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Thread: LONG-EZ Questions

  1. #1

    LONG-EZ Questions

    I'm a new member who is tired of renting and I am contemplating a Long-EZ project. I have viewed many past posts etc and have gathered much of what I believe I need in the way of plans, diagrams etc. But I do have a few questions. Most of what I have found is over a year old, has something particular caused a lack of interest? I work primarily off a grass strip and I have seen little on the Long-EZ and grass. I suspect a beefed up tire 6" over the standard 5" does anyone have any input that might be helpful? Thanks for your time!

    Cheers,

    Paul paulvanvorce@aol.com

  2. #2
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Van Vorce View Post
    I'm a new member who is tired of renting and I am contemplating a Long-EZ project. I have viewed many past posts etc and have gathered much of what I believe I need in the way of plans, diagrams etc. But I do have a few questions. Most of what I have found is over a year old, has something particular caused a lack of interest? I work primarily off a grass strip and I have seen little on the Long-EZ and grass. I suspect a beefed up tire 6" over the standard 5" does anyone have any input that might be helpful? Thanks for your time!
    I'd forget the Long-EZ and routine operations on grass strips. It's not the tires themselves, it's the grass and debris that gets kicked up by them and goes through the prop. That's why you rarely seem them on grass airports.

    Ron Wanttaja

  3. #3
    Ron - I am relatively close OG7 too but hadn't seen much on the grass strips. I guess I understand that. How about the aircraft design itself? Are you flying one?

  4. #4
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Van Vorce View Post
    Ron - I am relatively close OG7 too but hadn't seen much on the grass strips. I guess I understand that. How about the aircraft design itself? Are you flying one?
    I don't fly one myself, but I have several friends with them. They're very happy with their aircraft, and have had years of trouble-free operation. The EZ is a good pick, but don't build one if flying off non-paved runways is a major part of its future.

    Ron Wanttaja

  5. #5
    Rick Rademacher's Avatar
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    A good friend of mine flew his Long-EZ on a 70-knotter trip many years ago. He landed at the 4,000 ft. long grass strip which was our starting point. For some reason, he was the last to leave this strip on a short flight to a refueling stop. As he didn’t show at this next stop, I returned to the grass strip to find him still trying to leave.
    He had removed most of his camping gear to lighten the load.He had also drained fuel from his tanks. Some of the airport watchers at this strip had mowed a narrow path down the center of the grass runway that was cut shorter than the rest of the grass just for him. Everyone was taking bets on how many tries it would take for the front canard to reach flying speed and point the craft skyward before reaching the tall trees at the end of the long, long grass runway.
    After removing everything from his aircraft and with just enough fuel to reach the next stop, he flew on his sixth attempt to vow never to land on grass again.
    Last edited by Rick Rademacher; 02-15-2013 at 07:39 PM.

  6. #6

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    If you can afford to go bigger, the Velocities seem to fly fine off grass (if you have reasonable length). I have a friend who's flown a 200 hp Velocity off a 3900 ft grass strip for years.

    Charlie

  7. #7
    Thanks for the input! I'll avoid that and stick with the hard-ball. Cheers!

    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Rademacher View Post
    A good friend of mine flew his Long-EZ on a 70-knotter trip many years ago. He landed at the 4,000 ft. long grass strip which was our starting point. For some reason, he was the last to leave this strip on a short flight to a refueling stop. As he didn’t show at this next stop, I returned to the grass strip to find him still trying to leave.
    He had removed most of his camping gear to lighten the load.He had also drained fuel from his tanks. Some of the airport watchers at this strip had mowed a narrow path down the center of the grass runway that was cut shorter than the rest of the grass just for him. Everyone was taking bets on how many tries it would take for the front canard to reach flying speed and point the craft skyward before reaching the tall trees at the end of the long, long grass runway.
    After removing everything from his aircraft and with just enough fuel to reach the next stop, he flew on his sixth attempt to vow never to land on grass again.

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