If you would like to contact me please fill out the info below. Cheers!
Currently this contact form is inop (I’ve spent WAY too much time NOT building trying to troubleshoot it!). Please email me any of your questions or comments to Airdog77 at gmail dot com. Thanks!
hi, im frank from Italy, first for all i must to tank you for your site, is Amazing , but now i have just some questions for you.
1) about fiber cloths how may ply have you used on the wings ?
2) where is possible to buy it ?
3) which kind of fiber clots have you used ? i mean grams for meter sq .
thank you for your time
sincelelly
Franck
Hi Franck,
Thank you for the kind words. I’m in the process of moving, but the answer to most of your questions can be found in the build plans. I don’t have my plans with me right now, so from memory, the top of the wing has two UNI (or UND) plies at opposite 30 degree angles with one long ply of UNI from wing root to wing end starting just forward of the aileron. The bottom only has the two criss-crossed UNI plies at opposite angles, no straight ply.
You can buy the fiberglass cloth at Aircraft Spruce (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cmpages/rutan.php) or at Wicks Aircraft. You should be able to find it at aircraftspruce.eu as well. Both types of cloth are identified as Rutan cloth. The Uni-directional (Unidirectional Fiberglass 38″ RA7715/38W F16) is 7 oz and the Bi-directional (Bidirectional Fiberglass 38″ RA7725) is 8.8 oz. I’m not sure how that equates to grams per meters squared.
Hope this helps!
Good luck & warm regards,
Wade
Your blog is OUTSTANDING ! Thanks for all the effort it takes to keep it up ! Between you and Ary J. Glantz I have convinced myself that I just might be smart enough to manufacture one of these classic aircraft. Question : do you have a list of suppliers (other than Wicks and AS) that you use for things like metal parts and landing gear ? Also is it worth it for me to bother with vacuum bagging or should I just dive into the hand layups making sure to squeegee out excess epoxy ?
Thanks,
Randy
Hi Randy,
Glad you like the site. And thanks for the compliment. Yes, Ary and I have discussed many things on our builds, as many of us EZ builders do. And he does have an outstanding site. If you check out my [Links] tab you’ll see a list of builders’ sites, including Ary’s, and also a link for vendors that list a bunch of suppliers that should give you the lion’s share of what you’re looking for: https://www.longezpush.com/links/vendors/
Vacuum bagging can be helpful on some parts, but it really depends on what you’re goal is: if you’re looking for the absolute lightest airplane you can build, then it would be good. It does take some more set-up time and will add to your cost some, but it’s definitely not needed. I started out vacuum bagging a number of parts, and still do some. It’s fun and cool to see the outcome, but again it’s certainly not a requirement to build the plane. And you can get burned by not being able to get a good vacuum seal, like what happened to me on my interior fuselage bottom — cost me about 2 weeks in repair & build time, a little weight because of the ensuing repair of delam’d areas, and replacement cost of about 3 yards/$25 of glass. But I learned from that experience and all is good!
Lastly, I’ll say that a lot of the fun in building an airplane is learning different techniques, experimenting with your own methods and contrasting/comparing/learning other builders’ ways of doing it. If you’re interested in vacuum bagging then I would say go for it, and if you’re not, then you can simply press on without it. Bottom line is that I would say it’s a preference, not a right or wrong requirement. The most important thing is that when you decide to build, do just that: BUILD!
Cheers!
Wade
Enjoyed your sight. I’m just south of you in North Carolina. Finished my Long is 2012 . Good luck with yours.
Regards,
Mark
Thanks Mark. Congratulations on your EZ! That’s a huge feat. Do you have a site or any pictures?
Cheers,
Wade
I am the administrator for EZ Group Squadron III for SoCal and Australia … and was wondering if you are still involved with the Canard community ?
Hi Sue!
Yes, I am. Currently I am transitioning back to the U.S. from being overseas for the last 3 years, and I’m also retiring from the Air Force. Unfortunately, changing careers has been consuming a fair amount of time lately that I would rather be using for building! But I keep in contact with builders all around the world!
Cheers!
Wade
Hi, was reading your pages on your spar. I am just getting ready to install mine. You said you used the heavier blue foam. Thats not the foam used in the wing is it? If so, make sure you read CP49-4. It says not us use that foam because the gas will eat it and cause spar failure. I saw it and just wanted to make sure. Your doing a great job, nice site. Thanks for the pics, I used a couple as reference.
