LongEZ or Cozy in Florida?

[jmalsbury]

Hello all!

My name is John.  I am an engineer and flight instructor in central Florida.  My wife and I are giving a lot of thought to canard ownership.  We are looking into Vari-Eze ownership for the short term, and possibly, Cozy III or IV ownership for the long term.

I must admit though, I am somewhat naive and new to this type of aircraft.  The most exposure I've had to canards are the pics and specs I see online - and the one occasion I sat in a Velocity at Sun N Fun.  I'm hoping this community can give me a hand in the learning curve. 

1)  If there is anyone in the central Florida area that might be able to give a flight or two, my wife and I would be more than willing to cover gas and buy a couple lunches.

2)  If there is anyone that would have enough experience in with building a Cozy to give some advice on buying a completed plane or project plane, I would certainly appreciate any input.  I must admit that getting a flying bird is a higher priority than being able to proudly say that I built from scratch...  However, if I receive an overwhelming response from the community that building is better/safer, I think I'd go that route...

I look forward to interacting with this community as my wife and I begin this journey.

Happy Holidays and safe flying!!!

Best Regards,
John

[GlennBob]

Dear John,

Gee, . . .don't like the sound of how that starts off already ! !  ( Dear John ), . . .I'll bet you get that a lot. 

Question :  How many years do you have left to tromp this land ?  The times, they are a changing, and flying freedom and time are quickly eluding us.  My two cents, are to get educated on the bird you want and buy a finished flying model.  Here's another clue.  You won't find a perfect one and don't wait until it's perfect to fly it.   

I bought an  (almost ) finished one, it was flying, . .but I didn't like some things about it, . .so I took it home and worked on it in my garage.  That was over 5 years ago.  I sold my share in a Cherokee and have basically been grounded for 5 years except for renting to stay current. 

If you want to take more than one other person, the cozy is a great plane but they're thirstier than the ez's.  My understanding is that the  O-320 is the best match for the ez.  The Vari - ez is fine with the O-235 or Cont. 200 if you have plenty of runway and if you often fly alone.

Best Wishes, . . .and  Merry Christmas.

As for finding others in the Fla. area, . .you might join the CSA association.  Cheap dues and you can get hooked up to other canard drivers in the south.

Glennbob.

[Bruce Hughes]

Hi John

I do not have a flying canard so be careful how much of this you believe.

The best thing for you is to join the CSA.  It is $30.  For that you will get 4 newsletters
and a directory.  When you get the directory, look under FL and you will see who is
close to you.   When you look through the Jan. issue, you will find the state representatives
around page 20.   Then start calling or emailing.   Talk with some real experts, not me.  You
probably will also buy some back issues, I did.

BTW If you plan to have your wife along, she will want more room for stuff than the
Varieze has.  If you want to fly faster and go solo, then the Varieze is better.   

If you start from plans and glass, you can buy plans for the Cozy.   Sometimes you can
buy plans for the Longese or Varieze but they are rare on Barnstormers.  Beware of Ebay;
(or Barnstormers) they may be xerox copies which really are not legal.   Maybe you
don't care.

Be careful about buying; you might get a Longeze like mine (way too heavy).   I had 2
or 3 dangerous things that I accidently created.  Those have been fixed on mine (as far
as I know) but if you buy, how do you know if it is not dangerous?

Bruce Hughes   

[Linda]

John
If you want total overload go to OSH this year.  This is the Rutan Honor year.  There will be (most likely) over 100 canards there on the front row.  Quickies, Vari-EZEs, Long-EZs, Defiants, Cozy 3s, Cozy 4s and (knock offs) Velocitys, Aerocards, and E-Racers Did I miss any??
EJ  N36EJ

[GlennBob]

Wouldn't it be GREAT  to finish my bird in time to fly it to OSH  THIS  year  ! !   

Glennbob

[Britguy59]

I'm in Zephyrhills, there is my Long Ez, Gary's Velocity, and Cliff's Cozy in the area. Where are you at??