From: lschuler@cellular.uscc.com Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 13:25:29 -0600 Subject: COZY: Chapter 13/Land Lights FYI (long) First, no need to respond Nat; we all know how you feel about night vision. Just finished attaching my nose cone and completed the landing light lenses etc. Thought I'd pass on my what, why, where stuff FWW in case it's helpful to someone. First, read the archives. Tons of good stuff we have hashed over before. My big mistake: not reading the archives. I was in transition between computers and my copy of the archives was not available. Now that the nose cone work is done, I have the archives again.... go figure. Second, as pointed out in the archives, polycarbonate (Lexan etc.) sucks for heat forming. The good part about this is the experience I gained and the cost was zero except some time and frustration. Went to a local plastics supplier and told the manager exactly what I was doing and that I hadn't the foggiest idea of how to do it. He gave me a sheet of 1/16" polycarbonate for free from scraps (2' x 4' sheet is NOT scrap in my book, but I didn't argue). My difficulty was that the darn stuff cooled off way too quickly after removing from the oven. After a couple early attempts, I ended up at 380 degrees; got a reasonable form out of it , but it crazed badly. Don't know why, and at the moment don't care; didn't end up using it. Chalk it up to 'experimenting'. Found some 0.093" Acrylic (Lucite 'Tough Stuff') at the local Fleet Farm and after figuring out that (as others did) the piece to be formed needs to be just a little bigger than the finished item, I ended up with three usable sets. One perfect optics and perfect fit; one perfect optics and only slightly off fit (usable); the third is a perfect fit, with some ripples in the optics. Not a bad idea to have a spare or two. If I ever get to the third pair, I'd have more problems than just the lenses. My forming temp (oven) was 295 deg. Left the pieces in for exactly 6 minutes each. Covered the middle rack with foil and laid a sheet of felt over that. Didn't use a cookie sheet as some have, but that was because they were all tied up with Christmas cookie baking. Wife only got upset once, but that was due to baking interruptions; upside was that my oldest son and I provided some humorous kitchen entertainment for Jenny and party (something about the occasional four letter words mixed with groans and grunts and phrases like "hurry up, get it in there before she cools off"...:-)). {they had too much eggnog or something} I really wanted to use some sealed beam lamps with clear lenses (a-la GE landing lights or KC HiLite off-road HD lamps), but couldn't find any that would fit. Smallest of those is 6" in diameter. Didn't want to use standard automotive lights as their lenses are spec'd by SAE (Society of Auto Engineers) for derivability compromised with prevention of blindness for oncoming drivers. Any lens stamped with "SAE-whatever" is made strictly for road stuff, not airplanes. Bought a pair of hand held spot lights that were about 4" in diameter. Figured I could toss the handle and lens and just use the reflector. Nice part was that they use a standard H3 halogen 55W bulb available most anywhere. The reflector turned out to be lacking much of a lip to attach anything to; using these would have forced me to make brackets too big for the space. My son has a spot light in his explorer and Jenny has one in her car now.... Bought some KC HiLite oblong offroad driving/fog lights (clear or yellow lenses) that also use H3 bulbs, but found the casing wouldn't fit horizontally in the nose after I shaped and made the nose cone and did some trial fitting. So much for my fancy mounting plates I built into the horizontal bulkhead in the nose cone. Matt has some fog lights on his truck now.... He's starting to really get into this airplane experimenting stuff; wants to know when he gets a stereo/CD player.... Finally found the perfect (for me) lights at K-Mart. Marketed under the name "Eclipse Projector Driving System", made by Rally with a Rally Part Number of 3215 (packaged pair). These are intended as supplemental driving lights. Yup, lenses are marked SAE-xxx; but, the reflector is absolutely perfect shape etc. Has four drilled tabs perfect for riveting a 2024 mounting ring to. And, they FIT! I gave the lenses and housings to my son (now he stopped asking about the CD player :-)) and I only used the reflectors and bulbs. Made a comparison set up outside connected to my battery charger (hot wire power supply) and compared quite a few combinations of lenses, spot lights KC driving lights, standard auto lights (as called for in the plans) and so on. Yup, very subjective with out lumens meters, photo cells and stuff, but worked for my purpose. I tried to match the wattage ratings as close as possible to keep it fair (most "high" beam driving lights are only 65 Watts or even less FYI/FWW). The K-Mart purchase (no lenses) had the best all around reach and beam pattern with the KC HiLites (sans lenses) a very close second on reach and a different, flatter pattern. ALL of the auto headlights I tried really sucked relative to the lensless or clear-lens test items; including plan's recommendation. Just FYI the bulbs are standard 'H3' style and I found that KC Hilites makes both 55Watt and 100 Watt H3-style bulbs guaranteed for 23 years! Cost a bit more, but available. Otherwise the H3s might even be available in some grocery stores... Here's basic description of mounting (you'll have to supply your own mental pictures): Made up and alodined two 2024 Al rings about 3/4" wide to fit behind the reflectors. Drilled nut plate holes and then held rings to the face of F-0 to mark it for cutting (no nose cone yet). Held the bottom of the ring about 1/2" or so from the bottom of F-0 to allow for adjustments and clearance of the nose cone; and, held about a half inch from the side of F-0 to get widest practical spacing between the two. Cut the holes in F-0 which also cut about 1/4" into the glass/foam of the inside nose bottom. This was repaired by standard glass repair methods: micro on the exposed foam, flox corners on the inside of the opening (actually went all the way around the opening with flox corner) and 2 ply of BID extending through the opening and lapping about an inch over the inside nose floor and back of F-0 all around. Drilled pilot holes (#30 or something similar) in F-0 for the mounting bolts (3/16") just so I'd know exactly where they would be on the rear face. Made up and alodined three 2024 1/8 x 1 x 1 plates per light and floxed these to the rear face of F-0 for the mounting bolt hard points, then covered these with three plies of BID lapping onto F-0. After cure, drilled the mounting holes out to 3/16 through F-0 and the al plates. I drilled a wood block on the drill press first and used this block to keep the holes perpendicular to F-0 while drilling. Then carefully drilled through the front face of F-0 and the foam to 7/16", stopping inside the rear skin of F-0. This space will be used for the mounting/adjustment springs, so that they rest on the hard points rather than the foam. Had to scrape out a bit of foam due to the drill bit bevel, but that's not a big deal. Did not worry about scraping the micro out; it's hard enough to take the spring load. Riveted three AN3-size floating nut plates to the 'front' of my reflector mounting rings; one at top one each side horizontally centered. Then pop-riveted the reflectors to the face of the rings using the four manufacturer's tabs. Just before riveting the nut plats down, I drilled the bolt holes out to allow the bolts to move freely in the ring for adjustment. Can't remember the size of the AN3's, but I decided that since these are rally non-structual attachments, that my 'standard' thread cutter, would be ok. I added about 1/2" of thread to the bolts in order to gain some adjustment length. Also, the length was selected so that I had a full thread in the nutplates right at the point where the springs began to compress. That way I will be able to 'feel' the slop, before inadvertently dropping a spring in the nose cone while adjusting. The reflectors are held in place by the adjusting springs compressed between the inside rear face of F-0 and the rings with the bolts maintaining spring compression and allowing for adjustment. This is similar in principal to the way most auto headlights are done. I found the springs in the flymart last summer. Fairly stiff and center fits AN3's perfectly. Had to cut them to length and ground the ends flat. Selected a length that would hold the mounting rings no closer than 1/4" from F-0 when fully compressed, but allow for plenty of adjustment (over about 3/8" range per bolt) with good tension remaining. The adjustments will all be made from the rear of F-0 and same with bulb replacement. Did this so my hand wouldn't interfere with the beam while