This is my new page.  The old one was at Xoom.com, which was bought out by NBCI.com, which eventually got around to ending free web hosting without bothering to tell anyone.  Welcome to the new new economy.
    I can't change the old page, add a redirection, or even delete the old one.  Still, you're here, so you must have found out about the change somehow.  Congratulations!

    I have high hopes that Freehomepage.com is up to the task of hosting my electic collection of screeds and missives and grainy photos.  We'll see.
 
 

Long-EZ #27 - "Thunderduck"

    Yes, you read that right -- Serial number #27. (For reference, there have been something on the order of 30,000 sets of plans sold). Several thousand are flying; the first in 1979.  So it's been a long time a-buildin', hasn't it? Actually, plans set #27 was sold to Don Ashbaugh, who sold them six years later to David Harsay. Dave is a great guy who spent 12 long years making a very well-built fuselage, spar, gear legs, and canard. Money and time, or rather a lack of both, meant that he had to part with his pride and joy, and I was fortunate enough to be able to take it over. That was December 1998; I've been working on it since.
 

Current project as of 18 Feb 2007:
    First Flight!  Finally the big day arrived; I sat in the hangar, with NOTHING ELSE to work on!  Time to saddle up!

    This photo was taken a few days prior.  Ground condition was similar on the 18th; loose snow, poor braking on the taxiways, clear with patchy ice and fair braking on the runway.  Winds calm, visibility 10 miles-plus. 

    With 8 high-speed taxi runs under my belt from the previous couple weeks, I had a fair idea how it would handle.  The 18th, then, I didn’t start with any preliminary taxi runs; after a long taxi to Runway 25, I pushed the throttle up (static RPM:  2250), released the brakes and started the landing brake coming up, and I was on my way!  Rotation and liftoff were just short of 2000 ft down the 4000-ft runway.

    I climbed to 2500’ MSL (at 1250 ft/min and 100 kts) and circled the field a couple times.  I got up to 110 kts, and down to 65 in a handling test.  Final approach airspeed, I decided, would be 70 kts.  A scud layer started moving in, so I descended again for a touch-and-go, then a full stop.

    There were no problems.  One maintenance squawk:  the ailerons arms will have to be adjusted to move the stick’s center point a little.  I had to hold a little right stick against the springs to stay level.  The motor purred and roared at the appropriate times, and everything worked as advertised.

    Wow, what a machine!

    Thanks to everyone who has helped along the way.  Especially, of course, my lovely wife.  Who still thinks I’m crazy, of course.

 

 
    The project is being built in a hangar at Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska.

    I'll update this page with pictures and text as they become available, but obviously actually BUILDING the airplane comes before talking about it.
 

    My starting point
    Because I started in a small hangar without electricity, and in the winter, I started out doing what I could under those conditions, which turned out to be, mostly, sanding and filling.  This was fine by me, as I'm trying to do the sanding and filling as I go, rather than doing the whole job at once at the end, when it will surely kill me.
    After considerable sanding and filling

    Eventually, I got settled in the new hangar, finished controls installation and miscellaneous fitting in Ch14-17, and started serious work:

    Chapter 15 - Firewall and Accessories
    Chapter 16 - Control System
    Chapter 17 - Roll/Pitch Trim System
    Chapter 18 - Canopy
    Chapter 19 - Wings
    Chapter 20 - Winglets
     Chapter 21 - Strakes
    Chapter 22 - Electrics
    Chapter 23 - Engine
    Chapter 24 - Covers & Fairings
    Chapter 25 - Finishing
    Chapter 26 - Upholstery

    Modifications I'm making, considering, or not making.

    Trailering a Long-EZ.  Don't do it!

    Links to the canard-flying world.
 

    Take a bow!

    You've come a long way!

    More pictures when I can take, scan, and upload some....
 
 
 
 

 

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