly commercial. I'm really looking for a way to still get to fly with the storms that come through Georgia. In the Spring/Summer/Early Fall, it isn't uncommon to have bands of storms come through in the afternoons so being able to fly through the clouds and shoot ILS when it rains will be invaluable.

Though he has been a corporate pilot he is a long, long way from being the corporate pilot type. He firmly believes that far better planes can be had in the kitplane/homebuilt world than commercial; when I talked to him about my mission requirements he said only a canard is going to do that well at a reasonable price. He owns a Bonanza, which would certainly do the job, but it's going to burn 15+ gph to do it. One of the planes that shares a hanger with another one of his planes is an IFR equipped Velocity RG, he has flown it and speaks very highly of it. If I owned an experimental he wouldn't hesitate to give me instruction in it.

I'm not worried about my CFII. He has over 7,000 hours of total time including a type rating for the Citation Jet, which he flies as a charter pilot. He used to have a primary job as a corporate King Air 350 pilot and one of his former students is a guy who now flies F-16's for the Air Force. His point, and I think a valid one, is that most GA pilots simply don't fly enough to make flying hard IFR something with which they gain a great deal of experience, so the average GA pilot becomes safer and more knowledgable in the flying they do by getting IFR certified.

My Dad's 182 has an IFR equipped panel. Between the nav radios, Garmin 430 and gauges it uses a seat and a half worth of horizontal space and this doesn't include the 496 on the yoke. I don't need the CD player but for long distance, solo, IFR flying it seems to me that a fair amount of electronic equipment needs to be on board. Does the LEZ have the panel space for this or do I have to look at getting one of the double wides like a Cozy/Velocity?

I realize now that my question doesn't really have an answer and I don't know what I was expecting when I asked this question. Weather can be a very subjective thing but IFR very clearly defines things like visibility and ceiling. Both airports have ILS landing capability and given that both are fairly low traffic airports the likelihood of me taking off, having checked weather pre-flight at the destination, monitoring enroute and then having conditions degrade to the point of preventing a landing in four hours is extremely low. Should I plan to do this, year round, I really need to become intimately familiar with icing conditions in winter months and weather behavior at both locations from approximately 3-8PM local time.

Continuing on my original discussion; I am looking to commute between two places that see little cold weather (KAHN&KLBX) but fairly regular rain, especially on the Georgia side. In talking with my CFII, he told me that for the normal GA pilot, the primary benefit of IFR training is not to fly in awful weather but to be able to still fly when the conditions become marginal VFR and to be able to safely extricate oneself from deteriorating conditions. I am going to be doing all my flying with a Garmin 496 so I should have pretty good forewarning of the conditions I am approaching and the altitude capabilites of the LEZ should give me a fair number of options when dealing with weather. For the people who fly in places where that white stuff falls out of the sky or conditions are less than sunny all the time such as the Northwest what have you found are the limits of what is comfortable (read: still feels safe) when flying an LEZ?

My friend with the Velocity RG has one of these. I understand it saves hours and dollars not having to put down.

Can this not be done in one?

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate the comments about reliable flying; this is not a plane I want to tinker with as I will need it to be good for four four hour trips a month minimum. The poster was right about my experience; most has been in 172's with a little time in my Dad's 182 and 2 glorious hours in a friend's Bonanza. As much as I liked the A36 the idea of 13+ gph is not exciting to me at all. The 182 has a 540 in it, much bigger than anything we are discussing here but its purpose is very different than what I am needing. I don't need to carry, I simply want to get there fast, safe and cheap. I had planned on using a certificated engine for this, nothing out of the ordinary so it looks like an IO-320 is the way to go. I may at going diesel down the road but nothing fitting my mission is available right now. I tried doing some reading here and on various builders' website before I posted, now that I know roughly what I will be looking for I will focus a little more on the 320 as I continue my research. Thanks again for everyone's help. I know someone with a Velocity whose plane was built by a guy with a Long-EZ; I think I'll give him a call and start by asking questions with a local owner.

I am looking into buying (I'd rather build but I don't have time) a Long-EZ for a twice monthly commute from SE Texas (KLBX) to NE Georgia (KAHN) (airnav distance says 684 nm) I'd like to do this flight in about 4 hours and in one single leg. I would also like it to be as cheap as I can get it given the cost of fuel. I'm working on my IFR cert so my guess is that with the range of the LEZ I should be good even if I get diverted around by ATC in either direction (one way I deal with Hartsfield, the other way I go through the Hobby/IAH airspaces) Never having flown this route before, I don't know if flying above FL100 will be useful but I understand that going up there usually requires a turbo to still go fast. I haven't seen any TO-235's and I can't confirm that TO-320's exist either. Given the characteristics of the plane with just a 235 I am loathe to give up the 6 gph burn. So...given that I am looking for something in the area of at least 180 ktas and have to deal with the weather and B airspaces on each end, what are y'all's thoughts on the right engine? (Note: I used to work on car engines and an A&P is a friend of the family so replacing an engine is an option. I just need to know which one fits best from the people who know these planes.) Thanks

Thanks. The Aerocanard looks promising. Though I could do it and would probably enjoy doing it I'm really not interested in building a plane because I'd rather put time into flying rather than building. Kit is definitely preferable to plans built but I'd like to do some paid flying someday and I need to focus on left seat time over everything else.

Sometime around 1987 I read an article in National Geographic about flight that included a photograph of two Vari-EZ'es flying in formation with a Vari-Viggen. I thought they were the coolest planes I had ever seen and decided then, at the age of 16 that I wanted one of those one day. (BTW...if anyone knows exactly what issue that was can you let me know so I can track a copy down someplace?) Fast forward 20 years; I am logging 1.5 to 2 hours per week toward my PPL and I am starting to think about plane ownership. Not only does my father own a C182 but someone I know owns a Velocity SE RG so neither plane ownership nor canard aircraft are unfamiliar to me. I could buy a used plane but I am very interested in a couple of alternate engine options, the Mazda rotary and the Deltahawk diesel. The idea of fewer moving parts and consequently improved efficiency, reliability and decreased overhaul effort is very attractive. (Note that safety is way above any cost in all these considerations.) I've got a while before I can save up the $ for a plane and have access to a C172 (and maybe the Velocity) in the interim but I'm never getting there unless I educate myself first. The Velocity and the Cozy are the only planes I'm really considering. From what I have read thus far the Velocity seems more for people who want to fly whereas the Cozy is for people who want to be more involved with the build process. (Sorry if I overgeneralize.) I need a plane that can take me, wife and two kids 684 miles so either of these would be more than sufficient. I'll just lurk here for a while and read responses.