Hangar Flying

I am only an expert at removing the upper ones-----having done it myself.  Use one of those cheap magnetic stud finder things---the kind that actually has a magnet in it---and goes erect when it passes over metal.  Run it along the outside of the skin where the back of the bolt should be.  Mark the four locations.  Drill in those areas.  You have a couple plies of fiberglass to go through, then foam.  When done, you will have exposed the back of the bolt heads. When you put the bolts back in, you micro in a replacement foam plug then glass back over it (micro over the plug of course).

Joe Person (Varieze/Boeing guy) can give you detailed instructions for the match drilling that you will need to do.  But I can give a quick summary below.

1st to remove the upper extrusions:
You will need to beat the upper extrusions out with a sledgehammer.  You may need to dremel away some "boogers" on the longerons and surrounding area so that they will slip out rather easily.  Even with getting all the epoxy/glass "boogers" off, it will take some rather hard hits with a sledge hammer.  The motor mount side of the longerons will be pretty damaged after this process---however the end that attaches to the longeron and spar will be ok.

Match drill:
Make a jig out of smooth wood (MDF?).  What you are going to do is glue and screw 2 pieces of wood together at 90 deg angles that you can lay the extrusions on.  Need to build two jigs, one for the left and one for the left.  Screw a stop block on the jig on the forward side that the extrusion will sit on (remember that the aft side of the extrusion will be bent and distorted after you remove).  Clamp the extrusions in the jig and drill the 4 holes through each extrusion.

Now, way oversize drill the holes thru the jig.  You need to get hold of steel bushings that you will place in the jig.  The inner part of the bushing should be exactly the same size hole that was supposed to be originally drilled into the spar and longeron (check plans).  Buy 8 cheap drill bits that are of this required size.  

Put a big blob of bondo (don't use epoxy) in the oversized holes.  Put the bushings into the holes (the oversized holes should be bigger than the outer size of the bushings so that you have some wiggle room).  Clamp the extrusions into the jig.  Put the drill bits thru the extrusion and thru the bushing.  Wiggle the drill bits around to make sure that everything is nice and straight---everything should match exactly.

When the bondo dries, unclamp the extrusions.  Now you have a perfect drill jig.  Clamp in the new extrusions, put the jig in a vice, use the correct size drill bit (you now have 8 new ones) to drill the new holes.  The bushings will give you the correct location and alignment of the holes.

Hope this helps

Tony,
I see that I did not read your first post very carefully-----pretty cool

I looked in my Quicken file under airplane maintance for the time period in question and it came up to 23000 dollars---but this may have included things other than the upgrade.  Some of the obvious breakouts were:
-Lycon 0320EXP $15309 (included giving them my O235 core)
-Saber 8 inch extension $731
-Hertzler Silver Bullet $980
-Hal Hunt exhaust/carb box/stratoflex lines/rudder pedal welding for front master cylinders $1467
-Berkut Engineering--engine mount modification $150
-Engine Monitor-$1400

You will need metal and rubber baffling, hoses (hoses run about 300 or so for the who thing), glass, and epoxy (assuming you are doing downdraft).

Other things needed----oil cooler, starter, alternator, etc.  The bigger engine will take bigger hoses and fittings (-8?).

I have documented somewhere on this site the parts I used for push pull cables---and some tips on how to do it.  Don't use the bike cables for the O320!  As a matter of fact---for all pusher guys out there that have the bike cables----take the return spring off the throttle and see if you can still actuate the throttle.  If you can still actuate in both directions----but looks like it would be "spongy" in the air---this is ok.  The spring is supposed to take the "spongy-ness" out of the system.  If you cannot actuate the throttle in both directions, then don't fly the plane----convert to push pull.  Rutan only intended the spring to take the sloppiness out of the system

Ah---you didn't really read my post, did you?  I said MY Cozy MkIV is faster and more maneuverable than MY Longez.  My Cozy has a O-360 and my Long had a O320.  Generally speaking, the Cozys have more potential to go faster due to its more cleaner lines.  The fuselage transition to the engine is much more cleaner in the Cozy due to the whole engine can "hide" back there whereas the Longez needs to "bump out".  Some Longez guys have been very good at minimizing this bumpout region to make them go fast---but the engine is wider than the fuselage.  The Cozy can generate stronger pitch, roll, and yaw rates.  The one that really matters is the roll rate.  Even though the Cozy has longer wings, I think it has a larger span aileron---and they are definitely more outboard.  The longer wings also give more yaw rate.  When you load up with lots of people, gas, stuff in the longez, it handles like a truck---sluggish in roll.  When you are light, it is quite spry in roll.  The Cozy is quite spry no matter how you load it.

Even though the Cozy is more maneuverable (and faster than my Long), I think I enjoyed flying the Longez more.  It was like strapping on a little fighter, could get in and out of 2000 ft strips, and lots of fun flying formation and sipped the gas.

Everyone that flys with me likes the Cozy better since they don't have to be stuck in back----and my wife enjoys that---and I needed the extra seats for an expanding family (+1).  While you had to be careful packing up the Longez for two (and it could be done), packing up the Cozy is a breeze.  The Cozy also sucks down more gas.

