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The Cozy III is a 3-seat, single engine, homebuilt light aircraft designed by Nat Puffer. The aircraft is built from plans using basic raw materials. It is not a kit aircraft, though many small parts are available prefabricated. The Cozy is similar in design and construction to the 2-seat
;Cozy
:Like the Long-EZ, the design includes a retractable nose gear and fixed main gear. With both front seats unoccupied, the center of gravity with the aircraft level is aft of the main gear. Thus, like the Long-EZ, the Cozy is parked with the nose resting on the ground, sometimes called "grazing". The nose-down position is very stable. The aircraft can withstand high winds as the wings are beyond a flying angle of attack. Some Cozy builders modify the design to include retractable main gear. This modification increases the maximum speed by a few knots. Maximum fuel tank capacity is reduced to accommodate the retracted gear.
;Cosy Classic
:The Cosy Classic is the European version of Cozy III, changed to a forward opening canopy and other modifications. The forward opening canopy design is available from Uli Wolter, the designer of the Cosy Classic modifications.
; Cozy IV
:The Cozy Mark IV is a 4-seat aircraft and the successor to the 3-seat Cozy III. Also designed by Nat Puffer, the Cozy IV first flew in 1988.
Rutan Long-EZ
The Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ is a tandem 2-seater homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites. The Long-EZ has a canard layout, a swept wing with wingtip rudders, and a pusher engine and propeller. The tricycle landing gear ha ...
, from which it is derived, with approval from Burt Rutan
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the recor ...
.
The Cozy utilizes foam and fiberglass sandwich construction, with foam suited to the usage, fiberglass oriented for the stresses, and epoxy to bond them together.
Nat Puffer designed the aircraft as a high speed cross-country VFR aircraft, although many builders equip their planes with IFR capabilities.
Design and development
The aircraft is constructed primarily of fiberglass, foam, and epoxy. Urethane foam is used to form highly curved, hand-carved shapes such as the nose and wing tips. Blue rigid styrofoam is cut with a hot wire saw to form the wing cores. Thin PVC foam sheets are used to form bulkheads and the fuselage sides. Two types of woven fiberglass are used to provide the surface strength of the composite sandwich. The builder does not need pre-fabricated items to finish the aircraft except for the landing gear bow and nose gear strut which require forms and an oven for post curing, but suppliers exist for these parts, such as Featherlite of Ukiah CA. The recommended engine is theLycoming O-235
The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed, piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-2 ...
, but a variety of powerplants from have been used.
Previous Versions and Related Aircraft
;Cozy
:Like the Long-EZ, the design includes a retractable nose gear and fixed main gear. With both front seats unoccupied, the center of gravity with the aircraft level is aft of the main gear. Thus, like the Long-EZ, the Cozy is parked with the nose resting on the ground, sometimes called "grazing". The nose-down position is very stable. The aircraft can withstand high winds as the wings are beyond a flying angle of attack. Some Cozy builders modify the design to include retractable main gear. This modification increases the maximum speed by a few knots. Maximum fuel tank capacity is reduced to accommodate the retracted gear.
;Cosy Classic
:The Cosy Classic is the European version of Cozy III, changed to a forward opening canopy and other modifications. The forward opening canopy design is available from Uli Wolter, the designer of the Cosy Classic modifications.
; Cozy IV
:The Cozy Mark IV is a 4-seat aircraft and the successor to the 3-seat Cozy III. Also designed by Nat Puffer, the Cozy IV first flew in 1988.
Specifications (Cozy III)
See also
*Rutan Long-EZ
The Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ is a tandem 2-seater homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites. The Long-EZ has a canard layout, a swept wing with wingtip rudders, and a pusher engine and propeller. The tricycle landing gear ha ...
*Rutan VariEze
The Rutan VariEze is a glass-reinforced plastic, composite, canard (aeronautics), canard aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. It is a high-performance homebuilt aircraft, hundreds of which have been constructed. The design later evolved into the ...
*Rutan Defiant
The Rutan Model 40 Defiant is a four-seat, twin-engine homebuilt aircraft with the engines in a push-pull configuration. It was designed by aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer Burt Rutan for the Rutan Aircraft Factory.
Development
...
* Cozy Mark IV
* Berkut aircraft
*Velocity SE
The Velocity Model 173 SE (Standard Elite) is an entry-level canard (aeronautics), canard Pusher configuration, pusher aircraft from Velocity Aircraft.
* Velocity XL
* Steve Wright Stagger-Ez
* Canard
*Pusher configuration
In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...
References
{{ReflistExternal links
http://stargazer2006.online.fr/derivatives/pages/cosy.htm http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/5Puffer%20Cozy%20CO-Z.asp Canard aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1982 Mid-wing aircraft 1980s United States sport aircraft