adjusting like it does on the car, and lots of knuckle room. If I ever need to replace/repair the reflectors, they can be retrieved via the nose cone cover (sized to make sure I can get the reflector assemblies out). Made up some covers out of 3 plies of BID to go over the rear of the reflectors. Installed a couple #6 rivnuts to hold these in place. Haven't decided yet, but may add some thin 3003 al sheet held loosely (lots of air space) inside the covers for heat shield. Also may vent these as well. I am not terribly concerned about heat in the nose cone (re archives), but those covers are awful close to the bulbs in the back; especially if I get brave and go for 100W bulbs. As an aside, I found earlier that rivnuts need at least four plies of glass and a touch of epoxy for mounting. Will definitely use these for attaching arm rests and other such covers. Much better than sheet metal screws. As most of you know, my nose is a bit wider than plans; but, if you are considering lights in the nose, the Eclipse (Rally #3215) units would probably fit in the plans F-0 just fine. If memory serves, I think they were about $40.00 or so for the pair. Be careful about scratching the inside of reflectors. All of those I messed with apparently use the same type reflective coating which goes from extreme shiny to extreme black fairly easy. You'll want to keep any sand paper or other abrasives about five miles away. Black electric tape doesn't seem to bother them, unless attached to a flake spot; but don't get any dust between the tape and reflective stuff, it abrades (ask me how I know). As for the lenses, Marc said it best in an earlier post, they end up with a rather odd compound elliptical curve. I cut mine out a lot different than his. 'Compound' is an understatement. Took me a whole weekend to figure out the right outline on the nose cone. With the black tape covering the lenses now and mounted in the cone, Jenny says from the side, it looks like a shark. Cool. I take that as a complement. Just FWW: Nat and others are absolutely right about mods. Time, effort, money, and more time; and, changing one thing changes many other things. Don't kid yourself. What they don't say is that the result fits my personal needs and 'experimental' desires, goals, wishes, dreams and personality perfectly. Hobbies have no schedules and I am indeed 'experimenting'. I've been working on chapter 13 fairly steady (including re-learning gas welding and making my own rudder pedals [thanks for the free design Jeff and Phillip]) since last April. BUT, to take a word from JD, "Snarky" pretty well sums up my F-22 to the pitot tube. Not a flat spot on it. Larry Schuler MK-IV plans #500 From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 20:05:18 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: COZY: Chapter 13/Land Lights FYI (long) For heat removal, I have 3/4" dia. holes to nose gear area, and 3/4" aeroduct from NACA cabin air scoops located just aft of the lights. Had small muffin fans initially, but they weren't needed. From: lschuler@cellular.uscc.com Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 13:53:52 -0600 Subject: COZY: Need input CH-13 Last paragraph on page 14, chapter 13 calls for 3/8" PVC foam torsional stiffner between forward face of F-22 and the bottom of the nose top. I grabbed a small piece of foam and tried fitting it last night. Found that the 'bottom' of the foam piece comes fairly close to the 'top' edge of the canard cut-outs in the sides just behind the apex of the leading edge curve. Yes, the canard fits perfectly; that's not an issue. Not sure if I did something wrong somwhere..... too late to lower the nose top if I did. Not gonna happen. I'd use some urethane (1") and sand to shape, but that's not as durable or strong as the PVC. Structure would be different. Anyone else have this situation? What did you do? Recommendations? Heat-form the PVC somehow? Use 3/4" PVC sanded to shape? Larry Schuler From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 20:16:57 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: COZY: Need input CH-13 My instructions are different in this area, but I would not substitute foam specification in an area where concentrated loads (from the canard) are applied. The foam may appear weak, but large areas of low strength material can carry considerable loads. Also the foam functions to support the fiberglass, to prevent buckling. Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 22:45:54 -0500 From: "Marc J. Zeitlin" Subject: Fwd: COZY: Need input CH-13 Larry Schuler writes: >Last paragraph on page 14, chapter 13 calls for 3/8" PVC foam torsional >stiffner between forward face of F-22 and the bottom of the nose top.... >I'd use some urethane (1") and sand to shape, but that's not as durable or >strong as the PVC. Structure would be different. I'll disagree with Carl D. here and say use whatever works to get the foam to be at the right height. Here's why: First of all, you're only going to put 1 BID on either side of the foam - this isn't a major structural part. Second (and more importantly) the top of the nose __IS__ urethane, and only has 1 BID on the inside surface anyway. As others have said, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link - making the "torsional stiffener" much stronger than the nose top is pretty useless. Does sound like your nose top is a little high, though. -- Marc J. Zeitlin marcz@ultranet.com http://www.ultranet.com/~marcz/ From: Muzzy Norman E Subject: FW: COZY: Chapter 13/Land Lights FYI (long) Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 13:52:18 -0600 Another place to look for floodlamps is at a farm supply store. Tractor lamps are designed to spread the light around, and not necessarily to keep it below the eye level of oncoming traffic. A spot pattern (typically a PAR36 lamp with no lens elements in the glass, ala C150) is going to concentrate the light in a single beam, and aiming becomes critical. A flood lamp should do a better job of illuminating both taxi, landing, and identifying conditions. Myself, I plan to use a floodlamp that I just happened to design the pattern for, and aim it so that the horizon elements are looking forward for an identification function, and the downward flood pattern illuminates for landing and taxi. Still undecided about mounting it in the nose, or using the door design. I have found some really cool 12V actuators that I plan to use for the speed brake and possibly nose, and am trying to figure out if there is a way to use one actuator to lower the lamp mount, then with continued motion lower the speed brake. Replace to levers and linkages with one actuator, some cables and springs. Regards- Norm Muzzy Plans #750! lschuler said: <> From: lschuler@cellular.uscc.com Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 08:41:33 -0600 Subject: COZY: Corrosion protection - Nose wheel Anyone doing corrosion prevention (alodine or whatever) on the nose wheel assembly? Suggestions welcome. Larry Schuler Cozy-IV plans #500 Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 05:29:02 -0500 From: Bill Theeringer Subject: COZY: Rachet Failure Investigation The following is a copy of an E-mail to Tonya Rutan regarding the failure of the nose gear ratchet mechanisms. It should be reported in the next CP. I am uncomfortable with the fact that _any_ have failed and have decided today to no longer manufacture this particular design. Dr. Smith recommended that I seek out an alternate supplier for the mechanism. Mike suggested an alternate design. The original design is expensive and labor intensive, involving annealing, drilling and re hardening a small gear. I am working on a different design that was recommended by Mike. It is easier to manufacture and should be much cheaper. I will run it past Mike before release to fellow aviators. ============================= 1-16-99 Tonya; Thanks for the note regarding the ratchet failures. Mike is right. There have been several failures of these units out of the 28 sold. This is a very serious condition which warranted an investigation to determine the cause of the failures and recommend a course of action. Background: Beginning October 1, 1997 I started making the nose gear ratchet mechanisms for Dr. Curt Smith. He was no longer able to supply them to the homebuilders market. I made them as specified by him using his drawings. The first shipments began December 27, 1997. There have been two reported failures that I am aware of. One sustained damage to the plane because of a nose gear up landing. Both failures were reported to me. I supplied information to one on how to replace the broken part which was accomplished successfully. Between the time of Dr.Smiths last batch of ratchets and my first run, and unknown to either Dr. Smith or myself, Sears modified their quarter inch ratchet drive part number M44812 from which the nose gear ratchet is made. The toggle was changed