Introduction

I received my pilot's license on August 22, 1999. Even as I was wrapping this endeavor up I began to consider the idea of building my own airplane. I always thought canard type aircraft were really cool. A fellow hang glider pilot from Boulder Colorado had a Long EZ. I barely knew the guy but I used to see the Long EZ flying overhead once in a while. So when I began researching what type of plane to build I limited my choices to canards.

As a computer professional I utilized the Internet to do my research. I quickly learned that you can't get new Long EZ plans anymore. I was bummed. Soon I discovered newer models. Besides the Cozy I found references to Velocity, AeroCanard, and Berkut. My decision to go with a Cozy is based on a few criteria. I wanted a four seater and I liked the idea of a plans built plane. Kits have a higher initial outlay. I also found the support for the Cozy on the Internet to be quite strong. There are several web sites (see the links page), and a great mailing list full of active builders. The plane also seemed to be popular and quite a few are flying.

The goal of this web site is to compliment the other fine Cozy related web sites. Within these pages you will find a log documenting each day's progress. This will include a brief summary of what was done, how long it took, and some pictures to document the building process. A chapter summary can also be found. This is a summary of the builder's log arranged by chapter. This will cover the highlights and describe some of the gotchas I came across. There are many pictures for each chapter. I keep my digital camera in the workshop and snap a picture after each step.

Below is a picture of a Cozy Mark IV. You can click on the image to see a larger version.

Here is a shot of me doing a fiberglass layup. I feel like Darth Vader with the mask and gloves on. The mask works great. After doing a layup I clean the tools and gloves with a tub of acetone. I can't smell the acetone at all with the mask on. I can assure you that the smell is strong with the mask off. Rick