Hangar Flying

As I've stated numerous times here before, I'm a student pilot...  So take my comments with whatever weight you want.  

I've now got about 20 hours in my logbook and have been training in a tight airspace and a busy airport with lots of freight and corporate traffic -  KBFI (Boeing Field).  It is underneath the approach path & Class-B for SEA-TAC, just south of downtown Seattle, and 5 miles west of Renton.  I fly a lot in the evenings on weeknights - and usually end up doing T&G's in-between freight flights.  So one of the things I've had to really learn quickly is radio discipline!

The IFR bits are way over my head, and the man is a bit grumpy - but NOTHING has done more to prepare me mentally for the radio than Dan Brown's series of columns called "Say Again" over at www.avweb.com

http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/182651-1.html

GREAT stuff!  The newer articles cover a lot of NATCA/FAA stuff; but his earlier work really highlights ATC-pilot relations and phraseology, as well as gives you a good idea of what's going through the minds of the ATC guys...  Enjoy!

Take care,

--Noel

Just a little follow-up on Jon's comment - since my CFI just made a similar statement during simulated-engine-out practice the other day:

"As soon as something happens to the airplane, the insurance company owns it.  The plane and everything in it is worth precisely $0 to you - all you care about is how it can get you safely on the ground."

T'was an interesting way to state the obvious (or at least, in retrospect it seems obvious); but is so seldom considered...

--Noel
(Solo or bust this week!)

Bruce -

Thanks for the feedback.  

I was referencing CP's #27 and #28.  These are the ones in which Mike & Sally Melville are building their Long-EZ.  They have very complete weights and analyses listed there.

Per the Canard Pusher, a "lightweight" O-235 EZ is supposed to be around 750 lbs. empty.  

Mike & Sally's weighed 880 lbs empty because they "put extra suff on, including full-sized alternator & electric starter systems", installed 17 lbs. of permanent lead ballast in the nose and a heavy-duty battery (in order to allow 100-lb. Sally to solo the plane), and because the two of them combined weigh less than 300 lbs. so they knew they'd be OK on carrying capacity.

So when I see a plane on eBay with an incomplete instrument panel and an empty weight already listed at 885 lbs, I consider that to be heavier than spec.  They may fly just fine - but even if a lot of people have built their Long-EZ's heavier than spec, that's still a result of *their build*...  I'm just going by what Burt wrote and specified; he designed the darned thing!

--Noel the Novice

Jeff -

I've seen a Long-EZ wing static test to 6.5 G's (CP #26) with apparently a lot of safety-margin remaining.  I've also seen the photos of a canard (not sure if GU or Roncz) being sand-bagged to nearly 12 G's.

BUT, it is important to remember (as others have pointed out) that each aircraft is different!!  This is due to different materials, skill-levels, different epoxy applications (as well as temperatures and cure-cycles), etc.

Having said all that, I think the biggest issue in any kind of high-G-load maneuver with the plane is that it will probably be made while descending.  The planes don't have big beefy motors to haul them through the air at high speeds or with lots of energy - they are only fast because they are extremely low-drag, light-weight, and efficient.  As a result, level or climbing maneuvers will probably bleed lots of energy & speed.  A descending high-G maneuver could lead to an overspeed and breakup / flutter / crash long before the structure itself gave under the G-load itself.

Bottom line:  You can do limited aerobatics in an EZ - but there's a difference between what the plane *can* do and what it was *designed* to do.  If I ever had my own EZ, I would no doubt pull a few G's or rolls now and then...  But I am always mindful that Burt has maintained the airplane's primary use is as a high-speed economical cross-country cruiser - NOT a stunt plane.

Take care,

--Noel

This is a relatively low-time student pilot speaking; but I've taken a ride in a couple of EZs and am training in a Diamond DA-20 right now - its probably the closest thing I've found for a primary trainer (I've briefly flown a C-172 and a Piper Arrow; and both were Mack trucks by comparison).  

The Diamond is a responsive little composite plane that doesn't like slowing down either (2nd notch of flaps are essentially speed-brakes).  Its a tractor configuration with side-by-side seating; but it has a small center-mounted stick (not a yoke) and similar approach speeds (~65 kts).  It is also hard to stall, mostly buffetting and occassionally trying to roll-off down around 30 kts; but no defined stall "break" and only a modest sink-rate during stall (with decent control effectiveness throughout).

