Category Archive

The Champ is geting to that 99% completed with 75% to go stage, but I have kept the Long EZ Project moving as best I can. The last couple of weekends, I have prepared all the templates required for the entire project.
For template material I used a sort of particle board that was used as a shipping protector for sheet aluminum shipped on a pallet. It is 1/4 inch thick and cuts like butter and is a wonderful material for templates. I attached the paper templates to the board with WEST System 205 epoxy. I put a skim coat straight on to the board, laid the patterns on the board, and then coated it a with a pretty heavy coat sqweeged over the paterns.
A couple of hours later, after the epoxy had cured, I cut the templates on a bandsaw. In the picture above you can see that I have yet to complete the final contouring on about half of the templates. A Long EZ “Guru” might notice that the lower template for the lower winglet is missing. That is because I don’t plan on installing the lower winglets, as many builders have noted that the aircraft does not notice them being gone. Besides the Beech Starship doesn’t have lower winglets!
Al Wick, a Cozy builder from Portland,is going to let me borrow his hotwire saw to cut my cores. Cheers, more later.
(see Al’s link to the left)

(UPADTE 4-13) I visited Al Wick and his very cool Cozy this morning.  His ability to “see” system failures before they happen then and ” build-the-safety-in” to the Cozy to assist in preventing them is truly amazing.  Thanks Al, for the loan of your Hot Wire Saw!  I hope to be cutting foam within two weeks.

December 15, 2007
Updated January 5, 2008
Updated February 19, 2008
Updated March 16, 2008

Greetings, Friends of Canardia, All hail Rutania!

My name is Curt Cowley. I’m a 45 year old father of two from Hillsboro, Oregon, with a hankering for a Long EZ. My wife is being a very good sport.

This blog will act as my Builder’s Log for my new (old) Long EZ project. First, a little about me and my Long EZ. While I was a Huey Medevac crew chief stationed at FT Lewis, WA. in the early 1980’s I watched civilian technicians build two Long EZ’s for the 9th Inf. Div. as experimental recon. aircraft.

Click on the picture for full-size. Thanks to Tom Staggs for the photo.

In 1995, when I was the Non-Comssioned Officer-in-Charge (NCOIC)of the OPTEC Threat Support Activity (Aviation),FT Bliss, TX, I was tasked to aquire a UAV simulator. I was able to sign for the surviving Army Long EZ for our project, then being stored at Redstone Army Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. We had good ol’ Dick Rutan come out to give check rides to the project pilots and I had the honor (horror?) to have LTC Rutan, Richard, USAF (Ret.) inspect the aircraft prior to our test flights. He is what you might call…ah…ah..picky! (I Survived!).

Luke AFB: 4517 CCTS Class 68-A 6 Feb 10 Aug 1967.
Dick (Misty 40) Rutan is standing in front of the Cactus .
Click on the Picture for full-size

Here I am in the business end of my old “office” as the Weapon Systems Operator in one of OPTEC’s Russian-built Mil Mi-24’s, tail number 270 in 1996 or 97.

You might recognize the “I can’t believe I get paid for this!” smile on my face.
Click on the picture for full-size.

These days I call Hillsboro Aviation, where I am the Service Manager for the Repair Station, home.

I purchased my Long EZ from a salvage dealer in Bremerton WA. In 2002, he bid on and won the contents of a storage unit that nobody had been in since 1990 and the rent had not been paid in a very long time. He was not happy to find an unknown (to him), unfinished homebuilt airplane. After he found out what type of aircraft it was, he attempted to sell the it on one of the Canard Websites. The folks that contacted him about the ship asked such “inside baseball” questions that he decided it was not worth the trouble and put it back into storage. Can you imagine having no idea what you have and people keep asking, “do you have the GU or Roncz?”.

By the way, it has an unfinished Roncz canard, but the fellow moved it and stored it on the unfinished foam side to protect the fiberglass skins(!) on the bottom. I’ll be building a new canard. (see the link to Eureka CNC)

(Update 5Jan) Thanks for the help with my canard questions Dave! Based on the information Dave provided me, I may be able to save the canard.

(UPDATE 19Feb) The canard is NOT usable, I spent some time looking at it this last weekend and I don’t like fiber orientation on the lower skin…too sloppy. I counted my foam blocks and have found that I have ONE extra to use to cut a new core.

I started emailing the salvage dealer once a month in the May 2005 and he finally answered me in October 2007. After inspecting the plane, a deal was struck and I purchased the project for a very good price. The project included pre-molded Task Research fuel strakes with baffels, upper and lower cowling, all the raw foam for the flying surfaces, one roll each of BID and UNI, and the Brock metal kit.

The project is through Chapter 18 (canopy) and someday I hope it will look like Steve Volovsek’s beautiful Long EZ.

Click on the picture for full-size.

My friends and family always ask “isn’t that the type of plane that John Denver died in?” Yes, it is. To make a long story short, John would be still with us if he had just flown the plane. See a more detailed explaination in my blogroll to the left.

I’ve waited 22 years to get a Long EZ, but for now she’s making her first “flight” hanging from the rafters in a friend’s shop for a couple of months, while I finish the 7EC Champ restoration that is in my garage.

Here is a picture of the Champ getting ready for her trip to the paint booth. I got a bunch of strange looks from other drivers going down the road. What’s the matter with everybody? Haven’t they seen a ‘61 Corvair Rampside pick-up towing a ‘56 Champ by the tailwheel before? I mean Come on!

Click on picture for full-size

Click on picture for full-size
I’ll be moving on to the Long EZ project soon.
UPDATE
The Champ is still in the way of the Long EZ getting serious attention. This is the state of the ship as of Easter Weekend.