Chapter 0 - Planning & Preparation

OK, so you have decided to build a Cozy, now what? I have found there are many things to do before you can begin building. Obviously the first thing you want to do is contact Cozy Aircraft and order the plans. While you are waiting for them I suggest you read all you can. Begin by subscribing to the Cozy Builders Mailing List. There are over 400 (as of late 1999) people subscribed to this list. You can also search through five (as of 1999) years of archives on all kinds of topics.

Next I would recommend joing the EAA.

To get you really pumped up you should order catalogs from Wicks and Aircraft Spruce. The 1999 Wicks catalog didn't have the Bill of Materials so you can get them here or call Wicks and they will fax it to you.

Once your plans arrive you should of course read through the first three chapters. Next you should take all those wonderful newsletters and mark up your plans. For each update and tip in the newsletters I marked my plans with the newsletter number and page number. This way when I see the mark in my plans many months from now I know I can refer to that specific newsletter for more information.

The next big task is getting a work area prepared. I have a big taks of converting an old, rundown garage into a workshop. As we all know, size doesn't matter :) You can work on quite a bit of the plane in small places. There are people working in one bedroom apartments. Of course having a nice two or three car garage helps. Again, read through the mailing list archives for lots of good information about workshops and tools.
Update: We have moved into a new house and I have a new workshop. Details below.

Finally you need to make your first order. Study chapter 2 carefully along with the catalogs and the first few "real" chapters. My first order will be for chapters 4 through 7. This will allow me to do most of the fuselage.

Chapter 0 - Planning & Preparation

Further Details