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Messages - Dan Patch

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1
Hangar Flying / VariEze engines
« on: August 15, 2005, 04:33:35 PM »
Seem to recall more about Rutan having a cow about it than anything else.  Do you know what it performed like? seems like it would be a real rocket
to me....

Actually, Rutan wasn't concerned with putting an O-320 on a VariEze because it was such a preposterous idea (in his mind) that it wasn't even on his radar screen until (I believe) he'd been out of the plans business for a while.  Burt WAS concerned about putting O-235's on the VEZ and O-320's on the LEZ because of the added weight, and we all know how that turned out (quite well, I'd say).  

In any event, the first O-320 on a VEZ that I personally know about was Martin and Virginia Skiby's VEZ that first flew as an O-320 in 1992 at the Wendover RACE (Martin - 230.73 mph).  Virginia flew it in eleven various, subsequent RACE events from 1993 to 1996 and consistently turned between 230 and 245 mph (in the Unlimited Class).  No doubt, an O-320 powered VEZ is going to move out smartly (unless it has 500 x 5 'Tundra Tires' and no wheel pants).  In my mind, however, the major advantage to a big engine is better take-off and climb performance, not speed.  And then there's the issue of an off-field landing in a heavy plane, but that's another topic.

2
San Diego EZ Squadron / August Meeting Notice!
« on: August 15, 2005, 03:37:05 PM »
OK San Diego area Canardians, by now you already know the drill.  It's time for our monthly meeting at the Casa Machado restaurant THIS THURSDAY, August 18th at 6:30 PM.  The Casa Machado is located on the second floor of the main terminal-operations building at Montgomery Field.  

As always, anyone building an LongEZ, VariEze, Velocity, Cozy, or composite airplane; interested in buying a flying EZ-type; or already flying a composite airplane is invited to attend! Heck, we're even glad to to have RVers like Denny Culum.  Some of us have been off to Oshkosh since the last meeting (I know of at least five SDEZ guys that were there), and I'm sure that we all promise not to bend your ear about OSH, (at least until one of us brings the topic up).  And then there is the upcoming Kanab RACE event set for Labor Day weekend. I may even have some info. on the annual Fall trek to Mexico for the not-stay-at-home types.

So, bring your construction questions if you are building. Share your latest improvements and flying stories if you are flying. Bring any safety tips or concerns. There are new pilots, builders and up-coming flying activities that are just getting going, so let's let the EZ Squadron members know about them. And don't forget to bring your best gal (or guy if he's the back seater)!

Hope to see you on the 18th,

Dan Patch
San Diego EZ Squadron Safety Officer

3
San Diego EZ Squadron / Re: august meeting???
« on: August 15, 2005, 03:12:36 PM »
Anybody hungry for good conversation about our favorite subjects. and mexican food this month?? we are running out of month. Jim Martin...


Sure, airplane talk, a scooner, and mexican food sounds like a good combination.  And you are right about running out of time in the month.  So, I'll post a general notice and the tribe will gather at Casa Machado this Thursday the 18th at the usual 6:30 PM.   :)

4
Hangar Flying / VariEze engines
« on: August 15, 2005, 10:00:57 AM »
We've had a VariEze in San Diego that flew with an O-290 for a number of years before converting to an O-320 when the O-290 got tired.  And, of course there's Duck's #19 VariEze (see the Mexico article for a photo) as Waiter noted.

5
Hangar Flying / CP's
« on: August 14, 2005, 10:52:11 AM »
In order to quickly search for topics of interest, I would suggest that you get the electronic version of the CP's (CP#1-CP#82) from Mark Zeitlin's Cozy site at:
http://www.cozybuilders.org/ref_info/

The first mention of the Long-EZ is CP#21, and CP#23 contains the first real info about the Long-EZ plans.  CP #82 says that CP #24 and beyond are required to build a Long-EZ.  I don't believe that you need any CP beyond the last realily available issue, #82; however, the Central States newsletters contain a wealth of additional information published since CP #82.

6
Hangar Flying / Rough River 2005
« on: August 12, 2005, 12:25:11 PM »
The Rough River home page at <http://www.roughriver.org/> says that it's
September 30th - October 2nd in 2005, and September 28th - October 1st in 2006.

7
Hangar Flying / Re: Getting ready for Oshkosh
« on: July 20, 2005, 01:40:29 AM »
Just wondering if everyone is spending as much time at the hangar as I am the past week or so?...

Nope, but sure spent a busy 5 months up to this past weekend working on painting the plane, new gear fairings, etc.   :)  Truth is, I still have to load a bunch of stuff (tools, spares, tires, O2 tank, extra oil, etc, etc.) plus, of course, all the camping stuff, luggage, Jeps, water, lunch, camera gear, suntan goop, and on and on.  

