The Long Easy Project

This is an audio-visual web site. Remember to turn on your speaker.

In 2003, Mark, a teacher at the West Island School and Alan Sankey, the Vice-Principal, invited Francis Chin to join to help the Project Long EZ - a science project initiated by Mark and his aviation enthusiastic children of the school. Francis accepted the invitation and helped as a volunteer.

In addition to help building the aircraft, Francis tried enthusiastically to promote the project to all and solicit people interested to join as well as to help funding the children in this meaningful aviation project. Here are some banners designed by Mark and his students.

Since 1 January 2003 you are visitor number Hit Counter

What is Project Long EZ ?

It is an aircraft building project initiated by the West Island School. The project is to build a home-built aircraft called the Long EZ. The ultimate aim is to build a real 2-seater aircraft and fly it in the Hong Kong blue sky !

Rutan Long-Ez VH-LEZ

Rutan Long-Ez VH-LEZ (c/n V69) of A. Meehan, Cairns, Q. at Cairns airport, 2 March 2002.

This project is open for all. All school age children and adults can join. This project is for young people who are interested in either flying, aircraft, machines, engines, fiberglass, handyman, painting, or even publicity, news/story writing, photography, computers, computer graphics, web hosting or web management, advertising, accounting etc. etc.

Blue Print of the Long EZ

Rutan Long-Ez

TYPE: 2-seat homebuilt sporting aircraft.

PERIOD: 1979-

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

ENGINE: One Avco Lycoming O-235 flat four cyl. engine of 108-115 hp. (sources vary); or Continental O-200.

DIMENSIONS:

	Wing span: 26 ft 3?in / 8.01 m.
	Length: 16 ft 9 in / 5.11 m
	Height: 7 ft 10 in / 2.39 m.

WEIGHTS:

	Empty: 710 lb / 322 kg
	Empty equipped: 750 lb / 340 kg
	Max. takeoff: 1,325 lb / 601 kg

PERFORMANCE:

	Max. cruise: 184 mph / 296 kph
	Economical cruise: 144 mph / 232 kph at 40% power at 12,000 ft/ 3658 m
	Initial climb: 1,750 ft per min. (solo), 1,350 ft. per min. (2-seat)
	Service ceiling: 27,000 ft / 8300 m. (solo), 22,000 ft. / 6706 m. (2-seat)
	Range at economical cruise: 2,010 mls / 3235 km. with max. fuel (solo)

CAPACITY: Max. 2.

The Long-Ez is one of a line of canard designs produced by Burt Rutan, and is derived from the Vari-Ez, which was offered to home-builders from 1976. The larger Long-Ez was tested in 19769, the prototype, N79RA, making its first flight on 12 June.
The aircraft is intended for efficient long-range flight, and can travel for over ten hours and up to 1,600 miles on 52 gallons of fuel. With a rear-seat fuel tank, a Long-Ez has been flown for 4,800 miles.
The pilot sits in a semi-reclined seat, controlling the Long-Ez with a side stick controller on the right console. As well as having an airbrake on the underside, the wing-tip rudders can be deflected outwards to assist the brake. If the aircraft reaches too low a speed, the front (canard) wing will stall and lower the nose until speed is gained. It will not stall as would a conventional aircraft.
18 Long-Ez were on the Australian civil register in 2001.

Mark and Francis congratulate each other at the completion of the aircraft cockpit.

Mark and students at work. Note the plans and bulletins.

The completed cockpit of the Long EZ aircraft and the bubble canopy.

A lot of work was done and shortly after the cockpit with the bubble canopy was made, Mark decided to resign and return to his home overseas.

Francis was enthusiastic and wished to help the school and students to follow up to complete the project. However even Alan Sansky lost steam and told Francis that the project would be difficult to continue without a full-time teacher taking charge and the project regrettably came to a full stop.

Pity that another dream to fly vanished.