Newsletter# 58 / July 1997
3/16/97
Dear Nat,
As of today, I have surpassed 20 hours of flight time on my new Cozy Mark IV. I have
tested up to 210 mph without a trace of flutter. As a matter of fact, the faster I push
it, the more stable it becomes. I am continually amazed at how docile this airplane is.
We have all heard of how hot the EZ series of planes is. People who do not have the
facts straight think that they use too much runway during takeoff and landings. This
simply is not true! I can easily break ground in 1200 feet and peg my 2000 fpm VSI. Anyone
who hasn't purchased their instruments yet might consider a 3000 fpm VSI so he won't run
the risk of bending the needle! On the other end of the scale, you have the option of
pulling the throttle back, trim and putt putt around the patch at Cessna speeds (but who
wants to?). I typically cruise around at 150 to 165 knots without breathing too hard. If
you read between the lines on this letter, you will read, "I'm having a ball shaking
out this bird!".
For all the serious builders out there in Cozy Land, prep on, you're going to be
surprised at how well your Cozy creation flies. For the guys who can't seem to get it in
gearÄif you only knew what you were missing, you might be able to find an hour a day and
one of your weekend days. I am helping another builder now; I will let him reveal himself
when he is ready; and we are progressing nicely. His Cozy will be nicer than mine, but
those are the breaks. If I can help motivate you, feel free to contact me at (502)
259-5928 between 6-9pm CST,or on weekends if you can catch me on the ground.
Best regards,
Mike Davis
Leitchfield, KY
Newsletter# 60 / January 1998
10/06/97
Hi Nat,
Just a quick one from England. My Cozy -COZI is now 4 years old, and has no changes or
mods. I just keep filling up the fuel & oil and FLY, FLY, FLY, FLY! David Machin
9/27/97
Dear Nat,
Cozy 24 DL keeps humming along fine. June and I just resumed from Rough River where
COZYs were well represented. Along with Vance Atkinson, Ken Francis, Greg Fowler, Carl
Denk, and the regular crew with our COZY IIIs, we saw Chris Csida in his beautiful new
Mark IV, we saw another Mark IV from Kentucky, Frank Bibbee's great Mark IV, and probably
one or two more that I have forgotten for the moment.
Labor Day weekend was the five year anniversary of our COZY first flight. I have 670
hours on it now and it has carried us reliably all over the country for a lot of fun trips
over those years. Thanks again for all your work and support for the COZY community. Dewey
L. Davis
10/14/97
Dear Nat & Shirley,
I have well over 70 hours on my Mark IV now. We flew the 500 miles to Oshkosh in such
comfort we were amazed. The Rough River Central States fly-in was also well attended.
There were approximately 42 EZ's. There were a number of 3-place Cozys and several Mark
IVs. My plan now is to upgrade in hardware and work on my aero cosmetics. I will be
installing the electric nose wheel retract and Vance's electric pitch trim. The elevators
are in perfect trim in cruise, but I need the extra range that the upgraded trim will give
me. This is a wonderful airplane and I enjoy flying more than I can convey; certainly as
much as building it. I can honestly say that I enjoyed building the Cozy and have since
been busy building parts for other EZ's as time and my wife allow./P>
Mike Davis
10/03/97
Dear Nat
I recently tried to get some good air to air pictures of my Cozy, but that is a hard
thing to do. When I have them I'll send them to Sport Aviation and get a free newsletter
update, and to celebrate 1,000 hours in a COZY! That occurred 2 weeks ago on our
way back home from New Mexico. I suppose that I have now flown the airplane half as much
time as it took to build. I dare say that is extremely unusual for a homebuilt, at least
in my experience.
There is a lot more to say about this airplane than that it has flown 1,000 hours. The
airplane itself has been totally reliable, predictable and fun. With a simple autopilot it
is a joy to fly on long trips with myself, my wife and the dog. I wish I had a 4place, but
realistically there is all the room we need. I've flown about 50 hours real IFR in the
1,000 hours, though most of that has been climbing into sunshine at 8,000 ft. (there are
lots of 800 and 3 days in Missouri). We have been to California to sail, Colorado to ski,
and Maine to Wooden Boat Building School. Thanks to you Nat, this airplane has been all I
expected and more.
Michael Marshall
Kansas City, MO
10/10/97
Dear Nat
I want to tell you about the experience I had Labor Day weekend. Jim Price (altitude
record) landed his Long EZ at the Houlton airport. I met him and spent some time with him
while he was here. He came to my house and looked over my Cozy MK IV and said things
looked fine. That boosted my confidence! The day he left, he took me for a ride and even
let me fly the Long EZ. Well, I have to tell you that it was a real privilege, as I hadn't
even seen one fly, let alone gotten in one. Jim is a terrific guy and very interesting to
talk to. I can't get over how well the Long EZ flies and handles. I hope mine handles as
well.
Everyone up here has metal or fabric planes, and to have a composite canard airplane
here was great. It really changed some people's minds about them! I just finished my floor
lay-up and attached it to the fuselage. The lay-up went much better this time. Thanks for
your time and patience, and the letter you sent. It really helped!
Wesley Tidd
Houlton, ME