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Hangar Flying / What killed the Long EZ?
« on: January 11, 2011, 08:12:44 PM »
Okay, maybe killed is too strong a word since so many are out there flying. What I'm trying to understand is why there aren't more under construction these days and the popularity seems to be waning. We now live in a land full of rivet and fly RV's when composites once seemed to be the future.
I'm gearing up for building a Long myself and trying to figure out if maybe there's a hidden gotcha that I need to know about. From my research it seems to be relatively simple (although time consuming) to construct, economical, fast, and most importantly it looks cool as heck sitting on the ramp. I know after RAF folded that plans were worth their weight in gold, but I would think with the Open EZ project that we would see a rise in the number of Long's out there.
So was it the closing of RAF? Burt announcing that he would no longer support or authorize any builder even with original plans? The price of second hand plans? Uncertainty about the Open EZ project? The John Denver crash? A shift in thought that decided aluminum construction was the best way to go? (after seeing strength demos I just can't believe this one) Or is there some other reason that I'm missing?
I'm gearing up for building a Long myself and trying to figure out if maybe there's a hidden gotcha that I need to know about. From my research it seems to be relatively simple (although time consuming) to construct, economical, fast, and most importantly it looks cool as heck sitting on the ramp. I know after RAF folded that plans were worth their weight in gold, but I would think with the Open EZ project that we would see a rise in the number of Long's out there.
So was it the closing of RAF? Burt announcing that he would no longer support or authorize any builder even with original plans? The price of second hand plans? Uncertainty about the Open EZ project? The John Denver crash? A shift in thought that decided aluminum construction was the best way to go? (after seeing strength demos I just can't believe this one) Or is there some other reason that I'm missing?