Looking at the weather and trying to decide on a launch time (short leg Fri. afternoon, or Sat. AM start with wingman VEZ N75WR) depending on coastal and So. Cal desert weather.  Still planning Sunday night in Madison for the Monday Glass Overcast arrival, which is a bit up in the air at the moment.  Hope to see you in OSH.  We'll be camping in the homebuilt area, at least that's the plan.  


This will be my first trip to Oshkosh and was wondering about some travel/camping tips from some of the veterans out there....

It's only my 4th trip to OSH in 20+ years so I don't consider myself a veteran of OSH.  Fly early in the day out West if you can to avoid the bumps and buildups.  Don't push the weather or your luck.  If you are doing the Fisk arrival with everyone else be sure to really know the OSH Notam cold and what to expect 'cause it can get pretty hectic and you don't want to be the one to screw up (lots of opportunity for that!).  Don't arrive at Fisk with low fuel or high personal hydraulic pressure! :? Bring lots of cash, just in case OSH is expensive.   :lol:

Fly safe and have fun - that the whole point!
Best,

8
Hangar Flying / Strange noise
« on: July 18, 2005, 11:23:03 AM »
Bob,  I agree with Waiter - listen to the plane when it talks!  New words mean something's different.  

Airspeed related noise implies that it' something being excited by the airstream - Waiter covered the obvious candidates.  I'd also carefully check the cowl for some type of dynamic contact, since the cowl will deform under air loads, depending on airspeed.  The cowl can be a surprisingly elusive source of wierd noises.

The only experience that I have had that relates to your question was getting a humming noise when I had an open tank with the gas cap hanging off on its tether.  It made the tank 'organ pipe' at certain speeds and AOAs.  Guaranteed to get your attention once you've heard it and know what it is!  So look for 'openings to airframe cavities' (e.g., at the cowl-wing intersection, etc.).  

Another, albeit, quite unlikely candidate would be a piece of tape or the like.  These puppies will really scream if they start to come off, as I discovered coming back from Mexico in the rain with 'press-apply' N-numbers.  (They don't like rain!)  Also know a well-known racer who aborted in the middle of a RACE event from a very scary noise that turned out to be a piece of joint seal tape coming off.  

So good luck, look carefully, and let us know when you figure it out.

9
San Diego EZ Squadron / Ms Wheezy Flies Again!
« on: July 14, 2005, 01:32:37 PM »
Harry,

I believe that Seth Schlam helped Alan trace a very likely source for the leak  to a very low torque on the mag cover plate bolt(s)... ?  Probably find out more at the meeting tonight. - DP

10
San Diego EZ Squadron / JULY SDEZ Squadron Meeting on the 14th!
« on: July 11, 2005, 11:25:21 AM »
OK Canardians, we took a one-month break from our monthly meetings at the Casa Machado in June so we could hold a successful Squadron Fly-In/Picnic at Brown Field on the 18th.  But that was then and now it's July, so it's time to get back on schedule.  Given that the third Thursday is too close to Oshkosh departure for some of us, and that our usual EZ Squadron meeting date has historically been the second Thursday of the month, the plan is for the meeting to be THIS THURSDAY, JULY 14th at 6:30 PM at the CASA MACHADO Restaurant located on the second floor of the main terminal-operations building at Montgomery Field.  

As always, anyone building an LongEZ, VariEze, Velocity, Cozy, or composite airplane; interested in buying a flying EZ-type; or already flying a composite airplane is invited to attend!  With new builders and interested pilots joining the squadron recently, we're back gaining momentum in the squadron.  

So, bring your construction questions if you are building. Share your latest improvements and flying stories if you are flying. Bring any safety tips or concerns. There are new pilots, builders and up-coming flying activities that are just getting going, so let's let the EZ Squadron members know about them. And don't forget to bring your best gal (or guy if he's the back seater)!

Hope to see you on the 14th,

Dan Patch
San Diego EZ Squadron Safety Officer

11
Hangar Flying / Jeff Rose Ignition
« on: July 11, 2005, 10:45:19 AM »
Waiter,

Glad you got the answers you were looking for.  One source of potentially relevant and interesting information on "Rose-like" ignition systems can be found at Electromotive <http://www.electromotive-inc.com/>.  Specifically, members of the San Diego EZ Squadron put together an EI system based on the Electromotive HPV-1 a number of years ago, before the Rose system was on the market.  The HPV-1 manual has a lot of useful info. including wiring diagrams, and I wouldn't be totally shocked if the HPV-1 didn't share a lot in common with the Rose system.  For a direct jump to the manual use, <http://www.directignition.com/pdf_files/hpv1.pdf>.

12
Hangar Flying / Vari & Long-eze MUST HAVES!
« on: July 08, 2005, 10:33:26 AM »
Nice report Curt, from the real world of experience.  