from metal to black poly carbonate. The ratchet drives are made in the USA and are stamped "U.S.A. -VL- 44812". These newer units were purchased from Sears and modified per Dr. Smiths instructions. He did not know that the toggle was now poly carbonate and I did not know that his earlier units were metal. Failure Investigation: Both failures were identical and occurred within the same time frame, usually within the first week or so of installation. Each failure consisted of the physical breaking off of the black poly carbonate handle (toggle) that selects the up or down operation of the nose gear crank. In both instances virtually no pressure was used to cause the breakage. In one case it was just touched and fell off while moving the just completed plane to the airport. An examination of a failed toggle showed the material to be crazed and brittle, crumbling with the slightest pressure. A check of the remaining units in stock revealed none that exhibited this condition. All were taken apart and inspected for any anomalies. None were found. Duplication: In an effort to duplicate the fail condition the toggle was subjected to high temperatures, greases, solvents, epoxies and four months of ultraviolet radiation. The toggle held up well in all environments except solvents. Exposure to lacquer thinner or acetone degraded the material so that it broke with moderate finger pressure. Exposure involved getting the surface wet for several seconds. During the assembly process the toggle is held in place with a small dab of locktite 242 thread locker. Exposure to this material had no obvious effect on the toggle when exposed for several months. There was, however, an instance when I assembled a couple of units and had mislaid the locktite bottle. Instead I used some gap filling "Hot Stuff" super glue that I use in the assembly of the electric cabin heaters. Testing toggles with this material resulted in crazing after about 2 or 3 days and weakened the material substantially after a week. Recommendations: There have been 2 failures of the ratchet toggles reported to me. Both occurred shortly after installation. I have been able to duplicate the fail using a process that was used by me one time. The last unit to fail was delivered in July of 1998. There have been no failures since. I would recommend: 1) A one time check of the integrity of the toggle by forcing it in either direction with the thumb as hard as possible. (Finger only!) 2) When raising or lowering the gear first turn the crank further in the direction that it is locked. This will unload the pressure on the pall and make switching the toggle easier on your finger. 3) Keep solvents AWAY from your airplane. Be aware that Zolatone primer contains lacquer thinner. If you have the see through fuel gauges this primer can crack them, as well as the ratchet toggle. Bill Theeringer N29EZ Composite Aircraft Accessories PO Box 21645, Santa Barbara, CA 93121 Home: 805-964-5454, Shop: 805-964-5453 E-mail: Composite_Aircraft_Accessories@Compuserve.com From: "Allan Aaron" Subject: RE: COZY: New Nose Gear Ratchet Design Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 07:09:27 +1100 I made up a rig exactly like this and it worked fine in the garage (until I replaced it with Steve Wright's electric nose gear). It is really simple and looks very neat. I was able to mount a sort of knob on the pivot bolt that holds the ratchet pawl so that it almost looked like it was made for the job! Don't have any plans but I may be able to find out the make of the tool. It was all steel and very robust. Allan > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-cozy_builders@betaweb.com > [mailto:owner-cozy_builders@betaweb.com]On Behalf Of Jim White > Sent: Thursday, 4 February 1999 17:31 > To: Cozy Builders > Subject: COZY: New Nose Gear Ratchet Design > > > I have an idea for a nose gear ratchet that I know will work. I plan on > installing a 9/16" or 1/2" closed-end rathet wrench with a hex shape > opening. The closed-end wrench comes with a 25 degree bend in the handle > (looking at it from the side), which is a fairly close match to the angle > between the nose gear shaft and instrument panel. Shorten the handle to a > reasonable length and attach it to the instrument panel with screws. Take > 9/16" aluminum hex stock (solid hex shaped bar of aluminum) and > cut a piece > 3" long or so. If aluminum is unavailable, use steel hex stock which is > more readily available, but obviously heavier. Drill out one end of the > 9/16" hex stock to slide the nose gear shaft into. Drill the > other end out > to slide the standard nose gear handle into. Drill holes through the sides > of the hex stock and through the shafts for set screws or rivets > to keep the > shafts attached to the hex stock. > The particular ratchet I have in mind is manufactured by Lowell Corp. P.O. > Box 158, Worchester Massechusets 01613-0158 Phone 508-835-2900, Fax > 508-835-2944. Or you can also check out the SERIES 100 Ratchet Arms web > site http://www.viteq.qc.ca/ratchet.htm. I am talking about the light > stamped metal versions, not the heavy cast iron ones. > I'll draw up plans once I finish if people are interested. Or if > you build > one first, you can send me your plans. > Should work. > Jim White > N44QT > Cozy QT > .__ > ..\ \ > ...\ \ > .....\ \ l l > l_l ......\__ l l_ > < _ ..... ___ )_ > > ...l l / l l > ...../ / l l > ..../ / > ._/_/ > Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 21:24:56 -0500 From: Bill Theeringer Subject: COZY: New Ratchet Mech. Thanks to Jim White for his post on the new ratchet design idea. This absolute proof that great minds think alike for this is very close to the design that I am working on! I am using 7/16 aluminum hex stock and two 1/8 inch roll pins instead of rivets. My design allows the entire NG65 crank and NG61 shaft assembly to be disconnected at the bottom universal and just pulled out through the ratchet opening. You should steer clear of set screws for obvious reasons. NG61 and NG65 should be left as per plans so as not to interrupt the integrity of the system. The hex stock is bored out to .305 and installed on the exposed portion NG65 where it passes through NG67. Roll pin in place flush, then position the ratchet in place and secure it. I am using the Sears stamped offset ratchet. Initial tests are very encouraging. Bill Theeringer N29EZ From: "Nat Puffer" Subject: COZY: Long EZ nose gear failure Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 13:10:34 -0600 People, Larry Schuler posted a report on a nose gear failure in a long EZ. Specifically, it was stated that the AN 525-10R screws (dome headed bolts) failed. These screws were 3/16 in. in diameter. It was said that RAF suggested using AN3 bolts instead. Please be advised that for the Cozy Mark IV, we switched to AN 525-416R screws. The AN 525-416Rs are 1/4 in. in diameter and approximately 78% stronger than AN 525-10Rs. I don't think you need to worry about the AN 525-416Rs failing. As a matter of fact, Jack Wilhelmson calculated that the casting would break before the AN 525-416Rs would fail. On a related subject, we found that the 1/4 in. thick aluminum MKNG-2 plates shown in the plans interfered with a 360 degree rotation of the nose wheel swivel, but that if we used a steel plate with a hat-shaped cross section, we could get the 360 degree rotation of the swivel which made it so much easier to maneuver the airplane on all three wheels. Brock supplies this steel MKNG-2 plate. I think it is listed as a design change in the newsletter, but not sure which one. Steve Wright also supplies the same plate, but with a foot attached, with his electric nose lift. I think you have to use AN 525-416Rs with this new MKNG-2 plate, to avoid interfering with 360 deg. rotation of the swivel. Regards, Nat From: lschuler@cellular.uscc.com Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 09:09:42 -0600 Subject: COZY: Nose gear loss on a Long Ez Below is a note from the Canard mail list that may certainly apply to Cozy. Any thoughts on this AN525 vs AN3 issue (in our case I think this would translate to AN4s) relative to Cozy-IV? Seems to make some sense with minimal aerodynamic loss; especially since the originator is RAF. Static tension on these bolts is pretty small with Nat's recent plans change (specified torque now). I think (my opinion) that the AN525s were originaly selected strictly for aerodynamic consideration vs AN3 or 4 bolts rather than any structural need for a wide-area head. Larry Schuler MK-IV plans #500 ______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________ Subject: [c-a] Nose gear loss on a Long Ez Author: Stefan G Siegel at internet Date: 2/11/99 11:53 AM [The Canard Aviators's Mailing list] If you only read the first line(s) of all the messages, here is the bottom line upfront: Before you go flying next, check and make sure that your NG-15A casting is attached to the nose gear