In general, I think you will find O320 Cozy IIIs outrunning O320 Longezs due to the aerodynamics.  However, you will always find an exception to the rule.  There are not that many O360 Longs out there compared to O320s/O235s.  You will find some very fast Longezs out there mostly due to builders who have spent careful attention to drag (cowl, cooling, sumps, gearleg fairings, wheelpants, transition zones, etc.)

I would not seriously race in either my Longez or my Cozy.  I have not invested that kind of time into those details to be competitive.

So in the end, it was the number of seats for me on why I got a Cozy----not the speed or maneuverability.

My Longez was dragger than most----and I would usually set 175mph IAS at all altitudes up to 10,000 ft----and still had more throttle to go.

On the Cozy, I usually put somewhere between 175-195mph IAS at all alts up to 10,000 ft---also with throttle still left.----So I guess I will have to stay at home and won't be able to come out and play  

I have heard about problems with the hi-compression 0235.  I actually had one----had lots of problems---but most of the probs I had were cooling----which eventually failed several cylinders.  I eventually replaced the 0235 (because the cam lobes were shot) with an O320 and went to downdraft.  I never really got to experience the high compression probs due to the cooling problems masking any symptoms.

I did however have 10:1 in my O320.  Cooling was VERY good----and I did not appear to have any problems (ran it for several hundred hours).

Making a long nose will make your wt go down also

My 0320 Longez was about 975.  This included the extra wt I had to carry upfront in my short nose to balance things out.
I was not that happy in the summer months taking off out of short fields.  I did not realize how unhappy I was until I put an 0320 on.  I would either get one with an 0320----or get one with no engine----or a wornout 0235---then trade up.

The plane sounds a little heavy for an 0235---but what does it have in it?  Short noses and light pilots are going to have heavier airplanes due to the extra lead up front.  If you don't have a lightwt starter, that will really make your airplane heavy (lots of balance in the nose.  Sloppy builds with too much epoxy will also hurt.

Many insurance companies will require 5-10 hours dual if you don't have experience in EZs.  The guy I checked out spent the first half of the time in the back and the rest in the front.

Be careful with any highspeed taxis.  I believe that highspeed taxis should be part of the flight test process where you are checking out (very quickly) the handling qualities without dedicating yourself to a flight.  If you have access to a very long runway (8-10k) this is not a big deal.  If you are on a "normal" sized runway (not at a big airport), I would ONLY do a highspeed taxi as part of the normal flight test process (new build, major mod, etc) but I would NOT do it as part of a pilot qualification.  High speed taxi on a small runway takes skill.  Too many times the pilot either gets airborne and stays airborne or he runs off the end of the runway.

BTW, if you do the highspeed taxis----leave the wheelpants off.  Also (regardless of whether you do highspeed taxis or not----but related), make sure your gear legs are protected from radiant heat off the brake disk.  Many people have the legs wrapped in fiberfrax near the disk and have a shield between the axel and leg that protects the gear.  If your brake line is nyloflow, make sure the line and fitting are protected from radiant heat.  Make sure that any exposed nyloflow is wrapped in something like electrical tape to protect it from UV.

Rules of thumb you can use for flight:
1.  Use 6nm per 1000ft for a cruise descent to your destination.  This will prevent you from coming down too fast and shock cooling the engine.
2. Use 3nm per 1000ft for calculating how far you can glide when you have to
3. If running a lycoming, don't go below 15" in a cruise descent---this will prevent ring chatter.  When you get in the pattern, you will have to get less than 15" of course.
4.  Maintain "onspeed" for final.  If you get too fast, the speedbrake will retract---and then you are off to the races.  If I am too high on the approach and have already pulled the power to idle, you can stomp on both rudders.  If this is still not enough, you have two options, you can go around-----or another trick is to wag your wings.  Aggressive 30-45 deg AOB left and right (using approach airspeed and constant heading) will significantly dump your lift vector which will increase your rate of descent.  Make sure you practice that at altitude first.  And you don't want to do that kind of approach all the time---or people will think that you don't know how to keep your wings level.  

I got into experimental aviation to avoid the needless 4x+ costs.  Who sells an engine out of their Longez to a certified guy anyway?

I bought my Longez engine from Lycon---got a 0320EXP---a VERY good engine----and much better than any certified 0320 engine.  It was uncertified due to all the other goodies they did to it.  Superior also sells their experimental 0360.

A lot of part manufacturers sell uncertified and certified parts.  For the most part, the difference between these two parts is the STC that goes with the cert part.

I can put a 400 dollar aircraft alternator on my airplane-----or get a 100 dollar auto alternator that is for the most part, the same thing.

My engine in my Cozy is a Lyc 0360----however, it has a superior crank and Rose ignition.  I don't have the crank problems that all the certified guys have----and I have a modern ignition system.

Once again, why would I go to the trouble to maintain a certified engine?  Did I wander into the Cessna forum again??   :wink: