RSD

Did they ever get a website happening?

On 9/8/2019 at 12:24 AM, macleodm3 said:

Go to the CG products website, click on products, then Cozy (or Long-EZ), then scroll to Chapter 13.  

 

Cheers Andrew - damned if I know how I missed them!

Inflight adjustment was technically the wrong term but describes what I'm wanting - the cockpit design rules out any adjusting mechanism that requires someone to get down amonsgst the pedals and undo nuts & bolts or pins etc - you would only ever want to work down there if you really needed to (and are very flexible) so I am wanting something that can be adjusted forward and back by a small electric motor attached to a threaded rod or something similar.  I've seen plenty of adjustab;e rudder pedals is aircraft that use hydraulics to operate the rudders but hadn't seen a cable system that had that convenience.

3 hours ago, Barry said:

Kent had a simple version, click the link, it's the first item on page 8.

 

 

Oops sorry should have mentioned that I am looking for inflight adjustable ones

3 hours ago, macleodm3 said:

Cozy Girrrls (CG Products) sell adjustable rudder pedals for the Cozy and EZ.

I had a look on their website before posting but didn't find any - will email them.  Cheers!

Has anyone fitted or found a set of adjustable rudder pedals that work with a cable control system like we typically have in Canards?

Does anyone know which of the homebuilt canard wings has the largest surface area? (ignoring the tip) out of Long Ez, E-Racer, Cozy etc? (not including Velocity)

Has anyone purcahsed a set from Infinity lately?  Just wondering what the lead time is etc currently?

Someone (possibly Marc) mentioned somewhere recently that there were several new canard aircraft designs that people are working towards making commercially available.

I know of the single seater that Revel Aero are working on, but what else is (possibly) coming?

On 8/11/2019 at 11:19 PM, macleodm3 said:

On the e-racer... there will be some issues to overcome.  I may be wrong but I think that plans are not currently for sale and that you also need a set of Long-EZ plans to fill in the blanks because the plans do not include all the details needed.  Major parts, such as landing gear, are no longer available.  Have you tried searches online such as "E-racer vs Cozy" and "E-racer vs Long-EZ"?   There are some good discussions about how to get started with an E-racer project.

Plans are very much still for sale from Shirl Dickey, and landing gear is available from Rock at http://www.eraceraircraft.com/

Going the other way - how easy would it be to convert an E-Racer to dual side sticks?

10 hours ago, Barry said:

Those that have worked off of the Rutan design have been fair composite/aero engineers and often worked with Rutan to make the changes.

Dave Ronnenberg didn't work with Burt on the Berkut but was a good composite guy, I'm not sure whether Shirl worked with Burt for the E-Racer?

I'm starting a 14 day intensive course in carbon fibre at the local college soon, that will give me some more grounding, and probably networking opportunities with composite engineers etc.  After that I will evaluate where I think that I'm at and then make some decisions.

Something that I'm conscious of is that there are very few people these days starting to build Canard aircraft from plans.  If the homebuilt canards are to continue then somehow we need to come up with a kit solution that the average person can build in about a year like an RV.  Hopefully a solution can be worked out because the long range, speed and anti-stall features of a canard mean that there is a need for them.

Just a quick note to say that despite all the noise in here I do appreciate the effort that KA goes to in order to locate these various for sale canards and then post the details on here for the rest of us - just a pity that he hasn't found anything yet that ticks the boxes for me😁

4 minutes ago, Jon Matcho said:

I opened a can of worms! 🙂

Carbon is stiffer, but it does flex.  Everything flexes to an extent, then it breaks. 

Back to airplanes... you're not the first person in the 40 years since the Long-EZ was developed to ask, "Has anyone thought to use carbon fiber?"  It certainly can be used here and there for various things, but it is far more involved than even those here are stating.

As a new builder, your best bet to finish is to stick to proven plans, line by line.  Most new/one-off designs produce abandoned projects that nobody would consider taking over.  

LOL!  Can of eels maybe?😃

I should have said that it flexes less easily than fibreglass, and stands up to pressure compression better - especially if the shape is a sphere.

