Update: Aerocanard has been SOLD (as of 6/22/15)
FOR SALE 4/5/15 - A visitor has a Aerocanard Project for sale
Seller has built three other homebuilts projects-- including a Cozy III & IV.
Here, I'll let Dave tell you his own words...
My wife always says I am a builder by spirit! Starting as a young boy in woodshop class, when everyone else wanted to build a birdhouse, I announced that I was going to build a boat, a real boat-- one that I got into and paddled down the creek as the whole class watched.20 some years later, I happened across a Home Builder’s magazine with Nat Puffer’s side by side Long EZ on the cover and I was hooked. I had ridden in small planes before, but never considered getting a private pilot’s license. In 1986 I started my first Cozy. In 1989, I took my FAA check ride in my Cozy 3, becoming one of only a handful of people to get their pilot’s license in an airplane they built themselves.
As much as I enjoyed flying, I loved building more. In 1995 I sold the Cozy and started on a Lancair, completing that beautiful bird in 1998. Again, building was more what I wanted that flying, so I sold the Lancair and started on a Cozy Mark IV. I promised my wife this was my last airplane project!
A friend and Long EZ pilot who years earlier who checked out my flight instructor in my first Cozy, bought the Mark IV even before it was completed and did the initial flight!
A few years without a project and I had to break my promise. In 2013, I bought some Aerocanard parts and started building again. I thought I had a 4th airplane in me, but truth is, I just don’t. Maybe I’ll build bird houses!
So my project is for sale. It is a great way to get a beautiful airplane at a great price. $10,000 firm for most of the parts needed to complete the airframe including all of the foam cores professionally cut by Featherlight, canopy, gear legs, windows, metal parts, etc. This is a fraction of my investment in parts. Basically the labor to date is free. Serious inquiries may call me at (321) 363-3242. Project is located in the Orlando/Daytona Beach area. I will send inventory list and more pictures upon request. Click on any picture below to see an enlarged version.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Update: 3/4/10 - Aerocanard Kit Nearing Completion! 
John Perry's Aerocanard SX nears flight status - UPDATE!
At Mt. Royal Airpark in Florida, there is an Aerocanard builder that has quietly been working on a piece of art-- an Aerocanard SX. As you recall, the SX is the turtle-deck with the round windows and a little higher cockpit ceiling.
John has been flying a Long-EZ for the past few years and he's now in the process of moving his N-numbers over from the Long-EZ to his new Aerocanard.
In John's own words:
"In 1994 I finished building a LongEz with an IO-320. I had started the Long-Ez project 11 years earlier in my garage in Atlanta. I then moved it to Ft. Lauderdale and worked on it some more. Then I moved it back to Atlanta for a short time and finally I moved it to California where I finally finished it. I swore I would take a chain saw to it rather than move it again. I also told my wife she could shoot me if I ever said I wanted to build another airplane. The last few months trying to finish it were really a push, and I had to move back to Ft. Lauderdale the weekend after I got the FAA sign off. Fortunately I had a guy, Jack Block at Fallbrook, who helped me finish it. He was an ex-paint & body man as well as an A&P; just the kind of person to finish a composite airplane. I don't know if I would have ever finished that plane without Jack’s help.
In 1999 I happened to drive by the Ft Pierce Airport and met Jeff Russell and became acquainted with the AeroCanard. His shop in Ft. Pierce was just an hour and a half away from my home near Ft. Lauderdale. That same year at Sun-N-Fun I put down a deposit on the AeroCanard kit and started work on the plane that summer. After building a LongEz from scratch I was thinking that the Aerocnard was going to be so quick to build and much easier. Little did I know that it was going to take me 11 years again to finish this airplane. Life has its way of making its own plans. In Ft. Lauderdale I got the fuselage put together along with the wings and the canard.
I found a Lycoming IO-360 basket case engine for $2500-- A great deal! Putting that engine together was an education though. It had no crankshaft and a new one cost $3850. Also it needed to be exchange overhauled. I put nickel cylinders in by PAP, the case overhauled and line bored by CSI, some used intake tubes, the fuel injection overhauled by Airflow Performance, and 10 to 1 pistons. Did I leave anything out? Yeah, about a 1,000 little nuts and bolts and miscellaneous parts. Right now I have about $14,000 in the engine. I'm using two PMags. That's still a pretty good buy for an engine.
In 2003 I retired from Delta Airlines. In 2005 we moved from Ft. Lauderdale to Mt Royal Airpark (3FL0) in north Florida. I had a home built, and I built a 40' x 60' hangar on the back of the lot. That process took a year. About the time we moved into the house I had a heart attack. These things get in the way of aircraft building!
