INTRODUCTION:

Q: What do you get if you cross the design and flying qualities of the COZY MKIV with the fast-build, kit convenience and roominess of the Velocity?

A: You get the AeroCanard, a new four-place canard kit plane. The AeroCanard prototype flew to Oshkosh '95 in primer, but even before that the company had delivered 18 kits. Jeff Russell, AeroCad’s founder, says the new kit plane resembles the Cozy Mark IV, with changes made for the sake of roominess, convenience, and performance. However, construction methods and build time--an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 hours--the AeroCanard bears an uncanny resemblance to a Velocity.

The AeroCanard kit includes a pre-molded lower fuselage, top, and fuel strakes; prefabricated spars and precut foam cores; and numerous smaller parts that can be time-consuming to make - including wheel pants, canard tips, instrument panel and various NACA inlet scoops to name a few. The kit can be purchased all at once, says Russell, or as 16 separate sub kits with or without the hardware (wheels, axles. brakes, etc. and raw materials fiberglass, resin, etc.), excluding engine, avionics and paint. The complete kit includes everything needed to complete the airframe--even down to paint brushes and resin mixing cups.

On its maiden cross-country flight to Oshkosh, the prototype met all performance goals, says Russell. “We were flying heavy, hot and dirty--at 2,100 pounds, down low, in 95-degree heat; and with rough primer, no wheel pants, and a prop that hasn't been optimized yet. Despite all that, at 2540 rpm, we were seeing 185 knots true. At economy cruise--2,150 to 2,200 rpm--the plane delivered 160 knots true, on 7.5 to 7.8 gallons per hour. Wheel pants, slick paint, and a smaller prop could add another 20 knots to the top end, Russell predicts, adding, “I can't wait to see what this plane will do once everything's cleaned up”.

AeroCad and the Russell’s are not newcomers to the composite homebuilt scene. The company has been prefabbing molded parts and subassemblies for Long-EZs, Cozys, Berkuts, E-racers and other composite planes for the past 6 years. AeroCad has also been working at Sun-N-Fun and Oshkosh Workshops for past several years to show homebuilders how to get higher quality components from vacuum bagging and different finishing techniques.

As for Russell, he's one of the few people around who has built both a Velocity RG and a Cozy. His Cozy took plans built champion at Oshkosh in 1991. 'What's more, Russell and his business partner--his father Greg, a former Rockwell engineer--came close to buying Velocity from Dan Maher a few years back. So it's not surprising that when it came time to scale up to a complete kit plane, AeroCad's design would incorporate features of both designs. “We've really tried to combine the best of both," Russell says, "and so far our builders seem to think we've succeeded.“

At first glance, the AeroCanard is indistinguishable from a stock Cozy MKIV.  Look closer, though and you'll see some key differences. Inside the cockpit, the front seat offers 2 inches more headroom and 2 inches more headroom width. In the back seat--where the Cozy tends to live up to its name--the AeroCanard is 3.5 inches wider 2 inches taller and has a whopping 7 inches more headroom width. In addition the brakes and rudder pedals are adjustable on both sides not just the right side.

Outside the cockpit, AeroCad has replaced the Cozy's manual speed brake with an electrically actuated one. The wheels and brakes are beefier--6x6.00 instead of 5x5.00--giving the AeroCanard roughly twice the stopping power of the Cozy "At light loading,” says Russell. "I can stop in 1,000 feet. Behind the firewall the AeroCanard is designed for a 200-hp Fuel-injected Lycoming, which gives it better takeoff and climb performance. "At light loading, I can get off the runway in 1,000 feet and climb at 1,700 to 1,900 feet per minute,” Russell says, “At gross--2,100 pounds--I can get off in 1,500 feet and climb at 900 to 1,000 feet per minute at the same 95-degree day.

An additional option AeroCad offers for its kit is an electric lift to replace the manual nose gear mechanism. "This lets you board the plane nose-down, then raise the gear electrically," says Russell. "That makes a big difference with a plane this heavy.”  Velocity attacked this problem another way by selling an option called “the Elite” which adds gullwing doors to both sides adding complexity and $3,000 to their kit.  Another departure from the Cozy design is the option of installing the canopy as a wraparound windshield rather than a full bubble.

Because of its many design similarities to the Cozy, It's worth noting that the AeroCanard was being produced under a licensing agreement with Nat Puffer of Co-z Development Corp. In fact, AeroCad is also offering a kit version of the standard Cozy Mk1V design, now called the AeroCanard SB (Small Body). Like the AeroCanard FG the SB kit is available either as a complete kit or as 16 separate sub kits. The SB can also be purchased with or without the raw material. It’s nearly $2,000 less than the AeroCanard FG kit. The reason says Russell, is that the SB kit includes fewer molded parts, and the fuselage top is not as fully prefabbed. Still Russell figures the SB kit should save a Cozy or SB builder 1,000 plus hours, and at a cost that's not much higher than the scratch-build version."

AeroCad's new best-of-both worlds means you can start a Cozy plans built kit and finish it with as many AeroCanard molded parts from us as you want. Convert a Cozy MKIV per plans model using AeroCanard larger parts which now makes it look like an AeroCanard, this gives more headroom than the standard Cozy.  Or build a kit by completely using molded parts and our modified plans, paying for them one sub kit at a time (16 sub kits) with no increase in price. With more options, AeroCad, Inc. hopes to see a higher percentage of airplanes completed with less money out of customer’s pocket, especially at one time.