Hangar Flying

I am getting ready to order a B&C Electric Starter for my VariEZe project.
I am still in the building phase, but tired of Hand-Proping.

My question is what gage wire to use, or better yet what gage wire I can get away with?

Also, are their any Light Weight options? Like a type of wire that may be expensive, but will shave a pound or two off the installation?

Ghost
VariEZe N297TV
Miami Fla.
Currently Taxi Testing

Drew,

Which CSA article was the one that had the information on switching the cables?

I also have the Ken Brock throttle, how ever my cables are multi-strand, spiral wound type.

Are you saying you were able to switch the multi-strand over to solid shaft cables?

Spruce sells the Bowden, Solid Wire Ends cable for $1.50 per Ft. PN/05-15500. Is this what you used?

If this is the case, I would definitely be interested, and I wouldn't have a need for return cables.

Ghost

Delta-Mike is correct;

Ace Hardware has an excellent selection.
If you don't have one near by, you can order via the web, by logging into acehardwareoutlet.com

In the search window, type in "SPRING" and you will get approx 10 pages of the various springs they sell.

I would venture to say; Ace has more On-line than in the local stores, unless you're lucky enough to have a large Ace Hardware in your area.

I just re-did my return springs, and found it difficult to find the exact length and tension for my 0-200 application.

My solution was to incorporate a, Spring / Cable combination.

I found a spring I liked, (good length and tension) and made a cable with swaged ends to close the gap. The spring that was previously on, had way too much tension and would cause the throttle and mixture to creep.

Ghost

I Don't have high-res, but I do have some on my web you can copy and past from.

Graphics are located in the photo album page.

If that dosn't work, I can e-mail them to you.

Ghost

Steve,

I think, and I hope you will get that ride. The canard community is small in comparison to GA, but very close. Anyone out there with a Vez or LEZ, knows what it was like prior to having their own plane.

I got my first ride in a Long EZ while on vacation in San Antonio from an Old-Timer named Skip Barchfield. I looked up the local EAA in that area, found out the Chapter had a canard driver and I asked him for a ride.

The above post is correct in that you should have your checkbook ready because in a work the ride was “INCREDIBLE.” In addition to having a control stick in the back, Skip also had a throttle control that allowed me to make power changes.

My only advice is for you to be aware of the below math equation:

BUY NOW = FLY NOW              
BUILD NOW = FLY ?

There are clear advantages to both approaches; however as a builder I can tell you the things most builders will never say:

1) I have too much time to work on my project
2) I have too much space to work on my project
3) I have too much money, and I can’t invest it all in my project
4) My wife/girlfriend has never given me a hard time about my project

Good luck, and welcome to the world of canards.

Ghost

I am getting very close to firing up my 0-200, that I am proud to say is bolted to my VariEZe.

I have decided not to install a starter for now, weight, cost, and Rutans recommendations were the basis for this decision.

I have some hand propping experience, having had a Gyrocopter years ago that was Subaru powered, and had to be hand propped.

Being a pusher, like the VariEZe, I never had a problem, or a close call for that matter.

In the future after I get tired of Hand propping, I may install a Light Weight starter, but for right now, I am anticipate going with this configuration.

I am however interested in installing a “SLICK-START” Magneto booster, and I was hoping to get some feedback from anyone that may have experience with this device.

I also would like some feedback on anyone that Hand Props their VariEZe.

Ghost

If you’re interested in Canards and you live in S. Florida, then Sun & Fun is the place to go.  

Every year they have lots of canards that fly into the show. You can see State of the art Velocity’s and compact VariEZes’. The people are great and the information exchange is plentiful.

I was there last year and decided that I really wanted one of these truly unique machines. I purchased a project shortly after the show, and anticipate being in the air this summer.

Good luck, and look forward to seeing you at Sun & Fun

Ghost

I found the intake spider on E-Bay and I put a BID on it.

I'll let you know how it works out in 6 Days.

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

I am a member of CSA and I am hoping someone with the Carbon Ram-Air Filter housing goes to Sun & Fun, so I can take a good look at the installation.

Ghost