Hangar Flying => Hangar Flying => Topic started by: vonjet on March 14, 2012, 11:25:42 PM
Title: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: vonjet on March 14, 2012, 11:25:42 PM
Im not sure if its just this forum or every Canard forum but since I have been following in the past 15 years or so the Canard presence online has all but dissapeared. I can go for a weeks and find nothing new on this forum. Has the reign of the Canard era given way to the Vans RV?? Or Has composite building as a whole given way to the Vans RV?? A friend of mine said the Canard community is dying with the people of its time because no new builders are coming into it. It seems that way which is sad to see..
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bruce Hughes on March 15, 2012, 02:26:23 AM
Hi Whoever you are
Canard-aviators@yahoogroups.com is pretty active and very helpful for those of us (ME) that need help. It is true that a lot of Longezes are now flown by owners who are not builders. We do have some new builders, mainly of Cozies.
Bruce Hughes :)
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: flyingwaldo on March 15, 2012, 10:55:15 AM
Von, There are a few very experienced folk that loosely monitor this and provide expert advice or suggestions. Most the other forums tend to be chat rooms for a few personalities that dominate and 'fill' a lot of bandwidth. There is an occaisional pearl of wisdom if you care to wade through the rest of it. With RV's being essentially half completed when the kit is delivered and being completed at over 1 a day it's no wonder they dominate the airwaves. But it's still fun to go to small fly-ins and watch everyone come over to look at the "interesting airplane" while the RV guys chat among themselves...... ;D
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Stanford Zinger on March 15, 2012, 08:07:10 PM
Hi All
I bought a Long EZ about 6 months ago from an estate. It was sitting in a hanger for 5 years The airplane has about 200 hours since SMOH and just wanted to tell everyone that I have never had so much fun in my life. I put the electric nose lift and have replaced all the instruments with a glass panel. I plan my maiden voyage in May of 2012.
I CANT WAIT
Composites are alive and well
I have been flying conventional aircraft for 25 years
Regards Stan
Title: Re: Dearth of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bill James on March 15, 2012, 10:24:37 PM
While trying to install a LightYear autopilot servo I have been having some unexpected feedback and excessive chatter. Do any of you loose, experienced monitors have any words of wisdom here? Please see technical details in the attached image, you have to log in and click on the image to see it- Thanks ever so much for your help- Bill James
Title: Re: Dearth of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bill James on March 15, 2012, 11:48:51 PM
So - I move that we elect a director, or czar, i.e. a person in charge of finding new nothings to post weakly. All in favor of VonJet say Aye! :) You do have a good point Von, but despite your astute friend, don't you think there is more to it? I do, thus my modification of your Subject Line. The canard run has evolved in a unique way, different, but not without interesting courses. I partcularly enjoy knowing folks that would never have been who and how and what they are now if they had not grabbed for the fiberglass ring. (Sorry :)). Thanks for giving us a pot to help you stir. While there is an ongoing round of arm wrestling for the flying canard examples out there, i get occasional comments and updates from more than half a dozen newish VariEze builders, many coming into the game later than they wanted, as i did, and are quite enthusiatiac like you Stan. This ageless design still grabs particular people by the solar plexus and yes the dream does live on. For me, the design was spectacular, but i was more interested and have benefited more from what it does than what it looks like or its structure. And, after 35 years of this I am still learning that many folks emulate Burt’s practice of not saying much until the deed is done. Like they say, it’s the quiet ones you gotta watch out for… Hope your eze journey is going well- Bill :)
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Hmanvel on March 17, 2012, 06:42:16 AM
Bill - If you wrap the top portion with duct tape it should eliminate the chatter..
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bill James on March 17, 2012, 09:47:39 AM
Ha! Duct tape to the rescue. A simple and elegant solution. I should have thought of that. Thanks Harry! Bill
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bill James on March 17, 2012, 07:42:33 PM
:) Bruce Sinclair, a Rough River veteran, sends this pic of Geoff in Perth, Australia. He hopes to have this VariEze airborne next year- Bill James
I think you hav to be logged in to see the image. Does it need to be resized?
