@Kent Ashton
Thank you for the PM! It's nice to see a local who is still active and enjoy these planes. I'm close to Huntersville, right in the middle of both of your EZ's FBO Homes.
My mission is a long-distance Economy Cruiser (with Oxygen as needed). Thinking 2 maybe 3 people for long haul... 4 people for pattern rides or short EAA hops.
As for as for soft and short Fields, well, let's just say I don't know of any STOL equipped Canard. The right tool for the right job as they say.
I'm not a big social person. Don't much like crowds (I know, not very conducive to the pilot community); however, I'm willing to show up for some free EAA pancakes.
I was able to Get Duane from Velocity via email and had a back and forth about the Kit. He also explained why it's not sold as Sub Kits. It seems that Financing is the main way I'm going to be able to get my hands on that Airframe with an FAR 21.191. I am also seeing the merit of starting out with the shorter build time of the Open-Ez but with a tandem cockpit, I feel like I might have some difficulty with long flights in such a cramped cockpit. Also, not sure how instructed flight would work in a tandem cockpit like that. It's looking more and more like the CozyIV might be a good compromise between both ends.
With that said, I'm a bit of an antisocial. I'll give you a txt massage this weekend so you can add me to your contacts. Would love to pick your brain over the phone instead of fourm posting back and forth.
@jridge
It seems Burt Rutan had people building the Ez Left and Right in the 80s with almost everyone enjoying Aviation back then. It seems that Aviation has shrunken down to a few people who love Flying and the people who are well off. (As they say, to make a $1m in aviation, start out with $1B) I wish GA was more accessible to more people these days, unfortunately it is not the case.
The Idea has crossed my mind, if there was an Adopt-an-Ez organization, I would stop in for a visit. My concern with this is the higher Initial Cost and the possibility of larger Operational cost (No FAR 21.191 and composite repairs). Also, with composite homebuilt aircraft, you truly do not know what you are buying. Unlike with a Metal plane where you can pop some rivets and take a look at the airframe, composites are not like that. With it being a homebuilt, there is no consistent quality control like with Certified aircraft (but this is true with most Experimental builds).
While poking around and learning, found a YouTube Video of Mr Burt Rutan himself explaining the value of Composites. Building Rutan Composites Build Your Own Aircraft - YouTube
Thanks for your time!
Lauren