strut using four AN3-14A bolts, *not* the AN525 bolts called out for in the original Ez plans. You can tell by just looking at them, the AN525 have a phillips button head, while the AN3's have hex heads. This should apply at least to all Ez's, I am not so sure about the four seated canards. This is not my idea or suggestion, it was recommended by RAF in April 87, see CP 51-4. Here is what happend to me and prompted me to send this email to all canardians: While landing at Denver Jeffco last Friday, I made a normal landing, mains first, and lowered the nose gear shortly after. Everything felt all right for a second or so, when I suddenly heard a grinding noise from the nose gear, after the nose had dropped a couple of inches. I tried to lift the nose off the ground again, which worked for a moment, until I was too slow for the canard to produce enough lift. After I came to a full stop and got out of the airplane (in the middle of 9000ft of runway) I found the entire nose wheel assembly missing. With assistance of the fire crew and a nose wheel dolly we moved the airplane off the runway, the fire truck found the nose wheel assembly off the right of the runway. On inspection of the nose wheel assembly, I found one of the four bolts clamping the nose casting to the aluminum plate entirely missing, a second one had the head sheared off at its base, number three and four were bent but also showed cracks at the head bases. All of these bolts were predamaged, i.e. there were older cracks at the bolt head base with all of them. It seems that the left two bolts failed, and as a result the other bolts bent over and gave way. At the same time the assembly took off from the strut, it bent the aluminum plate on departure. The nose strut got ground off on the runway by about 1 1/2 inches on roll out. CP 51-4 states that several builders had experienced failure of these bolts during very hard landings. Looking at my bolts, they were rather fatigued and therefore failed, without any hard landing. N234BW has 1200 hours at this time. Bottom line is, the bolts are not adequate for the task at hand - if you dont want this to happen to you, *replace them before they fail*. RAF did not issue this as a mandatory change that requires grounding, which is the reason I missed it when I was checking up on all those changes just after I bought my Ez. However, the risk of losing the nose gear seems to justify ten minutes of your time and about $5 in hardware before the next flight - otherwise you might be in for a new strut, if you get lucky as I did and the nose wheel does not hit anything else (airframe, prop...) on departure. Many happy landings, Stefan Siegel From ???@??? Sat Feb 13 20:29:21 1999 Return-Path: owner-cozy_builders@betaweb.com Received: from twc2.betaweb.com (majordomo@betaweb.com [206.43.209.18]) by acestes-fe0.ultra.net (8.8.8/ult/n20340/mtc.v2) with ESMTP id WAA03829 for ; Fri, 12 Feb 1999 22:01:47 -0500 (EST) Received: (from majordomo@localhost) by twc2.betaweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id VAA11395 for cozy_builders-list; Fri, 12 Feb 1999 21:37:37 -0500 X-Authentication-Warning: twc2.betaweb.com: majordomo set sender to owner-cozy_builders@betaweb.com using -f Received: from gatekeep.uscc.com (relay1.uscc.com [205.229.240.3]) by twc2.betaweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id VAA11381 for ; Fri, 12 Feb 1999 21:37:30 -0500 From: lschuler@cellular.uscc.com Received: from cellular.uscc.com (cellular.uscc.com [165.27.237.27]) by gatekeep.uscc.com (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with SMTP id VAA28968 for ; Fri, 12 Feb 1999 21:23:39 -0500 (EST) Received: from ccMail by cellular.uscc.com (ccMail Link to SMTP R8.20.00.25) id AA918860779; Fri, 12 Feb 1999 20:33:36 -0600 Message-Id: <9902129188.AA918860779@cellular.uscc.com> X-Mailer: ccMail Link to SMTP R8.20.00.25 Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 16:56:42 -0600 To: Subject: Re: COZY: Long EZ nose gear failure MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: "cc:Mail Note Part" Sender: owner-cozy_builders@betaweb.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: lschuler@cellular.uscc.com X-UIDL: c5990dd78d95b27eaf0a162029907822 Nat wrote: >Larry Schuler posted a report on a nose gear failure in a long EZ. >Specifically, it was stated that the AN 525-10R screws (dome headed bolts) >failed. These screws were 3/16 in. in diameter. It was said that RAF >suggested using AN3 bolts instead. Please be advised that for the Cozy Mark >IV, we switched to AN 525-416R screws. The AN 525-416Rs are 1/4 in. in >diameter and approximately 78% stronger than AN 525-10Rs. I don't think >you need to worry about the AN 525-416Rs failing. As a matter of fact, Jack >Wilhelmson calculated that the casting would break before the AN 525-416Rs >would fail. Thanks Nat. Had simply repeated a note from canard group. Wasn't thinking about 3/16" vs 1/4", jsut thought it was a typo. Good info. Larry Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 17:56:14 -0600 From: Curt Smith Subject: COZY: Tire pressure II You may remember by post earlier in the week about a nose gear tire failure that I attibuted to JD's recommendation of carrying 70 psi in that tire. Well, the tire failure wasn't due to the 70 psi. I put on a new tire Tuesday, used 45 psi, have three flights on the new one, and it failed today in the same mode as the previous one. Now I'm guessing a bad batch of McCreary tires (that I have been getting from Wicks). My apologies, JD. You were quite right. 70 psi isn't too much. (But you knew that!) Curt Smith LE N86CS From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 19:57:42 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: COZY: Tire pressure II- TROUBLESHOOTING A FLAT TIRE Check the tube for failure, THere is a butt joint, where a tubular (round hollow) piece is glued together. The joint should be slightly heavier in wall thickness. The joint is in a plane through the center of the axle. If that joint fails, you would wrongly assume it is a blowout, since the failure will be sudden without warning, and resulting in total deflation instantly. The other common types of tube failures are: 1: Fold, chaffing failure. Since tubes stretch when inflated and in service, they should not be reused. When installing both the tube and inside of the tire must be coated with talc to promote sliding. The tire should be inflated to say at least 20 psi., totally deflated to allow the tube to normalize its shape/position, and the inflatedto the recommended pressure. This procedure applys to all tube type tires including 1.25x27 bicycle tires. This could be slow, gradually increasing loss of air, or fairly rapid. Anytime one tire on a vehicle lost more air than the others, it is suspect, and must be corrected by repair, not just filling. 2: Rim cut, resulting from low air pressure and hitting a bump, collapsing the tire. The tube gets piched between the folded tire sidewall and the wheel rim. This cut is parallel to the circumference of the wheel. Usually fast loss of air, but could be slow if the cut was slight or a bruise. 3: Valve stem area - Usually when the stem is not centered in the wheel hole. Can also be where stem is not located properly relative to the wheel hole (some are on the ceterline of the wheel, and others to one side. Garden tractor and wheelbarrow applications are good for this. Usually a slow leak, but can be rapid. A tire failure would be a blow out, with torn, not worn rubber and fabric, not common unless worn to the point of reduction of the fabric (textile or fiberglass or steel), and tensile strength is exceeded. More common reasons to replace a tire are balance, uneven wear, and just worn beyond service life. Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 23:44:32 -0800 From: "LCDR James D. Newman" Subject: COZY: Re: [c-a] Tire air pressure > Rego Burger wrote: > Do you know the conversion from psi to bar for us metric "oafs" on the other side of the > planet...all our tyre guages are metric....! I thought this question should be answered to the group for those that use "Bars". My "Trigonometry Tables and Multipliers for Engineers" reference book states to convert PSI to "Bars", you multiply the PSI by .06895 to obtain "Bars". So 70 PSI then would be 4.8265 Bars, and 55 PSI would be 3.79225 Bars. Hope this helps. Hey Rego, what's this word -- "tyre" ? ;-) Infinity's Forever, JD Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 08:12:18 -0600 From: Curt Smith Subject: Re: COZY: Tire pressure II- TROUBLESHOOTING A FLAT TIRE While I appreciate all the suggestions, I'm aware of most of these pitfalls. The failure consists of the tread separating from the carcass of the tire, along the centerline, causing a blister. The tire doesn't blow out, the blister just keeps getting larger until it interferes with the fork. Technique isn't an issue either as I've been flying EZ's for 13 years and have never experienced any main or nose tire problems. It's a tire defect. Curt Smith LE N86CS From: "Wilhelmson, Jack" Subject: COZY: NG15A attachment. Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 14:26:11 -0500 Cozy\LongEZE flyers\builders: Recently I removed my NG15A nose wheel casting to install a new support foot on the bolts holding it. I found that the aluminum plate(this plate is steel on the MKIV) had been working where it contacted the strut as evidenced by a polished condition at the contact surface and the casting fell free when the bolts were removed. The airplane is a three place and has over 500hrs and many landings, however, Since there is no positive attachment mechanism other than the flox and friction holding this assembly in place, I am sure that the nose wheel would have eventually departed from the airplane had I not found this condition. In light of the fact that the bolts cannot be tightened to their normal torque without over stressing the casting ears, I feel that a safety/reliability modification is needed. I talked to NAT about this and we agreed that a #10 AN bolt could be installed from front to back drilled through the fiberglass strut. This bolt can be near the lower end of the strut (.5-.75") up if it is blind drilled into the back of the casting and tapped. If the bolt length is controlled so that it does not interfere with the pivot shaft it will have about .38" of threads. The idea is that if the casting or the bolts through the ears or the flox fail, this bolt would keep the casting in place until the looseness caused by the other failures is detected. Other ideas are welcome. Jack Wilhelmson N711CZ From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 16:05:58 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: COZY: NG15A attachment. When my casting failed at over 600 hours, there were no signs of working. The area requires fequent, careful inspection. From: "Wilhelmson, Jack" Subject: RE: COZY: NG15A attachment. Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 09:42:21 -0500 Carl, thanks for your reply: It appears that the failure you experienced(broken casting). the failures that another writer experienced broken or lost bolts, and the one that I intercepted(casting loose and ready to fall off) are actually related but different. The broken and lost bolt problem and my problem(loose on the strut) are related too little clamping pressure. Your problem could be related to too much clamping pressure or fault in the casting etc. All this is complicated by the changes from the LongEZE/COZY attachment methods to the MKIV attachment method, size bolts, etc. The addition of a bolt through the strut to trap the casting in place regardless of the amount of clamping pressure is a backup type measure to eliminate the domino catastrophic failure mode that is caused by too little or not enough (critical) bolt torque. Jack Wilhelmson N711CZ > -----Original Message----- > From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com [SMTP:cdenk@ix.netcom.com] > Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 1999 5:06 PM > To: Wilhelmson@scra.org; cozy_builders@canard.com > Subject: Re: COZY: NG15A attachment. > > When my casting failed at over 600 hours, there were no signs of working. > The area requires fequent, > careful inspection. From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 16:18:15 -0600 (CST) Subject: RE: COZY: NG15A attachment. Currently I am flying with a 4130 steel replacement for the Mark IV NG15 that I fabricated. It was 1 lb. heavier than the aluminum, the welds were on the heavy side, plus now I believe I can cut most of the steel thicknesses by 2/3 - 1/2, along with professional welds should weigh about the same. Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 14:56:37 -0500 From: Brian Freitag Subject: COZY: Nose Gear Hello to all, My name is Brian and I just purchased a COZY project and I have a couple of questions I would like to ask some of the more experenced builders. My problem is this, where I live is a grass strip and some people think I cant land my plane there. But I know somebody who has a Velocity who also lands at a grass strip. But he has a really big tire on the front. What is the biggest front tire I can put on the front of my COZY with the electric retractable motor on it? I am guessing that this will take some of the fear out of breaking the nose gear off. The next one is does anybody have a Lyc. 0-320 engine mount laying around that they would like to sell at a resonable price? Thanks in advance.........Brian From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 15:33:59 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: COZY: Nose Gear Brian asked There are a few that occasionally operate off paved surfaces, but its almost an emergency before I would consider it. The issue is stones and debris kicked up by the nose tire, and the mains should have wheel pants that minimize stones from the main wheels. THe largest tire is the 10" outside diameter used on the MKIV. If you make the fork, larger is possible, but at a weight (very poor location to add weight) and balance penalty. I have lost 2 props due to debris on the runway/taxiways, and a 3rd due to an engine swallowed exhaust valve. Whats the length of this grass strip. On pavement at max. weight I really don't think of less than 3000' pavement, at lower temperatures, and at warm temps. I think in terms of 4000' If that grass strip is like an excellent golf course, and hard soil conditions, well maybe, but here in Northern Ohio, thats only maybe 6 months a year. Frost, and rains make soft surfaces, that are out of the question. Most factory built planes that operate on grass here remove the wheel pants in October and put back on end of May. The Ez's are excellent planes for cross country, but short rough runways, they are not. p.s. I have 680 hours in 5 years on a Cosy Classic. Other aircraft I have flown over the years include Super Cubs, C-182, and Navion plus many other single engine. Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 17:57:24 -0400 From: Neil Clayton Subject: COZY: Rudder question Hi everyone; I have a rudder question; What is the amount of linear travel of the rudder operating cable from "rudder fully closed" to "rudder fully open". This will equate to the pedal travel for "rudder-only" operation. I need this to cut a slot of the right length in the rudder pedal tab, to get the right amount of free travel of the pedal before the brake cylinders start to engage. BTW - On Monday I called in to see Jeff Russell on my way home to Orlando from being in S. Florida over Easter...did me the world of good! I saw his plane again (it had just received some hanger rash from a Berkut prop) and it incensed me to move forward again instead of taking a month of sundays on every little detail. Tuesday I did more in one day than I've did in the previous three weeks! Thanks for the shot in the arm, Jeff! Thanks Neil C. Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 19:37:10 -0500 From: Bulent Aliev Subject: Re: COZY: Rudder question Hi Neil, I would suggest that instead cutting a slot in the rudder pedal tab, you should use the slide tube set up on each side of the center line. My friend did cut his tab the way you are ready to do and I did not like it at all. It is very noisy and has lots of slop in the system. I made my female tube from 1" nylon rod and a slotted tab on the end to attach to the pedal tab. The inside rod is 1/2" Delrin solid rod with one end bored 1" deep to fit tight over the master cylinder rod and through bolted. Self lubricating, quiet and corrosion free. My friend with the other set up already wants to re do his design to be like mine. I have couple photos if someone would like to see it. Bulent Neil Clayton wrote: > > I need this to cut a slot of the right length in the rudder pedal tab, to > get the right amount of free travel of the pedal before the brake cylinders > start to engage. > > > Neil C. Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 07:57:51 -0700 (PDT) From: "Jim H." Subject: Re: COZY: Nose gear doors > I'm looking for data about Nose gear wheel doors > mechanism. > The best way to close them when the wheel ends up > retracting ?? > There was an article in the Central States newsletter a while back with exactly what you're looking for. It showed using a piece of piano wire in a U shape to force the doors open. There's a coil spring between the two doors which, when the gear goes into the wheel well, pulls the doors shut. If you can't find the CSA issue that was in either on the CSA page or the archives, let me know and I can look it up. Jim Hocut reply to: jhocut@mindspring.com _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com From: Cozy7971@aol.com Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 13:36:05 EDT Subject: Re: COZY: Nose gear doors In a message dated 99-04-13 09:57:39 EDT, guy.terren@wanadoo.fr writes: << I'm looking for data about Nose gear wheel doors mechanism. The best way to close them when the wheel ends up retracting ?? Has anyone a scheme ?? >> I've finished the fabrication and fitting of my gear doors. I'll be using the same method that I've seen on several other planes (Vance Atkinson uses it on his) to close them. Vance installed a spring across between the two doors in the front. I'm guessing it was a fairly stiff spring so that with the doors open it holds them apart. As he retracts the gear, the gear leg hits the spring and pulls the doors shut as it fully retracts. When being extended it pushes the doors open and the spring holds them apart. Dick Finn Cozy Mark IV #46 Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 02:02:38 -0600 From: Dave Chapman Subject: COZY: gear doors Have been following the gear doors thread and am wondering why anyone would want to use doors when you can build a door into the strut. For mine, I simply retracted the gear and layed up a cover that is attached to the strut and is faired with the bottom of the plane. The flange (door) is about a half inch strip on each side of the strut that forms the door. When the gear is retracted, the bottom is completely faired! For the wheel area I used the plans method with the exception being instead of aluminum for the covers I just layed up some bid. Dave Dave Chapman (Pilot@xmission.com) "This is USHGA #5742 a spiritual calling to Park City, Utah set one's soul free by flight...." http://www.xmission.com/~pilot Cozy 3 on gear, with the engine on, in other words, 80% done and 80% to go.. **************************************************************************** The box said 'Requires Windows 98, or better.' So I bought a Macintosh. **************************************************************************** From: "guy Terren" Subject: COZY: gear doors Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 08:38:21 +0200 Hi all, I want to thank the group for the answers. I will use a "pitch trim" spring closing the doors From: N11TE@aol.com Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 11:24:54 EDT Subject: Re: COZY: NG6A casting In a message dated 4/12/99 7:56:10 AM Central Daylight Time, julietlima7@hotmail.com writes: > Hi Group: > In this last issue of CSA, Jack Wilhelmson wrote about his roller > bearing NG6A casting redesign. I tryed his e-mail and telephone > number listed in the CSA members list with no success. Can anyone > help me to contact Jack. Thanks in advance. > > Jim Leturgey (Longeze N537JL) > Jack is at Sun 'n Fun this week. His plane is one of the demonstration planes in Nat Puffer's booth. I just got back late last night. I had the chance to personally view his new roller bearing design and can tell you it is first class. I think he has different models to fit LongEZ, Cosy III and Cozy MKIV. Suggest you try him again next week. Tom Ellis AeroCanard 540 Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 13:45:16 -0400 From: Carl Denk Subject: Re: COZY: NG6A casting I changed my nose gear top pivot bolt to AN-6 from AN-5 some montha ago. THe AN-5 was bending, jamming in the area. Had to drive out with a good sized hammer, not good. At annual inspection the AN-6 was free, and able to move easily with fingers after loosening the nut. From: "Wilhelmson, Jack" Subject: RE: COZY: NG6A casting Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 10:20:21 -0400 Carl: Considering that you have had a broken NG15 and also a bent pivot bolt. If you have not already done so, I would carefully inspect all the nose wheel parts and the retraction mechanism. Especially the NG6 casting and mounting bolts. The new design NG6A pivot assembly that I supply is much stronger than the original and it will accommodate a AN-6 bolt by reaming the NG7A bearing spacers out from .320 id to .380 id. Jack Wilhelmson N711CZ > -----Original Message----- > From: Carl Denk [SMTP:cdenk@ix.netcom.com] > Sent: Sunday, April 18, 1999 1:45 PM > To: N11TE@aol.com > Cc: julietlima7@hotmail.com; cozy_builders@canard.com > Subject: Re: COZY: NG6A casting > > > > I changed my nose gear top pivot bolt to AN-6 from AN-5 some montha ago. > THe > AN-5 was bending, jamming in the area. Had to drive out with a good sized > hammer, not good. At annual inspection the AN-6 was free, and able to move > easily with fingers after loosening the nut. Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 12:18:20 +0200 From: Jannie Versfeld Subject: COZY: Nose Gear Strut?? I may be missing sometihing. What is the exact length of the NG Strut from pivot to end where it fits inside the nose wheel assy? Mine seems too long and it will cause the wheel well to fit right against the instr panel. From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 07:04:57 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: COZY: Nose Gear Strut?? On 04/25/97 12:18:20 you wrote: > >I may be missing sometihing. What is the exact length of the NG Strut >from pivot to end where it fits inside the nose wheel assy? Mine seems >too long and it will cause the wheel well to fit right against the instr >panel. > > > It depends on the size nose wheel. With the rounded fairing at the aft of the opening, I allowed just under a half inch clearance to the tire. From: SWrightFLY@aol.com Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 08:12:01 EDT Subject: Re: COZY: Nose Gear Strut?? In a message dated 4/25/99 5:20:44 AM Central Daylight Time, qmain@intekom.co.za writes: << Mine seems too long and it will cause the wheel well to fit right against the instr panel. >> The nose strut should not be shortened as the length will allow the aircraft to sit some degree (the more the better) plus angle of attack which will shorten the takeoff run. I lengthened my strut one inch so the Stagger EZ will sit 1 1/2 degrees pos. angle of attack. The wheel well was modified accordingly. Steve Wright From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 07:44:00 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: COZY: Nose Gear Strut?? On 04/25/99 08:12:01 you wrote: > >In a message dated 4/25/99 5:20:44 AM Central Daylight Time, >qmain@intekom.co.za writes: > ><< Mine seems > too long and it will cause the wheel well to fit right against the instr > panel. >> > >The nose strut should not be shortened as the length will allow the aircraft >to sit some degree (the more the better) plus angle of attack which will >shorten the takeoff run. I lengthened my strut one inch so the Stagger EZ >will sit 1 1/2 degrees pos. angle of attack. The wheel well was modified >accordingly. > > >Steve Wright > > Agree with the more positive angle of attack the better. Do I understand that you cut away a slot in the instrument panel that then gets close to the trottle quadrant and the trottle switch for gear/canopy warning? I think the strut is close right length for the long-eze/Cozy3 smaller diameter wheel, but then needs to be shortened if the MKIV 10" dia. nose wheel is used, or is there a special shorter MKIV strut available. When I built, there were quite a few new parts from Featherlite and Brock being offered. Some Like the MKIV nose gear area I was able to use, others weren't available yet. I believe the strut wants to be as long as possible, and yet the tire clear the forward face of the instrument panel (including that semi-circle fairing). Maybe Nat can shed some light on this detail. From: "Nat Puffer" Subject: Re: COZY: Nose Gear Strut?? Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 14:04:03 -0500 Jannie, Featherlite makes only one nose gear strut used by the Varieze, Long EZ, E-Racer, Stagger EZ, Cozy III, Cosy Classic and Cozy Mark IV. Each design cuts it to the length required. I think the Long EZ uses 27 inches. The Cozy III uses 27 inches with an 8.7 inch tire on a 4 inch wheel. The Cosy Classic and Cozy Mark IV have a 10 inch tire on a 4 inch wheel. On page 1 of Chapter 13 it says to cut the strut for the Mark IV down to 25-3/4 inches long (to allow for the larger tire). That would leave about 1-3/4 inches between the tire and the forward face of the instrument panel. If you check drawings M-10 and M-11, you will see that the strut is 25.0 inches long, and a space between the tire and the instrument panel of 2-1/2 inches. I think that is what I have in my airplane and it sits about level. I don't know why I show two different dimensions, but in either case, the tire should not be against the instrument panel. If you cut the strut to 25-3/4 inches, as instructed on page 1, your airplane should sit just a little higher in the nose which would allow a little shorter rotation distance. Regards, Nat ---------- > From: Jannie Versfeld > To: cozy_builders@canard.com > Subject: COZY: Nose Gear Strut?? > Date: Friday, April 25, 1997 5:18 AM > > I may be missing sometihing. What is the exact length of the NG Strut > from pivot to end where it fits inside the nose wheel assy? Mine