Hangar Flying

For sale:

(1) set of complete Long-EZ plans (original, not a copied set), and with all 14 Appendix sheets (full-size template drawings, etc.)

(1) Original Long-EZ Main Landing Gear bow

(2) LMGA assemblies (main landing gear tube/bushing assemblies)

$700.00 US plus shipping for the whole shebang.

Aaron,

There is no limit to the back seat weight - the weight of the passenger is only dependent on what the gross weight limitations are for the airplane.  For a stock width VEZ like you now have, good luck getting anyone above about 230 in the back, as it will be uncomfortable.  PAX & Fuel only affect gross weight, and do little to affect CG. For your heavy Eze, the more fuel you pack, the lighter the passenger has to be.

OK, I'll "weigh" in here  (groan...)

Depends on the airplane. 

Example:  My O-200 Eze is 617 pounds empty, and with the light airframe, my MINIMUM front seat weight is 190 pounds.  Neglecting nose strust structural limitations, my MAXIMUM front seat weight is 285 pounds (but I limit it to 255 pounds on account os the nose strut structural limit factor).  Ben Winner's brand new VariEze (Grand Forks, ND) is around 750 pounds empty, and his MINUMUM front seat weight is 90 pounds, and his maximum front seat weight is 230 pounds.  These numbers are based on the initial W&B data he emailed me a couple of months ago.

So, there is no set min/max front seat limit, other than the 255 RAF identified for the nose strut, way back when.

Hand propping is easy on an Eze.  I had to overcome a childhood fear of propellers (knew at 3 years old they went around fast and made scary noises...) to learn to prop the O-235 Long-EZ I helped build (first propped that one back in 1984, when I was 21).

The per-plans parking brake on the VariEze is a must, and works very well.  If you accidentally prop with a WOT, the airplane pirouettes to the left.  Outside indication that the parking brake is set is via a deflected left rudder.

Air starts are no problem - the typical prop on an O-200 Eze windmills down to around 55 KIAS.  With a stopped prop, mine takes about 125 KIAS or so to start turning over (Herztler Silver Bullet and stock O-200).

With the per-plans fuel system, you can run the mains bone dry - there is a 2-ish gallon header tank behind the passenger's head - this is reserve & starting fuel.  One can start on the mains, but they have to be on the fuller side to feed the carb in parked attitude.  Otherwise, I start on the header tank.  One of the beautys of the Eze fuel system is that it is gravity fed.  No pumps to crap out.  A seat-pan sump would require pumps - an electrical and a mechanical engine-driven pump.  More complexity.  More weight.

I have flown with both the crank-style NLG system (with ratchet lock, now in possession of my Aussie VEZ mate Greg Bakker), and the original push-pull system.  Properly rigged, the push pull is simpler & lighter.  Gary Hertzler has used this system from day one, as has Bob Evans (Cody, WY) - both of these gents' Ezes have several thousand hours.  I like my push-pull system just fine.  The per-plans throttle/gear/canopy warning system works very well also.

Fuel caps, per plans, allow you to fill almost-full, when parked nose-down.  Fuel drains at the LE root of the strakes are per-plans, and provide necessary "sumping" ability for the mains.

Just a few "FWIW's"

The VariEze wing attach configuration is very good, if built correctly.  The drawback is the requirement for correct overall fitting geometry and taper pin fit - Brock did a marvelous job on the fitting assemblies they built over the years.  Proper pin fit is essential to having a fitting assembly that is good for over 10 Gs.  One of the first things I did, back in the 80's, as part of beginning a VariEze, was to crunch some numbers, structures-wise (I are an engineer in the airplane biz myself).  I was not surprised to find a robust airframe.

The final version of of the Long-EZ wing configuration was the result of the conversion to an entire new wing planform, from the original Long-EZ prototype configuration.  As originally designed, the Long-EZ used VariEze wings (and fittings) on a wider centersection.  Flight testing revealed that this configuration was deficient in several ways, and after some iteration, Burt re-designed the main wing configuration for the Long-EZ, basing the wing attach configuration on the already designed & flying Defiant.

I should just say "Yeah, what Bill James said."  Inasmuch as I won't even attempt to put a "Jamsean" work of prose & philosophy to keyboard & screen (I'll not render anything near as good & palatable as what Guillermo the Master writes), I'll second Bill's final point by citing the Great Philosopher himself, Larry the Cable Guy - "Git 'er DONE!"

If your advisers (school) allow a student to start a Senior Project before your senior year, start now.

Some thoughts:

1.  For cost, the VariEze is less expensive - I have built a Vari for less than $12,000, which entailed scrounging, making as many of the metal parts myself as possible, Building up an O-200 engine, etc.

2.  Plan on a couple of years to do it "right" - there are airplanes that are flat-out "slapped & dashed" together, and as such, as not as safe (short term, or long term) as they should be.

As "easy" as the VariEze is to build, and as apparently "quick" they are to build, the still take time (1700 - 2000 man-hours, from my experience in building 2 VariEzes)  Of all the pre-fabricated parts, the wing fittings pose the greatest challenge to get - either you make them yourself (machine shop requirement here), or you find a set that have never been used.

FWIW, I enclose a narrative below from Canard Pusher (newsletter) # 23, Page 4 (January, 1980):

Stuart Kingman - "After three years of blood, sweat, and tears I had my
own airplane! I taxi tested for two or three days just to get the feel
of the airplane, and also because I was scared, and rightfully so after
reading of all those experienced pilots getting killed in their EZs!
All of my experience rested on 150 hours in a Cessna 150 and one hour
in a Grumman TR-2. After the taxi tests, my Dad took out a $10,000
life insurance policy for me, and I lifted N222SK off the pavement and
around the pattern! The feeling I had during those few moments were
completely void of any fear - it was the most fun I had ever had! The
plane flew as if it had been flying for years. Absolutely no problems
whatsoever. What surprised me even more was the landing. I had never
flown an airplane with a stick, much less a side stick! That first
landing was the smoothest landing I've ever made. Every other landing
since then has also been smooth too. N222SK cruises at a true airspeed
of 180 mph at 6000 ft and 75% throttle. The engine is a Continental C-
90-12F turning a Bruce Tifft prop. Empty weight is 597 lb. I am
extremely pleased with the airplane. I have never flown a plane even
similar to it. Like I've said many times before, it flies like a
airplane should". Stuart is 18 yr old.


You may be able to track down Stuart Kingman via the landings.com database, for what it is worth, and who knows, you might be able to get some first-hand information from someone who started building a Varieze when he was about your age.

The VariEze is a fine airplane, and in my book, still offers one of the best values for performance vs. cost to build.

Best Regards,

-Joe Person
EAA Tech Counselor 4418
VariEze N79JN
Boithell, WA  (KPAE)

Don,

As I noted in my side email to you, I widened the VariEze one inch, nose-to-firewall.  The mod worked well, and I do not believe I lost any performance, speed-wise, best I can tell.

As for 600 pounds, well, I'd have to strip... the airplane a bit (no fly-away tools, spares, tiedowns, etc.), but N79JN would hit the 600 pound mark.  Her predecessor, N29NS, was 595 empty (with a C-85).

And as for Bill James buying me (and my far better-half) lunch at DFW last year, I sometimes have sleepless nights knowing that I need to reciprocate in a suitable manner.  I must get to Texas soon, and have that bowl of pinto beans & hot sauce and a cold beer with Bill, and muse late into the evening about what we'd do differently the next time we build a VariEze.  Maybe we doa VariEze in the manner of a Berkut's airframe approach...

-Joe Person