Great project, it all seems to be there in good condition, gotta be careful dragging it around dought. Majority of Years of work have been done. It's over the Hump. You'll need a work hangar, big garage or Airport Hangar. Worth it in the long run. Join a local EEA Association.
Get a builders manual to see what is involved to finish the aircraft. If it was stored inside , it should be ok. Keep it out of the sun until it has a UV blocking coating. There was a reason they were painted white. Dick Rutan’s was light blue. It was to keep down the softening effect of heat from the sun. At the stage of build you have , it looks to be 90% done so you’re almost half way to a flying example.
I flew in one once. The owner builder knew someone who built one too. One test run was to go down the run way and test the canard without getting airborne. This other builder used a 2x4 instead of the specified material. His canard snapped on that test. You should find the builder and interview him, see if he’s knowledgeable or an unskilled know it all.
First is to figure out if the skin (glass&epoxy/polyester) is still good. Color may be an indicator. Depends on the resin that was used initially. Is the original builder available to ask? How was this build stored? Was it outside exposed to UV? Damp? How long? If the skin is degraded you may be able to add a layer over it to make up for that but then you are adding weight (aircraft are touchy about weight) to an aircraft that was designed to be as light as possible. You would be trading fuel capacity and range for that extra weight. LongEZ is a very good plane if the goal is to go places some distance away that have paved runways. It is extremely efficient. The design is so low drag is doesn't use flaps on landing, it needs speed brakes like a glider. Between the very light structural weight and the very efficient aerodynamics a relatively small (&light) engine is needed and you can expect fuel consumption 35mpg or so in calm air compared to 20ish mpg for similarly small aircraft such as the Cessna 150/152, Beechcraft Skipper or Piper Tomahawk. As such you can expect a range a bit over 1,000mi (on 50gal fuel) vs 500mi for similar aircraft. The canard layout means it's very hard to stall or stall/spin. Even with the small motor you can expect to cruise at 150-180mph. This in comparable to a Cessna 182 which weight more than twice as much, uses and 88gal and can go about 900mi. The 182 can also carry 4 people and land on unimproved airfields so it has that going for it. The tradeoff is you can't operate off of unimproved (grass or gravel) airfields since the wheels are pretty small. And you need a significant length of runway, 2500-3000' at a minimum until you become more skilled. 1. They have a somewhat higher take off speed than a 150 2. And with no flaps they land comparatively fast and don't have a lot of drag to help slow the plane, even with the speed brake
If it was housed inside it will be fine. A composite expert was asked how strong are composite aircraft compared to aluminum his answer was a dude factor of 9. I owned a viking dragonfly.
Polyurethane foam wasn't used in the Rutan designs. And if memory serves the foams that were used like Corecell S-foam or Divinycell H250 are closed cell.
No. Just no. You either need to do a TON of research first before attempting a restoration of this airframe, or just move it on to someone else. First off, leaving it sitting in the sun like that is horrendously bad, and may have already done irreparable damage to the fiberglass. "Wrapping in carbon fiber" - absolutely not, you would be adding a ton of weight while actually making it structurally weaker, believe it or not. If you're going to go ahead with the restoration, I would start by buying a set of plans and going over every single step and validating the dimensions and construction methodology (wraps, plies, weave directions, every single thing) of every inch of that airplane first. I'd also pick some sacrificial parts of the plane that you can rebuild, and do some destructive testing on them to see just how much the glass has deteriorated over 40 years of storage in unknown conditions. In the end, it's your life that you're putting in that plane. I would not be trusting my life in that plane until I had done a TON of validation and verification before even starting on restoration.
Thanks for your feedback. I will not be building it to fly. I've considered selling it, but I would feel terrible if it was in an accident and caused a fatality. I believe that I will be destroying it and then disposing of it in the landfill. I've been a private pilot since 1990 and have always wanted to own my own plane. Mission accomplished, even though I've learned the hard way from this $600 auction bid. Thanks for watching and sharing your concerns with me. Dan
@dabblinwithdan2895 I agree, the potential liability is huge. But instead of just trucking it off to the landfill, consider disassembling it for some of the valuable parts. Just the main wheels themselves should more than pay for what you spent on the plane. The nose strut and associated hardware is probably close to another thousand. All the control fittings and associated hardware is specific to Long EZ's, and are worth something. You could very easily come out well ahead, while helping out the EZ community with some parts.
