Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on November 13, 2009 at 11:35am

You are going to complicate this Q&A if you are asking about making mods to the upgrade. Logically, I see no problems in adding a thicker "L" angle from 0.040 to 0.062 to the top of the rear spar. Obviously, rivet length etc. must be considered. Will such a thicker angle induce vibrations? Probably not. However, the German consulting team will not be checking into that.

Permalink Reply by Gary Bean on November 13, 2009 at 10:16am

I am anxious to get the upgrade kit and return to flying my 601. Is there an order form or list to get the kit?

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on November 13, 2009 at 11:36am

All customers are on the order list. However, you will need to see with Zenith for the shipping schedule.

Permalink Reply by Tracy Smith on November 14, 2009 at 12:10pm

Mathieu:

First, let me say I'm VERY impressed at the resources and the thoroughness of Zenith in bringing our 601/650 airplanes back to industrywide acceptance. These mods were exactly what we needed to return confidence to the owners and the marketplace.

You said 'all customers are on the order list'. I take that to mean Zenith will make materials available (at what cost is unknown at this time) to the entire population of Zenith kit and plans builders. I assume AOG owners will be first in line, followed by kit and plans builders who have fuse & wing kits, etc.

Should we all 'register' with Zenith as to our priority on the list, or are we looking at 'first come-first serveed'?

Thank you again.

Tracy Smith
6.5579XL

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on November 14, 2009 at 1:22pm

I am in full agreement with what you say about "These mods were exactly what we needed to return confidence to the owners and the marketplace."

Yes, please order the upgrade from Zenith. Sebastien at Zenith is working on a delivery schedule and I think that the upgrade kit will be under $500.00 USD.

For AMD customers I believe that AMD will be supplying the upgrade kit to A&P mechanics and will be doing the upgrades at its factory in Eastman GA. My understanding is that AMD is almost finished with the first upgrade.

Permalink Reply by Jim Belcher on November 16, 2009 at 9:18am

When I spoke with the kit supplier in Mexico, Missouri a while ago, I was told that an order form would be added to the web page when the kits were available.

Permalink Reply by Robert Gassaway on November 13, 2009 at 1:17pm

Mathieu,
as a plans builder, I have held off on construction for some time - some of the time related to moving from one state to another, and some of the time was wating for the issues of the aircraft's safety to be resolved.
with that said, it appears you are at the final stage of mittigating any safety issue.

however my issue now is do I continue with my ch 650 build and pour time and money into an aircraft that may not reflect it's true value in the marketplace should the day come that I want to sell.
I found it was a tough decission choosing between the ch 650 and the ch 750 given my flight objectives at the time of my purchase. now I wish I had gone with the ch 750 due to the controversy the zodiac accident's have caused.

please don't missunderstand me, I have considerable confidence in the aircraft and design, and the new safety update -what I am worried about is the percieved value at the market place. I certainly would be unhappy to spend so much effort and money on this build and be forced to give it away for pennies on the dollar should I decide to sell.

so here's my quandry -- I don't have so much time involved in my 650 now that I can't move on to the ch 750. unfortunatly,
I will be still be loseng time and money should I change directions, and I don't think I can find someone willing to trade plans given the current circumstances.

that being said, I welcome any input from others on their thoughts about what they would do given simular circumstances.

thank you,
Robert m Gassaway

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on November 13, 2009 at 1:41pm

This is a very personal decision. With what we are adding to the 650, there is no doubt in my mind that it is a great little aircraft and probably by far the most test and evaluated by different authorities.

If you are just starting, you may want to wait until we have the new-updated drawings for the complete 650 as the upgrade kit will be incorporated into the drawings. It will be much easier and even less expensive to install. Starting with the tail sections now is not a problem.

Permalink Reply by Basil Buwalda on November 13, 2009 at 9:43pm

Hi Mathieu,

Wanted to thank you guys for your upgrade package and your open approach to the communications.

I have a taildragger 601XL and I am based in New Zealand.

Unfortunately the cost of shipping the upgrade kit may be slightly excessive, and I will have to obtain the the materials here and fabricate my own.

The Angle extrusions I can find over here all have rounded edges (Rounded as part of the extrusion).

Is this acceptable or do I need to purchase slightly oversize extrusions to compensate.

The second questions is whether the Solid rivets/bolts on the main spar could be replaced using the appropriate sized Cherry Max structural rivets.

Keep up the comms and any feedback on the wing locker decisions will be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Basil

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on November 14, 2009 at 6:53am

Yes, shipping to New Zealand could be expensive. The rounded extrusion you are suggesting is a good option. Overall size and material type must still be the same. Our new dealer in Australia will be getting lots of the extrusion from us, so another option is to purchase from him. Please contact Zenith for his contact details.
Yes, Cherry Max structural rivets are fine but very expensive and you do need the special Cherry Max rivet puller. Just make sure that the shear strength significantly exceeds the solid rivet shear strength.

Permalink Reply by Phill Barnes on November 14, 2009 at 7:11am

Hi Basel
The correct extrusions are available in Australia from
http://www.performancemetalsaustralia.com.au/ and http://www.airportmetals.com/ . Should be a bit cheaper than freighting from the US.

Regards
Phill

Permalink Reply by Allan / Zenair Australia on November 14, 2009 at 2:12pm

Hi Basil

I am Allan Barton the Zenair dealer in Australia

We will be starting to shipping the extrusions and the rear spar sections next week

Please email me on zenair@bigpond.com with contract details as I would like to ring you a discuss with you the needs of New Zealand 601/650 owners

Cheers
Allan
Zenair Australia

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