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: easyrider on March 19, 2012, 03:35:52 PM
Seeing Bill James' picture of the Aussie Vari Jet reminded me of a Varriviggen I saw in a Hangar at Hollister in 2009. Does anyone know what became of the project? I have a set of pictures I can send offline if anyone is interested Easyrider
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bruce Hughes on March 19, 2012, 06:55:20 PM
Bill, the picture of Geoff and project is about twice as large as it should be for my computer to handle it easily. Takes a lot of fiddling around to see it.
Thanks
Bruce Hughes :)
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bill James on March 19, 2012, 10:24:43 PM
VariEze Jet resized, better now i think- Thanks Bruce, Bill
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: DWilliford on March 21, 2012, 12:55:45 PM
There may be something to a decline in builders of canard aircraft. The same could be true of GA pilots. With the rise of fuel costs, instruction, flying and other expenses, like hanger rent and insurance, it's no wonder there are less new pilots and as a result, canard builders. Since I bought The Stagger EZ in May of 2011, I've had some awesome experienses flying and maintaining my EZ. I knew going in, that I did not want to spend five or six years building, So I chose to buy one already built. If I were 20 years younger, I might consider building. Would I have saved a lot of money building, likely not. I know I did save 6,500 hours building a canard.
David
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: ekusafetyman on March 21, 2012, 05:57:38 PM
Would I have saved a lot of money building, likely not. I know I did save 6,500 hours building a canard.
David
and you are flying and flying a beautiful one of a kind aircraft!
Title: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: dorr on April 20, 2012, 02:34:19 PM
I actually track Long EZ plans and all the RAF stuff for new builders - and a few contact me every year - looking for plans (last week a trio in China looking for plans - not electronic plans). The electronic plans people seem more comfortable with CAD and the like - but we don't seem to have any way to track them so we can offer them help. The material costs have gone up so we can usually also find started projects - and I have new builders doing that from time to time. I see the Spruce Ads for Cozy aircraft and again, nobody is tracking them to see how many are actually starting alone - thank goodness for Zeitlin and the Cozy builders group - if they are smart enough to sign up.
We found it took an average of 4 years and 2500 hours to build a Long EZ (based on 100 builders, about 70 of whom completed it), not 7500 hrs - the Stagger-EZ might have taken that long - even as Steve's second plane. I'd think a Cozy IV might take a year more than a Long EZ. In addition to the economy, I think the internet and even things like Netflix might actually cut substantially into building time.
We also found that when the builder was done and flying, he didn't have the energy to sand or help with layups or attend meetings much any more - kind of like the butterfly emerging!
But the numbers are down. Just as they are at exclusive Canard flyins - except Columbia and Rough River.
Beagle (Canardfinder at att dot net)
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bill James on April 23, 2012, 10:14:05 PM
Finishing the well worn path out over the ranchlands (mostly ranchlands), there is just enough time to beat the sunset home. The nose lowers to the left toward the winding deep green oaks and pecan trees along the creek leading home. So lush you can’t even see Bear Creek under there. I still can’t overheat the Eze. It just takes the high speed run in stride, as usual, and happy for more.
Just enough time before sunset. As with so many times before, with one finger the power is backed off a little to the wingover power setting. The nose is already swinging a little low and left to exactly 180, and already coming smoothly up to that perfect angle, now a little left rudder over the top, through 090 on speed and altitude, swinging swerving back downward and beginning the gentle pull with the nose coming up with the altimeter settling on altitude and airspeed and 000. Already lofting up again, in the groove, snapping mental images of the vistas that are held for a few seconds and then replaced with a better one…
That was thirty minutes ago; the first wingovers in several months. The third flight in three days, all business after the annual, now complete with the multiple checks of static RPM, nosewheel liftoff speed, the rebuilt carb, new plugs, the autopilot in but unconnected… Test checklist complete after three flights and still time for a few wingovers.