It’s not a great build, get a good plane kit. Two thirds of the build cost is in avionics and the engine which that has none. A Sling or Vans would be way better
You should take it back to the guy you bought it from. Looking at the way you push-scraped the flying surfaces against the flatbed trailer you shouldn't be anywhere near an aircraft ;)
Why would an aviation technical college sell this airplane. ANSWER... It's not viable to finish. Otherwise they would use it as a training aid.. You don't know anything about this airplane. I'll contribute some common sense to you. You are in way over your head with your dreams of fixing this airplane. This is more a pipe dreaam , especially thinking people will donate money for a building and all the necessary items to finish this build. than reality. Quit while you are ahead. Use it as a lawn ornament to show your poor judgement. Label it" Dan's Folly in aviation".
@@dabblinwithdan2895 Get someone who knows these planes to check it out for you IN PERSON. I'm building one of these and this guy said the same exact thing about my plane and I know for a fact my epoxy/fiberglass is good, because I built the darn thing! But apparently he is an "expert" . . . there are a lot of older fiberglass birds out there that are fine to finish as long as they haven't been exposed to weather, UV damage or the workmanship is shoddy. From your videos the construction looks very acceptable. But again, an onsite look would be required to check for delaminated glass and any other possible issues. That brownish/red epoxy is most likely EZ-Poxy which is an excellent epoxy. Personally, I'd have it checked out and if all good: finish it and fly it!
It might still be good. Your not supposed to load it that way though..it has to be tilted on its side 1 wheel higher up.. you can download plans just search it's free .my concern is how much sunlight did it get in that condition..? That's what make the fiberglass go bad .if I had the cash right now I'd take it and finish it myself..I have a motor for it already 240hp 240tq I could see 250mph out of it with that combination..
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Great project, it all seems to be there in good condition, gotta be careful dragging it around dought. Majority of Years of work have been done. It's over the Hump. You'll need a work hangar, big garage or Airport Hangar. Worth it in the long run. Join a local EEA Association.
Get a builders manual to see what is involved to finish the aircraft. If it was stored inside , it should be ok. Keep it out of the sun until it has a UV blocking coating. There was a reason they were painted white. Dick Rutan’s was light blue. It was to keep down the softening effect of heat from the sun. At the stage of build you have , it looks to be 90% done so you’re almost half way to a flying example.
I flew in one once. The owner builder knew someone who built one too. One test run was to go down the run way and test the canard without getting airborne. This other builder used a 2x4 instead of the specified material. His canard snapped on that test.
You should find the builder and interview him, see if he’s knowledgeable or an unskilled know it all.
Very nice…considerable work to finish…but the basic airframe looks good…I would make it basic VFR and fly her.
I have 25 hours in a long EZ. At 75, my frying days are over. Loved the Long EZ-really a fast ship.
Flying days-hate auto correct.
Keeps the updates coming! I always love a build/restoration series.
Subscribed
Its sll foam so it floats the piece missing is were the canard wing goes. Its actually 10% complete as it is.
First is to figure out if the skin (glass&epoxy/polyester) is still good.
Color may be an indicator. Depends on the resin that was used initially.
Is the original builder available to ask?
How was this build stored? Was it outside exposed to UV? Damp? How long?
If the skin is degraded you may be able to add a layer over it to make up for that but then you are adding weight (aircraft are touchy about weight) to an aircraft that was designed to be as light as possible. You would be trading fuel capacity and range for that extra weight.
LongEZ is a very good plane if the goal is to go places some distance away that have paved runways.
It is extremely efficient. The design is so low drag is doesn't use flaps on landing, it needs speed brakes like a glider.
Between the very light structural weight and the very efficient aerodynamics a relatively small (&light) engine is needed and you can expect fuel consumption 35mpg or so in calm air compared to 20ish mpg for similarly small aircraft such as the Cessna 150/152, Beechcraft Skipper or Piper Tomahawk.
As such you can expect a range a bit over 1,000mi (on 50gal fuel) vs 500mi for similar aircraft.
The canard layout means it's very hard to stall or stall/spin.
Even with the small motor you can expect to cruise at 150-180mph.
This in comparable to a Cessna 182 which weight more than twice as much, uses and 88gal and can go about 900mi. The 182 can also carry 4 people and land on unimproved airfields so it has that going for it.
The tradeoff is you can't operate off of unimproved (grass or gravel) airfields since the wheels are pretty small.
And you need a significant length of runway, 2500-3000' at a minimum until you become more skilled.
1. They have a somewhat higher take off speed than a 150
2. And with no flaps they land comparatively fast and don't have a lot of drag to help slow the plane, even with the speed brake
Get with the local EAA chapter they can be a great help. I have the plans and canard news letters on DVD. Let me know if you are interested in a set.
