Hangar Flying

Falls of Rough State Resort Park (KY), AKA: 2i3, AKA: CSA Rough River Canard Fly-in. End of September, be there, total canard immersion. Total. 25th anniversary this year too, should be a big event.

My wife and son came up there with me this past year.  The decision maker wanted to get up close and personal with a Long before she was willing to turn me loose.  Even with the cold and rain on Saturday she had a blast and was literally giddy about the idea of us flying around in something that looked so incredibly cool.  We'll definitely make the return trip for the next one!

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?