The Long EZ is a Fast and insanely Fuel Efficient Airplane To Own
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- The Long-EZ was a scaled-up redesign of the VariEze predecessor, allowing for the use of readily available Lycoming aircraft engines instead of the Volkswagen-derived engines or hard-to-find small Continentals for which the VariEze was designed. Changes from the VariEze included a larger main wing with modified Eppler 1230 airfoil and less sweep, larger strakes containing more fuel and baggage storage, and a slightly wider cabin. The canard uses the same GU25-5(11)8 airfoil as the VariEze. Plans were offered from 1980 to 1985. There were about 700 FAA-registered Long-EZs in the United States in 2005, which had grown to 833 in 2021.
In January 1985, it was announced that plans for a new canard were being offered, to eliminate "rain trim change" that had been experienced by Long-EZ pilots.[4] This trim change is usually a nose-down trim change experienced when flying into rain requiring a small aft force on the stick to maintain altitude, which is easily trimmed out, using the bungee trim system. The new canard was designed with the Roncz R1145MS airfoil, which produces considerably more lift than the original GU25-5(11)8 airfoil. This enabled the new canard to be designed with less span, reducing wetted area and thus drag. The new canard has a negligible rain trim, and rain adds only 2 knots to the stall speed.
The aircraft is designed for fuel-efficient long-range flight, with a range of just over 2,000 miles (3,200 km).[5] It can fly for over ten hours and up to 1,600 miles (2,600 km) on 52 gallons (200 liters) of fuel.[6] Equipped with a rear-seat fuel tank, a Long-EZ flew for 4,800 miles (7,700 kilometers) in December 1979, still, the record for aircraft weighing less than 1000 kg.[7]
The pilot sits in a semi-reclined seat and controls the Long-EZ using a side-stick controller situated on the right-hand console. In addition to having an airbrake on the underside, the twin tail's wing-tip rudders can be deflected outwards to act as auxiliary airbrakes.[6]
In 1996 Burt Rutan awarded TERF Inc. the job of publishing the plans for the Long-EZ and other of his aircraft under The Rutan Aircraft Factory CD ROM Encyclopedia to further assist new builders and maintenance for existing builders.[8][9] Some components for the design are supplied by Aircraft Spruce & Specialty.[10]
#experimentalaircraft #aircraft #aviationlovers
Experimental electric motor power installation
In 1997, Dick Rutan and Mike Melvill flew in convoy around the world in two Rutan Long-EZ aircraft that they had built. This "around the world in 80 nights" flight was called The Spirit of EAA Friendship World Tour, and some legs of it lasted for over 14 hours.[11] - Авто та транспорт
"As the case goes with aviators, I got divorced, started flying again." Appreciate the honesty and the chuckle.
So did I.
Trade in the wife for a younger hotter tighter girlfriend 🤷🏻♂️
LOL same
Amazing… that much money remaining after the divorce!
@@YoniBaruch-y3m
Are you kidding?
I first lived in a spare room in a big kennel with 23 Shepards, 3 Dobies and a Dane!
It was 1975 and I was working as a security guard for five bucks an hour because she got EVERYTHING! 😭🤣
And every pup in the place loved me! 😍
The aviator you interviewed sounded like a professional TV personality! Such a passionate conversation
My father and I built one of these to a finished air frame, which I understood from other builders was about 1/2 way, time wise. We then sold it, and the guy we sold it to did the engine, avionics, and finishing work and flew it all over heck and back. Another guy in Indiana now owns it. Nice looking build here, I've seen a few that look like they were cut our with a hatchet and the epoxy and glass was thrown on from across the room. My son still gives me grief when I bring up the subject for selling it. He got a ride after it was finished. That was my second mistake. :-) I told him he could build his own, and I would help. Nada, so far.
That's a sad story 😢
Proly your biggest regret I guess 🥹
Used to service these Mid Eighties - it is in fact the perfect design -
so much so Beechcraft built a multimillion twin pusher turbo fan business jet.
The nose gear needs redesign is about the only weak point.
Cheers
I knew a guy with a Velocity RG,a Long EZ inspired canard. He routinely made 700+ mile flights without refueling. Amazing aircraft design from Routan.
One particular flight in my B36TC, I was cruising at 12,000, 170 mph on a 350 mile leg to a gathering of Beech owners. On my TCAS I saw a target at my 6, closing fairly rapidly. I contacted him, he had my airplane in sight and said he’d pass at +100 on my right. I was thinking it was a twin, maybe a Mooney cruising at max power since I was well into my turbo at 80%., 24 squared.. As he passed me, I saw it was a Long EZ. I complimented the pilot on both speed and looks, he came back, chuckled and said he was “just putting along”. I’ll never forget that, and he left me far behind. Great airplane, genius design. Never have flown one but I’ll bet they are fun.