I'm waiting on a set of plans to arrive then will see how it looks.

40 minutes ago, Jon Matcho said:

RSD, not discounting Barry's entirely valid points, you do have some useful composite experience which many don't have (building a bird house once upon a time is good enough).  You need to get through the "designer phase" many tend to go through -- you're not better than Burt Rutan and the others that have thoroughly been down these roads, at least yet.

That's a type of "moldless composite construction" which is how these planes are built.  You'll learn several other techniques and practices, and gain an understanding of how forces are transferred through the different types of fiberglass (unidirectional "uni" and bidirectional "bid").  Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of the VariEze, Long-EZ, Cozy, and maybe even the E-Racer plans (not in front of me right now) take you through these basics.

I wonder why you need to bother with carbon fibre for subsea robotics as opposed to just using a comparable fiberglass weave?  

I'm certainly nowhere near Burt and am a long way from being there.

Carbon fibre is stiffer so won't flex under pressure and therefore change volume/buoyancy.  A lot of subsea things that are used to maintain or adjust buoyancy are made from carbon fibre for this reason, and the less weight the better.

1 hour ago, Barry said:

There are many reasons to stick to the plans created by one of the finest aerodynamic and composites engineers ever to walk fly this earth.

The Long Ez was designed 40 years ago by Burt with presumably the best composite materials and techniques available at the time - surely its time someone revisited it given the advances in composites since then?

6 minutes ago, macleodm3 said:

Have you considered building a Cozy MKIV?  Its the biggest plans built canard... and the plans are excellent.  

It takes a million years to build one of these things.... its fun, but a really big project.... no kidding, its ALOT of work.  How about for now build the fiberglass practice parts and see how much fun it is?  Then try some carbon fiber parts.... 

I haven't figured out how to break down quotes on here into smaller chunks to reply to each part individually so you'll have to escuse me, but

The comparison I've heard is that the E-Racer is the sportscar whereas the Cozy MkIV is the SUV - there are only two of us and I want the sportscar😁

The carbon fibre aspect doesn't daunt me as much as it would some because we already make some carbon fibre components for my subsea robotics business - mainly wrapping buoyancy foam to protect the foam from dings and compression at depth but we want to make other components as well

Many thanks for all of your replies.  My take from all of this is 

• For a roomier Canard go with one that has already flown - e.g. a King E-Racer

I'm still interested in the carbon fibre aspect though as a lot of these designs are very close to or over MTOW with two adult males and full tanks - a 30 pound saving on the fuselage is still of significant benefit.  Having to make molds isn't an issue because if it is a flying success then producing them as a kit aircraft is a possibility.

1 hour ago, macleodm3 said:

Unfortunately this can't be done...  there are lots of little changes you can make to an EZ, but changing the canard/pilot/wing/engine balance will prevent the airplane from flying properly.

Wouldn't for instance the E-Racer have changed this balance?

Looking at building a Long-EZ, and am considering putting an additional 18 inches in the fuselage behind the rear seat to create a baggage compartment for soft bags.  Not being an aerodynamics guy I'm wondering should the wings etc stay right at the back or would this change necessitate moving them forwards a little?

The other question is how much does a bare fuselage weigh?  I'm wondering whether there might be a sufficient enough weight benefit to build the fuselage out of carbon fibre instead?

If you know of a canard aircraft that will be for sale at Oshkosh or see one for sale there then please post the details here - I'm shopping!

How were the Berkut's wings constructed - fibreglass over foam like a long-EZ or another method?

Local airport has a 1000 metre paved runway, it is notorious for crosswinds at certain times of the year.

OK packing them on the diagonal with nose down makes sense to get them into a high cube.

From Melbourne, Australia.

A Rutan design Canard makes sense for Australia due to the long distances between cities etc., the heart says get a Berkut or a Long-Ez for the fighter pilot feel, but the head says to get a Cozy due to the extra space to carry bags etc in the back.

Unfortunately none of them come up for sale very often in Australia so I'm probably going to need to import one from the U.S. - but that poses an obvious question - can the wings and canard etc be removed from any of them to enable everything to be put in a shipping container for the trip over?