GuinnessGuy74

Everything is sold! Sorry for the delay... Jim

Zoom, I have a set of 3rd edition plans and a young project for sale. I sold off most of the parts and raw materials. My project has chapters 4&5 complete and about 90% done through chap. 6. I am not in NY (anymore), but I am in North Carolina. Its a bit further but if you want it, I'll give you the whole thing and the plans for $600. I may be a little more south than you wanted, but the price tag may be good enough for you to consider. I really need the space in my garage. Anyway, let me know. You can contact me at guinnessguy74@yahoo.com or on this list. Thanks, Jim

I still have the following available: Eureka Canard Core - $225 Approx 35 yds BID Approx 35yds UNI 1.5 Gallons MGS 335 2 quarts Hardener (1 fast, 1 slow) Approx 1 lbs Micro Approx 3lbs Flocked Cotton Composite materials above for $425 Thanks, Jim

I made a typo in the above post. The BID roll is approx 35 yards, not 75. Sorry about that! Jim

After a 3 month break, I have started up again....only to call it quits. I will not bore you all with my story, but I cannot afford to build this aircraft anymore. I am selling the cozy parts that I have and my tub (complete through chap 6). Here is what I have: 1 tub - Complete through Chapter 6 (minus the firewall). 1 set of plans #1565, marked only with updates/corrections 1 Eureka CNC cut Canrad Core (still in box, never opened) 1 Featherlite Main Gear (still wrapped with nose strut, the way it came off the truck) 1 Featherlite Nose Strut 1 Firgelli Automation 4" 150lb linear actuator (speed brake) Approx 75 yds BID Approx 35yds UNI 1.5 Gallons MGS 335 2 quarts Hardener (1 fast, 1 slow) Approx .5 lbs Micro Approx 3lbs Flocked Cotton I am located in the Charlotte, NC area. I have about $3500 in materials and parts. I am asking a humble $2000 for everything. I will consider selling off the parts seperately. A good chance for a builder to save some $$$ and get a headstart. I will post some pictures of the tub later. Email me at GuinnessGuy74@yahoo.com if you are interested... Regretfully, Jim

I work for a NASCAR team. Richard Petty Motorsports. Dodge going bankrupt hurt us pretty bad. After the team went through layoff's and paycuts, I had to put my project on hold. Took a cut in pay but thankfully I didn't lose my job. Now back at it and starting up chapter 7. Good Luck Drew! Jim

Technically the sides get covered (Chapter 4, page 1, Fig. 5 shows this very clearly). But general thinking seems to be that Nat just wanted the builder to gain experience. There are those who did it and those who didn't. I am one of the didn'ts. I just microed the foam, sanded down, and floxed it in place. In order for the BID to lay down the sides nicely, the sides of the back need to have a radius. Otherwise you'd probably get some nasty bubbles along the edges. I also preferred to have the seatback square to the sides when floxing it in place, instead of a rounded edge. I really don't think it matter one way or the other, otherwise it would have ended up int he archives as a "must do".... Just my opinion, don't deviate from the plans if you dont feel comfortable with it! Jim

Erlend, Good to see you've worked things out. It's one of those "ah ha!" moments, there are more to come ;-) As far as the micro/epoxy ratio, you will find the type of foam will often dictate your ratio. For example, your lower density foams will benefit from a slightly thicker mixture to help fill all the voids easier, whereas the higher density foams will be easier with a thinner mixture. You will learn which to use over time... Good luck and keep building! Jim

Erlend, Steve is right. Just be more careful when you are spreading that stuff around. You can just sand it off, but why make more work for yourself? For flat pieces, you can try putting a few pieces of wood under it to elevate it off the surface. Kinda like when you did the other side of the seatback. That way you can spread the micro and epoxy around and it wont pool up underneath. When you are done spreading. You can clean up and then lay the piece flat to cure.... Keep on building! Jim

Congrats! There are plenty of things you can do while you are waiting to start building. First thing you should do is read the newsletters and mark up your set of plans with all the changes outlined in the newsletters. Even with a 3rd edition plans, there are quite a few. You don't want to forget to do that in six months. Print out the FAQs on Marc's site for the chapter you are on and staple a copy to that chapter of the plans. This way, you will never forget to read them before reading the chapter!! You'd be amazed at how many people forget to read them and ask a question that was answered in the FAQ. Start organizing your shop. Start building your table, hot box, etc. Try to do something everyday. Even if its just 15 mins. You will stay disciplined and make steady progress this way! Good luck with everything. Someone is always available to answer your questions. If you haven't done so, subscribe to the Cozy mailing list as well. Between that and these forums, you will never be alone in your build! Now get started! Jim

Just to throw in my $.02, I have the Dremel version. I bought it for $89.99. The tool itself is wonderful, powerful, adjustable, comfortable. The accessories are a totally different story. The blades are crap. They cut fine, but dull smooth after a few passes through fiberglass. While the blades are inexpensive ($6-8) they are also very CHEAP. I went through 3 of them just trying to trim the 8 layer UNI on my Aft Landing Gear bulkhead. My solution was to buy a Fein SuperCut HSS Blade. Cost me $70 but it fits on the Dremel tool, and cuts through anything I throw at it like butter. And from the feedback I've received here, the Fein Blades last forever. If you go this route, you must get the Fein SuperCut blades as the MultiMaster blades do not fit. Not sure about the HF special one.... Anyway, hope this helps! Jim

Good catch Andrew. I didn't read it like that the first time. I just didn't want a new builder to start under false pretenses, and be let down later on! Now buy those plans and get building Windwalker! Jim

