Lynn Erickson

About it being Nat's design. I think it is more accurately Nat"s Redesign of Burt Rutans design. as for rudder pedals in the back forget it. you can't see well enough to use them during a landing and they are just not used very often in flight even by the pilot. most builder/ pilots will let the copilot take the controls of their pride and joy while in straight and level flight. but land the thing from the back seat, forget it.

Here are some pics of my Co-Pilot enjoying the conversation that the pilot is having with other pilots. As you can see the subject of the conversation was airplanes and apparently a bit to long also.Picture_0432.pdf 2005_0713Image0020.pdf

there aren't any drawings on the canopy. when you build you just buy the canopy already formed and the install it. the canopy goes where it fits over your head, is braced up and you fill in the space between the canopy and the fuselage side with scrap foam. and shape to fit. They all come out a little different. the side view of the front of the fuselage is in the drawing. the nose forward of the F22 has a few dimensions but for the nose it tells you to carve it down until it looks like a nose. every nose is different. when I built the first long ez there was no Terf CD. in fact no CD's period. the drawings have all the dimensions for the bulkheads. the only thing not on the open ez drawings is the full size airfoil hot wire templets.

Don't really have time for all those numbers and don't remember them all. the aircraft can be set up for a heavy front seat but in a cozy that means that you need a lot of ballast to fly solo. with the seat 10" further back and a front seat max set at 450 lbs. I can also fly it solo at 145lbs without any ballast change. so when i fly to another airport to give a ride to a 305 lbs passenger I do not need to carry the 50 lbs ballast with us like you do in a cozy. it also makes the aircraft sit on all three wheel without falling over backwards when empty. no lifting or power nose strut needed.

In my aircraft which has the same wing plan form as a Cozy the seats have been moved back 10" and the front seat is limited to 450 lbs. so moving it only 4" won't do much.

You don't need the terf templets to build a cockpit. the open ez plans have all the drawings and dimensions you will need. check these out first.http://www.canardzone.com/content/Op...awingsRev5.zip

Sorry to see you have to go through this problem.Heres my take on the problem. if the fuel tank structural material will be affected by the fuel that you are using in the tank then any coating that you could put on the tank surface will be a potential problem. if you coat the tank with a material that is designed to seal the tank all it takes is one pin hole or one little chip and the entire structure is in danger of being destroyed. I have seen this problem with jeffco before. I have seen the same problem with pro seal. I have seen the same problem when ez poxy that was applied on a cured ez poxy surface and the surface was not sanded well enough. I believe it is surface preparation that causes the peeling. it also seems to effect the top more as it is the vapors that do the most damage. every time I have seen a tank that has been coated to fix a leak it has not worked. we always end up going into the tank and fixing the leak the old fashion way.

is that Cozy 3 or cozy IV?

I agree with WaiterI might add that the build time is the same and the cost of a overhauled 320 is going be a lot less then a new engine no matter what the size. where is Lyc. going to shave the weight. my guess is it will be the same old O-235 with lighter or no accessories, light weight starter or no starter alternator, no vacuum pump, no mechanical fuel pump. no mags ( electronic ignition ). no big heavy carburator. Lets hope it is not a lighter crank and less aluminum in the crank cases If you build a O-235 with no starter no mechanical fuel pump no mags ( EI ) no vacuum pump no oil filter ( just oil screen ) no exhaust system ( just 6" straight pipes ) start out with a stock O-235 put in an Ellison, the right pistons and a performance cam and roller lifters and what do you have ? a 125 HP engine that weights 50 lbs. less then the stock Lycoming. you just beat the factory by 10 lbs. but you still only have an O-235. go for the IO-320 you won't be sorry. every time I fly a long with a O-235 it feels like I am back driving my old VW bug again.

unless you are going to register it as an transport category aircraft I would not worry about it. just don't install a door between the crew and the passengers and you will be OK. if you do the door will need a cert. also. The far 25 is for transport category aircraft only but does not apply to the crews seats anyway. they don't care about the crew only the passengers.