seems > too long and it will cause the wheel well to fit right against the instr > panel. > Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 19:12:11 -0400 From: Gary Dwinal Subject: Re: COZY: Nose Gear Strut?? Hi Jannie, I purposely left mine long and made the necessary changes to my heat duct outlets for good airflow into the nose section. The obvious reason for this was to my plane have a more positive angle of attack during the ground for hopefully a quicker rotation. I will be able to tell you if this is successful in about another three or four months I hope. The tire comes within 1/8" of my instrument panel when fully retracted. Good Luck, Gary Dwinal Jannie Versfeld wrote: > I may be missing sometihing. What is the exact length of the NG Strut > from pivot to end where it fits inside the nose wheel assy? Mine seems > too long and it will cause the wheel well to fit right against the instr > panel. From: Cozy7971@aol.com Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 22:13:51 EDT Subject: COZY: Brake Linkage I've been doing a bit of cleanup on the Cozy before moving from the basement to the garage for final assembly. Ive tuned up the nose gear retraction so it works great, built nose gear doors (nearly completed), loosened the rudder pedals (they didn't move real smoothly), got my retractible footstep working nicely and am moving on to working on the aileron torque tubves (they are a bit tight). A few questions: - How much movement should ther be in the rudder pedals before engaging the brakes and how much do the brake cylinder pistons need to be depressed. Obviously I'm concerned about too little movement--My piston only depresses less than .5 inch. - Could someone who has used the spring closure method of shutting the nose gear doors tell me where they placed the spring and how long it was. - In an earlier post today someone asked about lubricating the aileron lingages. Mine are a bit tight. Is lubrication a good or bad idea. - Has anyone used actual bearings (as opposed to teflon or something similar) in the aileron linkage other than at the wing root. I'm thinking specifically in the front and back seat. Dick Finn Cozy Mark IV #46 From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 21:51:54 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: COZY: Brake Linkage Finn wrote: How much movement should ther be in the rudder pedals before engaging >the brakes and how much do the brake cylinder pistons need to be depressed That sounds about right, I have a 1" slot at the end of the pushrod, but what actually works depends on which rudder belhorns you have, and at the firewall I have belcranks with custom arm lengths to make it work. > > From: "Nat Puffer" Subject: Re: COZY: Nosegear questions Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 18:25:14 -0500 Dear Neil, On question #1, the gap you refer to should actually be approx 1/2" and it is per design. When the gear is retracted, the strut and NG-6 should be inside the fuselage, so if there is a gap, it couldn't cause any drag if it is inside the fuselage. But when the gear is extended, you are trying to lose airspeed to enter the traffic pattern, and any drag (if there is any) would actually be beneficial in helping you to slow down. So your question doesn't make a lot of sense. As for question #2, if you have side to side float of NG-6, it is not a big deal, but of course it would be better if you could install a thin washer to reduce the float. Best regards, Nat Puffer ---------- > From: Neil Clayton > To: cozy_builders@canard.com > Subject: COZY: Nosegear questions > Date: Wednesday, June 30, 1999 5:18 PM > > A couple of questions for Nat, et al; > > 1) NG-5 is the 1/4" aluminium pad at the top of the nose leg. After the leg > is attached, there's a ~1/4" gap on either side of it. Is this per plans, > or did I miss something? Has anyone tried to close the gap to lower drag? > > 2) My nose gear leg pivot MKNG-6 casting is a pretty good fit bewteen the > NG-30's, but I've got a small (~15 to 20 thou) axial end-float on the pivot > bolt. Have others accepted this, or tried the grind the spacer washers to > achieve no float? > > Thx > Neil C From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 22:01:29 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: COZY: Nosegear questions On 06/30/99 18:18:56 you wrote: > >A couple of questions for Nat, et al; > >1) NG-5 is the 1/4" aluminium pad at the top of the nose leg. After the leg >is attached, there's a ~1/4" gap on either side of it. Is this per plans, >or did I miss something? Has anyone tried to close the gap to lower drag? I have an 1/2" x approx. 3" x .035" alum. strip each side, secured with 2 #8 countersunk screws to close the gap. > >2) My nose gear leg pivot MKNG-6 casting is a pretty good fit bewteen the >NG-30's, but I've got a small (~15 to 20 thou) axial end-float on the pivot >bolt. Have others accepted this, or tried the grind the spacer washers to >achieve no float? I have 1 wide area washer each side to shim tightly. There is a beveled edge to help guide the casting, and the washers are held in place with 3m weatherstrip adhesive since there is no room for fingers. Tighten the pivot bolt to fine tune the clearance, the fiberglass will give slightly. I recommend changing the pivot bolt to AN6 (3/8") if you have the heavier spring strut spring which is typical of most Cozys. Check the archives for more on this. > >Thx >Neil C > > Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 23:01:41 -0500 From: David Domeier Subject: Re: COZY: Nosegear questions Neil, re "My nose gear leg pivot MKNG-6 casting is a pretty good fit bewteen the NG-30's, but I've got a small (~15 to 20 thou) axial end-float on the pivot bolt. Have others accepted this, or tried the grind the spacer washers to achieve no float?" The first time I climbed into my airplane after is was on three legs, I was somewhat concerned about the float of the nose strut but didn't do anything about it 'cause there was so much else to do. Now that the airplane is built and flying, it is not noticeable at all. I am not going to take it apart to insert washers that one would not notice anyhow. dd From: "Schuler, Larry" Subject: RE: COZY: Nosegear questions Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1999 09:02:00 -0500 Neil Clayton wrote: >1) NG-5 is the 1/4" aluminum pad at the top of the nose leg. After the >leg is attached, there's a ~1/4" gap on either side of it. Is this per >plans, or did I miss something? Has anyone tried to close the gap to lower >drag? If you close that gap you will not be able to remove the MKNG-6 pivot. I thought about a hinged cover (hinge at about F-0), but not done on mine yet. Not really needed unless I want to get an extra 0.05 Mph. 2) My nose gear leg pivot MKNG-6 casting is a pretty good fit between the NG-30's, but I've got a small (~15 to 20 thou) axial end-float on the pivot bolt. Have others accepted this, or tried the grind the spacer washers to achieve no float? Had same issue. I carefully filed the ends of the steel pivot tube to about 1 thou over flush with outside of the bronze bushings; then added a shim washer (got from Oshkosh flymarket last year in a grab bag) on each side to snug fit with the NG-30s. Makes it a bit more difficult to remove and install the nose gear, but 1 thou slop on each side is much nicer and should virtually eliminates the common nose strut wobble over time [MKNG-6 slams from one side of the NG-30s to the other as turns/directional adjustments are made during ground operations; gets worse over time]. Basic problem is that Brock cuts the steel pivot tube to spec, which includes a +- tolerance well over the dimensions of the MKNG-6 with bushings (mine was about 17 thou over). Best work-around would be to file/grind the tube per above, then use it and the washers called out in plans as a spacer when glassing the NG-30s together. Would come out perfect that way with no shims required. One of those shoulda, woulda, coulda deals for me. 20-20 vision now. Alternative is the several hundred dollar MKNG-6 with taper bearings sold by someone on this list. Very nice, but more $$$$. To each his own... Larry Schuler From: "Ugolini, Nick J" Subject: RE: COZY: Nosegear questions Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1999 13:07:03 -0400 Every plane will develop the nose gear wobbles (as I call it) if they use the Brock part. It is not Brock but the fault of the original design (originating with the Varieze and carried over to larger and heavier planes). The brass bearing used in NG-6 is designed for rotational applications, not impact (bearing) loading. Hard landings will elongate the hole causing wobble. I flew my LongEZ with the wobble for a long time (its a real pain). John is right. Save your self some grief and buy a product that is specifically designed for the plane to solve a well KNOWN problem. I am sure you wouldn't buy a brake