Windwalker, Welcome to the forums! You are right about builder support being phenomenal. Have you joined Marc's Cozy mailing list? If not you should. Between this forum and the mailing list, you will not find a better support network. AS far as difficulty goes, I was in the same boat you are. I started my project 3 months ago. Made a couple of mistakes along the way, but thats the beauty of composites - almost any mistake is repairable. I am now finishing up Chapter 6 and I can tell you, it is the most addicting thing I have ever done. We just had a discussion on the mailing list about who is building these birds. It doesn't take being an engineer if you stick with the plans. When you deviate, it helps to be one, or seek out expert advice before proceeding, though. As far as 1000+ hours? More like 2500-3000+ hours! Years are determined by how OFTEN you work on the plane, but hours are hours. Again, welcome! When you get the plans read them thoroughly a few times, then jump right in and get your, uh, hands wet! For what its worth, you have a great builder to help you out with Steve being close! Jim

Hardshelling is applying a micro slurry to your foam, and allowing it to cure completely. You then sand the cured micro and continue on with your layup. It is useful when doing very large layups by yourself. If you do a search in the archives you can find out more, and how heated a topic it can be.... Jim

Its quiet here today so let me expand on this thread further. I wound up throwing away my Dremel blades. They were garbage. One wouldn't last a days work on glass. I took everyones advice (thanks by the way) and purchased a Fein Supercut blade for my Dremel MultiMax (note: Supercut. The regular Fein blades do not fit a Dremel MultiMax.). I bought the HSS flush cut circular one.....whoa Nelly! Like a knife through warm butter!! I LOVED this tool before (you MUST get one if you are building IMHO Fein or Dremel or Bosch, jury is out), but I ADORE this tool now. What took me 15 mins or so of what seemed more like grinding instead of cutting, now took me all of 30 secs. And the fact that it is a flsuh cut blade is super handy. Can't thank everyone enough for the advice....moving on to Chapter 6!! Jim

schmeddz, You post came about a week too late for me. Like Drew, I spent $$ on alumiprep! Oh well, live and learn... Good info, Jim

Rick, Thanks for the reply. I figured out my problem and it turns out, there is none! I appreciate the help. Great Website! Jim

Just a quick sanity check. I am preparing to glass the fuselage sides and I noticed that despite my best efforts, the upper edge of the foam sides are not "perfect". When I put in a 3/4" board as a spacer, I notice a small gap in the middle, maybe around 1/16th or so. Not much. Now when I flox the upper longerons in, weigh them down and clamp them to the spacers, the tops of the longerons are not going to be flush with the foam. I am pretty sure this is ok, as the goal is to ensure that the longerons are straight and parallel to each other correct? Thanks for the help! Truckin' away over here and loving it! Jim

Thanks for the help guys. I am definitely going to grab one of the fein blades. I always find a use for this tool. It really is great, but the blades dont stand up to much at all. Not even worth $6-8 per blade. Just my two cents.....thanks for yours! Jim

For those of you who own a Fein Multimaster, how long do your HSS Segmented blades last? I went the cheap route and bought a Dremel MultiMax (got it for $89 so it was a no brainer for me). The tool itself is wonderful, and I can see why people say a Fein is a MUST HAVE. The blades are only $8 but dont last very long. Heck, I am only on chapter 5 but I have already run through 3 blades. They aren't very good. I am wondering if I should invest in a Fein blade. I know there is no adapter Dremel makes for the Fein blades, but it can be done by using a portion of a dremel blade as a washer. Just curious. Thanks Jim

I agree with Rick. Have patience. Although I must say, I have been extremely satisfied with ACS. I placed my order for everything in 4-7 minus the glass (bought full rolls of BID and UNI elsewhere), and it shipped two days later. Placed another order for epoxy a couple weeks ago and it shipped in 1 day. But maybe I have been luckier than some. I know there were issues in the past, but they seem to be resolved now. I remember that Christmas feeling....trust me, after you start building parts, it doesn't go away. Waking up the next day and checking out the layups you did the night before is very similar (unless you messed up, then it's more like getting coal in your stocking). Good luck and keep us posted on your progress! Jim

Good idea. Get building. For Chapter 4, this will be fine. If I may make a suggestion: LIGHTING LIGHTING LIGHTING. You can't have enough light. A good inspection light is also very helpful. Good luck with the build! Jim

104F? I hope thats a dry heat I did the forward side of the bulkhead last night. I took my time, only used the heat gun 2 times and was dilligent in my inspection process between all 8 layers. This morning I took a look before work and everything looks great. Lessons have been learned. Time to move on to Chapter 5.... Thanks everyone! Jim

TMann, I too use some heat on the cup to keep it thin. I didn't mean to imply that the epoxy got stiffer right away with the heat, but i think some aggressive heating lead to a shorter working time. I usually use about 60:40 slow to hard, and mix up batches of 100 grams to start with. I found in my first layups with 50:50, since i was being extremely sure of everything, it started to gel. So I bumped it down to 60:40 and have been happy so far. Once I get to the sides, I will obviously need all slow. Great advice everyone. I appreciate the support. Back to building tonight! Jim

Thanks guys! I SHOULD have realized that once the epoxy started to get difficult to move around, I should have peeled the plies off and started over. Edge, you are right on track. I was using a heat gun! I use it on low, aiming it over my shoulder trying to keep it a good 3 ft away from the layup. I am sure I had it close a few time and thats when I noticed it getting stiffer. I will do what Neverquit says and heat and peel. Shouldn't be too bad. Better to ask questions than continue on and never learn. Thanks for all the advice. 40 hours down - 2960 to go!! Jim