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robinson217

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Everything posted by robinson217

  1. In a perfect world we could build them at the same time, but since buying his plans my boss and his wife have adopted some special needs children. Very noble, but makes for bad cozy building. I think its going to be a few years before he builds his. But he has been a great resourse since he took aero engineering at Cal Poly. I have thought about bringing in a partner, but I want to be able to decide exactly how to do everything. Not hash out every detail with someone else. I'm an A&P with about 3 years experience. I hope I'm not over estimating my skills taking on such a project. I have a feeling I will be on this forum ALOT in the coming years.
  2. Ok, this question is coming from a complete noob, so go easy on me. I have noticed a lot of differences in the shape of long EZ noses. Some are quite "boxy". (like in the first pic)I think that is the way they were designed. But I have seen some (Like the second pic) that are more curvy and smooth. here's the question: Does the builder acheive the smooth look simply by softening the edges of the original plans, or does it take some kind of supplimental drawings, and or an amemdment to the plans to acheive such a look? Is there a significant advantage to either, other than asthetics? Picture one (boxy) Picture two (smooth) also notable in picture two: The conopy glass seems to have a more streamline shape (less of a bubble) that some I've seen. Is this a newer design? Or is it just the camera angle? Picture three seems like a fairly radical departure from the original nose. it looks longer and rounder. Anyone know what this is? Just curiouse- Chris:)
  3. Yeah, My Boss (who is trying to clear out time and space to start his Cozy) says the Delta Hawk engines have been "almost ready" for ten years. One can dream:rolleyes:
  4. WOW! I want to thank all you folks for the good info. I havn't signed on in 24 hrs. I see you have been busy. Now if I didn't start enough trouble by broaching the "BRS subject", here is somthing to ponder....... I have been planning my route for several years. The availability of AvGas in some parts of the world will be a problem. What do you guys think of the Delta Hawk Deisels? Should I start a new thread?
  5. The objective is to fly around the world and come home to my wife in one peice. That said, she will never approve of this flight unless I go above and beyond on the safety factor. A BRS would be nice, because a foam airplane is its own life raft......if you don't turn it into foam chunks...a real possibility landing on water. I would think "bailing" would have just as many risks as ditching, with the added draw back of being separated from any life supporting equipment stored on board. Just imagine trying to jump out of a plane carrying everything you will need to survive for maybe a week on the open ocean. I have already started making a list for my "Oh S#!T kit". This kit will include things nessesary to survive on land or at sea. Survial suit (worn on all legs of flight over water) Personal Locator Beacons (at least two) Satalite phone life raft MRE's water first aid kit Dye canisters (sea) smoke canisters(land) Fire makeing tools Fire extinguisher a hatchet a .22 caliber survival rifle (perhaps layed up in the airframe, out of sight) and maybe some fishing tackle. And you guys said I didn't need a four place! Did I forget anything? Hopefully all this stuff will just take up space in the cockpit. But if I need it, I'll have it.
  6. Yeah, I thought of that after I posted. I've never sat in a Cozy, but If you could get a brs in one, bending over would be difficult and pointless. A good head rest is all you would need. But I have to go with the consensus that a BRS is not going to happen. If someone out there engineers it, I will consider it. I'm no engineer, and I'm not looking for a way to get rid of money. I simply wish there was an added measure of safety, such as a BRS, because I plan on flying over water. I want to circumnavigate the globe....not get turned into shark chum.
  7. OK, OK, I get it! No BRS chute! I can see it now... I get in trouble and pop the chute...... and the only thing left hanging from it are my Fadec controlled, tuned exhuast IO-360, and a couple good size chunks of foam. Now, as for building a different plane... As I mentioned earlyer, I may not know a lot about Cozy's, but I did pick the plane based on my mission. I have considered MANY other designs. While many of them excel at one aspect of my goal, they are lacking in others. Unimproved runways arent my only problem. There is also the consideration of finding 100LL. Finding places to land that are safe for an American. And yes, finding a little pavment to put my feet on. I thought about it and found a simple answer to all those problems: RANGE. If I can fly 5000 miles at a time I can: Find fuel, friends and pavement. I can even take indirect routes to go around unfriendly places. I considered an amphibian. Can you name an amphibian that can cruise above 150 kts and carry enough fuel for my mission? I can't. Amphipbs are slow, so the miles per gallon are very low. I did consider an rv with a fusealage tank. Its been done. But I work on small airplanes for a living. I know my abilities.(I'm re-building a Luscombe) I'm not ready to build a metal plane. As for the four place thing: I originally was looking to buy a set of un-used long ez plans, but soon realized I could never fit all that fuel, PLUS a life raft, emercency rations, a first aid kit and my baggage. Not to mention it has a small panel, and I need a lot of navigation and communication equipment. I've been dreaming of this flight since I was a boy, been planning it since I was a teenager and have been searching for the right plane for a couple of years. I don't mean to come onto this forum and make waves. I'm trying to get a better understanding of this aircraft from people with first hand knowlege. Because when I commit to the design, buy my plans, and set up my shop, I'm jumping in with both feet and not stopping untill its done. When I'm finished, I hope to have made all the right decisions and be left with a flying machine that will take me around the world. Thats why I'm asking some questions that my seem stupid to many of you. But admit it...you guys weren't born Cozy experts. Didn't you ask some of these things yourself once?
