Getting Cozy

Up Close.

The first time I encountered the Cozy was in the climate-controlled shed of owner/builder Chris Byrne. From the outset this was an aircraft with a difference. It is not a ‘kit plane’ and its construction did not involve the assembly of pre-fabricated components; rather it was moulded from the ground up. From nothing more than a set of plans, rolls of woven fibreglass had been carefully layered with epoxy. While PVC foam sheets form the bulkheads and fuselage sides, Urethane foam is used to form highly curved, hand-carved shapes such as the nose and wing tips and ultimately create the unique shape that defines the Cozy. Seeing the creation take to the skies involved around 3,500 man hours, wedged in between work and family commitments.

The end result was a highly finished, 4-place canard with a single ‘pusher’ engine at the rear which immediately reflects its lineage from Burt Rutan’s original Long-EZ. Topped with a front-hinged bubble canopy, its tricycle undercarriage consists of a highly streamlined fixed main gear and a long retractable nose gear. The small lifting canard at the front is home to the elevators and the mainplane’s large winglets integrate the aeroplane’s rudders. The mainplane consists of a highly swept inboard section, reducing to a more conventional sweep at about one third of its impressive 28 foot span. With baggage pods, resembling ‘drop tanks’, beneath each wing, this aircraft’s futuristic form would seemingly be well at home as one of Batman’s modes of transport.

Despite its striking form, the pre-flight inspection is quite conventional. However, notable is the absence of flaps and the addition of a belly-mounted speedbrake. The nose gear can be fully, or partially, lowered or raised on the ground to facilitate better access and ground handling is surprisingly simple, if not off-putting. The aircraft is easily manoeuvred around the hangar by a heavily reinforced, nose-mounted pitot tube. It goes against every instinct to place weight on the pitot, but when this is overcome there is very little pushing or panting in handling the Cozy.

A critical pre-flight aspect for this aeroplane is its weight and balance consideration. With its aft mounted engine, a solo pilot needs to add lead ballast to a compartment in the nose, while two grown-ups in the front seat totalling more than 188kg will call for ballast to the rear. Cozy pilots seem to be very conscious of this operational aspect and Chris reviewed a detailed weight and balance chart with me prior to our flight. With 55 litres of fuel in each wing tank and a favourable weather forecast, we were ready to fly. And I couldn’t wait.

Getting Cozy.

The Cozy may be a homebuilt aircraft, but it might not be a retirement project. Mainly because access is achieved by hopping up, backside-first, onto the leading edge and then swinging the legs down into the cockpit. With the nose gear partially raised and the technique explained, it wasn’t too challenging, however, it might get a bit tougher after another twenty footy seasons.

Once seated, the Cozy cockpit is a little confined but very functional. Chris stands at the 6 foot mark, weighing in at 100 kg, but I’d suspect that you wouldn’t want to boast a much bigger frame. Also, it is worthwhile having charts and flight plans organised and accessible in the front seats as it may be a struggle to grab them in flight. The aircraft is definitely Cozy by both name and nature, but harnessed in you could also describe it as comfortable.

The seats are high-backed and slightly reclined. The cabin and instrumentation options are really at the discretion of the builder. To the left of this IFR-certified example is the pilot’s side-stick and essential switches such as magnetos, Master and starter. The flight panel is clean with two EFIS screens dominating to the left and right, while avionics fill the traditional centre stack. There is even a dash-mounted TCAS to warn of all those other ‘lighties’ outside controlled airspace. Along the top of the panel are located warning lights and fuel pumps, while the centre pedestal has the gear selector, aileron trim a, cabin heater control and a firewall shut-off ahead of the throttle quadrant. Don’t get those last two levers mixed up on a dark, wet night. The throttle quadrant itself consists of a throttle, mixture and green-topped purge valve lever to ward off vaporisation issues at start.

We lower the large canopy and secure it on both sidewalls of the cockpit. The layout is logical and very soon the Lycoming IO-360 is brought to life. The lower cabin noise levels due to the aft mounted engine and three-bladed pusher propeller are immediately apparent and we taxi off without delay to guard against curious folks walking up from behind. And curious folks seem drawn to this aeroplane wherever you go. Its futuristic form continually draws people from their hangars and even has cars pulling over on the nearby roadside.

Directional control on the taxi is through a blend of thrust and differential braking which becomes easier as the taxi speed increases. The pre-take off sequences are conventional, although setting the pitch trim for take-off is a little novel. It is set by looking outside at the canard and trimming the elevator surface down. Roughly inch down for one on board and two inches for two. With our checks completed, we line up on Runway 06 at Mittagong and ready ourselves for the departure to Goulburn.

Born to Fly.

For all of the small pre-flight idiosyncrasies of ballast requirements, folding nosewheels and pitot probe handling systems, once you open the throttle this machine is all aeroplane. We accelerate briskly along the sealed surface and approaching 70 knots you feel the canard start to fly and the aircraft burst into life. This needs to be tempered by gentle forces in the rotation or the aircraft rears its head as it leaps into the air. Chris had forewarned me of this trait and we smoothly became airborne and climbed initially at 90 knots until the trees and terrain were no longer a consideration. Free of the earth we accelerated to climb at 100 knots and easily achieved in excess of 1000 fpm. Chris was keen for me to see the tremendous autopilot and navigation system package, so we intercepted the outbound GPS track and climbed for a period with the automatics engaged. But to be honest, I was keen to fly this aeroplane for every possible minute.