Yes, those of us who have been helped by other canardians have an obligation to pass on the favor - and downstream it's reasonable to expect those we help to keep the chain going.  That's how we keep a safe and strong canardian community.   :)

Over the years I've met a lot of folks who were looking for a cheap, turnkey airplane.  Buy it, fly it, period.  Certainly possible if you stumble into just the right deal and have a local A&P expert who will do the work for you, but I haven't seen it yet.  Fact of life is that these are great planes only so long as they have an owner who cares and is willing to keep on top of the little and occasionally not so little stuff that needs attention.  

Having seen the weights of real-world VEZs and LEZs (i.e., personally weighed some), it is going to be a rare bird indeed that is anywhere close to Burt's values (BTW, Burt wasn't always successful at hitting these semi-unrealistic values himself) - and a super-lightweight, basic plane may not be as enjoyable to fly if long, cross-country is your thing.  Absolutely, lighter is the goal that you always have to seek; but there is a balance that the majority of pilots seem to shade in the direction of better equipment and comfort.  What I'm trying to say is that what carefully built, capably equipped VEZs weigh these days might provide a better measure of whether your EZ is really "very heavy"... or not.  

I have no doubt that it took a full 6 months of work.  Most of us flyers have taken our ships down for a month or two for major work that ends up taking 6 months or more.  Fact of life - everything is a lot harder and takes much more time than the enthusiastic mind envisions prior to settling in to do the work.  In my case I've learned that I can't realistically envision how long it's going to take, only that my best shot at an estimate is going to be low by a factor of two or three (in time or effort... or both).  

The good news is that mods like taking the cuffs off, etc. are one-shot investments that will continue to make your plane better over the rest of its life.  Even the investment in consumables like hoses has a big payoff because they give you confidence that your plane is in top shape.

I like your sim suggestion for new (and continuing) pilot training.  

BTW, if you are registered on the site you can click on edit for your messages and fix those 'mizz spellings' that somehow get into a post.  If you forget to log on initially... well, oops, no can do!   :)

13
San Diego EZ Squadron / Ms Wheezy Flies Again!
« on: July 06, 2005, 10:28:34 PM »
What Thursday are we to meet this month?...

Looking at the calendar, some of us are heading for Oshkosh on Saturday the 23rd, which makes the 21st just too close.  So I'm thinking that next Thursday July 14 makes the most sense.  If there are objections or conflicts with the 14th, let me know on or off line and I'll try to accommodate them if there is a strong preference.  (Note, this is a general call for input from all squadron members.)


Oil leaks can be tough to find.  I've had the most luck inspecting the engine (very carefully!!!) on the ground with the engine running and everything wiped and dried off to start with.  Use sharp eyes.  This won't work if higher power settings are required to cause the leak 'cause it isn't practical to be near the engine with much more than idle power.  Most of all, y'all be extra, extra, EXTRA CAREFUL near that swinging prop!  

If you suspect the seam between the engine and the accessory case you might tape a strip of paper towel around the joint with masking tape and look for a wet spot to develop (haven't tried this, but it just might work?).  Obviously, this is a ground operation also.  


I flew my VEZ on the 4th for the first time since Jan. with new paint on the fuselage, a new main gear fairing, and a fresh annual.  No problems.

14
Hangar Flying / Bird Strike--in the news section
« on: July 02, 2005, 11:06:30 PM »
But now I really am speculating, so I'll stop here!...

Oops, forgot to log on it seems.  Since I don't much believe in anonymous  posts, that should have been signed as:

Best,

15
Hangar Flying / Boat tail on Long EZ
« on: June 29, 2005, 12:21:29 PM »
I guess I'd second Harry's somewhat ambivalent observations.  I don't believe that there's a solid concensus, and "beauty is in the eye of the builder", as it were.  

I'm sure that the boat tail can be built as light as the conventional cowl shape.  The advantage of using the conventional shape when I built eons ago was that one could buy them 'pre-built' (with plenty more work still to do, of course).  Fabricating a cowl from scratch is a non-trivial task, so I'm with Harry in the 'energy department' - some day it might happen...   :?  

As best I understand the experience of others, there generally hasn't been any aerodynamic downside to the boat tail in comparison to the conventional shape, and it seems likely to generate less drag; but I'm not aware of any spectacular gains from people that simply switched shapes either?  I'd like to hear some real numbers from others who have actually made the switch.  Klaus Savier uses a boat tail shape on his VariEze, which tells you something.  

Going a bit farther out on a limb, I would speculate that it is important in shaping the boat tail to have the rise angle on the bottom of the cowl aerodynamically match the convergence angle of the cowl sides, assuming that the boat tail has a semi-rectangular cross section (i.e., rounded corners).  This idea is based on optimum wheel pant shape where it has been determined that you don't want the flow to have any tendency to wrap around the pant in the process of flowing aft.  Another way of saying this is that you want the static pressure to be constant around the cowl at a given station location so that the air doesn't try to flow 'around the corner' in either direction (i.e., side to bottom or bottom to side).

I believe that the seven degree angle comes from old NACA research studies on optimum divergent-flow duct shapes; but it should provide a reasonable estimate for external flow applications too.

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