From: Michael Antares Subject: Electric nose gear Date: Sat, 30 Dec 1995 10:05:23 -0800 I was virtually commited to installing the electric retracts for the = nose gear but now have serious misgivings based on the length of time it = takes to do the retract (apparently in the range of 20 seconds). = Remembering the Cozy accident that occurred this year and one of Nat's = recommendations that might have saved the plane (retracting the nose = gear and letting the plane slide along the nose to slow it down rapidly) = it seems important to retain the ability to retract the gear as rapidly = as possible. Twenty seconds is obviously too long to get the gear up if = you are rolling down the runway at 70-90 mph (if my math is correct, I = get over 2000 feet of travel at 70 mph). Since the main reason for installing the electric gear is to alleviate = lifting the nose and cranking the gear at the same time, it seems to me = that having a small support rod to hold the nose up while lowering the = gear would be a least a partial solution. Anyone care to comment? Michael Antares Date: 31 Dec 95 22:37:04 EST From: Chuck Wolcott <75501.356@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: e- nose gear / Antares I have been flying my Mark IV for over a year and do not find it difficult to lift the nose if I am going to be flying with a passenger. I don't use any nose ballast with a passenger of 110# of more. I use a little dolly to move the plane around the hangar and out to the apron. Effort to lift the nose w/o ballast from dolly height (about 4") is ~ 20 - 25#. From ground level, add maybe 5# to this figure just for the first 4". As you would expect, as the nose is raised, the CG moves closer to, then aft of the mains, and force required to lift it decreases to 0 and even requires positive downward pressure once the nose gear is deployed (IN MY AIRPLANE.) Flying solo is another story. I usually fly with 50# in the nose. This increases the lifting effort significantly. I will be guessing here, but estimate the effort to lift the nose from 80 - 100# in this configuration. The first 15 inches off being the tough part. After that it's about the same as the no ballast situation. Easy to control and handle. Use your legs to lift this! If you plan on lots of solo flight beyond the initial FAA req fly-off time, then maybe electric gear would be worth the $ and effort. I fly with my wife and/or other passenger(s) most of the time. Which means no ballast, and EZ lifting. Hope this helps - Chuck Wolcott N154CW Date: Mon, 1 Jan 1996 02:02:38 -0500 From: RonKidd@aol.com Subject: Re: Electric nose gear Lifting the nose and lowering the gear at the same time isn't neccessary. You lift the nose via the canard. When the bird is at it's balance point, the nose weighs nothing. It is a simple matter to reach in and ratchet down the gear. Obviousally, by my comments, I don't have an electric nose gear on my 3 place (500 hours). I don't understand why one is needed. It just adds to the complexity and increased nose weight and lowers your passenger payload. Save your time and money. Spend it on your panel where you can get real return for your efforts. Ron N417CZ Date: Wed, 3 Jan 96 23:17 EST From: 615pm@iag.net Subject: Newsletter, electric gear, wild Cozy, 4 sale. Hello Fellow builders and flyers... ............ and pass on some other news. 2. On the subject of electric nose gear I thought I might pass on what I did, which doesn't cost much, weights 11 ounces and still leaves the gear handle intact. It does not however lift the plane up to solve the back breaking problem. Grainger sells a high torque gear motor with a pass through shaft. This motor was installed in the same linkage with the hand crank. It takes about 5 seconds to cycle the gear up or down, and frees the pilot up to worry about other things. The gear is triped with micro switches in both directions and simply reverses polority for up or down. If the motor fails hand cranking is still very easy. Its always been comforting to see the crank being turned the 11 times by the motor, and then green light for over center. All while you have the right hand on more important knobs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Pinnock E-Mail 615pm@iag.net Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 13:42:04 -0500 From: NBalog@aol.com Subject: electric gear In a message dated 96-01-04 04:53:11 EST, you write: >2. On the subject of electric nose gear I thought I might pass on what I >did, which doesn't cost much, weights 11 ounces and still leaves the gear >handle intact. It does not however lift the plane up to solve the back >breaking problem. Grainger sells a high torque gear motor with a pass >through shaft. This motor was installed in the same linkage with the hand >crank. It takes about 5 seconds to cycle the gear up or down, and frees the >pilot up to worry about other things. The gear is triped with micro switches >in both directions and simply reverses polority for up or down. If the motor >fails hand cranking is still very easy. Its always been comforting to see >the crank being turned the 11 times by the motor, and then green light for >over center. All while you have the right hand on more important knobs. > Okay, inquiring minds want to know, which actuator is this that Grainger sells? Do you have plans and wiring diagrams you can make available? Sounds really neat, like Wayne Lanza's electric landing brake actuator and, as you said, a safety issue in taking your attention off cranking the gear. One question, however: can the landing gear still be used for emergency stops as Nat has described by turning it back over center and (okay, so this is two questions) will this setup work with the ratchet? -Norm Date: Sun, 7 Jan 96 20:31 EST From: 615pm@iag.net Subject: Electric gear Fellow Builders, Seems to be alot of interest in the grainger motor. I will follow with details on motor and electrical. It's just been to long, a little effort is in order. To answer a couple of questions. On still using the rachett. The motor is small and replaces only about 4 inches of the shaft from worm gear to the rachett. The inside diameter of the tubing fit perfectly around the gear shaft, drill two holes on each end of the motor, add solid rivits and that's it. Has little to no effect on Nats plans. I bought the rachet but chose not to use it, my crank is by the plans. On being able to leave the gear under center in case of emergency. I'm not sure of the purpose, but since the motor is fused, it would be an easy procedure. Simply let the gear down, pull fuse, crank back 1 turn and your under center. On the Warp drive. I think I'll just wait, my 3 bladed Performance Prop has about 500 hours on it now, with no sign of wear. Until next time... 615PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Pinnock E-Mail 615pm@iag.net 1124 Highland Acres FAX (407)297-9197 Apopka, FL 32703 Voice (407)880-8564 HM (407) 297-8884 WK Cozy MK IV 615PM Sanford, Florida (SFB) 585 hrs TT -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 20 Jan 1996 15:56:39 -0500 From: JQUESTCOZY@aol.com Subject: ch 13 nose question/elevator & canard also Hi gang, a few questions :-) I have a nose question I thought I would get some input on. I'm using the featherlite pre-fab nose and was wondering if I should use pour foam inside this hollow cavity to make it more rigid, or are the F-O,NG-30,NG-31bulkheads good enough. (I thought it may give a little if pressed on between bulkheads) Also I used the AN pipe coupling and 45 deg AN for the pitot in NG-31(horiz. bulkhead) and it appears that the pitot tube will cross into the ballast compartment. Is this the way it should be, or are the weights just bolted up later so they will not contact the pitot tube. Date: Sat, 20 Jan 1996 18:02:26 -0600 From: pcomte@csci.com Subject: Ballast RE JQUESCOZY@aol.com ..and it appears that the pitot tube will cross into the ballast compartment. Is this the way it should be, or are the weights just bolted up later so they will not contact the pitot tube. ... Depending on what ballast is used, solid weights, a sack of gravel, or leather bags of shot, perhaps a liquid, each presents potential problems. Bolting sounds time consuming, sacks of gravel sound dirty but easy to dispose of, leather shot bags sound clean and compliant (no hard edges to work through the compartment walls) and a liquid could freeze/expand/slop. Even thought nice neat bags of shot sound easy to use and stow, will you always need them both ways? Date: 20 Jan 96 22:33:13 EST From: Chuck Wolcott <75501.356@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: Nose compartment The following question was posted: >I have a nose question I thought I would get some input on. I'm using the >featherlite pre-fab nose and was wondering if I should use pour foam inside >this hollow cavity to make it more rigid, or are the F-O,NG-30,NG-31bulkheads >good enough. (I thought it >may give a little if pressed on between bulkheads) >Also I used the AN pipe coupling and 45 deg AN for the pitot in NG-31(horiz. >bulkhead) >and it appears that the pitot tube will cross into the ballast compartment. >Is this the way it should be, or are the weights just bolted up later so they >will not contact the pitot tube. I used the Featherlite pre-fab nose, and I don't think you will need any additional support, other than the bulkheads per the plans. I have been flying for over a year, and the paint doesn't show any sign of flex. I also need the space for the lead shot I use as ballast, in conforming doubled 1 pint heavy duty plastic bags. Each bag weighs 5 #, and solo I need 10 bags. You may need all the space you can get up there if you plan solo flights, so I don't recommend pour foam. I used the 45 degree fitting too and the tube does cross the compartment, but with the conforming plastic bags, you can easily tuck the bags under the tube. Watch for other ideas / solutions. Chuck Wolcott N154CW From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: Chapter 13 - Rudder Pedals, etc. Date: Thu, 25 Jan 96 11:17:16 EST People; I just got off the phone with Greg Russell at AeroCad, and found out that they are selling FULLY adjustable rudder pedals (same kind of adjustments left and right). Not only that, but the price (unless I misunderstood) for a set was ~$200 (they're looking for a new machinist - they lost the last one they were using). This is $150 less than the Brock price, and the Brock ones aren't adjustable on the left (pilot) side. Of course, they're not available until they find a new supplier, but Greg indicated that should be within a week or two. Also, I called Brock about the new MKNG-6 with the roller bearings, and Marie didn't seem to know anything about it. I'm just about to start Chapter 13, so if anyone knows where I could get a hold of one of the new versions within a week or so, I'd really appreciate it. I'd hate to throw $132 away on the old version and then have to buy a new one. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com From: Sid Lloyd Subject: RE: Rudder Pedals Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 15:57:22 -0600 Yodaire is a guy who made his own pedals and set up a tiny business selling them to others. They're OK, but I think Jeff's are better. I bought the Yodaire ones. They are beefed up and use direct mount cylinders instead of all that flimsy hinge stuff that Nat has. I don't know if they are still around. Their number was (517) 832-2012 and they cost $150 a couple years ago. I got mine nickle plated at a local plating shop and they look pretty good. Both pedals extend through the NG30s, are 3/4" in diameter, and the brake cylinders mount one on each side of the NG30s. The pedals are adjustable and much heavier duty than the Brock stuff. Sid ---------- From: Marc J. Zeitlin[SMTP:marcz@hpwarhw.an.hp.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 1996 10:44 PM To: Sid Lloyd Subject: Re: Rudder Pedals Sid; While poking through some old Newsletters (paper version, I'm ashamed to say :-) ), I saw a letter you wrote to Nat in April, 1992, where you asked about "Yodaire" rudder pedals. I'm going to be calling Jeff Russel tomorrow (Thursday) about his setup, but I was just wondering if you had heard back from Nat about these, and whether you could tell me anything about "Yodaire" (assuming you remember anything about composite airplanes, off building your Glastar as you are :-) ). Thanks. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 16:50:07 -0500 From: Marcnadine@aol.com Subject: Re: Chapter 13 - Rudder Pedals, etc. Marc Z. writes: A.lso, I called Brock about the new MKNG-6 with the roller bearings, >and Marie didn't seem to know anything about it. I'm just about to >start Chapter 13, so if anyone knows where I could get a hold of one of >the new versions within a week or so, I'd really appreciate it. I'd >hate to throw $132 away on the old version and then have to buy a new >one. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com >> Marc, I spoke to Ken Brock about the new bearing MKNG-6 last week. I have been trying to get a hold of this item for months now. Ken said that Burt Rutan has not approved them at this time and he will not make them until he does. He also said that even if Burt does approve, he thinks the current unit if just fine, and he has no complants. It looks like it may be sometime before Ken goes in to production, if ever. I ended up just ordering the current MKNG-6 because I needed it now and could not wait any more. I hope that Jack will run another batch. Marc N425CZ Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1996 00:15:43 -0500 (EST) From: Bill Walsh Subject: Re: Chapter 13 - Rudder Pedals, etc. On Thu, 25 Jan 1996, Marc J. Zeitlin wrote: Marc....and others, I got the Aerocad rudder pedals and find them far superior to Brocks. The only thing that I told Jeff is that being adjustable, it would be nice to have all of the holes for the pegs to be tapped out. My set was only tapped at the very middle.It is an easy process, but if you specify you want him to do it at time oforder he will. BW Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 07:43:02 -0600 From: tims@enet.net (Tim Sullivan) Subject: Re: Nose Gear Ratchet >For those who are interested I just talked to Curtis Smith, he said that >the Nose Gear Ratchets got shipped on monday. All right! Just in time for Chapter 9 (poetry?). Anyone out there, who has installed one, have tips/suggestions for those of us about to partake in this task? Tim Sullivan (tims@enet.net) Phoenix, AZ | * | Cozy MK IV Builder #470 |-----(/)-----| The journey begins 8/10/95 / \ Current Status: Ch 8 o o Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 12:02:00 -0500 From: Dick.Finn@FNB.sprint.com Subject: Re[2]: Nose Gear Ratchet I installed the nose gear ratchet last year. The installation was straightforward but still took most of a Saturday. As I remember it, I had to spend quite a bit of time carefully sanding the tube that goes through the ratchet for a good snug fit. Nohing complex however. I microed the ratchet in place on the Instrument Panel and spent a few extra minutes faring the micro into the ratchet ant the panel. It looks nice and works real well. As a side issue, I seem to remember that the plans called for the hole on f22 for the torque tube to be centered. In order to connect to the gears it actually has to be offset to the right. Dick Finn Cozy Mark IV #46 ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Nose Gear Ratchet Author: tims@enet.net at INTERNET Date: 2/15/96 10:07 AM >For those who are interested I just talked to Curtis Smith, he said that >the Nose Gear Ratchets got shipped on monday. Anyone out there, who has installed one, have tips/suggestions Tim Sullivan (tims@enet.net) Phoenix, AZ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 11:19:50 -0700 From: Eric Westland Subject: Re: Brakes Marc J. Zeitlin wrote: > > Yes, I got the remote reservoirs, parking brake, master cylinders, > wheels, Marc, Please describe the remote reservoirs and parking brake. I have my lay down cylinders and rudder pedals in, but need a reservoir solution. Thanks, Eric From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: Re: Brakes (fwd) Date: Fri, 16 Feb 96 14:29:15 EST Eric Westland asks: >Marc J. Zeitlin wrote: >> >> Yes, I got the remote reservoirs, parking brake, master cylinders, >> wheels, >Please describe the remote reservoirs and parking brake. I have my lay >down cylinders and rudder pedals in, but need a reservoir solution. Remote Reservoirs: The MATCO remote reservoirs are small plexiglass (or lexan, I'm not sure which) bowls with 1/8" NPT threads in the bottom. The top is threaded and fits into a metal cap, which is bolted to a metal bracket. This bracket screws onto the NG-30's (or wherever you want to mount them. The tube coming from the fitting on the bottom will go to the master cylinder, which has two fittings - one for the reservoir connection, and one for the brake connection. The reservoir is vented, and CANNOT be used in negative G situations for more than a couple of seconds (unless you want brake fluid on your feet). Parking Brake: MATCO back ordered the brake (which reminds me I've got to call them and see when I'll get mine) but from what I can tell, it's a small aluminum block with a bunch of fittings on it (four, I think; in and out for each wheel) and a small handle. Don't know how it mounts to anything. I assume that the line from the reservoir(s) run(s) to the PB, and thence to the brakes. I also assume that to activate it, you step on the brakes, and then pull the little handle - this would lock pressure on the brakes until the handle is released. I'll correct this if I'm off base when I get the directions and the PB. The reservoirs are simple, and look like they'll work just fine. I'm going to mount mine up high on the NG-30's, in a convenient place under the nose access door, or maybe on F-5, depending on where I end up putting the battery (which is, of course, dependent on which engine I use :-) ). SO MANY CHOICES!!!!! :-). -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 19:26:37 -0500 From: CCady@aol.com Subject: Re: Brakes In a message dated 96-02-16 11:14:15 EST, you write: > > 1) First, one of the newsletters had a full page description of > Vance Atkinson's modification to the brake/rudder pedal system that > uses the laydown aerobatic cylinders, and that looked MUCH simpler > than the Rube Goldberg nightmare in the plans. I used the brake system described in the Cozy newsletter in my E-Racer and they have worked great. The installation seems alot easier than the old Rube system for sure. It's simple and very easy to install. Cliff Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 07:56:12 -0500 From: PBurkha238@aol.com Subject: Re: Brakes (fwd) Folks, I have the Matco brakes installed and feel that they are an improvement over the cleveland variety. I did not use the improved version of the brake pedal from Jeff at Aerocad, but rather the older version using the vertical master cyclinders( they werent quite out yet at that time). I have the parking brake installed just in front of the instrument panel(on the side wall). It mounts with two AN3 bolts. I made a mount for it using two 1/4 inch pieces of plywood (sand edges at 45) and installed two nut plates in between them at the correct locations. Watch out for the rudder cable outlet(mine was lower than that listed in the plans) it may interfere with the positioning of the brake(two lines going in from bottom, then out the top) I used aluminium brake lines from the brakes to the parking brake, from that point forward I used the original tubing. I figured due to the sharp turns and the slight movement of the master cyclinders it would be best to use the flexable tubing forward of the parking brake. It works as marc stated, you step on brakes-apply parking brake lever- and thats it. I dont believe it has anything to do with the reservoirs. As I recall they are installed directly to the master cyclinder. I ordered mine a while back directly from Matco and paid 636.00 including masters , axels, brakes and tubing( but too short) I dont know if they are still available that way or not. ( I even got the tires and tubes also with the deal, parking brake from Wicks) there phone number was 801-486-7574 good luck guys. Paul Burkhardt From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: Chap. 13 Information Date: Mon, 19 Feb 96 21:40:44 EST People; I've been working on Chapter 13 (Nose stuff) for a couple of weeks now, and I thought I'd pass along a few things I've learned. 1) I don't know if I was supposed to sand the N.G. strut a lot more than I did, but there's NO WAY the MS24694-S70 machine screws are long enough to reach through the MKNG-6 pivot, the strut, and then the 1/4" NG-5 backing plate. Not only that, but the way the strut is shaped, the MKNG-6 and the NG-5 aren't parallel, so the holes in the NG-5 must be drilled at an angle (I did it while it was clamped to the strut). In the plans, there is no mention of the correct dimensions for the strut, other than the overall length, so I have no idea if AeroCad is making them correctly, but the Featherlite strut I had was almost exactly the same dimensions. At any rate, my strut will be about 1/2" thicker at the front than the plans call for (I've already floxed the MKNG-6 and the NG-3 and NG-4 to it, after the BID wrap, so it's not changing now :-) ) and I'll be using MS24694-S74, S75, S79, and/or S82 's for the screws. They're available from ACS. 2) The plans show an AN4-16A bolt holding one of the rod-ends in the VENGR worm drive. the VENGR dosn't come with it, and it's not called out in the plans (and I don't remember seeing it in any of the MK-IV corrections). Also, an AN4-15A bolt is called out to hold the other rod-end in the NG-3/NG-4 combo on the strut. With the strut that I've got, and the parts as they came from Brock, the AN4-15A is a little short, and I think an AN4-16A (1/8" longer) would work better. 3) The plans call for floxing the FS-0 and FS-5 bulkheads to the NG-30 nose box and holding it in place with nails. Besides having to figure out where to put FS-0 (the plans are very vague here - I just centered it left to right [hell, the airplane is axisymmetric, right :-) ] and took measurements off the M-19 bulkhead drawing sheet to determing the vertical position) I decided that I could just stand the NG-30 assembly vertically on top of the FS-0 bulkhead. This made doing the 2 BID corner tapes much easier, and also made it very easy to flox the FS-5 bulkhead in place. I didn't have to use any nails, and don't have to pull them out later. 4) I wanted to put the landing light(s) in the nose, but I wanted real small ones that would be easy to mount. I haven't done it yet, but I bought some 55 watt halogen driving lights from J.C. Whitney for $49. They've got a black plastic shell and glass lenses with replacable bulbs. They're egg shaped, about 4" in diameter, and about 5" long. They come with some mounting brackes, and I think the pair will both fit nicely right up in the nose cone just below and to either side of the pitot tube. I bought some 1/8" plexiglass from ACS, and will make some clear landing light covers after I get the nose cone from AeroCad and can use it as a form. After I've installed them (or tried and failed :-) ) I'll give an update on what I did. They're part # 13BD2224R in the Whitney catalog. