DouglasHolub

Got it. Thanks.

"Maximum" in any condition. Thanks for the info. I usually crab until just before touch down, but I forgot to dip the wing on the windy side. Maximum gross weight for the Cozy is just 1705 lbs? The older Velocities like mine are 2250 lbs. The newer ones are 2400 lbs. Is yours a Mark IV? Thanks again, Doug

The maximum weight on my nose gear is 295 lbs. Is that more than a Cozy Mark IV sees? My empty weight is 1295 lbs, admittedly less than any Velocity that I am aware of. In any case, I'm very pleased with the performance of the Featherlite strut. I was landing once on a breezy day and I should have added a few more knots on final because of the gusts. Right over the threshold the breeze stopped and the plane dropped onto the runway. The airport manager was watching us land and was sure he was going to have to tow us off the runway. But the strut was fine. It did crack the torsional wraps, though. This time I was landing with a crosswind, which I haven't practiced very much. The nose wheel touched down, then bounced up, then a gust of wind picked up my wing so that when the nose wheel touched down again it was at about a 30 degree angle side to side. The nose strut broke sideways, and the Wilhelmson screw snapped in two. I got the idea of using the Cozy strut from Herb Sanders in Memphis. He had already installed one in a Velocity he was building, so I went to Memphis and took some measurements and some pictures and pretty much just copied what he did. The measurement I am most interested in now is the distance from the top of the strut to the bracket which connects to the screw. I could put the bracket where it was last time, but I'm just curious to know where it is on the Cozy Mark IV. If it's too high, it makes the screw work harder. If it's too low, the strut doesn't flex as much when the nose wheel touches down. I also want to confirm where the microglass goes. I remember packing it in around the strut at the top and the bottom, but I can't remember if I also did that around the bracket that connects to the screw. Looking at the old strut makes me think I did. Maybe someone could just let me know and I won't need to see any plans? Doug Holub 2009 Standard Velocity w/ electric nose lift, 150 hrs

I put a Cozy Mark IV nose strut and a Wilhelmson electric nose lift on my Velocity. I broke it when I landed badly a few months ago, and I'm installing the new strut now. I'd like to see what the Cozy Mark IV plans look like. I'm sure they're copyrighted. Is there any legal way I could look at chapter 13 without spending too much money?

Super. Thanks a million. Doug

I'm replacing the nose strut on my Velocity. It's a Cozy Mark IV nose strut. I can't remember how many plies of BID are used to wrap it. Is it just one ply in each direction so that there are two plies overlapping on the sides? Doug Holub 2009 Velocity FG w/ electric nose lift

"the micro should be put on as dry as possible (peanut butter) it should not be runny at all ( runny is heavy )." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 3-9 of Rutan's "Moldless Composite Homebuilt Sandwich Aircraft Construction" says: "When laying up over styrofoam, PV foam, or urethane foam, paint a liberal coat of micro slurry on the surface, before laying on the first ply. The slurry can be poured on the foam and spread thin with a squeegee or it can be brushed on with a brush." That's how they taught us to do it at the Velocity builder's classes, too.

Here's a data point: My Velocity project was parked in my carport in a place where the morning sun would hit the top of the right spar for a few hours every day. I didn't realize that it was getting any direct sunlight (Doh!) until I noticed after about 8 months that the top of the spar was getting a little chalky. So after about 600 hours of direct sunlight the spar was damaged enough that I needed to reinforce it. After 50 hours I'll bet the damage was so slight that no repair would have been necessary, and after 5 or 10 hours I'll bet it was neglible.

It does sound a bit harsh. I had a brand new engine on my Velocity when I first flew it in February, and I wish I hadn't. I wish I could have flown the plane slowly for the first dozen hours or so until I got used to it, but the new engine needed to be run at high power settings for break-in. If the engine is inspected and tested and is still running well, I also would postpone the overhaul until after flight testing has begun. I mean, what are the odds that this plane will ever actually fly? Before you go to the trouble and time and expense of overhauling the engine, see if you will finish the project and get an airworthiness certificate. You probably won't. Doug Holub Velocity Standard FG w/ electric nose lift, 55 hrs

And I think I'll safety wire the support foot to the strut so that if the clamp ever does get loose again, the wheel assembly won't fall off. Doug

"Is there another canard forum that might have some experience with over stressing that nose wheel assembly?" -------------------------------------------------- I hadn't read Neil or David's replies yet. Thanks, guys. I'll beef it up. Doug

"You REALLY need to talk to Jack first on this one." ---------------------------------------------- I've worked closely with Jack from the beginning. He doubled the compression force of the spring in the lift mechanism so that the extra weight on the nose wouldn't compress it so much that the canard would have a negative angle of attack during take off. That part is working great. Of course I wrote Jack and explained what happened this week, mostly so that if anyone else is thinking about putting the Wilhelmson nose lift on a Velocity he would be able to tell them that there might be a problem. But Jack didn't design the nose wheel assembly or the fiberglass strut. If he did he would have been able to warn me two years ago about a potential weakness in the support foot bracket. Is there another canard forum that might have some experience with over stressing that nose wheel assembly? Doug

I put a Wilhelmson electric nose lift on my Velocity. I'm 34 hours into Phase I flight testing, and today I noticed that the bracket that clamps the nose wheel assembly to the nose strut was deformed (picture attached), and in fact was not clamping anymore. The only thing holding the wheel assembly up was the fiberglass nose strut fairing, and it was tearing. Another inch and the nose wheel would have fallen off. Does this bracket often deform? My Velocity fully loaded can put 395 lbs on the nose wheel. I think the maximum a Cozy Mark IV ever sees is 295 lbs. I was testing full forward CG with 365 lbs on the nose wheel this week and I'm guessing that's when the trouble started. I don't recall any particularly hard landings. Up until this week, with just my weight in the front seat, the nose wheel only had about 250 lbs on it. Last month I tested the gear with 900 static lbs on the nose wheel with no problems. It would be an easy thing to add some steel angles under the bolt heads to beef up the clamp. I guess I'm a little concerned that if the clamp didn't deform, the strut might break. Should I be concerned? Doug Holub Irving, Texas

It does now. (Picture attached.) I added the electric nose lift mostly to make it easier for my wife to get in and out. She's not an invalid or anything; it's just not very lady-like climbing up on to the strake. I'll probably appreciate it, too, in 10 years. I could have put gull wing doors on this Velocity, but you really give up a lot when you do that: 1. Adding a keel down the middle from the canard bulkhead to the firewall gives you two smaller bucket seats in the back instead of a large bench seat. 2. The fuel sump goes from 6.5 gallons to 2.5 gallons. I like knowing I can still fly for 45 minutes after the sump alarm goes off. 3. The strakes get slid back pretty far to make room for the gull wing doors, so you lose all of that strake elbow room in the front seat. Plus I probably pick up a few knots by retracting the nose gear. Doug Holub Irving, Texas

"...the plane will continue to track straight, even when you apply the good remaining brake." Good to know. Thanks. Doug

I'm about half way through my Phase I flight testing in my fixed gear Velocity. It has the Wilhelmson electric nose lift. If I need to make an emergency landing in a field, should I land with the gear up or down? Doug Holub Irving, Texas

I'm about half way through my Phase I flight testing in my fixed gear Velocity. It has the Wilhelmson electric nose lift. If I need to make an emergency landing in a field, should I land with the gear up or down? Doug Holub Irving, Texas