If it was housed inside it will be fine.
A composite expert was asked how strong are composite aircraft compared to aluminum his answer was a dude factor of 9.
I owned a viking dragonfly.
Dont let it. Sit in the sun very bad for the epoxy snd fiberglass
The canard zone is where you want to look carbon fiber will make it fly stiff very bumpy
Polyurethane foam sucs the Water and thats bad, you must keep it dry as much possible.
It's completely wrapped now. Thanks for that advice.
Polyurethane foam wasn't used in the Rutan designs. And if memory serves the foams that were used like Corecell S-foam or Divinycell H250 are closed cell.
No. Just no. You either need to do a TON of research first before attempting a restoration of this airframe, or just move it on to someone else. First off, leaving it sitting in the sun like that is horrendously bad, and may have already done irreparable damage to the fiberglass. "Wrapping in carbon fiber" - absolutely not, you would be adding a ton of weight while actually making it structurally weaker, believe it or not. If you're going to go ahead with the restoration, I would start by buying a set of plans and going over every single step and validating the dimensions and construction methodology (wraps, plies, weave directions, every single thing) of every inch of that airplane first. I'd also pick some sacrificial parts of the plane that you can rebuild, and do some destructive testing on them to see just how much the glass has deteriorated over 40 years of storage in unknown conditions. In the end, it's your life that you're putting in that plane. I would not be trusting my life in that plane until I had done a TON of validation and verification before even starting on restoration.
Thanks for your feedback. I will not be building it to fly. I've considered selling it, but I would feel terrible if it was in an accident and caused a fatality. I believe that I will be destroying it and then disposing of it in the landfill. I've been a private pilot since 1990 and have always wanted to own my own plane. Mission accomplished, even though I've learned the hard way from this $600 auction bid. Thanks for watching and sharing your concerns with me. Dan
@dabblinwithdan2895 I agree, the potential liability is huge. But instead of just trucking it off to the landfill, consider disassembling it for some of the valuable parts. Just the main wheels themselves should more than pay for what you spent on the plane. The nose strut and associated hardware is probably close to another thousand. All the control fittings and associated hardware is specific to Long EZ's, and are worth something. You could very easily come out well ahead, while helping out the EZ community with some parts.
I appreciate the salvage value comment. I've never considered doing that. Much appreciated. Might make another video on just that.
Burt Rutan club out west restores and fixes a lot of those.
It’s not a great build, get a good plane kit. Two thirds of the build cost is in avionics and the engine which that has none. A Sling or Vans would be way better
To answer your question, I would mount a pulse jet engine on it, hop in and see if it flys😮
You should take it back to the guy you bought it from. Looking at the way you push-scraped the flying surfaces against the flatbed trailer you shouldn't be anywhere near an aircraft ;)
If you don’t know who and how well it was built mock it up and make it a toy for kids!!
Nice my guy. I like it.
Finish it!
Why would an aviation technical college sell this airplane. ANSWER... It's not viable to finish. Otherwise they would use it as a training aid.. You don't know anything about this airplane. I'll contribute some common sense to you. You are in way over your head with your dreams of fixing this airplane. This is more a pipe dreaam , especially thinking people will donate money for a building and all the necessary items to finish this build. than reality. Quit while you are ahead. Use it as a lawn ornament to show your poor judgement. Label it" Dan's Folly in aviation".
'Promo SM' 👏
That epoxy is too old to trust, it's a model airplane now, don't even bother finishing it. You bought a door stop.
Thanks for the info
@@dabblinwithdan2895 Get someone who knows these planes to check it out for you IN PERSON. I'm building one of these and this guy said the same exact thing about my plane and I know for a fact my epoxy/fiberglass is good, because I built the darn thing! But apparently he is an "expert" . . . there are a lot of older fiberglass birds out there that are fine to finish as long as they haven't been exposed to weather, UV damage or the workmanship is shoddy. From your videos the construction looks very acceptable. But again, an onsite look would be required to check for delaminated glass and any other possible issues. That brownish/red epoxy is most likely EZ-Poxy which is an excellent epoxy. Personally, I'd have it checked out and if all good: finish it and fly it!
It might still be good. Your not supposed to load it that way though..it has to be tilted on its side 1 wheel higher up.. you can download plans just search it's free .my concern is how much sunlight did it get in that condition..? That's what make the fiberglass go bad .if I had the cash right now I'd take it and finish it myself..I have a motor for it already 240hp 240tq I could see 250mph out of it with that combination..