Ed
Hi Ed,
You’re exactly right, and I didn’t use the light blue wing foam. To be clear, the foam I used was the Divinycell (PVC) foam that has a higher density (3 lb/ft). Since it has a higher density over the plans polyurethane foam (2 lb/ft), it creates a stronger spare with a slight weight penalty. Coincidentally, the large cell styrofoam (blue wing foam) has a density of 2 lb/ft like the polyurethane, but as you point out it is NOT fuel resistant and should NOT be used in building the center section spar.
Thanks for the clarification! And thanks for checking out the site.
Cheers,
Wade
I am putting my speed brake switch on my throttle. Please Pass along any Intel that you find on switches that might work. The OTTO switches will work but $$$. I tried to find switches from the Thrustmaster Cougar HOTAS but have had no luck.
Thanks
Allen
Will do Allen. Over a year ago I was talking with Andy from Fatboy Throttle Quadrants, and he was trying to hunt down an OTTO switch that was ON-OFF-ON versus the one they sell which is simply momentary on in each direction. My follow-up email went unanswered, so I’ll have to put it back on the short list of things to figure out and research. Thanks for the reminder!
Cheers,
Wade
Really appreciate your site – a picture tells a thousand words – well done.
I am currently fitting an electric nose-wheel but it has not been as simple as the sellers make out. We had a poor wiring diagram and miss-labelling. Now contemplating retro-fit for an electric airbrake but can’t find a diagram for the manual mechanism. I, too, am looking for a convenient/ safety switch to cancel airbrake when full throttle demanded. Any thoughts
Hi William,
I’ve heard of a few instances where the wiring diagram didn’t match the wire labeling on the nose wheel. Hopefully you were able to trace those out. Let me know if you weren’t able to figure it out.
On the electric airbrake, David Orr (AKA “Beagle”) from Squadron III had a stock of some of the old ancillary plans for the Long-EZ, including Section VI of the Vari-Eze plans, which of course are the plans used for building the Long-EZ’s airbrake. David is who I bought my Section VI plans from, and not very expensive either. That would give you the original mechanical diagram & parts break down for the landing airbrake.
Now, having said that, since you’re only retrofitting your airbrake, I’ll tell you that I bought Jack Wilhelmson’s airbrake actuator system, which includes two micro-switches that you can configure to your personal limits to close when you go full throttle. You can also set the lower speed limit to have it open automatically below a certain speed.
Please let me know how it works out.
Wade
You mention using a sand blaster to prepare your canard for finishing. What material do you use prepare it? Sand, soda, nut shells, or something else.
Thanks.
Roy
Hi Roy,
I started off with coal slag from Harbor Freight. Very cheap, about $15 for a 50# bag. Once I use that up I’ll try out baking soda and see how it works.
The blasting media works well enough. It’s my cheap HF sand blaster that can be a pain to dial in.
Regards,
Wade
Fantastic build!!!!
Are the pitot tubes available. I’m at this stage in my build and you guy’s nailed it.
Thanks
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Unfortunately the pitot system is a one-off that a fellow Long-EZ building friend machined for me. I don’t know anywhere where you can buy them. We simply stole the idea from James Redmon of Berkut 13 fame. Here is the link to his site that describes the process for making one: http://www.berkut13.com/berkut41.htm.
To be honest, we have the heated pitot tube shell and mounting mechanism down, but we have not yet finalized the electrically heating element or wiring schema. The pitot tube can be machined easily enough by someone who knows machining (yes, it can be a bit pricey), but the real time it took for us was figuring out the mounting mechanics since I wanted a retractable tube. As you can see the retractable mount really is very straight forward and simple.
I hope this helped.
Cheers,
Wade
Hope this helps.
hello, im pablo from argentina.
is very beautiful your longez!!!!!!
i am looking for a long ez for sale
have you some information??
thanks!!!
Hi Pablo,
Thanks! If you are looking for a Long-EZ for sale I would try http://www.barnstormers.com
Warm Regards,
Wade
Wade,
I messaged you last week but it was from my phone and might not have sent, sorry if this is a duplicate message. Anyway I came across some original berkut and RAF documentation that might be of some use or interest to you, Shoot me an email and Ill fill you in.
Jay