Hans S

The BSR would be added during construction and hooked differently than just for to aft. The roll over bar I'm going to put in just behind the pilot seat will wrap around the fuselag. It isn't a fix incase "crap I ran out of gas" more of a "didn't we used to have more wing on that side"? I've read the newsletters of the corrosion that can happen with the aluminum in some of them if they weren't treated correctly, and I'm not saying that will happen. It was mainly thought of as a definate last ditch effort. Me with a chute on my back won't fit in the seat, not that I could get the canopy open anyway. It also is what my wife says is going to be there if our kids are going to be in it.

I think I like the Gemini idea. Single cylinder / turbo rotary, 100-150 HP. One on each end. Hmmm. Add fuel tank in front of rear engine for some extra weight back there to bring back the CG, not to mention relocate all the nose stuff to the back. Anyone have more info on that Gemini? I still want to go 4in wider.

Oh and the BSR. Wife says it's gonna have one, period!

It was more of a "what if" type of thing. In the end, I'll probably keep it to just the 4" wider and the engine change. I still might beef up the strakes so that some fuel pods can be put on, on the other hand, sitting in a car more than four hours makes me bonky, so I'll be coming down anyway. I still would like to figure out how to trailer it though, I'd rather not have to deal with the rental cost. And I still really like the defiant, it would actually suite my purposes for what I think I want (not actually what I need)

When it comes to the Defiant, how is it better than the Cozy IV? I realize that it is larger inside, but as I've never seen one in person and I can't picture it. According to the spec sheets it seems to be 2 feet wider wing tip to wing tip. Six feet longer, is that right? I can't seem to find fuel consumption numbers that are consistent for either plane either. I've found the Defiant runs about 17gph and the cozy is at 6gph, that seems like a huge difference in performance. My plan is to use turboed 13Bs for either plane, from the HP I should be able to fly the defiant on just one if needed and cruise at less than 50% if using both. The 13Bs will be roughly 300HP, if I've read some other pages right. Is it really going to be worth the extra build time? And what is the average build time for a Defiant. I've read 6000hrs, but I can't see it being that much larger than the avg 2000hr Cozy. I'm looking to do some trans atlantic flying at some point and would rather have a back up engine just in case. If I could slap two engines on a Cozy, I think I'd be happy, but I haven't found any info on that being done. Thanks

Is the open-ez twin still going on? Will the CDs have all the plans to build a Defiant? I'm interested, but still trying to decide between cozy IV or Defiant.

I've been lurking around the different forums for awhile and am about to buy some plans for the Cozy IV. I have a few questions on mods I would like to do and am looking for some advice. 1. Removable wings. I want to be able to trailer it home for maint. and when I won't be flying for awhile. I also am cheap and don't want to have to rent hangar or tarmac space, I'd rather the money pay for gas. Has anyone modified one so that the strakes are within, say 8-10ft? I'm thinking maybe having half the strake built as part of the wing instead. Not sure about the control surface linkages. I'm also thinking having the wings and strakes completely remove from the fuselage. Not sure where I'd relocate the fuel as the wings would be real heavy to move around full of fuel. 2. 4" wider fuselage. Not as much as a velocity, but with a little more room. 3. I'll be using a 13B or 20B. Either way they'll be turboed. Appr. 300hp 4. I want to raise the prop hub, either through a gear box or raising the motor so that shorter gear can be used. On the ground I want to put the bottom of the fuselage 6-8 inches from the ground. I'm also thinking of a osprey type mount so that the engine and cowl are way up. This is kind of pre-planning to have the prop way out of the way for grass/gravel landings, I realize that the front and rear gear will need to be beefier. 5. BSR, this will incorporate into a wishbone type of deal between the front an back seats, with the actual canister residing behind the back seat head rest. 6. removable wing tanks, ala baggage pods. I'm not sure how much weight those pods can carry though. I realize some of this isn't probably isn't feasible, but there isn't a plane out there that has what I want. The Defiant would be my first choice, but it is next to impossible to find much builder info on it. I also hear it takes ALOT longer to build, though I don't understand why, the extra motor can't add that much complexity. As my wife and I plan on trips across the atlantic when the kids grow up and go to college, I'd like the extra engine for piece of mind.