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 23:48:09 -0500 (EST) From: Bill Walsh Subject: Re: Chap. 13 Information On Mon, 19 Feb 1996, Marc J. Zeitlin wrote: > > 4) I wanted to put the landing light(s) in the nose, but I wanted real > small ones that would be easy to mount. I haven't done it yet, but > I bought some 55 watt halogen driving lights from J.C. Whitney for > $49. They've got a black plastic shell and glass lenses with > replacable bulbs. They're egg shaped, about 4" in diameter, and > about 5" long. They come with some mounting brackes, and I think > the pair will both fit nicely right up in the nose cone just below > and to either side of the pitot tube. I bought some 1/8" plexiglass > from ACS, and will make some clear landing light covers after I get > the nose cone from AeroCad and can use it as a form. After I've > installed them (or tried and failed :-) ) I'll give an update on > what I did. They're part # 13BD2224R in the Whitney catalog. > > -- > Marc, I think I have the same kind of lights that you are talking about here. I bought mine at an auto parts place for about the same price. Do they have THICK lenses??? Any way....I bought the whole nose from Jeff(his first one) and the nose cone. I didn't find enough room in the forward nose compartment to do what you are anticipating doing. It can be done... But you will have to cut into bulkhead F-0. What I did was to mount it to the lower half of that small cross piece that is horizontal in the nose. Then I cut a small hole in the cone to accomidate the lens portion so it protrudes, I then faired it. I was concerned at the amont of heat that the light generated so after I mounted mine I closed up the cone with an oven thermometer in it, and ran the light (in summer) for 70 minutes continuous, checking the temp every 15 mins. It never got above 120 degrees and didn't soften any of the surrounding structure. I the hung a desk fan upside down and 3 feet away from the nose and ran it into the light for 10 mins. It brought the temp to 100 degrees (imagine what 120mph will do to cool it). I only have one in the nose (don't want to push my luck too far) So for the next step I am anticipating installing one on each wingtip, so I have full visablity of the runway and others can see me easily in the air. Gotta go Bill w Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 18:14:22 -0500 From: PBurkha238@aol.com Subject: Re: Chap. 13 Information Marc, concerning the longer AN4 bolt on the NG3 bracket, I also installed a longer one there and later learned that the bolt threads would hit the strut cover while cranking it up. So you might want to grind (slowly) some of the threads off there for a better fit.. Paul Burkhardt Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 12:37:00 -0500 From: Dick.Finn@FNB.sprint.com Subject: Nose Gear The recent discussion of nose gear related issues brought to mind a problem that came up on my gear. That is, when I crank it full up it doesn't completely retract. This is with everything snugged up as tight as I can get it. A few potential solutions occurred to me but I plan to worry about them later. Eventually I'll flip the plane over and build gear doors. Time enough to concentrate on this then. In any case, I think that the problem is not unique to my plane in that I've heard about others experiencing the same difficulty. Last weekend I took a trip to our cabin on Lake Winnebago --- directly across the lake from OSH. I visited the EAA Museum on Saturday. While there I looked at Nat's original three seater. While it resulted in a few strange looks from other visitors, I got down on my hands and knees and looked at his gear. It also was not 100% retracted. Like mine it hung down about 1/2". Those of you who are working on the nose gear now might want to pause and think about adjusting the point on the gear leg that attaches to the retract mechnism (I forget the part number) so as to fully retract. Any suggestions from others who have dealt with this would be appreciated. Dick Finn Cozy Mark IV #46 From: Marc Zeitlin Date: Wed, 21 Feb 96 14:20:39 EST Subject: Re: Nose Gear DickFinn wrote (in reference to nose gear); >....... While there I looked at Nat's original three >seater. While it resulted in a few strange looks from other visitors, I got >down on my hands and knees and looked at his gear. It also was not 100% >retracted. Like mine it hung down about 1/2". If you mean that the nosewheel is below the bottom of the fuselage, I think that's the way it's designed, and I think that the V.E.'s and L.E.'s are the same way. I may be wrong. If you mean that the STRUT is below the fuselage, I don't know what's going on. It would seem that you could adjust the rod ends on the spring rod connecting the VENGR to the strut so that the gear would come all the way up into the fuselage, but you might have to raise the gear covers so that it would fit. Maybe I don't know what I'm taling about, and I'll see what's going on next week when I install everything on the fuselage. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com From: "Dewey Davis" Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 14:34:16 -0500 Subject: Re: Nose Gear On Feb 21, 12:37, Dick.Finn@fnb.sprint.com wrote: > ............. looked at his gear. It also was not 100% > retracted. Like mine it hung down about 1/2". >-- End of excerpt from Dick.Finn@fnb.sprint.com Mine did exactly the same thing; it protruded from its hole about 1/2 inch when fully retracted. I've noticed that some airplanes do and some don't. I think Nat may have documented his prototype a little too carefully here, and the plans allowed us all to duplicate the problem in this case. When I added gear doors, I decided I didn't want the little bubble to cover that part of the tire, I wanted totally flush gear doors. So I turned the airplane upside down and reworked the whole thing. I had to provide more clearance for both the strut and the nosewheel. The retract mechanism was no problem at all. I didn't have to change anything. The extra travel required for the last half inch is trivial. Clearance was the only problem for me. Dewey Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 14:36:18 -0500 From: KSPREUER@aol.com Subject: Re: Nose Gear Dick.Finn writes: >Those of you who are working on the nose gear now might >want to pause >and think about adjusting the point on the gear leg that attaches to >the retract mechnism (I forget the part number) so as to fully >retract. >Any suggestions from others who have dealt with this would >be appreciated. >Dick Finn >Cozy Mark IV #46 Yeah Dick, that is a common problem. The retract mechanism is at a severe mechanical disadvantage at that point in the stroke. I too have designed and built a nose gear door mechanism. This makes the gear full up retract even a little harder since its working against a spring to close the doors. I was thinking of putting a cable in to help close the doors and get that last half inch of movemnet on the gear. What idea have you got? Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 14:36:24 -0500 From: KSPREUER@aol.com Subject: Re: Re[2]: Landing Light(s) >The biggest issue in my mind was the difficulty of formining >a conical piece of plexiglass for the cover. As a side issue, in >a gear up landing you could end up with a much more costly >(time and materials) repair with a nose mounted light. >My $.02. >Dick Finn >Cozy Mark IV #46 Your right about the forming of the conical nose lens. I've made one attempt and it wrinkled. I've got an idea to frame the acrylic with metal and form on a male mold. We'll see. However, the gear up landing will have no involvement on the nose. In the wrost case only the lower side over the nose cone is damaged. Also, for anyones information, I am mounting the pitot tube above an behind the nose cone which will house my landing light. I found it worked excellent there on my 3 place (within 2% thru out the range). This puts it up out of the dirt when parked. I simply used small diameter stainless tube. I bent it so that it would be paralelle to the skin surface just forward of the access cover on the upper part of the nose. It is attached by drilling a hole thru the fuselage top and floxing the tube in place then molding an aero shaped pylon around the base. The tube inside is bent to route along the fuselage side back to the A/S indicator. Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 16:33:00 -0500 From: Dick.Finn@FNB.sprint.com Subject: Re[2]: Nose Gear I had one of two thoughts on how to fix it. Sorry guys, I don't have the plans at work with me and consequently am missing the part numbers in the following. 1. I could move the connection point on the strut down (or maybe up, I'd have to think about which direction) some calculated amount. This would cause it to retract further before hitting the stop. One other reply to my comment was that the retraction mechanism is at a severe mechanical disadvantage at this point. I'm not sure this would be the best solution. 2. I could carve out a notch on the arm in the VENGR mechanism that rotates upward and pulls the gear up. This notch would fit into the stop and allow an extra fraction of an inch of travel. I'd have to calculate the exact amount of travel required but suspect it would be trivial. Anyway, the above are real early thoughts on solving the problem. Dick Finn Cozy Mark IV #46 ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Nose Gear Author: KSPREUER@aol.com at INTERNET Date: 2/21/96 2:50 PM Yeah Dick, that is a common problem. The retract mechanism is at a severe mechanical disadvantage at that point in the stroke. I too have designed and built a nose gear door mechanism. This makes the gear full up retract even a little harder since its working against a spring to close the doors. I was thinking of putting a cable in to help close the doors and get that last half inch of movemnet on the gear. What idea have you got? Date: Thu, 22 Feb 96 09:09:50 EST From: "Wilhelmson, Jack" Subject: Re: Nose Gear Dick: The problem on the nose gear retraction is (assuming no restrictions to full retraction) is the total travel of the gear retraction mechanism. I researched this problem several years ago and found the only complete solution is to increase the mechanism travel. It turns out that this is also needed to be able to adjust the attitude of the airplane on the ground (instead of cutting of the main gear , which is the painfull way). I made a device that fits in the end of the arm and works on the eccentric principal to allow this adjustment. Because of the mechanical advantage it only takes a small amount of adjustment. Date: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 22:38:21 -0500 From: StetsonE@aol.com Subject: Hints on Smith Nose Gear Ratchet I received my nose gear ratchet from Dr. Smith a few days ago. The plans say NOT to take the cog out of the housing because it will be very difficult to get the little ball and spring back into place. Did I listen? Of course not! The little direction of rotation lever on my ratchet seemed loose, and I couldn't fight the compulsion to take the little bugger apart to see if I could tighten up the lever. Took me a half hour to get the cog back in the housing again, after losing the little ball 5 times as the tiny little spring launched it in a variety of directions across my garage. You don't need to take the cog out to tighten up the lever. With the back cover plate off the ratchet housing, the end of the lever pin is visible in a triangular hole in the cog. The slop is because the lever pin is a loose fit in the cog. I merely dropped a half drop of thick superglue on the end of the pin. When it wicked down between the hole in the cog and the lever pin, I kicked off the glue with zip kicker. No more slop! To repeat - Don't take the cog out of the housing! I hope this helps someone. Stet Elliott stetsone@aol.com Perpetual Long--EZ builder Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 00:10:56 -0500 From: Marcnadine@aol.com Subject: Landing Light Power (Resend, First send garbled) I found the discussion a few weeks ago concerning the installation of the landing light in the nose to be of some interest, in that I've been working on this since I first saw the plans. I've been trying to find out what the power of the lamp should be, or required by the FAA. Does anyone know? Marc N425CZ From: Marc Zeitlin Date: Fri, 15 Mar 96 16:27:12 EST Subject: Chapter 13 - hints/tips People; 1 ) In my message of Feb. 19, I mentioned that "I don't know if I was supposed to sand the N.G. strut a lot more than I did......" . Well, as far as I can tell, I was :-). I got my "Strut Cover Fairing" (SC) from Featherlite, and unless they make them very small and unless I installed the VENGR about 1/4" too low, my strut is too thick. Oh well, at least its stronger than it's supposed to be, not weaker. I was able to deal with this extra thickness by sanding a small recess in the strut where it interfered with the lower spacer on the VENGR (when in the retract position) and putting an extra layer of BID over the smoothly rounded recess. I also had to cut the "SC" and lay up 2 BID over it so that it was about 3/8" deeper for clearance. Once I had done these things, the strut retracted nicely into the fuselage bottom. 