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TABLE OF CONTENTS
It is mandatory for all Cozy builders to subscribe to this newsletter, as this is the only formal system we have for communicating plans changes and/or corrections, builder hints, and other information of interest to builders and prospective builders. Issues prior to No. 4 are not necessary, in that they were only reports on the progress of plans, and extra copies are not available. Starting with issue No. 4, the newsletter contains important builder information. We will try to keep the subscription price low, so cost won't be a problem.
When writing to Co-Z with questions, please send along a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Please leave space after each question, so we can fill in the answer (without having to rewrite the question) and return on your original.
If you call, you can reach me at home most evenings and week ends at 612-776-1145. After June 1, 1985, my retirement date from 3M, I should also be at this number during working hours most weekdays.
The following prices are effective at the present time:
Information kit $8.00
Newsletter $5.00/yr.
Plans $210.00
Orders for plans outside the US will be shipped by surface mail unless additional postage for airmail, which runs about $35.00 to most countries, is supplied.
We are programming our computer to print on the address label, after your name, the last issue of the Co-Z newsletter you will receive without renewing your subscription. Ignore the number at the top of the label; it is the file number in our computer where your address is stored.
When you receive your plans, don't neglect to sign and send in your license agreement (Chapter 1, Page 4), so we can issue your serial number. Many of you haven't done this yet. Also, don't neglect to mark in the corrections published in the newsletters. In spite of our best efforts, errors do creep in. If you find any we haven't, let us know and we will publish them for everyone's benefit.
Please check your plans when you receive them to determine that there are no missing pages. So far, we know of only one case where this has happened. We don't want anyone leaving one whole page out of construction (The manuals were put together by the printer. We try to check each one out before shipping).
The plans were laid out in the same sequence as the Long EZ plans. You will find, however, that there are some detours. For example, you should not attempt to install the landing gear before the centerspar is installed, and it is much easier to jig-bore the centerspar to the wings before the centerspar is installed in the fuselage, which means you will have to build the wings before installing the centerspar and gear. Also, it is easier to do the turtleback and canopy before building the strakes, although not absolutely necessary.
Section 1A of the plans was published in January 1985 and mailed to all plans purchasers as of that date. Plans purchasers since have received both Section 1 and 1A at the same time. If you have purchased plans, but not received your Section 1A, perhaps because you moved, please let us know.
If you have questions, please make sure that they aren't answered in the plans, or newsletters. Don't expect to understand everything perfectly on the first reading, particularly if you have just received your plans, and haven't even started the project yet. Very often the instructions presume that you have completed preceding chapters and have developed a basic understanding of how things are done, without having to return to square 1 each time.
Thanks to those of you who have commented on the plans being very complete and well done. We have been trying as conscientiously as we can to find the best way to do each step, explain it in detail, avoid poor grammar and misspelled words, and type-set it for easy reading. It helps to know that our efforts are appreciated.
In early January, while waiting for Section 1A to be returned from the printer, we scheduled a trip down to Texas. Our first stop was to visit one of our first builders, Ulie Wolter and his wife Linda. Ulie is a NATO flight instructor, stationed in Wichita Falls, TX. He is building a Cozy to fly back to his home in Germany when his tour of duty here is over. Originally, that was to be the summer of 85, but it has now been extended to 1986.
Ulie is doing excellent work, and we hope that he finishes and will have his Cozy at Oshkosh this summer. We took a video camera along and have a very nice tape of his project as of last January. Ulie and Linda camped with us at Oshkosh last year, together with a number of other Cozy builders, and are planning to do the same this year, so we are looking forward to renewing our friendship--they are a fine couple.
Our next stop was West, TX, where we visited Alpha Plastics. Again we made a video record of Ira Hale's facilities, his supplies and our interview. We reported on this in the last newsletter.
After returning from Texas, we mailed out Section 1A of the plans. Several were returned to us with the explanation that the addressee had moved without leaving a forwarding address. If you (who have purchased plans) have not received Section 1A, please let us know.
Special thanks to those of you who volunteered some extra bucks to help on the printing and mailing costs. It was appreciated.
For those of you who have not purchased the plans yet, Section 1A is 80 pages of 11"x17" explanation and illustration, plus 8 additional large size drawings 17"x23". It covers all the rest of the construction, including engine installation, and represents a solid year of work on our part. We were sure happy when it was finally in the mail.
The first week of February we went down to Phoenix, AZ on a combined business/vacation trip. We stayed with Cozy builders Ed and Pearlie Moulden in Mesa, where I had a chance to help Ed a little bit with his Cozy project, and we also visited the people who are renting our new home, which we expect to occupy later this year.
While there we met about half of the Cozy builders in the Phoenix area, and inspected the Mouldens', the Wickstroms' (in Scottsdale) and the Lorimers' (in Tucson) projects.