I have a hard time calling a $1,000,000 + turboprop a GA aircraft.

sounds just like the first prototype Starship that Burt built before Beech took it and screwed it up

the center line of the center section on the offsets has to line up with the center line of the hinge pin on the torque tube.

the long ez mount is mounted to a piece of aluminum angle that is bolted to the fuselage side and thur the stringer and main spar. the cozy IV mount is bolted thur the firewall . the mount is wider and the firewall is fastened to the fuselage with reinforcement at those points. on the long there is not much room to do it like the cozy IV and I don't see any reason to do it different. the mount is a lot narrower and there for the loads on the mounting points are higher in some directions. the long ez mount works well and has not been a problem. if you do it like a Cozy IV you will add another thing to the long test flight list of things that you hope will work.

the best choice is an fuel injected IO-320. it can cruse all day, leaned back to 5.5 GPH and still get a way faster cruse the any O-235 at full throttle. the O235 is really lacking if you want to carry any weight and take off on a hot day. it is very easy to fly an IO 320 as if it is a smaller engine just throttle back, but the power is there when you need it. the fuel injection makes a big difference in the ability to lean over peak compared to a carburated engine. the cost is only slightly more than a smaller engine but they last longer as they are not flying at full throttle all the time. the build time is the same. if building today the IO-320 is the best choice as it gives you a more versatile aircraft.

the aircraft may need an annual inspection ( if over one year since the last ) done by the original builder or an A&P mechainic . if you change the engine it will be considered a major change. check the operating limitations for that aircraft to see what the procedure is on your aircraft if you make a major change. each aircraft has its own operating limitations, they are all different.

You said you over heated the left brake and need to use right brake on take off. sounds like the left brake is dragging all the time. are these matco triples? if so the problem is most likely that the spacers that the calipers slide on are sticking. they may be corroded and / or need lube. this is a common problem with this brake.

build the airplane thats best suits your wants and needs. there is a lot of time and money in these projects , a lot more then just the cost of the plans. you will be involved with it for a long time during the build but also a very long time when it is done. it is not like a model airplane, if you don't like the one you are building this month you can build a different one next month. most people are lucky to finish one airplane so it is more likely to get finished if it is the one that you really want to own and fly when it is done.

put one in and found that it needs to be on high all the time and you don't need a dimmer in a cozy as the panel is not right in front of your face as in the spam cans.

good stuff but about 3 time the price of divinycell. I used 3 lbs. density divinycell for the spar. harder to carve then polyurethane but holds it shape much better.

but it could hurt a lot more then you think. when a scoop is sized right there is smooth air flow and little drag. when a scoop is to big for the air flow there will be spill over and backed up airflow which will effect the air flow and pressure that goes into the scoop. it can even reduce the air flow below the required amount.

I'd say try it and you will like it. the brake steering thing I mean. been in a spam can when the nose wheel steering was stuck at a 5 degrees left. when the plane got slowed down ,after a lot of nose wheel skidding, the right brake could overcome the left nose wheel and the wing hit the ground. save the complicated for something in the plane that needs to be complicated. brake steering works the best in an ez. with our E brake ( nose wheel handle doubles a E brake leaver ) you will stop, right now! Its three times for me, one time the Brock supplied rod end broke. stopped from 100 mph in 100 feet and 6" of glass. one time with another pilot ( his brain fade ) at 50 mph and stopped in 25 feet and 2" of glass. one time at 10 mph, the retract bronze gear broke and only the paint got scraped.

actually ready to fly , used just pulled off a flying aircraft with about 1000 hrs. $ 8500 to $9500. newly rebuilt by a good shop with all accessaries $16500. $2500 might get you a good core engine but usually are closer to $ 5000. I would go for a O-320 just a bit more expensive but way better performance for the money. and way better resale on completed aircraft.

I cover my molds with heat shrink model airplane covering as a release tape.also cut the depressions with a piece of hot wire bent to the shape of the cut out and mounted to a piece of plywood. hot wire router takes ten minutes to build.

for only a bit over the cost of the foam Oregon Aero will build and shape the seats for you. made out of three densities and with lumbar support. they know seats.http://www.oregonaero.com/Prlist_homebuilts.htm