One important Aerocanard option I'm making use of is the SX turtle deck. This top gives me more side to side headroom and, of course, it doesn't look like a Cozy-- which is a big plus for me. The windshield for that was $1,000. Wow! If others use SX top we need to find a better source for that windshield. Todd's Canopies cannot make that particular design. I'm 6'1" and so I moved the seat back 1" and the rudder pedals and instrument panel forward 1". Also I raised the instrument panel up 1 1/2" for more knee room. I'm using a Wilhelmson nose lift. It is well designed. I mounted a throttle quadrant on the center tunnel on the floor so the throttle and mixture cables run through the tunnel straight to the engine. I would make the center tunnel a little larger than plans since I seem to be running so much through that tunnel.
The reduced size of my instrument panel limited me to two Advance Flight 3400 EFIS. Also I plan on a Trio Pro autopilot, a PS5000 intercom, Garmin 430W GPS/VOR/COM and a Garmin 327 transponder. I'm using a Dynon D6 as a standby instrument. No vacuum system at all. The EFIS and the Dynon will have back up batteries from the manufacturers. Stein Air is doing the avionics work. Of course they will not build the panel, they will just do the wiring and make sure everything works. I will mount it in the panel.
I found a local auto body and paint man that needed some work to help with the finishing and painting. That was a big help. We used Alpha Poxy and micro-balloons for the filling. I used some Imron paint that I had bought earlier. That turned out to be a mistake. I wouldn't use Imron and I wouldn't buy it ahead of time. PPG single stage urethane paint is probably a better choice.
So I had hoped to finish in time for Sun-N-Fun but I see now that won't happen. I won't get the Avionics until mid March (2010) and on March 22 we go to Brazil for a ministry trip and we won't be back until just before the fly in.
So that's where I am a the first of March, 2010. Working on wiring, hoses and engine accessories."
We expect to hear a lot more from John as he nears that first flight. If you have questions for John, e-mail them to canards@aerocanard.org and we'll forward them on to John.
John's waiting on a set of wheel pants from Al that will fit his larger 15/6:00x6 tires.
 |
John's son made a beautiful logo for his dad. I've taken the liberty to trim some of the white background out so it will better fit my background color. John's thinking of making the logo into a T-shirt. I'd buy one! |
Look for more updates of John's progress here. We're going to follow John and have him report throughout his testing and first flight.
Oh, you wanted to see some pictures? Don't worry, John has supplied some for you. Click on the this link: John's Aerocanard SX
For further information on John or contact information, visit our Builder's Page.
Update: 1/24/12 - Aerocanard Kit pieces for sale!
Kit pieces laid and assembled by Jeff Russell!
Ermilo Coello ( ermilo.coello@yahoo.com) has a few extra Aerocanard parts lying around. These are original pieces that were built up by Jeff. These parts are now looking for a new home. If, after viewing the pictures, you would like to get further information feel free to e-mail him.
* * Here's what Ermilo is selling. Click on pictures for a larger view* *
 |
 |
 |
 |
Update: 4/13/08 - Robert Hayes Rests Now
On Sabbath, 4/5/08 Robert Hayes; husband, father and Aerocanard partner and builder passed away at around 4:00 p.m.
Robert was a man just reaching his 40's and a craftsman of incredible talent. He has been building model R/C planes and jets for as long as I can remember (www.hcrcm.com/gallery/). When he approached me about 14 months back about building a 1/3 scale Long-EZ, I persuaded him into working with me to build a full scale plane we could really fly instead of just standing around on the ground to watch. This is where the Aerocanard came in. We found a kit that had just sat around for 10 years and hadn't really been started yet. We brought back from Texas and we were hoping to fly to Oshkosh in it this year. Most of the pictures in the construction area that follows the building of our Aerocanard show Rob at work on the plane (as I'm usually the one taking the pictures).
To Rob's family: Our prayers are with them in this time. I speak for a lot of folks when I say that Rob will be missed. He was a good friend.
Update: 4/13/08 - Aerocanard Kit has sold!
The Aerocanard kit that Larry had for sale (lost medical) is now SOLD!
Al from Aerocad contacted Larry and arrangements were made to purchase back the Aerocanard. Let's all encourage Al to make a company demonstrator of this bird and get it flying soon.
* * Here's what Larry was selling. Click on pictures for a larger view* *
 |
 |
Update: 9/18/07 - Jeff Russell
I e-mailed Jeff recently with some questions about some construction techniques. While I had his ear, I decided to ask him a few other questions about the Aerocanard history.
Question: How many kits did you produce before leaving?
Answer: "...I no longer have the files on the kits and the builders. I think there was about 50+ kits made by us and 30+ aerocanard tops sold to Cozy builders that wanted a larger top."
Question: Are you still actively involved in the canard community?
Answer: "I only help builders with questions when thy come up. I am not actively doing much with the canard builders other than that. I am working on Gulfstreams, Saabs, Falcons and other Jets on custom interiors and composite cabinets.