The Wickstroms have a beautiful new home in Scottsdale, and are building in a special shop-garage added onto the house just for the Cozy. They have a pool just outside for refreshing breaks. They have about completed the fuselage and are doing a really super job. Some of the best work we have seen!
On the way to Tucson to visit the Lorimers, we passed through Eloy, AZ (actually, you have to be careful not to miss it). We stopped to visit Rex Taylor at Viking Aircraft (Dragonfly) and Fred Warnke, propeller manufacturer. Again, we put our interviews on video tape. It was interesting to visit Eloy, because it is being promoted as a center of homebuilt activity, but we were disappointed because there isn't much of a town, and everything seemed so deserted when we were there.
The Lorimers are a young, recently married couple living in a mobile home on an airport west of Tucson. They are building their Cozy in the living room of their mobile home. Although this may seem strange to some, it seems to work quite well for Ron and Trish. Again, we were impressed with the quality of their shop and of their work. By now they should have their fuselage assembled.
After returning from beautiful, sunny Arizona to the frozen tundra, we moved the proof-of-plans fuselage from our house to the Cotters'. Now that Section 1A is published, this project has served its purpose for us, and it has now been turned over to the Cotters to finish. Once the garage was vacated, we were able to bring our wings home from the airport to install the new, high performance, Long EZ rudders. As of this writing, the installation is almost complete. We should have a performance report for you by the next newsletter.
In March I was invited to speak at the annual EAA chapter dinner meetings in Chippewa Falls, WI, and Rochester, MN, and at our local chapter March annual meeting as well. The instructions were to keep it non-technical, so we wouldn't bore the wives who would be present. We decided to show the video tapes of all our travels to date to various Cozy projects. This type of program was quite well received. It was especially interesting to the ladies to see airplanes being built in living rooms and bedrooms.
Also in March we were visiting with a real estate friend of ours, and she said that if we planned to sell our house in 1985, we really should be showing it in April and May, because those are the two hottest real estate months in the year, at least in Minnesota. My retirement date (from 3M) is set for June 1 of this year, and I had been planning to spend time this summer getting our house ship-shape for selling, so this was a real blow and really put us in a panic. Anyway, we had to drop everything (that is why this newsletter is late) and spend all of our spare time for the next several weeks fixing, painting, raking, etc. to get things looking decent. When you build the better part of 4 airplanes in 12 years plus draw up plans for a new design, you have to let a few other things slide, and in my case it was our house. But by working hard on it ourselves, and hiring a few people to help, we got a lot of overdue maintenance accomplished, and now our home is looking better than it has for years, almost new! So now we should be able to get back to those new rudders, and get the Cozy back in the air!
Just to give you an idea of the kind of things we get involved with, yesterday we had a visitor from France, Daniel Pougeoise. Daniel is entering an airplane relay race from Toulouse, France to Rio de Janiero, Brazil, via Saint Louis du Senegal, on the coast of South Africa. He came all of the way over here to see if he could borrow or rent the Cozy for this event. It is a race to commemorate the beginning of airmail service between France and South America many years ago. Each plane will carry a bundle of post cards with special stamps which will be postmarked in Brazil. A few cards from each plane will be selected by lottery for the sender to receive a few vacation trip to South America. Anyway, Daniel had read about the Cozy in the French issue of Private Pilot. It would have been ideal because of the requirement that each plane carry two pilots to share the piloting workload. Of course we could not afford to let our Cozy go for such a purpose, even though the publicity would have been terrific! Because our Cozy was apart, Daniel had to be content just to sit in the fuselage and take a lot of pictures. We were able to get him a ride in a Long EZ, because he only knew of one in all of Europe. He was really impressed at the performance of the Long (and by inference, the Cozy). Although it was not his original idea, we think Daniel now has the bug to build a Cozy in France. He is quite busy (as a lawyer), so he is thinking of finding a partner who will do the building if he puts up the money. I suggested that he might even find some retired Americans who would be willing to help him with his airplane in exchange for board and room in France and the opportunity to have a wonderful vacation on a limited budget. We know the Coas, who spent about 6 mos. in England vacationing while helping on a Long EZ project. If anyone is interested, we can put you in touch with Daniel.
Which brings us up to the present. My retirement date is fast approaching when we hope to start devoting our full time and energies to helping and supporting you, our builders. We will have to take some time out for selling our home, moving, and getting resettled, but we are really looking forward to pursuing what has become our primary interest, and to have a lot more time for flying and attending air shows.