Spectacular weather. The meager flight time during the seemingly endless too-busy to finish and fly days… those vacant weeks until now, drain away. All done. All good. All new wingover data in the noggin, greens and blues and purples and turquoise’s and shades of whites and tans, no grays or browns for now… the gentle, just right wind on final to assist in supporting a satisfying touchdown… Over the three days I have been chased in by a glistening Lacombe, a Thorp T-18, a Lancair, a classic yellow Cub, a Coot amphibian, a brilliant yellow Tailwind, a PITTS… In the rumble of engines shutting down, I decide not to interrupt the grinning, and friendly insults by mentioning to them their… our… planes are dying out. Oh, and an RV. I don’t think any of us are too worried about any of the airplanes loosing or winning a popularity contest. I have heard that airplanes can expand your horizons. Or bring them closer…
Gotta run, time to visit some about VariEzes.
Hope that helps :)
Bill James
The Lord loves us the way we are, but too much to let us stay that way :)
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Vandy12 on April 24, 2012, 03:43:01 PM
Thanks, Bill...
Any bit of visualization is added motivation for me to stick to the project!
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bill James on April 25, 2012, 08:18:02 PM
I left out the best parts. Like on that first takeoff in a while, ripping up to a thousand feet, breathing a little easier now and settling into the seat, remembering the days and weeks and months of your hands working over the plugs and the tires and brakes and valve settings, torquing the prop bolts, all disappearing in a haze now, …smoothly leveling off, adjusting the trim, the good feeling how well all the things work, how smooth it is, how beautiful it is, all of it- the plane, the sky, the life, …the flashback to shaping the nose foam, fitting the consoles just right, molding the stickgrip, the altimeter coming alive for the first time, …settling into the seat again just for fun, just right, ripping left. And rippling right. That beautiful sweeping turn and pull behind the canard; the Peter Pan things you can only do and feel and see in an Eze, …making friends with the steed again; the rudders, the trim, feeling that good feeling that triggers your cautious subconscious to check all round for traffic, again, and the instruments! Again. All good. All good mechanically because of your hands. All good in the lofting and banking and ...everything, all good, just like you hoped. …wish it could be put it into words. Bill
The Lord loves us the way we are, but too much to let us stay that way :)
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: EZRider on April 25, 2012, 09:26:36 PM
Well said!
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Joe Person on April 25, 2012, 10:50:29 PM
Boy, if only I could fly as well as Bill James writes about it... :)
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Vandy12 on April 26, 2012, 04:55:47 AM
Bill, next time you and the Eze venture north of the border into OK, let me know - I'll buy you lunch!
Brian
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Bill James on April 26, 2012, 01:31:11 PM
Let's see, what time is it?... :)
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: Alan Laudani on May 29, 2012, 10:36:19 AM
I wish Canard Builders well. Having built a Varieze (1980--1992) and flown it (1992--2011), I have started another plans build composite: the pro-composite Vision. I can look at three (via internet) completed Visions. My plans' number is 401 and I think at least two more bought after me. Plan building is much more of a commitment than kit building. But more satisfying. My mindset is that the education of building is part of the process. I don't look to find all my answers in one place. Confidence comes in reading, doing and making decisions. Some say it's not rocket science. Rocket science is easy. Rocket engineering is expensive. Canards are the best buy in aviation. Especially Rutan canards. Speed, comfort, safety, fun, and the flexibility of doing your own simple modifications.
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: easyrider on May 30, 2012, 02:18:36 PM
Beagle's posting mentioned Canards West....just 3 weeks to go
http//:www.canardswest.org
Easyrider
Title: Re: Death of the Canard Builders??
Post by: easyrider on May 31, 2012, 11:36:24 AM
Having read my post on Canards West I could not connect to the web page link Here is another