From Nats Cozy Newsletters
and the Unofficial Cozy Builders Web Site
Cozy Flyer's Reports 2003
Newsletter# 80 / January 2003
Builders, 9/27/02
Today I had to get to 85 mph to get the nose off. After landing I
checked the fore/aft level of my Mark IV, and it was nose down.
Brian Deford
Chandler, AZ
...
Brian, 9/27/02
Congrats on flying your Cozy! My airplane sits about 1 deg.
nose up on the ramp. It does make a difference on rotation ease. I
once did a take off with the nose gear not fully down, and it was
quite a different ball game. It was like the canard was keeping the
airplane glued to the runway.
Cozy airplanes all want to turn left because the pilot sits on the
left side. Put 200 pounds in the right seat and it won’t do it.
David Domeier
Chesterfield, MO
...
Builders, 10/07/02
… … … … … I landed at PSF, cracked open the canopy to get
some air, and taxied back to the active. … … .I pull out onto the
runway, advance the throttle, and at 50 mph realize that the
warning horn is screaming at me and there seems to be a LOT of
air coming from somewhere. For the second time in five days, I
make an intelligent decision and abort the takeoff, rather than
trying to latch the canopy while rotating. What a dope!… … ..
Marc Zeitlin,
Acton, MA
...
Builders, 10/16/02
… … … … ..So, here’s the one incredibly stupid thing that I did.
Although I’ve been flying the COZY now for two and a half
months pretty continuously, I’ve still got 27 years of mostly flying
C-172’s with a fuel selector gauge that reads “BOTH” 99.9% of
the time. You can see what’s coming, yes? Even the 3 years of
flying Warriors has not totally cured me of the complacency of
expecting to NOT have to touch the fuel selector lever. Anyway,
while taxxing for takeoff, I set the lever to the right tank, which
was almost dry – I wanted it totally empty so that I could finish the
calibration of the right tank sender unit. I figured that I’d switch to
the left full tank just after the runup. I didn’t, even though I was
supposedly following the checklist, which called for a “fullest
tank” check before pulling onto the runway. I took off on the
almost empty tank, marveling at the fact that I was climbing at
almost 2,000 fpm, and had reached 1,200 ft. after a 180 deg turn
that put me at midfield downwind. Just about that time, the engine
burbled and started to lose power, I immediately realized what was
wrong, lowered the nose, and switched tanks. Within 5 seconds,
the engine was back at full power. So, one pint less fuel, the engine
croaks at 200 ft., and I’ve got a pile of splintered fiberglass at best.
I was very lucky. I don’t think that I’ll have THAT problem again.
I will have the fuel situation in mind at all times. I know that I had
been warned about this a number of times in the past. Hopefully
some of you will be better at absorbing lessons learned by other
people than I was… … … … ..
Marc Zeitlin
Acton, MA
...
Builders, 10/21/02
I would like to publicly express my joy and gratitude at being
the first passenger in Marc’s beautiful Cozy “Precious Time”. That
this was done on a 305nm XC flight, to the Canard Aviator flyin,
and via the Hudson River Corridor were all bonus treats.
Second my appreciation at all the help we were offered in
dealing with Marc’s starter problem. Especially to Wayne Wright
for his willingness to disassemble his project to not only loan Marc
the starter, but also the ring gear if needed. I’ve read about this
kind of builder fellowship and support, but had never witnessed it
first hand.
Third, I’d like to relate to Marc the many favorable comments
his engine installation was getting while he was banging his hands
up getting the starter off. Most emphasized how clean his
installation was.
Lastly, Terry Schubert suggested I tell Marc (after starter ordeal
was over) to reroute his vacuum pump discharge. It is currently in
the standard configuration, of dumping straight down. Terry
suggests it be routed through the baffling and into the low pressure
side of the engine. This will increase the efficiency and lifespan of
the vacuum pump.
John Vance
Hadley, MA
Newsletter# 81 / April 2003
Builders, 2/25/03
In a Cozy, nothing is too far out of the way (to pick up to take
to Sun n Fun). I have been flying shuttle service for my family for
two and a half years. It requires 3 round trips to take the whole
family, with one round trip being solo and without luggage. It has
been worth it. Soon I will start the second Cozy so that Carrie or
my son Chris can fly in formation with me.
Kevin Funk M.D.
Lubbock, TX
...
Builders, 1/27/03
I made the mistake of taxi testing for 1 mile at 70 mph into a
strong cross wind. It was night, and when I got to the hanger, the
brake was mushy, there was a boiling sound, and the brake was
glowing red hot, shining on the ground (I have wheel pants). The
next day, I found that the wheel pant had partly burned and caused
a small blister on the paint, the brake was leaking since the rubber
O ring was totally fried, but the landing gear leg was fine with the
fiberfrax and the aluminum tape wrap. I peeled back the insulation
to look at the leg (definitely not easy) and saw no damage except
to the dirt and oil on the aluminum tape. The O ring was replaced,
new brake linings since ½ was gone, and new brake fluid since the
old fluid had boiled. No problems since with the brakes and leg. I
think the insulating and reflecting worked great.
So much for high speed taxi testing with 3 big men passengers
for fun!
Kevin Funk M.D.
Lubbock, TX
Newsletter# 82 / July 2003
Nat, 5/22/03
I am returning the referral check you sent to me. Please apply it
to my newsletter renewal, which has lapsed. I’m now just a few
hours away from turning over 1000 hours (tach) on my bird. What
a wonderful machine!
Timothy P Jones
Jefferson, SD
...
Builders, 5/2/03
It is sure fun to have a Cozy. Everyone needs to keep on
building.
Tuesday my family and I were at a medical meeting at our new
Silent Wings Museum. After the meeting, the sky had cleared of a
moderately large thunderstorm and left us with a gorgeous
Lubbock sunset. My wife took the two oldest kids home and I
went to the hangar with the 2 youngest (Amelia 6 and AJ 4). We
preflighted and then called Carrie to tell her that we decided to fly
over the house and then come back to do some full stop night
landings (almost 90 days). She was halfway home already.
We were able to reach the house at the same time they arrived,
even though I used ½ throttle and did some sight seeing first.
Carrie went out front to put in our left over Christmas lights that
spelled out a huge “F” on the roof, just for this kind of a flight (her
idea). The older boys went up on the roof for a good look. It was
funny having Amelia leaning over me to see out of my window
with her feet on the far wall and her hands on my wall. We then
turned the other way so that she and AJ could see the house better.
Friends asked about the flight the next day because they saw us at
1000 ft AFL from as much as a mile away doing our graceful 60
degree banked turns.
Back at the airport, my approaches kept being high since I had
such a light load and so final was done twice at 60 mph (below my
green arc) with no sensation of canard stall. Full idle, speed brake
out, and some double rudder made for a 700-800 fpm descent that
shallowed wonderfully at 20 ft with added power. Real greasers!
What an enjoyable evening. The drive home was non-stop
talking. AJ informed me that next time, he wants to sit on the roof
with me, like we did in Sun n Fun, and watch Chris fly the plane
over the house with Mom in the copilot seat so that he can see
them have fun. Bed time was a challenge, but with big smiles.
Lubbock, TX