BS, you don't have TCAS in a Bonanza.
When I was flying my Long-EZ, I always loved departing immediately after a Beech twin so I could pass them as we were both climbing away from the airport, knowing our relative fuel consumption. :-)
@@buckmurdock2500 BS yourself pal you might want to google it.
@@n9amiwavelengthradio Moral here is: If you're going to tell a BS story, learn how the equipment works so you don't sound ridiculous.
@@Liberty4Ever 😁Really envy you. I'm also working on my longEZ project
1,600 miles in ten hours? That's about right. I flew my 290 powered Long EZ from Hood River, OR to Oshkosh, 1,610 statute miles, nonstop in under 8 hours with a 12-15 MPH average tailwind. I was at 17,500' for seven hours.
@Silver Dream Machine And I still had 7 gallons of gas (out of 52) left when I arrived, enough to go another 200 miles. In over 2,000 hours in Long EZ's that's the only time I ever filled the tanks to the brim. BTW, to get full tanks you have to fuel with the nose gear down and the plane sitting level.
Is it pressurized or do you wear a mask?
@@kurtwagner2874 At altitude I wear an oxygen canula. You know, like people who have smoked for 50 years have to wear all the time.
I'm taking it that you are joking?
@@kurtwagner2874 Not joking. That 290 powered Long EZ burned about 5.8 gallons per hour at a little under 200 MPH at 17,500' with a carburetor and one electronic ignition and one magneto. The second Long EZ I built has a hopped up 360 (215 HP) and with an Ellison throttle and two electronic ignitions (no mags) burns 5.6 GPH at 17,500' at my economy cruise of 200 MPH. Do the math. Both planes were built with racing in mind and have lots of drag reducing airframe mods. The 290 one was hopped up to about 170 HP with angle valve cylinders, 11-1 compression, porting, etc. and I beat up on 360 and a V8 powered one at Shirl Dickeys R.A.C. E. air races. It put 18 air racing trophies on my "I love me" wall.
The Long Eze was the more commercialized slower, heavier, roomier version of the efficiency winning Veri EZE, which was 1/2 the weight of the Long. The Veri Eze didn’t have a starter to save weight we hand propped them!! The original ones built straight and very well were exceptionally light had no trim tabs and ran 180-190knots in the 70-75% power range typically on old remanufactured 100hp Lycomings. The biggest challenge was getting a good high pitch prop. We had a Rutan Prop designed for high cruising speeds which made taking off interesting. The prop wouldn’t actually bite till about 60knots at which point it felt like getting kicked in the back side when it finally bit air. 90 was minimum rotation speed.
100 hp Lycomings? Huh?
You are not even close to correct. My long Ez (this is my plane) is just over 1000 lbs. if you are lucky vari Ezs are 700. And no way 180kts…
Ours was 600 dry
@@buckmurdock2500 Yeah, they were 100 HP Continentals. Klaus Savier used to race his Varieze at Reno with his O200 kicking out around 140 HP and pushing 250 MPH. A few years ago he raced his 360 powered and normally aspirated Long EZ there and won the Bronze Sports class. Second place was a 540, supercharged F1 Rocket. I got a ride in that plane. It was fun cruising at 250 MPH. His 360 kicks out 250 HP. Klaus is a legend in his own time.
whats also interesting is the q1 with a onan 16hp motor. how far do you think it could fly. i believe about 100mpg!! rhen rhey turboed it!!❤😂
We're pumped to electrify one of these air frames one day. A vibration-free Long EZ would be a beautifully graceful way to fly.
How would it be vibration free if it still has the prop?
So it gets 30 MPG. That's insanely good.
Better than my bmw v8 😅
A friend of mine had one of those and I got to ride in it once. The Long EZ is such a cool plane and very efficient and nimble.
cool. Burt Rutan was way ahead of his time.
Beautiful aircraft! Great looks and performance. I'm envious!!
I've seen comparisons of the -EZ with other homebulits of comparable power, the the -EZ efficiency differential is miniscule. The range is because it carries 50+ gallons of gas.
