It was two years ago when Russ Barcelona announced that he was close to completing the building of an experimental airplane in The West Village (see here). Last weekend, Russ put the final touches on his Cozy Mark IV plane – a project that he has been working on for 23 years, right around the corner from City Hall. The next step for Russ and his plane is the Niagara Falls Air Force Base, where he will embark on a test flight that will him in the ranks of a small few who have ever successfully built the plane and flown it.
From the 2010 Buffalo Rising post:
“There are about 200 in existence. It’s made for cross-country flights. The original designer was Burt Rutan who built The Voyager that flew around the world on one tank of gas. The design dates back from the late 60s – a two-passenger version. I’ve been working on this project for 17 years. The same composite structure design was used to build the stealth bomber and the latest military jet aircraft wings (because of its one-piece construction, it’s light weight and bulletproof). It also cannot be picked up by radar. The plane is constructed of epoxy fiberglass and seats four and flies at 200 miles an hour, with an 1100-mile range on one tank of gas. The next generation (six passenger), called the Beechcraft Starship, costs 6.4 million dollars, but that’s commercially made. It looks exactly the same, but bigger.”
So if you are in the area of Johnson Park and happen to see this place being trailered down the road, give Russ a wave and congratulate him on this extraordinary feat.
*Once the plane is at the airport it will be outfitted with the wing attachments.