Since this will be the first year we haven't felt pushed, in connection with Oshkosh, we plan to arrive there one week early and enjoy a little camping before it gets crowded and the hot water runs out. We will save as much choice camping space in Paul's Woods as we think we can get away with, for those of you who may wish to join us (first come, first serve). We are renting a pop-up camper locally, and we have learned of a pick-up camper which is also available for the same two weeks. The rent is a flat fee of $200, for however long you wish to use it, plus the EAA registration fee and daily camping fee. It sleeps 4. Split two ways it would be quite a bargain. Anyone interested can contact Tom Binber, 651 W 10th St., Oshkosh, WI 54901 (414) 235-2404.
We have reserved a time slot on Sunday, July 28th, 8:45 - 10:00, Forum tent #6, for a Cozy builders session. We can update you on any recent developments, and provide you with a chance to ask questions, report on your project, and meet other builders.
We know of 4 builders, Jack Wilhelmson, Ulie Wolter, Al Yarmey, and Merle Musson who have a chance to finish in time for Oshkosh, but aren't making any promises. Wouldn't it be great if they all made it? Be we know how tough it is when you finally get near the end. There will be a designer's award for the best Cozy at Oshkosh, as judged by other builders (but you have to let us know you are coming). We are making arrangements for a trophy with a small scale model of the Cozy, which we hope will offer an additional incentive for you to get your airplanes finished and off to Oshkosh for display. We hope also to have small, scale models of the Cozy available for those of you who may wish to purchase them.
We have just learned that RAF has pulled all of their tooling from Task Research and is in the process of qualifying a new supplier. They promised to let us know who this would be, as soon as it was final. For Cozy builders this affects only the nose gear strut and the main gear. Good thing we didn't place our cowling molds with Task. If you can't wait until the next newsletter, you can call us, or RAF on (805) 824-2645.
For our Cozy cowlings we specified 3 layers of BID with local reinforcing around the edges, and epoxy resin, rather than glass matting and polyester resin, which some shops use. The result is not so pretty a finish (because you can't use a gel coat with epoxy resin) but a lighter and stronger cowling. This will make up for the fact that you have to do the finishing. The cowlings are supplied slightly wider and longer than necessary, so they can be trimmed to fit. The cowlings were contoured to be a tight fit around the O-235 we have in our prototype. If, in your installation, you don't have enough clearance to keep the engine from touching the cowling, either deform it with a little judicious application of heat, or else add a small blister locally, whichever seems most appropriate.
We are learning that engine mounts are tricky rascals to build from a drawing so they fit the first time. We have now gone the route with 3 different fabricators, and are very close to having an O-235 dynafocal mount we can approve from Ken Brock. The mount from Brock is absolutely the best. The welding is excellent, it is normalized (heat treated) after welding to remove any brittleness, any distortion after normalizing is removed, so it is a perfect fit on firewall and engine, it is painted, and weep holes are drilled so it may be treated inside (with linseed oil) to prevent corrosion. It is truly a quality product.
If you make your own mount, or obtain one from some other source, please insist on equivalent quality.
The Cozy is the only design using a 5 in. prop hub extension, so it is not an on the shelf item. Ken Brock Mfg. can make to your order, provided you tell them what bolt circle is required to fit your engine.
The following are approved suppliers of construction materials and prefab parts as indicated:
We are in the process of proofing the last special Cozy parts made by Ken Brock Mfg. As soon as we give our approval, they should be able to fill your orders from stock.
We have selected suppliers who are reputable, well established with a known track record, who have a reputation in aviation for quality products, good service, and who are honest. We work with them to make sure that you receive the correct materials and are treated fairly. These suppliers have earned our confidence and respect, and you can be confident in dealing with them.
We recommend that you purchase materials only from approved suppliers. Building an airplane is too important to risk jeopardizing by using questionable materials. You are the manufacturer of your aircraft, and you are responsible for making sure it is constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications. Any deviations from the plans and specifications (we hope there are none) should be recorded in your aircraft log book.
Our supplier, Custom Tops (see NL #5) is going to add lined windbreakers to their line of Cozy inscribed flight apparel. Last year they had caps, T-shirts, and golf shirts with the Cozy picture and/or logo on them, but they were swamped with Cozy customers and ran out of apparel. People ended up buying shirts and caps elsewhere and bringing them in to have the transfers applied, until they ran out of those too.
The jackets will be Navy blue, nylon, in men's sizes S, M, L, & XL, for $25.00. We have paid for the art work, and there is no commission or profit involved, so you will be getting very high quality apparel for rock bottom prices. Irene says she would appreciate your ordering ahead of time for Oshkosh delivery, so she has a better idea of the demand and doesn't run out like last year. We and everyone else we talked to were very pleased with the quality and prices last year.
Address your orders or inquiries to Irene McCutcheon c/o Custom Tops, P. O. Box 55386, Tulsa, OK 74155-1386, (918) 665-4519.
