Here's my follow-up report from our 20th annual Open Hangar Day and Builder Fly-In Gathering from this past weekend.  Despite some rain and cool weather that kept some visitors away we had a fantastic time and a great turnout, proving once again that it's about the people and the planes, and not the weather!

Above, Anold Newbury flew in from Wisconsin with his STOL CH 701 to camp with his airplane (and there were several more campers and motorhomes at the airport).

Starting on Friday afternoon we hosted several seminars and workshops with programs of interest to all.  Below, Corvair engine guru William Wynne talks about successful Corvair auto conversion installations.

For the first time, we held a seminar on Weight & Balance, with Mike Pruett of Scales4Planes.com and Caleb Gebhardt of the Zenith factory, using the STOL CH 701 as the subject plane:

Zenith builder/owner Mark Stauffer of Jabiru USA flew in from Tennessee to share information about Jabiru engines as installed on the Zenith STOL CH 750:

Additional seminars on Friday included presentations from Dynon Avionics, EAA, Viking aircraft engines, Buzz Air Flight Academy, UL Power engines, and Garmin Avionics.

The Zenith Builders Banquet on Friday evening was a great social gathering with more than 170 Zenith builders, pilots and employees (and their spouse and friends).  Charlie Becker from EAA provided a follow up report on AirVenture and an update from EAA:

Many door prized were awarded and STOL CH 750 builder Scott Tandy of Claremore, Oklahoma, was the grand prize winner of the Garmin Aera 510 GPS system (valued at $1,200) at the Zenith Builders Banquet. Scott will share the prize with his father Terry:

Saturday's Open Hangar Day saw a hive of activity in the factory with demonstrations, factory tours, and more:

Below, EAA's director of member programs, Charlie Becker, explains about EAA's available resources to help builders, owners and pilots of amateur-built (kit) aircraft, including the technical adviser and flight adviser programs from EAA, as well as details on Sport Pilot / LSA rules.

Despite clouds and occasional showers, we were busy flying all day, and a handful of Zeniths made it in for the Open Hangar Day.  [I missed the opportunity of taking photos of the planes that flew in - email me your photos or post them on Zenith.Aero]

Viking Aircraft's Jan Eggenfellner flew in from Florida in his CH 601 powered by the 110-hp Honda-based auto conversion:

Travis Kobush, Zenith's production manager, explains the aircraft wing kit assembly:

Other participants and suppliers included George and Martha Happ from Matco Mfg., maker of light aircraft wheels and brakes used on many Zeniths, Aircraft Spruce & Specialty, HomebuiltHelp.com, FlightCrafters builder assistance center, Composite Designs' Power Panel, Zenair News, Wicks Aircraft and UL Power aircraft engines.

Tim Casey from Garmin Avionics showcased the just-released Garmin 796 with "3D vision" technology.

Buzz and Aumie Devoll of Buzz Air Flight Academy of Carson City, Nevada, attended (with their little dogs) to share information about Sport Pilot flight and transition training in Zeniths:

In the shop, visitors were kept busy building and assembling their own aluminum 3-ring binder:

Local STOL CH 701 owner Denis Sapp showed off his new cargo belly pod he developed for his STOL CH 701, built of lightweight aluminum:

Bill and Diane Carter (below) of American Light Sport Aircrafters provided a complimentary lunch on Friday to all particpants. American Light Sport Aircrafters is a builder assistance facility based in Mexico, Missouri.

Thanks again to all who participated and helped make this a fun and educational event. 
We're already looking forward to planning next year's event!

Below:  Once again we held a "rudder factory workshop" immediately before the Open Hangar Day.  We had a full shop of new rudders being built: six STOL CH 750 / 701, four new CH 650 rudders and two STOL CH 801 rudders:

Click here for more photos from the 2011 Zenith Aircraft Company Open Hangar Day and Builder Fly-In Gathering.