Mark Wiygul

I want to add a question to this thread because I think it's relevant to newbees., For someone thinking about taking up aviation, and training in a Cessna 150 (or something similar) to earn a private pilot license, but who hopes to one day own and fly a Long-EZ, what training steps need to be taken to achieve that goal?

I'm researching the io-233 on a Long-EZ. I have a question: When pulling back the throttle to land, one would expect a lower sink rate at a given speed to a o-320 EZ that's 60LB heavier, so the cruise and stall and touchdown speed would all be lower with the io-233. Is that correct? (I'm getting up to speed on aircraft design). -- edit -- I'm thinking about the advantages of the io-233 from the perspective of coming from low performance, economical airplanes. Also, it seems Lycoming has a pretty big jump in engine performance going from the o-233/235 to o-320. Experimental Aviation could really use a model somewhere in-between.

It looks like Lycoming engines are by far and away the most popular for the LongEZ. It's really hard to find example of anything else except Lycoming. Mogas might have ethanol and I've read that the acholol will eat away at the original plans fuel tanks. I think the engine accessory systems are also harder to custom install on other engines. The original plans, I believe, warned against the Continental O-200 because of great difficulties getting it all hooked up. (I wonder if that ever changed) Still, I haven't heard of a single person with a LongEZ O-200 (probably the low HP output too). I wonder matching prop to engines is a big difficulty to get it right for the LongEZ. I've read that the prop needs to be long because of turbulence hitting the center of the prop, causing it to "swat" at the air. But farther out from the prop (with a long prop) then the airflow is smooth, and the problem is gone. With Rotax engines, they have a gear-box drive system because the RPM is so high, to otherwise slow the prop down. It has a clutch in the gear-box that "protects the prop" from prop strikes. That sounds like a good thing with the LongEZ, but maybe the prop "swatting" at the air in the center burns the gearbox clutch up? (Do the wheel pants help? I've read they slow the plane down. Are there alternatives to protect the prop without all the glory of wheel pants?) I'm not a mechanic, so i might be using poor terminology there. One other thing, of course I've been googling Horsepower and engine prices and fuel economy and figuring out which engine does what, but I've noticed HUGE differences in engine prices, even for the same model. I know some are rebuilt, and others are brand new, but still I see enormous price differences googling aircraft engines between 100 and 200 horsepower, even for the same model. I wonder if some of the prices are "installed by a mechanic" and others are "here you go, put it in yourself" varieties? Those are just a few more thoughts I had on engines on LongEZ. If anyone has any thoughts about this for the LongEZ or the VarieEZ, please comment. Thanks.

I'm just learning about the LongEZ (and Varieze). I love the design!! Thanks for the reply

If the LongEZ is out of weight balance because the engine is too light, one would just move the engine father rear of the firewall to restore proper balance? I'm guessing at that. It seems that the Rotax 912-iS (fuel injected) would be a great option for someone attempting to achieve the ultimate fuel economy. I believe it is equal to o-200 in HP, which is the recommended engine that delivers the minimum HP for the LongEZ). The Rotax 912-iS can deliver 100HP of takeoff power for 5 minutes, then must be throttled back to 80%. It sips automobile gas at cruise more than any other engine that might be possible for the LongEZ. And, the pilot will not have to worry about carb-heat or fuel-mixture, which have been the source of pilot accidents at least in other airplanes. The engine also has a 2000hour lifespan before it must be replaced. The cons include more inconveniences on preflight like having to "burp" the engine to check oil. And, a LOT of people on the internet talk poorly of Rotax.