Mr Rutan is a genius 👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
Indeed he is
I sold my Cirrus SR22T two years ago after buying it new and flying it for six years, during the peak of used plane values and got nearly all my money back. It had a cruising speed of 180ktas and a fuel burn rate at cruise of 18 gph. I was paying $3.50 per at that time, then you know who arrived and now aviation fuel is over $7. After two months looking around I put in an order for a factory built Velocity XLRG and am about a month from going out to fly it back home now. It has the Garmin G3x touch and Garmin GTX 750 in it and is powered by the Continental TSIO 550 C, 310hp turbo. It will cruise around 240ktas at about the same fuel burn I am guessing. It will be my last plane.
and maybe your best one!! nice move❤😂
Where did you have it built?
@@herbyh369 The factory.
Is it better to have an experimental rating? So maybe if you wanted to have the prop changed out or is it more ideal to have certified from the factory? Could you tell me how much they charged you?
I am looking to learn to fly.
I'm sorry. but I cant see an EZ without country roads playing in my head. such a great song.
RIP John Denver
RIGHT!
Exactly😢
Do not blame the plane...
Papi?! Damn, that's a hell of a history there.
I believe your RV3 was built by the EAA chapter in Riverside (Flabob). Some of those guys were a great influence on me in the early 90's.
Thanks for the info!
Good review, Varieze owner here.
thank you, both, for that flight!
Oh and it looks like a Shinden too. What a treat.
John Denver loved his long ez for as long as he was alive😮
love happens fast and quick😮
I bet he had a different feeling the last few minutes though.
“You aren’t videoing this are you ? No ! “As he cruises over the Boulder Flatirons
I was wondering when someone would say that
It'd be interesting to see a craft like this built with the new generation of small turbine engines.
Unfortunately, below about 500hp gas turbines get terrible fuel economy. About the only place you see them on aircraft is APU auxiliary power units where weight and space are important and their short running times make fuel economy less of a concern.
As a gas turbine gets physically smaller it gets difficult to keep the airflow from going supersonic inside the engine. If you cut the inlet diameter in half, the throat area is only 1/4 of what it was. So, when you cut the size of a small gas turbine in half, the shaft horse power or thrust is down 75% not 50%. The smaller the gas turbine the worse it gets.
The Delta Hawk diesel two stroke would be a superb solution. Powerful but economical on fuel. It has no internal compression so uses a blower. Altitude power loss is less of an issue.
Or some micro jet version, even better!
which new generation of small turbine engines are you referring to?
Look up the "Jet Eze"
Ah fellow Sussex County resident! The air show at Sussex airport was awesome to be at every summer!
Enjoyed the video thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Cool, efficient aircraft. As a pilot I just can't get past the problem of a survivable off airport landing. Love to see other people flying them, though.
@@BuildTheFutureYouWant lol
They absolutely do, and you land nice and flat, not tail up or something.
@@Hibiscuscalyxes The Long Ez has many advantages, trying to sell one on landing in a tight spot isn’t one of them. Stating that a SuperCub doesn’t get the cruise speed of a Long Ez is valid, stating that the Long Ez takes up more runway than a SuperCub is also very valid. Trying to say otherwise just sounds ingenuous.
Thanks for the flight seems like she handles really well….you can actually enjoy the view 🎉😊
Looks just like John Denver 's plane. Hope the fuel tank switch isn't mounted behind the pilot.
Exactly what I was thinking!
Oops, just commented the same thing before I read your comment! Ya beat me to it by ten days! :)
I think John Denver's was non standard, from the previous owner's changes ...
One of my friends did the same thing in his Long Ez. He is no longer with us.
Denver was told he should not fly his new plane until the fuel system was made safe. He flew anyway.
Reminds me of a racing toboggan with wings for the sky!
those exhaust pipes would benefit from exiting into a a single elongated fan tail . This would assist in slowing down the exhaust which will improve the airflow mixing and reducing the drag. I used this exhaust fan design on my 1980 Donnington GT.championship winning ground effects car.
I agree. I had a friend that had one of those non-stop from miami to alabama. They are fast and efficient.
I have watched this video twice now, amazing vid. I wish i could buy Long EZ kit.
Most materials and refined plans are ez to obtain. Some of the metal parts too, but not as ez as before. Yet, it's all doable. Best is simply to patiently find one, finished or not.
Put a toroidal propeller on it and let us know how much improvement in performance you get !!
I thought this was a Burt Rutan design. Looks beautiful.
Interesting aircraft. I am surprised it doesn't fly much faster than it actually does. It's efficient, low drag design would make it a very good starting point for developing armed drones.
My first aircraft as a 16 year old was a canard ultralight my next will be a long eze and after that God willing a velocity
That's a beautiful little flyin' rig, she's such a little beauty. These little fukkerz are really cool, I'm not even a pilot and I want one!
