Beastus_Maximus

For sure that will be in the works, you know what is kind of funny, I traced your panel to start working on mine when I found your website. I am still way early in the concept planning stages, but I am definitely going to be using my machine for some serious cross country when its done, so an auto pilot is going to be a must have. I will be using it regularly to fly from Texas to Montana.

Ah well, The search continues, no rush though.

Just my .02 here, to me IFR Equipment is like a CCW permit and a 1911, I might never need it, probably will never use it. But I have it. And as the saying goes, I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Now call me crazy, trusting the weather man to be right, is like trusting some one who tells you the nights of the week it is safe to go out in a big city that you are unfamiliar with. That IFR gear is going into my bird simply because it will potentially save my life should unforeseen weather circumstances arise. A great case and point on this, I live in South Texas. Once I get myself an Airplane I plan on flying to Boston to see my sister. This is an area of the country I have never flown in, I am totally unfamiliar with it from the air, So having the IFR gear in my bird and knowing how to use it is going to keep me from pulling a John Kennedy Jr. Even if it is a bright sunshiny day. Also attached is a Layout I have been playing around with for my panel. The equipment is as follows. 1. Garmin G600 MFD 2. 2x Garmin 430W GPS NAV/COM 3. Dynon EMS-120 Engine monitor. 4. Garmin GTX-300 transponder 5. Garmin GMA 347 Audio Pannel. It is an initial mockup I did last night, but I sure like it so far. And it shows you can get a lot of gear in there with a little creativity and research. By no means is this my final design, but its looking good thus far, what do you all think?

I figure I should throw my name in the hat as well, I am in Corpus Christi, really wanting to get involved with EZ's have loved em for years. If anyone is down my way let me know. - Nick

That is an auful damn good sugestion. Sounds like I need to go post in the South Texas builders thread.

Hello Everyone! I am Nick, also known as Beastus Maximus or Mister Beast. The call sign goes back years and years to back in the day when I was playing a lot of Mech Warrior 2, and Kesamai's Air Warrior 2&3. I was indoctrinated into the flying world at the ripe young age of 8, by an old WWII pilot and his 172 "Mariah" up at MT48 in south west Montana, and I have been stuck on flying ever since. I have about 34 hours towards my private pilots license, I was actually supposed to solo September 13th 2001, but as you all might imagine that didn't happen. I was on active duty in the Navy at the time, and unfortunately got injured when changing duty stations in a very bad car accident, and was sadly retired from Military Service. I also lost my Aviation Medical due to it. This fall I am working on fighting the good fight with the FAA, and doing everything I can to get back up and flying again. If I am able to get my 3rd class back, I will be jumping back in with both feet, getting my aviation medical finished, and if everything works out making a short trip to Montana to do about 10 hours worth of flying to finish my License where I started, well it will have to be in the 182, I don't fit so well in the 172 any more. But it will be back off the same grass and gravel strip. Further poisoning my fragile little young impressionable mind was my Grandfather, he and I would go for rides in his truck, you know the ones where you drive around and look at where stuff never was before. Anyways he and I always used to go up to the airport (KLVM), and in one of the hangars up there, there was a yellow and a white Long Ez. I was absolutely mystified with them. Always sitting with the nose cone on the ground, two planes sitting in the place that one could sit, and man, they looked like a jet fighter. Many of my boyhood fantasies involved strapping into an EZ and going and giving a Japanese Zero what for, or a ME109. When I was 17 I finally brow beat my dad into submission and got him to sign off on me taking some flying lessons, I put in a few hours up at MT48, really enjoyed it, Sadly a few days before I turned 18, my best friend was killed in a Car accident. About 2 weeks later I joined the Navy wanting to get out of that small town. I had a ton of fun in the Navy, really had it together before going to A school, while I was waiting to class up I got offered the chance to go to Aircrew School, then I went to A school becoming a Aviation Electronics Technician, finishing the course overall with a 96.15% average at the top of my class. Then I got to go to SERE school, that wasn't so much fun, but I did learn a lot from it. Then it was off to Whidbey Island for more school, and this is where I got to do a ton more flying at the Whidbey Island Naval Flying Club, I flew N9730H a 1976 model 172, or "the pumpkin" as we called it. Now I am down in Texas, going to school for welding and CNC Machining. I am just finishing up my sophomore year. Now that I am getting life sorted out like that, I am looking to get into flying again, and seriously looking at fulfilling my life long dream of getting my hands on a Long Ez. I am either going to build or buy one, we shall see. I look forward to meeting you all - Beast.

Looking at buying a LEZ, it is on Controller.com http://www.controller.com/listings/detail.aspx?ohid=1121954 It looks to be a nice bird, I was wondering what you all thought of it for a starting point, to get into Canard's. The price seems reasonable to me, although with being stored for so long, I worry that the motor might have corrosion issues. I have talked with Waiter here quite a bit, at first I was dead set on building from scratch, but I can see several advantages now to starting with a flying bird, or one that is partially complete. I figure towards the 1st of the year I am going to be ready to make the plunge.

I have seen your plane around, it is a damn nice bird. I really like the nose extension you did, it seems well thought out.

You mean you couldnt strap one of these under you wing? *snickers*