The aircraft is absolutely beautiful to fly in the turn, rolling around the sky effortlessly. It is a little more sensitive in pitch, which serves as a great incentive to keep in trim. With the bubble canopy surrounding us and the swept wing positioned well behind, the visibility ahead and abeam was absolutely breathtaking. The short nose didn’t present any real hurdle in setting an attitude visually and once it was set and trimmed, the aircraft held it nicely.

Having reached 6,500 feet we levelled off and throttled back to 2500 rpm giving a TAS of around 155 knots and burning a measly 33 litres per hour. The sporty control stick is very well calibrated for the relationship between input and response as well as playing home to the trim, push to talk, autopilot disengagement and speedbrake deployment. Deploying the speedbrake is akin to lowering a small barn door from beneath the aeroplane and the knots wash off accordingly with a slight pitch up moment. However, the maximum extension speed for the speedbrake is quite low at 90 knots. For a far more useful source of drag, the Cozy has a nifty feature. Depressing both rudder pedals deflects both rudders outboard, again resulting in no roll or yaw, but another source of drag. This mechanism is available at any speed and is very effective in slowing down or increasing the rate of descent. The designers obviously recognised that this may be an aircraft that needs a hand to slow down.

As mentioned previously, turns are a joy in this aeroplane and when brought to bear, its roll rate is quicker than most 4 seaters. With the power reduced to 2000 rpm, the Cozy indicates 100 knots in its own brand of slow speed cruise, around 30 knots above the stall. And it is the stall characteristics of this aircraft that are both interesting and entertaining. Cozy advertise that the aircraft is very “stall resistant” and I would have to agree. Without flaps being fitted, there is just the clean configuration to experience and with the throttle back the airspeed bleeds slowly back towards the 70 knot mark. There is some buffeting before the nose gently pitches down, then rises, then gently pitches down again. With the control column continually held fully back, this cycle of undulations is about as violent as a child’s oscillating ride in a shopping centre. With the power introduced and the stick fully back, the aircraft continues to gently porpoise but arrests the descent and ultimately starts to gain altitude. Stall resistant indeed! This rather different flight profile is the result of the canard repeatedly stalling and then unstalling; the wings do not actually reach the stall.

Leaving the upper levels we established in a glide at 85 knots and the Cozy Mark IV’s streamlined form offers a gentle descent rate of around 650 fpm. On re-introducing power, the aircraft wants to accelerate away through the green arc and into the cautionary range without much encouragement at all. Joining the circuit at Goulburn it is obvious that the Cozy has again grabbed centre-stage as the apron filled with bodies emerging from the hangars. Alone in the circuit, I give this flapless aircraft adequate spacing and time to slow down before turning base. Through a combination of extended landing gear and reduced power, I manage to slow up to 95 knots before turning back towards the field and commencing descent. Reducing to 90 knots on final and targeting 85 knots on touchdown, even these few knots have to be bled off early if speedbrake is not used. Chris warns me that the aircraft wants to float, so I make sure that I’m on speed over the fence and my aim point is right on the money; then I flinch. My thoughts of flaring translate into muscle movement and I pull back slightly on the stick. Yep, this aeroplane wants to float. Obeying my philosophy of ‘if in doubt – bug out’, I advance the throttle, set that attitude and climb away before retracting the gear and once again aiming for 90 knots. For information purposes, without any flap, a missed approach in this aeroplane is a serious non event.

In a blink, I’m back in the circuit and making calls and completing checks. I mentally review the previous attempt and brief myself that there is very little flare needed as the approach attitude is very close to the flaring attitude. I remind myself of this point again on final and check that the speed is on the numbers. This approach and landing works out nicely, but I admit to concentrating very heavily to make it happen. After a few more circuits, the attitudes and speeds are becoming more familiar, but to relax with this aeroplane could have some embarrassing consequences off the far end of the runway.

Departing the circuit we set course visually to the north, below 5000 feet to return to Mittagong. With the intensive airwork behind us, I simply enjoyed flying the aeroplane home and it was easy to do. Sound performance, low noise levels and smooth to control, it is easy to see why this aircraft has succeeded as a cross country touring aeroplane. In fact Chris has flown it non-stop from Adelaide to Mittagong with two adult and two children on board in a little over 4 hours. Back in the right hand circuit at Mittagong, visibility back over the right shoulder is a little compromised turning base, but once set towards the field I revisit the numbers and approach philosophy and land the Cozy, ease on the brakes and stop with significant runway to spare.

Fast and Fun.

Inside the aeroplane, the Cozy is compact and lives up to its name, but once airborne this aeroplane is fun to fly. It sweeps around the sky and gives a real sense of flight; unobscured in its outlook, swift and even graceful. It exudes a real sense of enjoyment, but that cannot be confused with a sense of ease as this aeroplane will catch you out in the circuit area if you get too laid back. Although, forewarned and flown correctly, this aeroplane has much to offer. The Mark IV is a truly fun aeroplane, but just don’t get too Cozy.