Breaking down and towing

[smercernary]

Hi, yes I am another one of them damn new guys with more questions for all you more knowledgeable folk. My situation is that I have been looking to buy an EZ for a few months now and have the funding as well as an EZ that I hope to buy soon. My question is whether or not taking the wings off and towing the EZ to and from my home is a viable option. I live 3/4 of a mile from the runway and it would be much cheaper to have it in a garage at my apartment complex than a hanger. I had a friend with a Kitfox and he was able to just fold the wings and tow it behind him. I know it would be more involved with the EZ but can you tow it on it's tires or is a trailer necessary. Also for anyone who lives in a hurricane area, how would the EZ handle just being tied down? I appreciate any help that might be offered and am looking forward to joining the community.

[Drew]

You are supposed to take off the wings every year---I have done it a lot less---2 times on my Longez and 0 so far on my Cozy.  On the Longez, I had about 5 years between the wings coming off.  The bolts had some corrosion on it---so I replaced them and lubbed them up real good.  Kind of a long winded answer---but taking off the wings is a pain in the neck.  Took me a long time to do it with several people helping my guide the wings on.  I am sure you will get people who say they can do it in 15 minutes-----but jeez---what a pain in the neck.  The canard on the other hand comes off very fast.

The Kitfox is designed to fold and tow.  Before you buy, make sure you write down your mission requirements to make sure you are a good match for the plane.  If your mission requirements include things like fast cross country cruising machine (that looks cool), you may be a good match.  If it is crucial that you need a towable plane that folds up, you may be looking at the wrong plane.  However, I think there is a guy out there who would pull his Varieze wings off after each flight-----Varieze wings are much different than Cozy, Longez, and Berkut.

I think it is much better to keep the plane inside.  Water, sun, handsy people, you name it, will take a toll on your plane.  If you have to park outside, I would get a full cover for the plane.

If a hurricane is predicted to roll through----fly it out-----don't try to weather it out.

[Bruce Hughes]

I designed (TLAR engineering) a simple way to tow.   It is kind of
obvious.   I pulled my Longeze 8 miles on the shoulder except for
a couple of blocks on the street.   I really should have rented a
trailer and truck for 8 miles.

I failed to realize that a small hill had to be climbed and when the
change in slope to the street was reached, the nose gear hit the
ground and 4 AN3 bolts were bent.   Bad mistake but it could be
fixed.

The wings are a separate problem.   You could make a rack and
rent a big truck or have a friend with a large pickup.   Tie the
wings down well with ratchet straps.    The canard can go with the
wings, but still has to be tied down.

You will need to check with the local officials on width allowed and
permits for a wideload.   States have big fines for those who tow
wide loads without a permit.   Otherwise you can rent a trailer,
build a support to slant the airplane 45 degrees, get some strong
guys to help load it, and tie it down good.

[spy]

hi,
   varieze and longeze wings are designed to come off...BUT not like a kitfox or an AVID. the avid and kitfox are  designed for trailering....
            ONCE YOU have trailered an EZE...YOU will not Want TO  do it again...not only is it a PAIN in the NECK..(EVEN W/ 3 PEOPLE)..its Time Consuming !!    AND Cant be SOLO..
    .Everytime its Assembled or Disassembled....there is a good chance the eze gets damaged.....NOW that would  suck.

[Radioflyer]

If you're going to take the plane off field and store it for 6 months or longer, then sure...good plan. Frequent wing removal/re-install in between short flying sessions is not really a practical option.

It is possible to remove the wings and re-install each in 15 min or less. It is fairly easy thing to do. But these operations should never be a race, and in reality take more time and care. 3 of us removed the wings off a Long Ez, not wasting any time, and it took about half an hour. There is fumbling and jiggling, push here, pull there, little more lift on the wing tip, , don't forget the antenna and strobe wires, etc. You don't want to forget and damage anything, especially on re-install.

You're close enough to the field to see how you're being tempted. With this plane, though, In My Honest Opinion, I think it would be a mistake.

[rglos]

This is not a single person operation.
Attach antena connections
Attach strobe and light connections
Bolt on the wings
Re-connect the rudder cables and the aileron linkages
Bolt on the Top and bottom cowls.

Each time you fly better do it alone first to check the trim

Attach Canard. You can't tow with this on. It exceeds the limits in most states.

15 Minutes ? It's possible but with at least three guys working

You can't even get one on a trailer alone unless it has a wench.

If hangers are too expensive, tie it down. I have since 1986.

Now you can fly in the morning, fly later in the day and fly the next three days running whenever you want.

[Bruce Hughes]

Tie down is a good, inexpensive alternative to renting a hangar
and, at a lot of airports, the waitlist for a hangar is years long.

IF you plan to tie down, get a GOOD QUALITY cover.   A simple,
one layer cover is OK INSIDE a hangar.   Out in the wind, a
single layer cover will quickly remove a strip of paint anywhere
it can touch.    Ask me how I know that.  

Tiedown both wings AND the nose if possible.   Tie the wings,
if you don't have 3 spots.   I had only 2 and tied the nose and
one wing.   While I was away for a month a high wind came up
and the aircraft stood on the (1) nose  (2) left canard tip  (3)
left wing tip  (4) left tire ............It also wiggled on the asphalt-
much like the grinding wheel on a shop grinder.

[Radioflyer]

Now that tie-downs and outside covers are being discussed, I'l like to bring up some issues.

One of the national aircraft cover makers, having done some testing for the military, says that layered covers tend to trap sand and extremely fine grit which will grind away at canopies and paint. Also, some fabrics actually chemically attack the canopy bubble. They use a fabric, called Sunbrella, that they say minimizes this effect and I believe they use only one layer. I'm familiar with Sunbrella and it is indeed good weather proof stuff, but I do wonder about the claim against multiple layers.

Also, does anyone know how many yards of fabric it takes to fully cover a Long? Anyone with sewing patterns?

[arjrmiller]

Smercernary,

I am also an EZ newbie and just had to trailer my new Cozy III for the last 300 mi  of it's ferry from San Diego to St. Louis, so my experience may be of help, please feel free to email or PM me.   I got a lot of good input from the web but through luck and hard knocks.  A lot of things that are obvious to a builder are not quite so to a non-builder purchaser. BTW, I lived in Pcola during Primary about 17 yrs ago in the "other" service.  

Bob Miller