2) Since I haven't gotten the rudder pedals yet, I decided to do the "SC" and Nose Gear Cover installation (and hole in the fuselage bottom) BEFORE I installed the nose sides. The nose is a bit wiggly, since the F-22 bulkhead is the only thing providing vertical stability, but as long as you don't lean on it, it's fine. At any rate, it makes access to the Nose Gear Cover and "SC" MUCH easier. It doesn't explain how to do it in the plans, so I just cut a couple of 1" x 2" plexiglas windows and floxed them in place near the top rear of the Nose Gear Cover with 1 BID over the ends. 3) In order to get the landing lights to fit in the nose, I had to cut clearance holes in the F-0 bulkhead, and trim just a SMALL bit from the front end of each NG-30 bulkhead. I bent up some 1/16" sheet aluminum brackets which will bolt onto F-0 with a couple of AN3 bolts and nutplates, while the lights came from J.C. Whitney with their own brackets and bolts. I use these to attach the lights to the brackets. I fitted the brackets and lights so that I will be able to install and remove them through the small access door provided in the pre-molded nose cone from AeroCad. The brackets allow the light to swivel vertically about 10 - 20 degrees, so I'll be able to have one lamp positioned for flare on landing, and one for taxiing. I haven't cut the nose cone or installed the 1/8" plexi windows yet - that may come this weekend, if things go well. 4) I installed Curtis Smith's Nose Gear Ratchet per his intructions - be very careful when you take the clip ring out; there's a VERY SMALL chance that it will jump out of the pliers, fly up into the air, and land on a 1" x 6" that you've got stored up in the rafters. When you DON'T hear it hit the ground, you just might drive yourself nuts trying to figure out how something can go up and not come down. Not that this has ever happened to me, mind you, but it could :-). One thing I missed when doing this installation was Nat's admonition in the plans to make sure that you've got the VENGR in the retract position and the crank handle in the vertical position when drilling the hole for the AN3 bolt which holds the torque tube to the universal joint. I'll probably have to either redrill mine, or get a new torque tube, as it looks pretty silly at 20 degrees from the vertical. 5) The MKLST strut has a REALLY stiff spring. I wasn't sure that it would even move under load, so I brought it into work and put it in an arbor press. It moves, but it takes a lot of force to do it. I just wanted to make sure that Brock had assembled it correctly, and that nothing was binding. I will say that it's VERY satisfying to get everything installed and crank the gear up and down a few times - even my wife was impressed. We had a discussion here a while ago about how far the wheel was supposed to stick out of the fuselage bottom when the gear is retracted. I was able to adjust the rod ends on the MKLST so that only about 1/8" of wheel protrudes below the fuselage when fully retracted, even with the thicker strut. Now, here's a couple of questions (and for those of you who might answer these for us, please don't quote the whole message in your reply! :-) ). After installing the "SC" and Nose Gear Cover and then trimming the "SC" so that the strut and MKLST clear everything, there seems to be a lot of empty space around the top and sides of the "SC". I was going to try filling this space with some pour foam (just got some, figured this would be a pretty innocuous way to test out how it works) - does something else ever need to go in this space? Also, near the front and back of the SC, there seem to be large openings from the inside world to the outside world. I was planning on putting some 3/8" foam with 1 BID over these just to keep small critters out - is there some other recommended method, or do people just ignore this? I don't remember seeing these openings on people's airplanes at OSHKOSH. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 09:39:45 From: JRaerocad@gnn.com (Jeff Russell) Subject: Re: Chapter 13 - hints/tips > something else ever need to go in this space? > Also, near the front and back of the SC, there seem to be large > openings from the inside world to the outside world. I was planning on > putting some 3/8" foam with 1 BID over these just to keep small critters > out - is there some other recommended method, or do people just ignore > this? I don't remember seeing these openings on people's airplanes at > OSHKOSH. Marc, The problem with the SC from FL was the MKIV Nose Strut is thicker than the Long-EZ/Cozy 3 and there are trying to use the SC from the other Designs. Oh well, We don't us it any way. With a tight fitting strut cover door and hinged nose gear doors, its completely sealed with the gear in. With the gear out, the air coming in will stop if you used a cover over the top on the NG-30s. If you ever switch to a electric nose gear, this top cover will need to removed. The main thing to look out for is when you install the strut in the NG-30's that it hangs straight down and not to one side. Even if you install the strut in the middle of the NG-30's this still can leave the problem of not installing the NG-30's correctly. You should check this by dropping the strut hanging down with a center line on it, then install the NG-30's permanitly. I have seen this done wrong over and over on many EZE's. AeroCad Inc. Jeff Russell 1445 Crater Lane Yadkinville, NC. 27055 910-961-2238 E-mail: JRaerocad@gnn.com Date: Sun, 17 Mar 1996 11:49:19 -0500 From: JQUESTCOZY@aol.com Subject: Re: Chapter 13 - hints/tips In a message dated 96-03-17 04:11:57 EST, marcz@hpwarhw.an.hp.com (Marc Zeitlin) marc wrote: > One thing I missed when doing this installation was Nat's admonition > in the plans to make sure that you've got the VENGR in the retract > position and the crank handle in the vertical position when drilling > the hole for the AN3 bolt which holds the torque tube to the > universal joint. I'll probably have to either redrill mine, or get a > new torque tube, as it looks pretty silly at 20 degrees from the > vertical. I also just finished up chapter 13, if you do decide to buy another torque tube, have you considered using one out of 4130 steel? John Ashe reported in newsletter #44 page 5 about how his failed at the lower end at the universal joint resulting in a nose up landing. I'm using the 4130 one, my only concern was in case of a crash the angle of the torque tube looks like it would make a pretty good spear, (but I guess an alum. or steel would have the same result.) :-) I'm thinking of maybe another universal or some sort of telescoping or tube in a tube configuration that may help if I get around to it. Just a thought, keep on truckin' John Wilemski (jquestcozy) cozy #227 Date: Sun, 17 Mar 1996 16:55:24 -0500 From: PBurkha238@aol.com Subject: Re: Chapter 13 - hints/tips marc, not sure what space your reffering to concerning the sc area? Do you mean on the outside (strut side) of the sc or inside the gear box(between the NG 30's)?? I made a piece of 1/4 filler that is flush with the vertical portion of the NG-30's , glassed both sides. and microed in place works fine. Do you have a source for MICROSWITCH switches,, I need about four switches from them and the only catalog I have wants about 25.00 ea. hope that helps. Paul Burkhardt From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: Re: Chapter 13 - hints/tips Date: Mon, 18 Mar 96 9:13:03 EST Jeff Russell replied to my query: >The problem with the SC from FL was the MKIV Nose Strut is thicker than >the Long-EZ/Cozy 3 and there are trying to use the SC from the other >Designs. Oh well, We don't us it any way. With a tight fitting strut >cover door and hinged nose gear doors, its completely sealed with the >gear in. With the gear out, the air coming in will stop if you used a >cover over the top on the NG-30s. I was wondering if the SC should have been wider - it seemed tight. I have (and will use) the NG-30 cover, so I'm not too worried about air infiltration, more with bugs and birds making nests. I guess if I make the door(s) tight, I won't have to worry, although I will probably still seal up all the open spaces I can. >The main thing to look out for is when you install the strut in the >NG-30's that it hangs straight down and not to one side. Even if you >install the strut in the middle of the NG-30's this still can leave the >problem of not installing the NG-30's correctly. You should check this >by dropping the strut hanging down with a center line on it, then >install the NG-30's permanitly. Interesting that you mention this. I did almost exactly that as I was installing the NG-30's on the F-22 bulkhead. I hot-glued a 1"x2" to the NG-30 assembly crossways near the top so that I could easily clamp it to F-22. I installed the strut with the pivot bolt (after having ensured that the strut was perfectly centered between the NG-30's during their assembly) and then clamped the NG-30's to F-22. I drew a centerline on the floor under the fuselage and extended it 4 feet out in front of F-22. I hung a plumb-bob from the top of the strut to the floor and ensured that the strut lined up with the centerline from top to bottom. This way, I guearanteed that the strut would be on centerline and also would be centered in the NG-30's. Worked perfectly. Paul Burkhardt wrote: >.......... Do you >mean on the outside (strut side) of the sc or inside the gear box(between the >NG 30's)?? I made a piece of 1/4 filler that is flush with the vertical >portion of the NG-30's , glassed both sides. and microed in place works fine. I meant the inside, at either end of the SC, up near the pivot end of the strut, and the nose wheel cover. It sounds like you did just about what I was considering doing (and what Jeff says isn't necessary :-) ). John Wilemski wrote: >......... if you do decide to buy another torque >tube, have you considered using one out of 4130 steel? I did think the tube looked mighty wimpy as I was installing it. A steel tube (or a thicker walled aluminum tube) wouldn't be so stupid. >I'm using the 4130 one, my only concern was in case of a crash the angle of >the torque tube looks like it would make a pretty good spear........ Yeah, I had the same thought. >...........I'm thinking of maybe another >universal or some sort of telescoping or tube in a tube configuration that >may help if I get around to it. Now that you mention it, I may try to design a telescoping aluminum thicker wall tube system. Part of the problem is that once you install Curtis Smith's ratchet mechanism (which I like), the torque tube can no longer slide longitudinally through the NG-67 bearing (in the instrument panel) - it's pinned in the ratchet, which is micro'ed into the instrument panel. This means that the tube is pinned at both ends - not good - there's no tolerance for movement without putting a LOT of stress on the tubing and rivets. A telescoping tube would be useful to fix this problem, even if it didn't remove the spear-like aspects of the device. