zolotiyeruki

Thanks for taking the time for such a thorough reply, Marc. 60-70 lb on a 900-1200lb aircraft is nothing to sniff at, but not a game changer, either. I lurk on the HBA forums as well, but hadn't seen this particular discussion. I'll go do some more searching to see if I can dig it up.

Yeah, I acknowledge the realities you bring up, in terms of cost, time to build, likelihood of finishing, etc. I'm not seriously proposing tackling such a project, I'm simply trying to get a feel for what the weight impact would be.

I've been watching the RevelAero posts on Facebook, and have been wondering: Could you make a Long-EZ/Cozy/whatever even lighter if you used molded parts for the wings and canard? I understand the biggest benefit of moldless construction when RAF was selling plans--it makes composite construction accessible to the average Joe, without the need for expensive tooling, or selling complete assemblies, etc. But if you had molds for the wings/winglets/canard, could there be some weight savings to be found, compared to moldless foam core construction? This is just spitballing--I recognize that you'd need to do some proper engineering to determine rib spacing, wing spar design, layup schedule for the skins, etc. But roughly speaking, would you expect to see much of a weight difference? I imagine you'd have less filling and paint on the outside, and less weight on the inside due to the absence of foam, but more weight due to the ribs. And I'm ignoring for now any difference in the time required to use one or the other technique.

I'm thoroughly unqualified to answer, but it would seem to me that a center bulkhead could be less bulky, while the pillar-style reinforcements allow the entire interior of the aircraft to be free of obstructions. I imagine that type of design is also what allows the gull wing doors on the Velocity.

Another velocity:

Seen on Facebook:

No pics:

Another Velocity sans photos:

A Cozy IV project with no pictures: A Velocity, similar without photos:

Does the builder have any sort of website or blog or similar? It looks stretched, lower winglets omitted, retractable mains, Berkut-style canopy, nose gear well cover...I wonder what else he has in there.

Wow, that *is* a very nice price for a project that far along.

A few listings from Barnstormers:

Well, the Rutan Aircraft Factory shut its doors about 35 years ago, so there's no official support, nor can you purchase new sets of plans. Occasionally, someone will sell an old set of plans. However, there's another option: the Open-EZ. It's an aircraft that you can build from plans, is a clone of the Long-EZ, and is free. You can find the plans over here: Burt Rutan has himself basically told the homebuilt community "do whatever you like with my old designs," so you're in the clear from an intellectual property point of view.