system with a know flaw that will give marginal performance, if there was a better product on the market. I bought one from Jack (ph. 843-843-5061). I am now happy. Nick. -----Original Message----- From: John Slade [mailto:rjslade@bellsouth.net] Sent: Friday, October 01, 1999 12:15 PM To: Schuler, Larry; cozy_builders@canard.com Subject: Re: COZY: Nosegear questions Was said: >Alternative is the several hundred dollar MKNG-6 with taper bearings sold >by someone on this list. Very nice, but more $$$$. To each his own... The someone is Jack Wilhelmson - Wilhelmson@scra.org This is recommended by Steve Wright (in his nose lift plans) and based on what I've read about this issue (and Brock's products in general) I plan to get the beefed up NG6a from Jack. John Slade Cozy MKIV #757 http://kgarden.com/cozy Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 12:29:42 -0500 From: David Domeier Subject: COZY: A slighty better mouse trap... Steve, I counted the cycles on my "Steve Wright" electric nose gear system recently and the number is over 130 - all working very well. But I keep wondering about getting the gear out if doesn't do it as per the electric plan and to that end I simulated an up gear situation in the hangar yesterday. I tried to crank the gear down with the 8" extension you provide and could not but wonder who was going to fly the airplane while doing it. I can not reach the ratchet device with my right hand so I'd have to fly the airplane with my right hand across the cockpit while cranking with the left. And also, the 8" extension tends to twist into a "s" since it is a spring device. I think I have a better method, if anyone is interested. I've tried it and it works easy. I went to Sears and bought a 14" 1/4" extension and a universal joint with a 1/4" socket. This device now extends back to about 2" aft of the instrument panel and can be ratcheted from either side of the center instrument panel vertical structure. I considered drilling a 1/4" hole in the panel just for this thing but decided I did not want to look that hole forever just waiting there for the gear to hang up. It works pretty good just jamming it up into the corner while cranking. Now I can sleep at night......:>) dd From: SWrightFLY@aol.com Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 16:42:16 EDT Subject: COZY: Re: A slighty better mouse trap... In a message dated 7/13/99 12:22:00 PM Central Daylight Time, david010@earthlink.net writes: << I went to Sears and bought a 14" 1/4" extension and a universal joint with a 1/4" socket. This device now extends back to about 2" aft of the instrument panel and can be ratcheted from either side of the center instrument panel vertical structure. I considered drilling a 1/4" hole in the panel just for this thing but decided I did not want to look that hole forever just waiting there for the gear to hang up. It works pretty good just jamming it up into the corner while cranking. >> Good idea David...........but be careful not to allow anything to get caught on the shaft as it rotates. You can slip a plastic tube over the shaft and protect it from wires or anything else winding up on it. Steve Wright Aircraft Works LLC: Electric Nose-Lift for EZEs From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 10:49:10 -0500 (CDT) Subject: COZY: Nose Lift Nose lift adds 12 lbs. at location that affects C.G. and runway length big time. From: cdenk@ix.netcom.com Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 16:44:02 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: Fwd: COZY: Nose Lift Strong asked Well with just myself in the front seat, (all other conditions the same) takeoff distance would be 600', adding my 130 lb. wife in the front seat the distance goes to 2000', an increase of 1400'. Rough numbers, the 12 lbs at a lever arm 70 from C.G. would be about the same effect as a 20 lbs in the front seat, or 1400' x 20lbs/130lbs = 200' more ground run. At the 7000' elev. I took off from Thursday, that would be 530 feet more runway required. Thats a lot for me, maybe a no go. If someone would like to research the exact numbers of this example, be my guest, this was just as wife brought a pzza in the door. Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 17:30:31 -0500 From: Michael Link Subject: Re: Fwd: COZY: Nose Lift cdenk@ix.netcom.com wrote: > Strong asked Carl, Sorry that I failed to metion that I did adjust the C.G.( by relocating a few things), when I installed the Noze-Lift. My current C.G. is .1 inches AFT of the example listed in the Cozy manual. The plane is still 12 lbs. heaver, of course, but I am currently doing something about that......reducing the pilot weight! I suspect that for many of us that is an area ripe for exploitation in our quest for lighter and faster. Regards, Michael Link COZY MK-IV N-171-ML From: SWrightFLY@aol.com Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 19:53:17 EDT Subject: Re: COZY: Nose Lift In a message dated 8/16/99 5:32:50 PM Central Daylight Time, mglink@bellsouth.net writes: << C.G. is .1 inches AFT of the example listed in the Cozy manual. The plane is still 12 lbs. heaver, of course, but I am currently doing something about that......reducing the pilot weight! I suspect that for many of us that is an area ripe for exploitation in our quest for lighter and faster. >> Hey Carl...........this is a great Idea for shorting the take off run......... you mentioned "Nose lift adds 12 lbs. at location that affects C.G. and runway length big time".........If you lost 20 pounds you could add a Nose Lift and still rotate sooner :-)..........and, for the record, it adds 10 pounds not 12. Steve Wright Aircraft Works LLC: Electric Nose-Lift for EZEs Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 12:55:24 -0400 From: Bill Theeringer Subject: COZY: Nosegear Adjustment Jim Nelson wrote: The ratchet mechanism described above has not been manufactured or sold since last summer. A failure analysis was done to determine the cause of the (2 reported to me) failures and this report was widely disseminated by myself to the internet groups and via the Canard Pusher. The new design, which was suggested by Mike Melvill, has ben completed and is now available. It is entirely metal and has the added advantage of allowing the entire crank assembly and NG61 shaft to be removed through the front panel. I don't have a web site yet (in process), but can e mail a picture to anyone interested. Bill Theeringer N29EZ Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 22:23:00 -0400 From: Bill Theeringer Subject: COZY: Nosegear adjustment Bill Kastenholtz wrote Bill K; I can appreciate your concerns on having the "old" ratchet design in your plane. If your ratchet is faulty I will of course replace it. Keep in mind that the "old" design is perfectly good to use if it passes the thumb stress test. The defective units, as outlined in my failure analysis report, were made all at once on a particular weekend. They were failing because super glue was used instead of the normal locktite in the assembly process. The super glue attacked the poly carbonate and weakened it to the point that in 2 instances the part just fractured and fell off without even being touched. I tested this failure mode to death during the investigation. ANY amount of super glue in the construction caused the toggle to be so weak it broke with just slight finger pressure. If only locktite was used it could not be broken by hand. Your thumb would become very sore trying, but none would break. I tried solvents, UV exposure, extreme temperatures etc. and only the super glue resulted in weakening, and then the reaction was severe. The reaction sometimes took several days to manifest itself, but it was very measurable and always resulted in failure by thumb. The good news is the new design is easier to make so is therefore cheaper. E mail me for more information. Bill Theeringer N29EZ Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 21:56:09 -0500 From: "L. Wayne Hicks" Subject: COZY: Rudder Pedals Can anyone tell me the amount in inches that the plans rudder pedals travel for full rudder deflection prior to engaging the brake cylinders? (Travel being measured at the "nub" where your foot goes...). Is the travel the same or different when using the internal rudder bellhorns? Wayne Hicks http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/falls/2027 Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 09:20:54 -0500 From: "L. Wayne Hicks" Subject: COZY: Nose Gear Doors Mike Davis wrote: I'm nearly done adding nose gear doors to my Cozy > MkIV. I really liked the nose gear > doors that Verne Simon designed and published in the April '97 issue > of the Central States Newsletter. -------> I did the same thing. I reoriented the window in the wheel cover so I can see the wheel coming up. See pictures on my Chapter 13 page: http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/falls/2027 Wayne Hicks