wnsolomon

It is time for me to chime in here. I think that buying a motor to early in the game is a waste of time money and a good motor. It will sit around for at least 5 years not getting run. It will get foam dust fiberglass dust and maybe even epoxy all over it. I know you can cover it up but motors dont like to sit around and not run. Plus the $5,000-30,000 dollars you tie up in a motor sitting could build you a whole lot of airframe.

 

Big Steve,

That sounds like well-reasoned advice. Unless I get a can't-refuse opportunity, I'll wait on the engine.

Nathan

It is time for me to chime in here. I think that buying a motor to early in the game is a waste of time money and a good motor. It will sit around for at least 5 years not getting run. It will get foam dust fiberglass dust and maybe even epoxy all over it. I know you can cover it up but motors dont like to sit around and not run. Plus the $5,000-30,000 dollars you tie up in a motor sitting could build you a whole lot of airframe.

 

Big Steve,

That sounds like well-reasoned advice. Unless I get can't refuse opportunity, I'll wait on the engine.

Nathan

What about the SportAir workshops? What are your experiences with them? They seems pretty reasonable cost-wise but I'd have to travel to make one. Also, it seems Aircraft Spruce is the firm everyone deals with. Are they good? Do you have any options? (For the record, AS is on the way between my house and my in-laws; so at least I could save on shipping).

 

I sat on my Cozy plans for almost a year before I mixed my first cup of epoxy, finances partially, I like to ride motorcycles too. During those 11 months, I poured over the plans to the point some (all?) of the pages are dog eared. I also made a few jigs. Rough cut the turtleback rectangle blanks, the wing jig rectangle blanks, and more recently the FJx jigs. I also made a production jig to make the canard "K" templates in quantity, as well as the canard incidence and elevator angle check template. All will occupy some spare time, and can be stored under the guest bed if needed, until needed

 

You might also find tracing the templates onto drafting velum (Clearprint) an enjoyable time waster, and this will avoid cutting up the plans or extra "M" drawings you buy. I recommend the latter, if only to place the finished part on to check contour.

 

You'll also want to go to Rough River or the Canard fly-in in California at least once. Both are total canard immersion, total.

 

If you're frugal (I am), any slack time can be used to purchase materials and supplies at a discount. I scored big on my BID, and I mean big. Doubt I'd have had the time to pound the pavement if I was building.

 

Other than not getting a jump start in my build, I think the 11 month wait wasn't lost. Buy the plans

rickh,

Those sound like excellent ideas. Sounds like you set your self up well while not actually building. I also like the idea of looking for materiel over the next couple as well. I'd thought all along that I'd start searching for a mid-time engine early but it would really make sense to start buying good deals in bulk now.

As for Rough-River (I'm an east coaster) I'll definitely put it on my calendar. Perhaps someone with an empty seat going will let me buy their gas. If not I could probably load our flying club 172s with a couple of other builders and make the trip...

As far as another general question goes, what do you wish you had known before you started building?

Thanks,

Nathan

P.S. The Old Testament comes before the new, that's how to tell the difference!

Unfortunately it is a little difficult to teach him while I am still learning so much of the process myself.

Thanks for the reply,

Nathan

Greetings,

Just an introduction, some remarks, and a couple of questions. I have been planning to build a Cozy MkIV for about 1 year now but am holding off for a little while. Here are my reasons for holding off and how I plan to proceed. If any of you builders care to comment on my plan I'd really appreciate it.

1. I really want to build my own airplane but would like to give my son the opportunity to participate in the project too. He's three right now so maybe he's a little young to start doing lay-ups (and, I know, he may not be interested in this sort of thing later). Ideally, I'd like to complete the project before he finishes high school, so I've got some time to play with here...

2. I'm not an engineer, builder, electrician, machinist, or an A&P. I'm a professor of Old Testament. I'm handy around the house and have a basic mechanical aptitude, but I'm no Cozy Girrrl.

3. I'm a relatively low-time pilot (180 hours) and figure that I need to keep flying in the mean time.

4. I've got an upcoming Iraq deployment in the Fall.

Given these three realities, here's my plan. 1) Keep flying, 2) Join forums like these and read regularly 3) Join EAA participate in the local chapter and take a few sport air workshops 4) find a local builder and see if he or she would let me sweep the shop and maybe learn some skills on the side. 5) in a couple of years...start building.

I figure my learning curve is going to be pretty steep given my background but I want to stack the deck for success as much as possible. Any thoughts?

Best Regards,

Nathan Solomon

Alexandria, VA