It's pretty well confirmed by LE owners that baggage pods won't impact performance more than 5 knots, if that.
This guy is a candidate 4a constant speed prop& electric HVAC on his next update. I like the FI Lycoming power plant.
Isn't that the plane that John Denver died in?
Wow look at the plane. Lets Ignore the lines in the sky. Breath deep.
Imagine how efficient and fast this would be with a toroidal prop!
With retractable gear, a canopy that is escapable when upside down and some form of flaps... this thing would be a cruiser like no other.
Love canard style planes and their safety characteristics. However I would like to see more about their worst case scenarios and spin problems and how they are handled. Expect the worst, plan for the best !
I think worst case / bad feeling is aft CG, when you just need to maintain more speed. Worse case danger is any density altitude miscalculation without a powerful engine.
Fairly interesting plane, with a turbo rotax might be even more efficient but a Risen 915 just outperforms it. It's much faster, much more fuel efficient, longer range, much simpler configuration, much easier to fly and it's side by side seating. He should get that next.
I'd worry about a prop strike on TO/landing.
You do have to be careful
@@SirDrifto Can't fly it like a Cessna or it could easily happen!
"Your not videoing right now are you?"
puts camera down "uhhh no" cut
Love it :P
Also if I had good eyes this is the plane I'd want personally, and I'd be making good use for those wing pods :)
This is the plane I had hoped to build, but I got married and it never happened.
Nice aircraft!
Is it just me or does he keep calling it a lon-ez?
Yes, it bugged me the whole video. Everything else was awesome.
Or lawn ez 😁. Great video tho
drink every time he says "lawn ez"
This is the closest thing to a fighter jet at the price point
Man crossing the entire US in three ten hour jumps and only using 600 pounds of fuel. That is about 20 mpg at twice the speed of a car. The only problem is there is absolutely no room at all for any cargo.
All valid points, great if your a solo pilot crossing the US
A friend who built one told me that the limit on range was not fuel, but his bladder.
Really good fuel mileage, but your packed in that small cockpit,,for 1000 miles. Alot of the EZ craft sold here in Wa State.
How much faster would this plane go if it used the revolver cylinder engine? The two bulges would be more rounded and tapered back toward a four placed prop.
V/r.,
R
"You're not videoing right now, are you?" 😅
People seem to forget. These are experimental aircraft. Some guy with meticulous care, constructed them with 2000 hours of loving labor. You see them for sale for peanuts. Where are you going to find a production plane, with the same performance for the same price? No where.
True points right there.
Looks cool, looks cooler with dual jet engines, also need wide at the root tapering to the tips canards which can swing back at speed. But that ruins the simplicity and efficiency
Would this be good enough for an Atlantic crossing, via Halifax or so? Or would this be too risky or dangerous? Or it could only be done with very mild winds or something?
Cool plane. I prefer the Cozy's myself however.
I love the design and would honestly fly one if I could afford it. Its unfortunate that this is the same plane that is associated with John Denver's passing.
"You not videoing right now?..........AAArrr no..." And then we miss the best part.
I googled for the long ez and found the plane from the video on sale (posted on november 12th 2023) :o i wish i had 65k to spare... and a pilots license xD
Great price for an awesome bird too
22:38 - I wonder what followed… 🤔 😂
Fast and fuel efficient? If I recall correctly, Rand Robinson KR-1 and Quickie Q2 more so.
that looks fun
Please make this: lose the first wing ( pitch control) and make the rudder v shape ( pitch and yaw control )
Then you'll want a V tail Beachcraft. Look up Doctor Killer.
in this day of high tech, the audio of such safety still sounds like boiling potatoes
How much does it way??? I love that plane!!
I was lucky enough to fly the prototype out at Rutan’s hanger in Mojave back in 80 or 81 I believe. Fantastic aircraft, but as the gentleman said, in the beginning of the video, I was married and could not come to an agreement with the wife.
Now that is really cool.
That or the velocity and I know they are different planes.
Looks a great design, super efficient on gas. Love to fly in it. Thinking it would be great for the Ukrainian army in their battle agsint the russians
What would the range be if you travelled by road?
With a density altitude of 8,000 you better have plenty of runway with those tiny wings 😮
I worked worked for a company that made a rocket powered Long EZ👍
That’s awesome 😎
@2:40 Leo Loudenslager never flew an Extra. His long time airplane was a much modified Stephens Acro.
