Hello –I’ve been lurking on this forum for a while now, so I thought I’d introduce myself and maybe ask a couple of questions. I neither own a plane nor hold a pilot’s license…so at this point I guess I’m nothing more than just a wannabe. I have however, spent thousands of hours on the web looking at “airplane porn” and reading & following peoples’ progress as they build their own airplanes. I’ve also been attending the Arlington Fly-in (as a spectator) whenever I can for the last 10 years or so.
A few years back I started taking flying lessons in a 172, but then I got distracted and didn’t finish it up. I guess I also decided that buzzing around the local area in a 172 just wasn’t as interesting as I’d thought it would be. In order to actually travel somewhere I would have to buy a plane, which wasn’t in the cards at that time. Renting a plane to travel is really expensive, and it’s still that stupid 172. So I gave up flying and went out and bought a Harley.
But now I’m thinking about planes again. The weather here in Washington has been gloomy for a long time now and it’s got me thinking how nice it would be to have an escape vehicle. Now, I like to travel, but I absolutely HATE airports. (I travel to Alaska for work several times a year and it’s just a pain in the ass.) Wouldn’t it be nice to have a plane at the local airport that I could jump in and go find some sun? Hell, I wouldn’t even have to take my shoes off or walk thru a metal detector…just fire it up and go.
I’d seen Long EZ’s at the fly-in for years, but never really looked at them that closely. Recently I have been, and the more I look the more it would seem to be an ideal traveling vehicle. Not real expensive to buy, economical to feed, and you can really cover some ground in them. So I’m thinking about buying one…might start looking for a plane this summer after I make some more money fishing up north. I’d buy a flying, fully functional plane…and then build (as time allows) a new, slightly wider fuselage w/ a longer nose, infinity retractable gear, a modern panel and a few other mods that I’ve seen while lurking around here. Maybe a different engine/prop too.
Then when the time comes I’d swap the wings over to the new fuselage and off I’d go. Theoretically.
So – here’s a question for any who would care to answer: If I go and buy a Long-EZ, what would be best way to get to flying it? (Aside from the obvious 40-50hrs slogging around in a spam can to get licensed)
Any ideas or feedback would be appreciated.
And don’t worry about offending me…I have thick skin.
Regards,
Marc Oppelt