We have discovered that with the sticks built and installed as shown in the plans, there isn't enough clearance between the stick and the fuselage side to get full aileron travel when your hand is on the stick. Under "CHANGES" we have increased the angle of stick attachment to the fork from 10° to 15°, and are asking you to install the bolt at the bottom of the fork with the head toward the fuselage. In addition, you may wish to carve the depression for stick clearance in the fuselage side all the way through the 3/8" foam, so the inside and outside skins meet. You can do this retroactively, or when you are laying up the fuselage sides on the jig, cut out the foam completely, and lay the cloth into the hole right against the jig, but with release material, of course. You can also put a 5° bend in the aluminum stick extension, but this should not be necessary if you make all of the other changes. Make sure you have full aileron travel when your hand is on the stick!
Tom Benson, 642 West Bough Lane, Houston, TX 77024 (713) 464-4686 would like to find a partner for his Cozy project. Contact him if you are interested.
Rex T. Ellington, 2609 Barry Switzer Ave., Norman, OK 73069 has a set of Long EZ plans he would like to sell.
3/13/85
Dear Nat,
Enclosed is a check for $5.00 for another year of the Cozy Newsletter. I'm not sure when my subscription runs out, but don't want to miss an issue.
I received Part 1A of the plans and appreciate so much the way you have handled this.
After a late fall start and 2-1/2 months of no progress in my unheated garage I am back at it and loving it. Have bulkheads completed and will glass insides of fuselage sides this weekend.
The plans are great--I've found all the details I need if I reread the material a time or two.
Thanks again,
Mark S. Woodruff
Dear Nat,
Please find enclosed my license agreement and request for aircraft serial number. I am excited about starting the project. I have spent the last week studying through the plans and drawings. This is without a doubt the most thorough and comprehensive set of plans I have ever seen. After studying carefully all instructions and drawings, I feel that I have a good understanding of how to perform all the work. I am waiting now for catalogs and prices from the suppliers.
Sincerely,
David L. Heady
3/26/85
Dear Nat,
I almost forgot to renew my subscription of the Co-Z newsletter, so here are five dollars to take care of that.
Well, there are three of us here in Orange County, Southern CA building Cozys! One man, Bill Sprewer started after me, but being retired, is now ahead of me, and has nearly finished his fuselage. The other, John Banhagel, has yet to cut any foam or glass, but should get started soon. He's bought his first batch of material, and is waiting for his new home to be settled into, and all new purchases installed, before heading for the garage work-shop and his Cozy project!
I am so pleased with the plans, and how nicely my fuselage is going together. I have next to put the bottom flooring on and then the roll-over headrests, and then I will probably assemble the centerspar next. I am in a very active chapter (92) of the EAA here in Orange County. Many of the canard pusher builders keep their planes in a nearby county airport, in the town of Corona. We just had a fly in hangar party last Saturday. It's such a real pleasure to talk to, ride in, and watch the various capabilities of these beautiful canard type aircraft, taking off, landing, and maneuvering through the air all day long. A real education, and a real inspiration.
Well, keep your newsletters coming. Hope you get moved out to this glorious Wild and Wooly West, soon, in Arizona. You'll wonder why you stayed back in the frozen Midwest as long as you did! I should warn you to beware of the greater amount of intense sunshine you will be exposed to in Arizona. Regardless of what all the silly nudists may say, don't take too much sun, or look out skin!
Sincerely yours,
John Heying
3/27/85
Dear Nat & Shirley,
Just a short note to let you know I have a new address. I figured that in order to do a good job on the Cozy, I would need a better work area than what I had in my small one bedroom apt., so I went and bought a house. It has a big basement and a two car garage so I hope to start construction around the end of April.
It's hard to believe, but Oshkosh '85 is only four short months away.
I would like to let you know that I will be up there again this year and look forward to seeing you again. If there is any way I can help out, just let me know. I will be getting up there on July 24th and staying the entire week. Again, if there is anything I can do, just let me know. Enclosed is a SASE for your reply. See you at Oshkosh!
Sincerely,
Bob Lang
2/6/85
Dear Nat,
Have received and studied my Cozy plans and compared with the Long EZ plans - I agree the Cozy plans are better! A number of the construction details and minor changes seem to be the more effective method of doing the construction.
I really like the looks of the Cozy. The wider fuselage and windows on the turtleback make it much more pleasing to look at and the side-by-side makes it much more pleasing to fly. (Note-I was a bomber pilot, not a fighter jock, I like help with navigation and room in the cockpit.)
Please send me my serial number as my daughter and I are anxious to start building.
Looking forward to meeting you someday when we have our Cozy flying and attend some fly-ins.
Sincerely,
James Spencer
This newsletter transcribed to HTML by Gene Traas.