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1996 18:10:52 From: JRaerocad@gnn.com (Jeff Russell) Subject: Re: chap. 13 - again >to avoid the landing lights. Before I go and rip out all the flox > and pitot line to try to make it slope upward the whole way, how big a > deal is this? I assume it's to keep moisture and other crud from > clogging the system - is this a real problem? Should I spend the four hours it > will take to rip it out and refit it with a constant slope upward to > the IP? >What do you all think? Marc, I can tell you that mine is not sloping upwards the whole time in route to the IP on our AeroCanard. It wraps around my oil cooler in the nose for pitot heat. I think it would be more of a problem if your airplane was parked out side and level insted of nose down. Vance's Cozy-3 has its pitot tube in the upper part of the winglet. How high of a down slope is to much? He changed to this when he removed his pointed nose. I think that's a neat place for it but not EZ to check for critters. AeroCad Inc. Jeff Russell 1445 Crater Lane Yadkinville, NC. 27055 910-961-2238 E-mail: JRaerocad@gnn.com From: Marc Zeitlin Date: Mon, 18 Mar 96 14:25:57 EST Subject: chap. 13 - again People; 1) Well, I managed to form the 1/8" plexiglas (actually perspex - they're both trade names for brands of polycarbonate) for the landing light windows. I heated the rough cut pieces to 300 degrees F in the oven (they get pretty soft!) and then quickly transferred them to the marked areas of the nose cone (covered with a tightly fitting thin rag for protection) and pressed then in place with oven mitts. With some judicious pressure, I got some pretty good fits. I was actually pretty surprised how easily it went. I then trimmed the perspex on the bandsaw, cut the rough holes in the nose cone, and then slowly worked on both until the perspex was 1/8" larger all around than the hole in the nose cone (and both holes were identical - left and right). I beveled the edge of the perspex and the nose cone so that the perspex would sit just flush with the outside surface of the nose cone. I covered the perspex with electrical tape except for the beveled area, and then floxed them in place. I don't think I have more than a 1 mm mismatch anywhere, and I expect that after some microing and sanding, the windows will look pretty good. 2) So I finish this, install the lights on F-0, and then start installing the pitot system (the removable kind, with the 1/4" Pipe Thread fitting right at the nose). I floxed it all in place, and then noticed that the plans say to have the system sloping upward all the way to the instrument panel, like so: | ---------------| inst. pan. ------------------ | nose ------------ | Mine looks more like: | ---------------| inst. pan. ---------------- | nose ---- -- | \ / \----/ to avoid the landing lights. Before I go and rip out all the flox and pitot line to try to make it slope upward the whole way, how big a deal is this? I assume it's to keep moisture and other crud from clogging the system - is this a real problem? Should I spend the four hours it will take to rip it out and refit it with a constant slope upward to the IP? What do you all think? -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Tue, 19 Mar 96 11:58:50 est From: "Larry Schuler" Subject: Re: chap. 13 - again Marc, Sounds like you made a great place for condensation and rain to collect. I havn't gotten to that point yet, so I'm not sure of what the routing looks like; but, is there a way you could add a drain mechanism at the low point to keep from re-doing everything? If it's plastic tubing, just add a capped "tee" (or a drain valve tee) at the low point and drain it at preflight. Fluid in the line shouldn't affect the airspeed much since the pressure would remain the same (water can be considered an "incompressible" fluid). Can't say the same for mold that will also form in time or the corrosion you might get in your airspeed instruments. What do high-wing factory jobs do since their pitot is normally higher than the airspeed indicator???? Choices! Sure does emphasise the "E" in the EAA. Larry From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: Re: chap. 13 - again Date: Tue, 19 Mar 96 13:42:52 EST Larry Schuler writes in response to my query: >>......... Before I go and rip out all the flox and >>pitot line to try to make it slope upward the whole way, how big a deal >>is this? > ..... is there a way you could add a drain mechanism at the low > point to keep from re-doing everything? I thought of that, and could do it, but it would be a pain in the butt. > Fluid in the line shouldn't affect the airspeed much since the pressure > would remain the same (water can be considered an "incompressible" fluid). I'd be more worried about the water freezing and then you've got a dead pitot. > What do high-wing factory jobs do since their pitot is normally higher than > the airspeed indicator???? They almost always have some length of upward slope before the downward slope - this must ensure that no water gets in. Anyway, it only took me 1/2 hour last night to rip it out, and another hour to rerun the line so that there is a constant upward slope, and doesn't interfere with the landing light installation. Case closed. Thanks for the suggestions and replies. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 19:48:47 -0500 From: SMilesCozy@aol.com Subject: Re: chap. 13 - again Marc, I think that would perhaps form a "pee trap" and trap any moisture that may get into the system...creating a blocked pitot with no way to drain. my .02 Steve Miles Cozy IV #272 Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 09:44:00 -0500 From: CheckPilot@aol.com Apparently-To: lschuler@cellular.uscc.com Apparently-To: cozy_builders@hpwarhw.an.hp.com If you look at the pitot of most any Cessna (at least the ones with pitots not just little tubes sticking out) you will see a drain hole in the rear bottom corner to let that little moisture out before the tube bends up into the wing. The best bet (in my non-engineer, 3000 hour pilot opinion) would be to have it per plans or put in a drain in the low spot (probably more work than re-doing it). You are right about the mold, etc. with the prolonged exposure to moisture. Marc, if you aren't sure, think about the first time you fly through a rain shower (happens VFR or IFR), where will the water end up and how will it get out??? Jim Hann, Any Co-Pilot who can't follow THE RULES is Grounded. Date: Sat, 23 Mar 1996 01:00:00 -0500 From: KSPREUER@aol.com Subject: Re: chap. 13 - again Mark writes: "I assume it's to keep moisture and other crud from clogging the system - is this a real problem? Should I spend the four hours it will take to rip it out and refit it with a constant slope upward to the IP?" I flew thru some heavy rain with my system. It also did not slope upward al the way. I did not have any problem with the pitot side but I did get water in the static side that thru my altimeter off 1000'. I wonder if a water trap is a good idea. Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1996 21:59:30 -0400 From: JQUESTCOZY@aol.com Subject: Nose Wheel Cover Question I would like a few opinions on the size/shape of the nose gear windows. A) Did most of you guys use plexiglass, or Lexan? B) What thickness used, 16th or 8th of an inch I would think would be good enough C) Did you install on cockpit side or inside of wheel well? D) Did anyone use rivets or just make up a half inch picture frame layup of bid over the window to wheel well. E) Any comments on size of the window, anyone wishes they made them bigger, I was going to make my 2X4 inches. F) Did anyone try to mold the window with heat, if so how much heat for how long? Just one of those little details that most likely could be done a million ways I thought I would get some input on. After these windows it's ON TO THE SPAR CHAPTER! yea!:-) John Wilemski (johnquestcozy) #227 From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: Nose Wheel Cover Question (fwd) Date: Wed, 10 Apr 96 10:56:19 EDT John Wilemski writes: >I would like a few opinions on the size/shape of the nose gear windows. > >A) Did most of you guys use plexiglass, or Lexan? plexiglas (actually "Perspex (TM)") from Wicks >B) What thickness used, 16th or 8th of an inch I would think would be good >enough 1/8" (what I bought for the landing light windows) >C) Did you install on cockpit side or inside of wheel well? cockpit >D) Did anyone use rivets or just make up a half inch picture frame layup... BID frame with flox >E) Any comments on size of the window...... about 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" >F) Did anyone try to mold the window with heat, if so how much heat for how >long? Not these little goobers, but I did mold the same 1/8" perspex for the landing lights by heating them to ~300 degrees F (in the kitchen stove on a cookie sheet) and then laying them over the nose cone (from AeroCad) and pressing down hard with a couple of oven mitts until it got hard. Had to do it a couple of times until it worked right, but the Perspex softened right up each time. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: 12 Apr 96 01:31:42 EDT From: Roger/Cindy Shell <103117.51@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Land Light covers Marc, You and I seem to be at about the same place in construction. I'm just finishing up Chapter 13. I designed my own nose instead of the prefab options so I could make more room for two built-in 55W lights. I first cut the holes in the foam to fit the lights and then glassed the inside and out side of the nose. I then dammed the holes and poured plaster of paris to get true male molds of the light covers as they fair to the rest of the nose. My first attempt to make the covers was with Lexan over the pp molds in the oven at about 300F. The Lexan would not lay down true once it began to soften so I ended up trying to take the parts out of the oven to manipulate them over the mold before the plastic cooled; but the Lexan hardened so quickly I did'nt end up with very pure curves. I even tried up to 450F but the Lexan would still not lay down on its own and also acquired air bubbles. You mentioned in a post that you used Perspex from Wicks. Is this a new product and is it more easily heat formed than Lexan? (I've still just got the 1994 Wicks catalog--no listing of Perspex). Also, I was concerned about heat build-up in the nose with both lights on. After following the posts recently about guestimates of how hot it might get, I applied some adhesive aluminum tape (for heat shielding) over the bulkheads/glass immediately around the lights and drilled a few holes in the F-0 bulhead to vent heat into the larger space aft. One friend building a 3-place said he would probably use the same light set-up and wasn't too concerned about the heat build-up since the lights would only be on for takeoff and landing. Any more thoughts on heat shielding/venting? Hope this discourse hasn't been too long. Thanks for any help, and thanks for serving the builders group so faithfully. Roger Shell N357CZ From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: Land Light covers Date: Fri, 12 Apr 96 9:55:10 EDT Roger Shell wrote (to me in a private email): >I designed my own nose instead of the prefab options so I could make more >room for two built-in 55W lights. Same here. >........ I first cut the holes in the foam to >fit the lights and then glassed the inside and out side of the nose. I >then dammed the holes and poured plaster of paris to get true male molds >of the light covers as they fair to the rest of the nose. My first >attempt to make the covers was with Lexan over the pp molds in the oven >at about 300F. The Lexan would not lay down true once it began to soften >so I ended up trying to take the parts out of the oven to manipulate them >over the mold before the plastic cooled; but the Lexan hardened so >quickly I did'nt end up with very pure curves. I even tried up to 450F >but the Lexan would still not lay down on its own and also acquired air >bubbles. GE lists the "Vicat softening temperature" of Lexan at 310 deg. F., so you were in the right place the first time - maybe a bit low). Going to 450F, it's not surprising you had bubbles - you were getting very close to the melting point, which can be anywhere from 450F to 600F. What I found when molding my LL windows was that if the curvature was very large, then just free molding over a male mold and holding the plastic down with oven mitts was VERY DIFFICULT to get to conform everywhere. I had to cut the plastic to JUST over the size I wanted, and then push on it EVERYWHERE at the same time with the mitts even when it was very soft, or else it would pop up. I chose the window positions on the nose cone to minimize the curvature in the windows because I knew this might be a problem. If you're trying to mold the whole nose cone, I think it will be very difficult if not impossible without a vacuum female mold. >You mentioned in a post that you used Perspex from Wicks. Is this a new >product and is it more easily heat formed than Lexan? (I've still just >got the 1994 Wicks catalog--no listing of Perspex). First some terminology - Lexan (tm) is the trade name for polycarbonate (PC) products. Many plastics manufacturers make PC - only GE makes Lexan (tm), although it's essentially identical to all the other PC's. We've got the same think going with Perspex (tm) (don't know the manufacturer, although I'm sure it says on the paper coating at home) and Plexiglas (tm) from Rohm and Haas. They are both Acrylics, and are essentially identical. Wicks lists Plexiglas as the generic name for acrylics (which would get them in trouble with R&H if R&H found out that Wicks advertised Plexi and shipped Perspex :-) ) but the Perspex is the same from our standpoint. Buy an acrylic and you'll probably get one of these two. A local plastic supply house would have them as well. As far as molding the acrylics goes, the "Vicat softening temperature" is between 190F and 220F. I had my oven at 300F and it worked fine. >Also, I was concerned about heat build-up in the nose with both lights >on. After following the posts recently about guestimates of how hot it >might get, I applied some adhesive aluminum tape (for heat shielding) >over the bulkheads/glass immediately around the lights and drilled a few >holes in the F-0 bulhead to vent heat into the larger space aft. I have large holes in the F-0 bulkhead, since I install and remove the lights into the nose compartment from the rear, not through the small front nose door. Bill Walsh did some temperature measurements a while back (which should be in the archives) and seemed to indicate that there shouldn't be a problem. I believe there will be no problem, especially with only 110 watts total and large ventilation holes. I'll have my Chapter 13 stuff with pictures of the Landing Light installation and F-0 on line next week, so you'll be able to see what I did. >................ One >friend building a 3-place said he would probably use the same light >set-up and wasn't too concerned about the heat build-up since the lights >would only be on for takeoff and landing. Any more thoughts on heat >shielding/venting? Probably true - see above. I don't think there would be a problem even if left on continuously. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com From: Lee Devlin Subject: Re: Land Light covers Date: Fri, 12 Apr 96 10:46:20 MDT Marc wrote: > >You mentioned in a post that you used Perspex from Wicks. Is this a new > >product and is it more easily heat formed than Lexan? (I've still just > >got the 1994 Wicks catalog--no listing of Perspex). > > First some terminology - Lexan (tm) is the trade name for polycarbonate > (PC) products. Many plastics manufacturers make PC - only GE makes Lexan > (tm), although it's essentially identical to all the other PC's. We've > got the same think going with Perspex (tm) (don't know the manufacturer, > although I'm sure it says on the paper coating at home) and Plexiglas (tm) > from Rohm and Haas. They are both Acrylics, and are essentially > identical. > > Wicks lists Plexiglas as the generic name for acrylics (which would get > them in trouble with R&H if R&H found out that Wicks advertised Plexi > and shipped Perspex :-) ) but the Perspex is the same from our > standpoint. Buy an acrylic and you'll probably get one of these two. A > local plastic supply house would have them as well. I would avoid using polycarbonate (PC) in the place of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA or Plexiglas (tm)) for windows as it does not weather as well. Sometimes polycarbonate is used for unbreakable windows, but it will eventually turn yellow with exposure to sunlight. Acrylics are much more resistant to yellowing. Aircraft canopies are listed as a use for PMMA but not for PC. Lee Devlin Date: Sat, 13 Apr 1996 07:36:31 -0400 From: RonKidd@aol.com Subject: Re: Land Light covers Marc, et al, I have worked with Lexan for many years in my orthopeadics business. Lexan (any polycarbonate) is very hydroscopic. It holds water inside! To mold it, you must first cure it. You could use 250 degrees for 48 hours or 125 degrees for about a week (an old refrigerator with a 150 watt light bulb will work). After cure, you can bring it to 400 - 425 degrees where it becomes pliable enough to mold without the internal bubbles. The bubbles are from the internal moisture which is condensing to steam within the plastic. I mounted my landing lights (500,000 cp) in the noses of my wheel pants. I formed a clear cover over the nose of the pants using 3/16" co-polyester(Uvex, Sheffield Plastics). It molds very nicely and can bne worked at 325 degrees with far less problems than Lexan. Then I cut out the glass, and flanged the covers in place. The lights work OK. They are far better than the belly light, but still are not always aimed where you need them. Ron Kidd Cozy N 417CZ Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 10:27:14 -0400 From: william l kleb Subject: COZY: pitot probes for rainy days during lunch yesterday i found the following article in the library while i was off on a tangent: A Deceleration Probe for Measuring Stagnation Pressure and Velocity of a Particle-Laden Gas Stream in other words, pitot probes for rainy or high humidity days as with the inlets, i have set-up a small page with the pertinent figures and discussion for those of you interested: http://ab00.larc.nasa.gov/~kleb/pitot/pitots.html i have not followed this line of literature searching to see if anything more recent has been developed. i just found it interesting and it sort of addresses the pitot probe drainage problem we discussed a month or so ago. --- bill kleb (w.l.kleb@larc.nasa.gov) 72 bellanca 7gcbc (citabria) 99 cz4 -> aerocanard Date: Mon, 3 Jun 1996 02:19:51 -0400 From: CozyBldr@aol.com Subject: COZY:MKNG-6 Bushing I'm presently working on Chapter 13 (Nose Section) and have purchased the MKNG-6 Front Strut Pivot from Brock. I began assembling the MKNG-6 and corresponding hardware when I realized something was missing and not noted in the plans. The bolt that attaches the MKNG-6 to the NG-30s is 5/16" diameter but the bearings in the MKNG-6 are 1/2" diameter. It seemed that a bushing was missing. I called Nat and he thought Brock should have included the bushing with the MKNG-6. Has this been the case with others who have purchased the MKNG-6 from Brock? I will be calling Brock today but it would be helpful if I can call with the knowledge that bushing has been provided in the past. Thanks for any help anyone can give. Paul Stowitts Cozy Mark IV #200 From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: COZY:MKNG-6 Bushing (fwd) Date: Mon, 3 Jun 96 14:40:19 EDT Howdy folks - back from a wonderful vacation! Paul Stowitts writes: >I called Nat and he thought Brock should have included the bushing with the >MKNG-6. Has this been the case with others who have purchased the MKNG-6 >from Brock? Well, I certainly received all the bushings with the part - I'm sure others will tell you the same. Remember, quality control is NOT one of Brock's bywords. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: COZY: Chap. 13 - nose shape Date: Mon, 17 Jun 96 13:23:14 EDT People; Back to more mundane, COZY related matters :-). After five (5) months, I have finally finished up Chapter 13 (Nose and nose gear). I'm reasonably happy with how it turned out, especially with the dual landing lights in the nose cone (with conformal polycarbonate covers). I used the AeroCad pre-fab nose cone, but carved the rest of the shape myself. While carving the top of the nose, I found that if I used Nat's process, the rear section ended up too low, and then the shape from the canopy over the canard to the nose would have a dip in it (and look stupid). Now, maybe I screwed up somewhere, but when I was down on Long Island I talked to Chris Scida (sp?) who mentioned that he had a hard time getting the shape of the nose correct too. I'll describe what I did to correct it, and what Chris recommended. I made a template from the plans of the shape of the nose from F-28 to F-0. I cut the half carved nose top off, and glued a wedge of urethane foam between the top and each of the fuselage sides so that the foam was HIGHER than the highest point of the template. This wedge was approximately 3/4" high at the back end of the nose top, and tapered down to 0" at F-0. I then sanded the nose top and side radii to shape. I still have an almost flat area where the main nose door is, but the top will be convex from the canopy to the nose tip and there is a slight radius from the center to the sides. Chris said that he raised his nose top about 1 1/2" to 2" !!! above the plans indication, and that he carved the canopy frame, canard cover, and nose top all at the same time, to ensure a pleasing shape. This sounds like a reasonable idea, if you can arrange it. He carved his nose to a MUCH more rounded (side to side) shape, so he's got almost NO flat area at all. I think it looks pretty nice. I do highly recommend the AeroCad pre-fab nose cone (as did Chris) - it's one of those areas where a molded part will look a LOT nicer than hand carving and sanding, and it wasn't all that expensive. I did include the small door in the top, for access to the landing lights. One more hint on Chapter 13 (well, maybe two) - when installing the nose gear crank handle (either with or without Dr. Curtis Smith's ratchet, which I have), make sure you have the gear cranked all the way up and the handle aligned vertically before you drill the rivet holes through the torque tube and the handle. Nat mentions this in the plans, but of course I missed it. I now need to make a drill out the rivets and make a new torque tube, because the handle would rest on my thigh in the retracted position. Not a big deal, but annoying. Also, I don't like the fact that with the ratchet, the torque tube is "fixed" at both ends, and can't move at all. Bad engineering. I'm going to micro the ratchet into the instrument panel with saran wrap around it, so that it has the ability to float just a little as the aircraft flexes or moves. Also, this allows it to be removed for repairs or whatever. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 12:55:14 -0400 From: CozyBldr@aol.com Subject: COZY: Nose door w/cable latch I had heard that someone designed a hinged nose compartment cover with a cable latch. Does anyone know where and when this was published (Central States)? Thanks a bunch. Paul Stowitts Cozy Mark IV #200 Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 20:35:15 From: JRaerocad@gnn.com (Jeff Russell) Subject: Re: COZY: Nose door w/cable latch Paul Stowitts writes >I had heard that someone designed a hinged nose compartment cover > with a cable latch. Does anyone know where and when this was published (Central States)? Are you asking about the nose door or nose wheel door??? we use a hinged nose wheel doors with a spring between the two to hold open in the air. the spring closes it when the strut comes in. The Berkut has a hinged door on the nose. AeroCad Inc. Jeff Russell 1445 Crater Lane Yadkinville, NC. 27055 910-961-2238 E-mail: JRaerocad@gnn.com Date: 28 Jun 96 00:40:03 EDT From: INFINITY Aerospace <72124.347@compuserve.com> Subject: COZY: Nose door hinge and latch Hi to All, >I had heard that someone designed a hinged nose compartment cover with a cable latch.< I'm not sure if this is the concept you are inquiring about, but in 1983 I had designed a hinged nose door with a cable-released latching mechanism operated by the pilot to release the nose compartment door, similar in concept to a car gas cap cover, for my Infinity 1. In the Spring of 1984, I showed this, and many other designs, to Diedier Makowski (and others), a prolific 'Hole in the Wall Gang' builder and fellow member of the Santa Monica EZ Group at the Santa Monica Airport. The rest is history as to where all of the designs went . . . Anyway, the hinge is called a 90 degree Trigger Lock Goose Neck Hinge (P / N H2300-1), is made of Titanium, weighs only 2 oz., and is mfg. by The Hartwell Corp. [POC: Don Scott (714) 993-4200 for a really nice catalog and parts]. This is the same hinge used on the F-14 engine hydraulic inspection doors. The trigger feature is REALLY nice because the trigger locks the hinge in the open positon which holds the nose (or any) door open while you are accessing the compartment (the wind can't blow the door shut on you). Because this Trigger Lock Goose Neck Hinge is a little expensive ($55+), builders have come up with a larger aluminum version without the locking feature. The CSA, or someone in the CSA, should have those drawings. If there is a quantity order, this Hartwell hinge is really worth it! The pilot operated cable latch is called a Pull-Pin Release Hinge (P / N H1003). Many other latching mechanisms could be used. Once you see the parts, installation is very intuitive. Call if you are interested in the details of this particular installation. We also use a smaller steel 90 degree Trigger Lock Goose Neck Hinge (that is much cheaper) for the oil door and the single point refueling door (P / N H795). HTH. Infinity's Forever, JD INFINITY Aerospace P. O. Box 12275 El Cajon, CA 92022 (619) 448-5103 PH & FAX 72124.347@compuserve.com Home Page http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/INFINITY_Aerospace From: Paul.Krasa-1@pp.ksc.nasa.gov (Krasa, Paul) Organization: Kennedy Space Center, FL Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 13:29:40 -0400 Subject: FW: COZY: Signal to Noise Ratio/My curre Paul Neelands said >Perhaps it is time to create another mailing list called cozy_discussion >for the noise here. I don't know about that, but I agree the current "signal to noise ratio" has gotten out of hand. At some point, somebody has to say enough is enough. Maybe its time for our facilitator to make a statement. Just as an update to where I'm at on my project. I moved my airplane to the hanger last weekend. What a pain. No matter what precautions I take something always seems to get damaged. This time it was the pitot tube. It got crushed when the airplane shifted. The repair was easy. I cut off about an inch off the nose exposing the end of the tube. Heated the tube carefully with a torch until the flox started to soften then attached a drill and spun the old tube out. Using a Dremel Tool and a the small cup shaped wire brush, I removed a 1/2 inch of foam from the inside of the nose. Installation: To prevent the tube from being crushed so easily again, I replaced it with a stainless steel tube of the same id. I spun the new tube about an inch into the hole to keep it from getting clogged then coated the tube with micro to help it bond to the old flox in the hole. The tube was then spun the rest of the way in, the cavety in the nose was filled with flox and the cut off nose section was made with a blob of flox (awkward but I can't think of a better way to say it). After the flox had hardened, the nose was shaped and then coated with micro to fill the pin holes. Now that its done, I like the shape of the nose better. The first time I did it the last 1/2 inch were the nose transitions to the tube looked stupid to me. Other builders said it looked ok but I didn't like it. Now the it looks good. This week end I plan on mounting the wings and filling the gap between the strakes and the wing roots. I think this will be my last layup. Paul Krasa Long EZ 214LP !---*---! From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: FW: COZY: S/N ratio ; crushed pitot tube Date: Thu, 25 Jul 96 13:54:08 EDT Paul Krasa wrote: >......... At some point, somebody has to say enough is >enough. Maybe its time for our facilitator to make a statement. We don't have a "facilitator", we have an "administrator" :-). As much as that "administrator" would like to be annointed either king, emperor, or some relatively minor god (god of B.S. would be OK), he will not tell people what they can and cannot talk about. The flurry seems about done, anyway. <> It was for exactly a reason like this that I installed a removable pitot tube. I ran the soft aluminum tube to the nose and put a 1/8" NPT fitting right at the point of the nose cone. I can now screw an aluminum (blue anodized!) hose nipple (about 2" long) into the fitting and remove it whenever I want. I've got a 1/8" NPT plug in there right now, so nothing gets injured as I move the fuselage around the basement, and nothing gets into the tube (dust, flox, micro, other crap). This is basically the alternate installation called out in the plans (with a few minor modifications). >This week end I plan on mounting the wings and filling the gap between >the strakes and the wing roots. I think this will be my last layup. Geez, I can only imagine being there :-). -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 08:23:14 -0400 From: HighPlane@aol.com Subject: COZY: Nosewheel tire height? Can somebody tell me what the actual height--the radius to the center of the tread--of a 5.00 tire would be, as measured from the center of the nosewheel axle? I'm currently fitting my nosewheel box and don't yet have a tire to check clearance. What I'm wrestling with is this: my nosewheel box from AeroCad is hitting my NG63 torque tube, and I'm trying to figure out how much I can cut it down and still have adequate clearance for the tire. Thanks for any dimensional help anybody can provide. Jon Jefferson AeroCanard builder From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: COZY: Nosewheel tire height? (fwd) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 96 9:24:37 EDT Jon Jefferson writes: >Can somebody tell me what the actual height--the radius to the center of the >tread--of a 5.00 tire would be, as measured from the center of the nosewheel >axle? Don't have it here at work so no can do - hopefully someone else can fill in this #, but - >.... I'm currently fitting my nosewheel box and don't yet have a tire to >check clearance. What I'm wrestling with is this: my nosewheel box from >AeroCad is hitting my NG63 torque tube, and I'm trying to figure out how much >I can cut it down and still have adequate clearance for the tire. I had the same issue with the AC nosewheel box. It took a good bit of tweaking to get the positioning of the NW Box, Nosewheel, torque tube and nose gear strut correct. I really wouldn't recommend doing it without the wheel and tire in place - there isn't a lot of room around the wheel, and it would be very easy to have something 1/4" offset and not have the gear be able to retract. You not only have the diameter of the wheel to worry about, but also the width of the tread. I found that the corners of the tread would come very close to the NW Box. I have my NW Box positioned so that the torque tube _just barely_ misses it - maybe 1/32" clearance. The problem is, you've got a lot of freedom (fore and aft, side to side, up and down) within which to achieve this, and without the actual wheel mounted on _your_ strut in _your_ fuselage, you really won't know where everything should go. I know it's a lot of dough, but you'll need it eventually anyway. My $0.02. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 20:05:40 -0400 From: EWestland@aol.com Subject: COZY: NG63 Clearance >What I'm wrestling with is this: my > nosewheel box from AeroCad is hitting my NG63 torque tube, and I'm > trying to figure out how much I can cut it down and still have adequate > clearance for the tire. > > Thanks for any dimensional help anybody can provide. > > Jon Jefferson AeroCanard builder I had the same thing happen (I made my own nosewheel cover out of 3/8" foam so it would be "insulated" and not make my legs cold), so I suppose it is a tight fit for most. Since the handle and torque tube are intalled before the nose wheel cover, you are not likely to detect it is too low until you install the cover. In any event, if you install the nose wheel ratchet from Curtis Smith (you should), you will be cutting a ratchethead-sized hole in your instrument panel to mount it and can locate the torque tube so it clears. If you don't have the ratchet yet, just move the hole up for now so you can install the cover. I would wait however until you have the nosegear on so it allows for your "builder tolerences" :-). I would not cut down the cover as it is probably not overly large to begin with. -eric Date: Mon, 12 Aug 96 08:12:00 PDT From: Brian DeFord Subject: COZY: Nose gear question In preparing to assemble the nose gear retract mechanism yesterday I noticed that the MM6 rod ends for the spring have a larger diameter hole than the bolt that goes through them. I also saw some note on the plans that said to use such and such rod ends "with insert". Is this so called insert something that I need to fabricate or did I not receive them as I should? Help?? Brian DeFord E-MAIL: brian_deford@ccm.ch.intel.com Cozy MK-IV #309 WEB SITE: http://www.paloverde.com/~bdeford Completed chapters 4-8, 10-12, 16-17 Partially completed chapters 9, 13 and 24 From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: COZY: Nose gear question (fwd) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 10:37:33 EDT Brian DeFord wrote: >In preparing to assemble the nose gear retract mechanism yesterday I >noticed that the MM6 rod ends for the spring have a larger diameter >hole than the bolt that goes through them. I also saw some note on >the plans that said to use such and such rod ends "with insert". Is >this so called insert something that I need to fabricate or did I not >receive them as I should? If you check the plans, you should see (in the material list) that there are two inserts (don't remember the part # off the top of my head) that are just small aluminum bushings that fit inside the rod ends. You can easily make these if you have access to a lathe, or you can buy them from Brock, I believe, when you get the rest of the Chapter 13 stuff from them. They are definitely necessary. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Sat, 17 Aug 1996 03:13:58 -0400 From: StetsonE@aol.com Subject: Re: COZY: Nose gear question In a message dated 96-08-15 17:03:49 EDT, Brian DeFord writes: > In preparing to assemble the nose gear retract mechanism yesterday I > noticed that the MM6 rod ends for the spring have a larger diameter > hole than the bolt that goes through them. I also saw some note on > the plans that said to use such and such rod ends "with insert". Is > this so called insert something that I need to fabricate or did I not > receive them as I should? Help?? I had this same situation occur some years ago on my Long-EZ. At the time Aircraft Spruce had these inserts in their catalog. Wicks catalog didn't at the time, but they may be available now. Sounds like you have rod ends with a 3/8" hole in them, so you'll need a bushing to bring the hole size down to 5/16" (AN5 bolts are recommended here for the EZ by plans change. I'm assuming the Cozy is the same.). An alternative to the inserts is to buy "bushing stock" from either Wicks or Spruce, which is basically steel seamless structural tubing with a very thick wall. The Spruce catalog shows bushing stock with 3/8"OD x 1/4"ID for about $2.14 per foot. This is the stuff I used. I just drilled and reamed the ID of the bushing stock up to 5/16", hacked off an appropriate length, chucked the piece in the drill press and faced off the ends with a file. You'll want the bushing to be just a tiny bit shorter than the thickness of the rod end ball. Stet Elliott stetsone@aol.com Perpetual Long-EZ builder Date: Tue, 3 Sep 1996 16:11:18 -0400 From: CozyBldr@aol.com Subject: COZY:Front Wheel Covers I am presently working on Chapter 13 (Nose Section) and discovered that neither the metals kit or the list of materials include .032" aluminum for the front wheel covers that attach to the nose wheel assembly. I may have missed the correction in the newsletters but I wanted to point it out to others. Paul Stowitts Cozy Mark IV #200 From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: COZY:Front Wheel Covers (fwd) Date: Wed, 4 Sep 96 9:35:34 EDT Paul Stowitts writes: >neither the metals kit or the list of materials include .032" aluminum for >the front wheel covers that attach to the nose wheel assembly. Dang, I thought I was just nuts when I couldn't find it :-). I just scrounged some 0.032" aluminum here at work for my covers - it would probably also be possible to just lay up 3 layers of BID and then cut that to shape instead of using metal. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 11:30:53 -0600 (MDT) From: Roy Grossinger Subject: COZY: Landing gear and trim parts I have read through the E-Mail concerning the electric landing gear and electric trim. I would love if someone who has a flying Cozy send me a note of whether they would or would not install the nose lift mod or the electric trim mod. I'm a ways away from installing but would need some amo when I talk to my intended significant other. ROY ============================================================================= Roy H. Grossinger- ME grossinr@rastro.colorado.edu Cozy Mk IV #503; Chapter 7 ROY_GROSSINGER@Radon-hq.ccmail.compuserve.com CU's Go - 4; Hull Layup "A man's destiny is his character" Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 17:01:38 -0400 From: CozyBldr@aol.com Subject: Re: COZY: Landing gear and trim parts I am installing the electric nose gear actuator from Bill Oertel in Chino, CA. The unit is very well built and Bill has been helpful in the process. I choose the added expense and weight based upon three things. One, I have a back that can be susceptible "getting out of whack." I have lifted a three place and they can get heavy with full fuel. I just didn't want to ever find myself on my back in pain at an airport somewhere. Two, it makes getting in and out much easier. I picked a four place becuase I intend to take passengers with me and I want it to be as easy as possible for entry and exit. Three, if I ever intend to sell the plane (which I don't at this point), I feel it would be a nice feature and help in resale value. The down sides are the added cost, added weight and a moderate amount of work to install it. Hope that helps. Paul Stowitts Cozy Mark IV #200 by InfoAve.Net (PMDF V5.0-6 #4800) id <01I9V8X0K9BE8WZGL1@InfoAve.Net> for cozy_builders@hpwarhw.an.hp.com; Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:04:50 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:04:50 -0400 (EDT) Date-Warning: Date header was inserted by InfoAve.Net From: Nick Ugolini Subject: Re: COZY: Landing gear and trim parts I am personally interested in your altitude hold. After flying in a varieze, I can really attest to the fact that even the smallest movement by the passenger in the plane will drasticlly affect the trim of the plane. As far as the electric nose lift, : >I did some test flights in a COZY for a friend that had one installed. I did >enjoy the convenience of the electric noselift. However, on one particularly >cold day, I had to land gear up in it, due to a failure in a microswitch and >no manual backup system available. I posted that story a while back and it >may be in the list archives. Certainly install a manual backup if you go with >the electric noselift. I have flown in a plane with the lift. It is tooooo cool. SNARKY Put your passenger (and your self in the plane) and up it goes. Great for older passengers. Actually it would be neat to hook up to a wireless transmitter, and secretly push the button and UP it goes! Gosh, you could even put a voice chip in it. Up it goes, and and greets you with "Ready for WARP drive", "Hello master" , "Up Up and AWAY!" the possiblities are endless. I am waiting for the lift as discribed in the Cozy Newletter. Someone "?" is working with the manufacturer to develope a linear drive with a manual override built in. I am going to buy one to retro fit my cozy. Nick Ugolini unick@mail.charleston.net Varieze N89RS by InfoAve.Net (PMDF V5.0-6 #4800) id <01I9VAPS374K8WZGL1@InfoAve.Net>; Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:56:16 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:56:16 -0400 (EDT) Date-Warning: Date header was inserted by InfoAve.Net From: Nick Ugolini Subject: COZY: YAW Wing I know many of you haven't yet thought about truing your plane (still building) but I have a neat trick for you. Problem Plane not balanced. It yaws one way or the other Traditional Solution: Adjust the left/right rudder OUT. Typically this is done by bonding a piece of wood in the hinge area to force the rudder out. Once balanced with the rudder now hanging out, IF you want your plane to look right, according to CP, you cut the outer face (top to bottom) of the winglet, twist the trailing edge of the winglet so it alines with the rudder, and apply two layers of cloth, Repaint and WAA LAA all is good and right. YUK!!! No Way you say! Jack Walker (a varieze flyer) came a much simpler and better approach. I have never seen it before so here goes (NO flaming please). All the canards in his EAA chapter are now using his "YAW WING". As a result of landing gear up (and grinding his nose down) he came up with a better idea than our hockey puck and it also adjust the YAW on the plane. 1. Take a 1/2" thick piece of steel. Shape it like an airfoil (small "AIR PLANE WING") about 1" wide and 2-3 inches long. 2. Drill a hole through it, for bolting it to the nose. Build some sort of hard point on your nose to acept the yaw wing where you nose bumper would normally go. 3. After bolting your yaw wing tight to the plane, bond a piece of rubber on it for parking. When you need to balance your plane for YAW, you take a mallet and tap the small wing on your nose one way or the other. This small wing will easily pull/push the rest of your plane in the direction you need to go to balance the YAW condition. PLUS you have the added benifit of not grinding your nose down when landing gear up. You have a 1/2 in piece of steel to go through first. My varieze has a rudder that "hangs out" to balance my YAW. I hate the look. (Looks like a poor build job). When I repaint my plane, the wood strip come off (to realign my rudder trailing edge to the winglet) and a "yaw wing" goes on. Besides it looks alot more snarky than our hockey puck. (Geez. I hope I haven't insulted anyone who has a special afinity for grinding his puck!) Nick Ugolini unick@mail.charleston.net Varieze N89RS Date: Wed, 09 Oct 1996 16:10:02 +0200 From: Rego Burger Subject: COZY: Instrument static Hi All, I was doing a little work on the panel side of things while a layup was drying and wondered about the static port for the VSI and other instruments. I see there is only one in the plan design left side. Is a second one important on the other side, like the std A/C have with a T connection? Some on lookers commented on it and I hadn't given it thought yet. Rego Burger P.E. S.A. Cozy Mk IV # 139 Date: Wed, 9 Oct 1996 10:45:09 -0400 (EDT) From: mahan@digital.net (Fred I. Mahan) Subject: Re: COZY: Instrument static Rego Burger said: wondered about the static port for the VSI and other instruments. I see there is only one in the plan design left side. Is a second one important on the other side I just have it on one side on my Long-EZ, per plans, and it works fine. You just notice a little variation in airspeed if you slip to the right or the left, but you don't do much heavy slipping in a canard aircraft anyway. Fred Long-EZ N86LE From: Marc J. Zeitlin Subject: COZY: Instrument static (fwd) Date: Wed, 9 Oct 96 11:27:49 EDT Rego Burger wrote: >I was doing a little work on the panel side of things while a layup was >drying and wondered about the static port for the VSI and other >instruments. I see there is only one in the plan design left side. Is a >second one important on the other side, like the std A/C have with a T >connection? I put in a second set of static ports on the right side of the fuselage just in case. It took all of an extra 15 minutes and about 6 inches of tubing. I figured that if anything went wrong with the first set, I'd have a backup, or, as Fred Mahan wrote, I'd get more accurate readings during slips. On the other hand, since the only change to the external fuselage is a few 1/16" holes, you can always install more static ports at any time after completion, too. -- Marc J. Zeitlin Email: marcz@an.hp.com Date: Sun, 20 Oct 1996 22:05:24 -0400 From: DFinn7971@aol.com Subject: COZY: Central States I just realized that I haven't seen the latest Central States Newsletter. I thought it was due out on 10/1/96. Has it been published yet? On another subject, like most builders I have been jumping around a bit in the plans. Unfortunetly I ran into a gotcha today. After finishing glassing the winglets (I can't attach them to the wings untill I get them out of the basement) I went back to fitting the canard. As a suggestion to those of you who are building the nose before fitting the canard, don't put the top on the nose. I still have some hopes that I won't have to cut my top off to drill the holes through F22 and the lift tabs but the jury is still out. At best, I'll have made more work for myself then was absolutely necessary. I'm sure this won't be the last oops. Dick Finn Cozy Mark IV #46 DFINN7971@AOL.COM Date: 20 Nov 96 21:01:15 EST From: Rick Roberts <102503.1561@compuserve.com> Subject: COZY: The Steve Wright/Former Tom Ellis Nose lift kit I just received the nose lift kit I ordered from Steve Wright. First of all it is pretty well done. The parts appear to be well made and it should work as advertised, I'll start installation tonight. I guess a couple of days needed for this, for cures not actual work time. The package is pretty good, it appeared that he solved the limit switch problem that caused the first failure of one of these systems. It's got a nice set-up for the switches. The only problem, it is heavy! My guess 10-12 lbs and I usually don't worry about weight as some. I'll try to weigh it tonight, and I'll keep everyone posted. Hey Judd, there's hope for getting my old nose gear stuff pretty soon. Tom Ellis, I wimped and decided it was easier to buy. I can't find you E-mail address and there's a guy looking to get an O-540 mount (besides me). Sorry for all the private notes but, I didn't want to send a to everyone to find one guy as the only purpose of the email. I did an ACAD 3D drawing of my plane if anyone would like to see I 'll try to figure out how to get it to Mark for posting. (Anyone know how to get a slide file out of ACAD?) Thanks, Rick Roberts King Kozy #1 (my numbering)