Even though the view directly over the nose is blocked when you're the GIB, you might try to hop a couple of EZ rides here over the next couple of weeks - get a feel for the canard out in front and the "sight picture" of where it rests relative to the horizon in level flight and at approach/departure attitudes.  Also, learning to NOT over-control the side-stick is important (see various CP's through the years for accidents relating to that).  The EZ isn't "twitchy" - but compared to a Cessna or Piper, the stick deflections seem much smaller and take much less force.  This is where playing a sim with a joystick helps; tuning your hand-eye coordination.  Try to use mostly wrist control while playing the sim - don't "yank and bank" the joystick with your arm.

Good luck - and I am SOOOO jealous!    

--Noel

Hi All,

This is only somewhat relevant to EZ's, in terms of my future ownership - but I respect the knowledge and experience on this board so much that I'd love to hear your comments. (My apologies for the length of this post; but its somewhat complex...)

I'm trying to decide what future direction my career and flying should go...  I've been in the computer industry for over 10 years now.  Unfortunately, I've had the bad luck to be working for the wrong companies at the wrong time - being laid-off or having my employer go bankrupt many times over the last few years.  I've been in a good employment situation for the last year or so - but I've very skittish about my future...  I'm a total generalist / jack-of-all-trades who does lots of various programming/IT work - but because I don't have a single "expert" skill to hang my hat on, its been tough to progress in my career.  And as a college drop-out, my ability to become a senior programmer or move up into management has been limited.  All this means that I feel somewhat "stuck" and burned-out in my career (mostly programming dynamic websites).

Aviation is my first love - before I dropped out of college (in '95), I was majoring in Aerospace Engineering.  Last year I decided to go back to college and major in Aviation Operations, as a way to get back to my first love.  I recently started on my Private license - and after only 2 hours in my logbook I'm already making landings unassisted in DA-20's, so I know I can be a pilot if I go that route.  I've been going to school full-time while also working full-time - all in preparation for attending a 4-year college with an aviation program.

That college has recently raised its rates and I'm looking at 3 years of college that will rack up nearly $50k in loans (on top of working 30 hours a week).  I'll come out of the program with my CFI, CFII, and MEI ratings - but that kind of debt scares me, given starting pilot/instructor pay rates.  It works out to about $500/month to keep up with the loan payments...  (Not to mention trying to afford an EZ someday)

Now, I must make it clear that I have no ambitions of flying for the Airlines.  I know several pilots that fly for Alaska and United - and all seem somewhat bored with their work.  I need challenges in my work - I love trouble-shooting or having to learn and adapt at my job.  So I'd much rather fly corporate jets, maybe do ATC work (although by the time I graduate college, I will be 1 year too old under present regulations), or work in a field involving aviation and computers.

If I'm not going to fly 737's or big jets for a living - is it worth going through and getting all of my licenses at this expensive school?  I know I will *LOVE* to be a CFI - and I wish I could make a paying career out of that; but it just doesn't seem possible from everyone I've talked to...

I'm just really concerned about being able to keep up with the loans and making a decent living if I go with one of those careers...  I don't have a high standard of living (and am willing to sacrifice a lot to fly and/or own a plane) - but I need enough to afford my own apartment, a reliable car, and a few bucks for flight-time or another hobby (I like to stay busy and learn new stuff all the time).

I've thought about trying to blend my two skills - but I don't know exactly what my prospects are.  For example, King Schools is hiring for a Webmaster right now.  Scaled Composites is also hiring aggressively for fabricators - stating that they'll take novices...perhaps I could get my foot in the door there (I've done a little bit of glass-work while crewing for some SCCA race-car teams), and try to move into some kind of junior engineering or programming role?  I would enjoy the hands-on work of fabrication - but getting "stuck" doing that at a low wage for many years would sap my will...

My "safe" option is to maybe go back to a normal college, finish my degree in computers, and just keep flying a hobby.  At my current salary level, I could probably buy into 1/2 of an EZ before the end of the summer - and I could definitely build my own.  The "instant gratification" aspect of this is quite tempting - but I worry about having a true career in computers, both in terms of stability and in terms of burnout/motivation.

Concerned, and still praying for an EZ someday,

--Noel
noel.wade@gmail.com
Seattle, WA

Aww, Al is selling his EZ?  Bummer! :-(

From this outsider's perspective:  I think the pace of sales due to loss of medical is gonna increase a lot over the next 5 - 10 years...  Good news for poor EZ-hungry fliers like me; but sad to see a lot of original builders having to give up their babies...

Take care,

--Noel

http://ez.org/v-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=647

Please be sure to check the existing message threads first. :-)

Take care,

--Noel