Yes I was incorrect in my statement. Believe it was a Laser 200
“Very Responsive”that’s because of.!.
Airport queen.
is that the John Denver plane?
Lawn EZE and Boot Rutan... Almost didn't know what you were talking about...
Living near Mojave, I have seen many of these including Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager's light blue aircraft.
Speaking of Engineers. Once I was looking at a Long EZ at California City Airport. This NASA Engineer commented about the swept wing. Something like "A swept wing at subsonic speeds tends to induce spanwise flow which thickens the boundary layer." Not sure it had the fences like yours.
What a plane. Been around so long my mom made me aware of this design concept when I was 12,,,,huh
VOLUME????
Yes . Yes they are. Ask John Denver when you see him.
When you are drinking and take off with 7 gallons of fuel don,t blame the air[plane.
@@garytrenner5572 And he drank 6 of the 7 gallons.
what's with the static?
Lol "You're not video right now right?" I bet I can guess what took place after that.
Isn't this model the one the airforce modified to test pulse detonation engines?
Does your plane have a new registry number? N7128U comes up empty. Just curious...
There’s a 2+ hour flight showing two weeks ago on FlightAware.
I wonder how much life insurance is for Long EZ owners?
One thing I really hate is that ringing bell.
I like it.
Seams to have an issue with radio connection, and ignition suppression!
You pointed out the small nubs on the canard and also on the main wings, VG's (?) before asking about the fences, what are the VG's for, what do they do?
Vortex Generators are used to improve low-speed stall characteristics. A stall happens when the air can no longer stay “stuck” to the top of the wing, say if the angle of attack is too great the air separates and becomes turbulent, the VGs create little swirls of air that stick better to the wing at low speeds. The downside is they do create some drag and impact range and speed.
If by NM you mean Nautical miles it should be written nm, NM = Nanometer.
I want one.
whats the cost?
That's the type of plane that John Denver died in. He could not reach a fuel crossover valve that had been moved behind his shoulder. Hope you don't have that same setup! Awesome plane. Great video. Thanks! :)
Not what the NTSB report said: Why did John Denver's plane crash?
John Denver killed in Pacific Grove plane crash 25 years ago ...
He was just offshore when the plane ran out of fuel. The National Transportation Safety Board reports that he turned in his seat to find the fuel selector valve, causing him to apply the right rudder accidentally. The 53-year-old lost control and died in the resulting crash.Oct 12, 2022
I can add what I do know about the crash. My father owned a Long EZ that was owned by Burt Rutan, it was used as the chase plane for some solar powered experimental aircraft and he lives in Redding, CA. John bought his aircraft and as we know, the selected fuel tank ran out of fuel but the tank selector valve had a broken lever so the previous owner was using a small pair of vise grips temporarily and John was aware of this. John wanted to buzz Clint Eastwoods house which is near the shoreline and the rest is history. The Long EZ is designed to stall with the forward canards so the main wing doesn’t also stall, the aircraft will automatically pitch downward to gain air speed so the forward canards will regain lift and stabilize the aircraft. So as John was fiddling with the vise grips, the aircraft was “stair stepping” as it went through the stall-recover process as I mentioned which made it near impossible for John to switch the selector valve. If John had more altitude, he may have had more time to do what was needed but at a couple thousand feet up, you only have a couple opportunities before things went bad. I also wish John was still with us, terrible loss.
That that 'dangerous' setup only worked with 2 previous owners for 10+ years and 850 hrs.
@@echohunter4199 bs
@@echohunter4199 - "If John had more altitude, he may have had more time to do what was needed...." What was needed was to fly the plane instead of distracting himself with a fuel selector that was located behind his left shoulder (NOT per plans) while flying engine out, low and slow. If the pilot had pitched for best glide and dropped the Long-EZ in the ocean, it could have been fished out, trailered to the airport and been flying again without much expense. The glass over foam design is unsinkable.
It's easy to Monday morning quarterback every general aviation fatality. I put a lot of blame on the builder who thought he could improve on Burt Rutan's design by "making it safer" by putting the fuel selector valve on the firewall and running a universal joint articulated torque tube through the cockpit to a fuel selector switch behind the pilot's left shoulder where it's difficult to manipulate and impossible to see. Apparently, John Denver had been convinced to convert the fuel system back to what Burt Rutan originally designed with the fuel selector valve between the pilot's legs as part of the planned restoration, but crashed the plane before that could be done.
If it had good flaps it might be the perfect airplane.
Flaps would be a great addition
isnt this the plane John Denver was flying? Was being the key word..