longezdave

I think you gave us a clue there. I have a Long similar to yours (O-235, Roncz canard) and have never gone full aft on the pitch trim. I do run out of forward pitch trim when racing and have to keep just a little forward pressure on the stick, but never get close to running out of trim at slow speed. I too believe your pitch trim springs are too weak. I agree with several items mentioned before: Do your own W & B. Check the trailing edge position of the elevators ( I can see mine in flight). Check your elevator contour (should be concave on upper surface). Check incidences. I don't understand your vibration on the canard. It doesn't sound like flutter, because you would be more excited when talking about flutter experience. I don't understand why the GIB makes that much of a change for you. The GIB is very near the C of G. Good luck with it, Dave

You're right, they do draw attention. N81HM - Is that Herb Sanders' Long EZ?

You've got to just grin and bear it Rich. Marc is right again. Or is it grin and bare it? Oh well, Marc will let me know.

That would have to have been Steve Morse and I. We had left St Charles Co. and skirted St Louis Reg. (ALN) to the southwest and then over Troy heading just East of Scott Air Force Base/Midland before turning South. He and I both have O-235s in our Long EZs. Glad you enjoyed spotting us. Dave Adams

Marc - I sure hope that's a mistake on the VE fatal rate.

I don't like that it's not a green solution, but I too choose to let the blow-by go. I don't want the oil, containing nasty by-products of combustion, to be returned to the engine. I think it is best to let it go or catch it to be disposed of properly. I wish I could find the source, but I have read that oil from the breather tube is not what you want lubricating your engine. Isn't it acidic?

I'm certainly not going to argue with any of the above. I think that the different possible shapes that you could put on your canard tips are going to be very close in performance. Any difference in performance from tip to tip would probably be hard to measure......BUT, I chose to go with the Roncz canard plans curled up tips. In CP 43, page 2, referring to the curled up tips, it says "These tips are specifically optimized to enhance the vortex coming off the tip of the canard and position this vortex in the "sweet spot" over each main wing". With that said, I think the most important thing to do with the tips is......TO GET THEM FINISHED.

We had a good race Saturday. There were 18 racers, but I was the only canard. I hope next season some of you give it a try, because it is a lot of fun. I've got the racing bug now. Here's a link to the results - http://www.sportairrace.org/id247.html The only problem was that Bruce Hammer had a fairing come loose and had to make a precautionary landing. He ripped it off and got back in the race and ended up being the fifth fastest at over 257 MPH. My little O-235 was the smallest engine in the race, but I still beat five planes. You have to love the efficiency of these planes!

I'm a little late, but wanted to make sure everybody knows about the race this weekend. It is at Taylor, Texas this saturday 11-22-08. Here's a link to race info - http://www.sportairrace.org/id184.html I got a taste at racing on my first race last October in Memphis and it is a lot of fun. I hope there will be some other interested canard types come out and help me show the RV guys what we can do - again. It's a good bunch of people and it is well run and safe. Rick P. is registered with his Long EZ RG and I intend to be there. Come on out and say hi or better yet enter!

Hey welcome to the forum Dick! Dave Adams Long EZ N83DT

I'll be there Rick! It will be my first race and I just want to see what it's all about and meet the other racers. It would be great if some more canard types would come out for moral support. Better yet, enter and get in on the fun.

You may want to buy the Terf CDs. They contain the POH as well as a bunch of other good stuff. See my email to you. Dave

I've got the little 1/4" Craftsman ratchet on my nose gear retract and it has done well for me. No fear of it accidently retracting or lowering.

steve and Neverquit - I'd be happy to give rides, but maybe you'd be better off finding someone a little more attentive to detail than I have proven to be in this thread.

Ya can't blame an old perv for trying to get a pic, even if the post is a little stale can ya? Sometimes I'm a little slow.....

Could you post a picture of your wife? Seriously - I don't have the requested type, but would be happy to give a ride in my Long.

I just returned from RR (yearly family re-union) and while I was there, my Father flew with me to get fuel. We flew about 20 miles SW to Ohio Co. (7K4). The fuel was $5.50/gal with a self-serve credit card set-up. This would make for a good dual purpose short trip with a builder or builder/flyer/wannabe to get fuel and let them see what it's like on a SHORT trip in an EZ type.

I gave Bill a heads up that his windows were being discussed in case he wanted to chime in. Here's his response - Hi Dave- The following is a brief description of the background on the window. You are welcome to post it if you can. Thanks for the heads up! -Bill Side window, N95BJ During building, structural effect of the window was analyzed with several experienced canard folks. Attributable to CSA. The plans emphasize the importance of not encroaching the ten inch fuselage area around the canard bulkhead or main spar, which was not an issue. I would agree with Mark Z’s comments about the relatively small loss of strength. However I (we) worked to retain at least normal strength. When building, the wooden longerons were doubled per LongEZ, and then overlayed with seven layers of glass. Around the window, a one inch perimeter of fuselage wall foam was replaced with a “U” frame of seven layers of UNI and BID. That became 14 layer, one inch diameter wall around the window. For a smooth exterior surface the plexiglass pane has a step to compensate for the exterior fuselage skin. As for visibility, the pilot’s line of sight parallels the structure between the canopy and window. The one inch thickness of the structure is minimal and is pretty much ignored. A nice capability with the window is to check for opposing traffic in a turn. And when approaching a runway overhead its easier to check ground traffic and the windsock, things which would normally only be visible off to the side. As was mentioned, the window approximates the thinner glass to glass fuselage area next to the LongEZ stick, providing knuckle room. The side consoles were narrowed about an inch each so the thigh and instrument panel legroom is per LongEZ dimensions. The extended fuel strakes include LongEZ elbow room in the front seat. Additional local strength is gained by moving the canopy lip aft a couple of inches, with structural attachment of the top of the instrument panel to the top of the fuselage with corner tapes inside and out. This allows more strength around the bulkhead plus an instrument access panel. While there are a few mods on the plane that improve operational friendliness, the airframe is built per plans. After 12 years of flight on the plane I am a happy guy. I appreciate the experience and knowledge that you guys and gals instill, cultivate and perpetuate. You are welcome to spend some time reading about 12 years of flying the VariEze on the sites below. Bill James, Fort Worth VariEze Featured Canards on ez.org EZ Chronicles link on ez.org http://www.ezchronicles.com/blogger.html

I'm going to be flying to RR.....tomorrow. We have a family reunion there every Labor Day. I intend to fly back for the fly-in also. Hope to meet some of you there!

Yeah, I kept hoping it was my flaky internet access and I'd get to see that page, so I racked up a few hits there. Congrats on starting on the engine (or is it almost starting)!

I can only say that I installed my Roncz canard per plans and it stalls and performs as advertised. I certainly would not recommend using a lower incidence, because it will change the stall characteristics. Good luck with it. Dave Adams Long EZ N83DT

Thanks for the photos Jon!

I think I'm going to be able to make it. The plus side is that I just got my Long EZ flying again (after being down for 8.5 years). The minus side is that I just started a new job and we are looking for a new house, living in a motel, still fixing up the old house......

Keep at it Phil. Do your best work on those elevators!

I have an update on my empty weight after painting and now re-weighing my Long with certified aircraft scales. It is now 885 pounds!!! The huge change from 791 pounds had to be from two things. Naturally the filler and paint made a change, but I'm thinking that I didn't apply 94 pounds of filler and paint. I think the big change was from bathroom scales to certified aircraft scales. Don't use bathroom scales to weigh your aircraft!