Ok, am waiting on the fiberglass elevator tips from Zenith to arrive and then my Empennage is DONE! Next...on to the Wing construction.

Gary,
I really liked your web sight. The engine looks great! I'm also scratch building, and have my corvair engine running on a test stand. My airframe was nearly complete before the modifcations came along. I'm in central Virginia, half way between Lynchburg and Charlottesville. If you're ever in the area, come on by. 782 Midway Mills Lane, Wingina VA
Dan Dempsey

My take on it is that the hingless ailerons are now obsolete. Someone asked Mathew Heinz this question and his answer was simply that they want everyone to "upgrade" to the balanced aileron. I'm reading between the lines here, but I think that means hinged. I'm waiting to see how you convert from the hingless to the hinged.
On a related subject I noticed in one of your pictures (which I wasn't certain was a flap or aileron) that you were building it without the twist. This would be correct for the flap, but if it was an aileron it should have a slight twist to it.
Oh, by the way, I'm also a 1s and 0s guy. Good luck on the build.

Greetings Dan, Well I had intended to building the hinged version of the ailerons but I was following the details of the plans and they were leading me to build the hingless type. I had even ordered the actual hinges from Spruce but then I realized that I had bent the skin for the hingless. When you constructed your ailerons what plans did you use to accomplish this? My plans were purchased about 2 years ago and i have not seen anything on zenith's website about changing plans. Would you know where I can go to get the updated plans if I decide to take that route?

Thanks for the help!
Garry

And just when I thought I was done with the Ailerons! Doh!

Your welcome. Good luck with your project.

Hey Gary,
You asked about parts for my tanks. Are you welding them? I never did master welding the aluminum with gas. I did some decent aluminum welding years ago with TIG. I got the filler caps and the aluminum sheet from Aircraft Spruce. I also purchased the Pro-Seal from them. A few little things I got from McMasterCarr, like the set collars I used for ends on my pass-through tubes. The fuel level senders are just automotive variety I got from JC Whitney or perhaps Summit racing. The aluminum fuel lines and AN-fittings are from Summit racing.
You asked about the spars. I'd hold off until the drawings no long say "DRAFT" on them. As many times as they've changed things I think we'll see some more of that before they rebuild is complete. I sure hope they've settled by Christmas as I have week off, and would like to get on with it too. In the mean time I'm just taking things appart. Did you guys get much snow?

It is nice to have the tanks ready to go when you're ready to assemble the wings. I made mine last winter. It isn't economical for us to heat the big living room space I've been building the plane during the week when I'd only have a few hours in the evening to work on the plane. So last winter I claimed a little space in the heated part of the house to build my gas tanks. I had already bent the sheet metal a year earlier but hadn't assembled them. Sounds like you're making great progress!

I was just about to say that I have completed both left and right spars with the ZU upgrades. But then I saw the 4 Nose Rib modification (courtesy of Ron Lendon) and I believe I will change my spars to accomodate the four nose ribs instead of three. It's actually a small change for my spars so I should be wrapping them up this weekend and then it's off to building the fuel tanks.

Garry,
I purchased my main gear from Aircraft Spruce. It was a European made composite two piece gear VERY unlike that in the plans. I don't recommend it. I had to do some major mods to my airframe to accomodate it. I don't think making a gear would be hard to do if you have a hydrolic press.. Guessing a 10 ton would suffice. I've heard some builders speak highly of the Grove gear as a lighter weight substitute to the Zenith made part. Sounds like you're making good progress. The cold weather has slowed me down a lot this winter. I've just finished taking my wings back appart to do the upgrade.

Gary,
Lap dogs come in all sizes, Rusty is about 70lbs.
You can order your NAS bolts from Zenith or you can buy them from anyone who has bought the upgrade kit and needs to oversize theirs.
I may have a set for you, check back with me in a couple of weeks.