  8. Hey, I really do appreciate the perspective. I am an admitted Cozy noob. I have been studying a borrowed set of plans for a couple weeks, and I have picked the brains of a few self proclaimed "experts". Certifiable, however, I am not. I have dreamt of circumnavigating this third rock from the sun since I was just a kid. Some people climb mountains. I fly airplanes. Call it my Everest. I know I can hop on a jet in SFO and be sipping a Mai Tai in Waikiki 5 hours and $400 later. Hell, for twice the price my wife can come too. But there are 200 people on that same plane, doing the same thing. I gaurantee you though, I'm the only one who stared out the window the ENTIRE time, trying to imagine going the same way, but four times lower, and four times slower. I do push limits, but I am not one to be wreckless. I have lost some close friends to aviation, even my flight instructor. I am fully aware of my mortality. And thats why, when I am your age, and I'm telling stories to my grand kids, about my flying adventure around the world, they will know I did all a man could to conquer a dream. I will do it solo, simply because, I don't think I could impress upon another person, how great the risk is, without scareing them off. If I go down, I go down alone. Now, you should know...When people tell me I can't do something, it only bolsters my resolve. I AM going to build an airplane. I AM going to fly it around the world. Whether or not I figure out how to get a BRS in, well, thats down the road a ways. The point is, I want to BE AROUND to tell my grand kids stories. I started this thread to see if anyone knew how to survive a ditching at sea in a cozy. I toyed with the notion of a BRS...and the general consensus is "Don't bother". Maybe I should put the extra $10,000 a BRS would cost into building up a reliable engine. Maybe I should leave flying to the birds. As for potentially "Throwing away" my cozy by flying over the ocean, after years of painstaking building: I equate that mentality to the guy who dreams of owning a corvette his whole life, but is afraid to take it out of the garage when he finally gets one. "Lets take the Taurus honey...that theater has such narrow parking spots!". What a waste! I have spent a year at a time building scale R/C models, only to destroy them on the first flight. Dissapointment? Yes. Wish I had just hung it from the ceiling? Of course not! I am not planning on needing any of these emergency contingencies. But it is far better to epext anything. If I crash my Cozy...and survive...I will re-build it. I don't have a lot of money, but I have a ton of determination. I might have to buy foam and fiberglass one paycheck at a time. And I may have to sell the luscombe to buy an engine and instruments.....But 15 years and $50,000 from now, when I'm sitting on that beach, sipping that Mai Tai... I'll raise my glass to you. Because you said I was certifiable. And when I have my grandson on my knee and he says "Why did you build a plane and fly it around the world?" I will be able to honestly answer: "Because they said I was crazy.":cool2:
  9. "Gentle" may have not been the right word. Let me give you an idea of what I see in my head: I'm flying along at 12.500 ft, 1,000 miles from land....and its night time. My engine seizes. I go through the check list and try to re-lite, to no avail. I send off a mayday, asking any passing airliners to pass it along. Now its time to ditch. As I get low to the water, I have trouble estimating my height off the water....even the horizon. I flip on the landing lights....and see 15 foot rollers. CRAP. I do my best to get the speed down, but despite my best efforts, I drag a wing into a wave. At 70 MPH, i'm cartwheeling through a froth of sea foam, and well, um, PVC foam. Not good. Rewind to the part where I realize my engine is not going to come back to life: I slow up, pull the handle, do the sign of the cross, and put my head between my legs untill I hit. I imagine it might feel like when that kid plowed into the back of my jeep at a stop light....he was doing 60. I walked away from that. I think I could "walk" away from a sea ditching with a chute. If you all think I'm crazy for wanting to do this to a Cozy, please tell me before I drop $500 on a set of plans.
  10. I am baseing all of this on my own theories. I have never flown, or even sat in a cozy. I wrote down all the requirements that a plane must be capable of for the mission I intend. after running the numbers on countless planes, I have decided on a cozy mark IV. Now I just need to know if I could survive an engine failure at sea. If I'm barking up the wrong tree with the brs chute, please let me know. I'm open to any suggestions.
  11. Thanks for the insight. I was aware that Bill Swears had ditched, but I was under the wrong impression that he flipped it. Most of the ideas I mentioned were the result of some hare brain suggestions that came up during a conversation with some co-workers (including the son of an explosive ordinance expert). The BRS chute is the one I'm leaning towards. I think if the engine quit over open water, the best thing would be to: Slow up to near stall, hopefully stopping the prop from windmilling. Then as the stall warning horn goes, pop the chute. I think the airframe might stay in one peice, if deployed at that low speed.
  12. Hi. I'm new to the forum. I want to build an Airplane that can take me from California to Hawaii with a rear seat tank. Then eventually I would like to fly around the world. I think a Coxy MKIV is the plane for the job. My biggest concern about such a trip would of course be a forced landing at sea. I imagine there would be almost no way to do it without flipping over as soon as the mains "bite" the water. Any theories on how to ditch and survive? Here are the options I came up with. Please tell me what you think of them. 1. Retractable gear. (only realy would help in calm seas. A wing catching the water is still a high probability) Also, adds weight, complexity, expense. Lowers usefull load. 2. Large tundra tires. Ever seen those videos of bush pilots locking up their breaks and skidding across the water? You could lock the brakes and skip along the water untill slowed down. Again, only good in calm seas, and the nose would probobly "torpedo" after the canard ran out of lift. not to mention drag. 3. Rig gear legs with small explosive charge, to blow them off, or at least weaken them so they fold back harmlessly when you hit the water. Saves weight and allows use of intended gear...... but you have explosives strapped to your airplane. 4. BRS chute. Pop the chute and do a gentle belly flop into the sea. Wait for help. This sounds the best to me, but I can think of more than a few issues with having a chute on a Cozy. Anyone done it? any thoughts?
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