My Cozy
Mods:
This plane is so cool.
Being made of foam and fiberglass, modifications can easily be made.
However, they are not recommended by the designer. I have decided to make
the following Mods realizing that I am responsible for the
outcome of this project. I have taken the risk factors into
account and have been especially careful in the construction of
this aircraft.
4 inch wider
fuselage:
I chose to have
my fuselage wider
throughout the entire length of the fuselage to give the pilot
and all passengers (front and rear) adequate room for comfort.
The original cozy is almost claustrophobic for me. And it
is certainly worse in the back seat. I consulted with many
builders and discussed this option with lots of "in the
know" builders including Nat Puffer, the original Cozy
Designer. He told me I was on my own. I know of a
cozy that is 12" wider and has flown over 200 hours. I
know there are several that are from 2 to 6" wider that are
flying or will soon be flown. The Cozy is actually a wider
copy of a Long Eze. Nat Puffer was the first one to make it
wider. The issues are in the fuselage body being a lifting
surface, and weight & balance must be known and checked prior
to flight. Also there is more drag with a wider body.
This is compensated for by other modifications like retractable
landing gear and a higher horsepower engine in the form of a
Wankel type rotary. (Mazda)
Center Fuel Sump
System and retracts:
A center fuel sump
was added because I am also using the Infinity
Aerospace retractable landing gear. That gear takes up area
that the fuel tank would normally occupy and hence a need for
more room for fuel. My tank is just under 5 gallon
capacity. It is located where the non-retract landing
gear would normally go. The tanks have double foam wall
insulation. Glass/Foam/Glass/Foam/Glass for safety from
possible outside penetration in event of landing or crash landing
and dragging on the ground. Both wing tanks
feed into it. The wing tanks have drain/check valves, and
their own individual sump area for water collection which can
help eliminate water from entering the main sump tank. The
main sump tank has a drain/check valve which is lower than the
outlet position of the tank. (just as the wing tanks do as
described). The fuel switch does not have to become a
management issue for the pilot because it doesn't exist.
There is a fuel on/off switch in the event of engine out landing
or fire but no other fuel switch. The fuel pumps will not
pump fuel without the engine in operation. All
tanks are vented to the outside with less resistance on the sump
tank. Inlets from the wing tank to the Sump tank are one
way valves to prevent fuel from flowing backwards into the wings
while making turns or maneuvers. No fuel lines are
inside of the cockpit or passenger areas. All 3 tanks will show
level via windows and Princeton computerized level gauges.
RX-8
Renesis engine:
I chose this
engine because of it's power,
safety factor, and reliability. More on this later. For
now, trust me, it's a pretty cool engine.
Electric
speed brake using a Danaher Motion 112lb capacity
motor:
There are
limit switches set at 6" travel. A pot is
used to indicate the speed brake position and control the
speed brake direction. Strong points are made in the corner
of the passenger seating and were designed to avoid striking the
passenger in the event of landing with the brake extended and the
landing gear not extended.
Rudder
Pedals and Brakes are mounted from above rather than from the
floor:
I did this
modification to avoid having the actuator
arms across the floor of the cockpit where the pilot and
passenger feet go. This improves comfort and looks. A
bearing system is used to help things move smoothly and to secure
the actuator arms in place. Strong points were made with
more than adequate layers of glass to hold these points in
place. The brake arms are adjustable to one of five
positions and there is direct pressure on the brake master
cylinders for better actuation. My rudder/brake arms were
built (welded, finished, and painted) by Dennis Oelmann.
Landing lights in
the Nose:
This
will be covered in my Chapter 13. There are two 75 watt projection
lamps in the nose. I use my own aluminum lamp assembly with fans for
cooling the lamps.