Charlie - I ended up sort of - upgrading my airplane to a 750 and installing an o-320.

Hello Charlie, i have a deposit on a 170 hp viking engine that i hope will be delivered in March or April of 2017, my 750 STOL is being built directly on Full Lotus floats so i was looking for a bit more hp than most engines provide, everything i have researched regarding Viking has been positive, i'm using an alternative fuel system that Jan helped with, so i was really happy with his help!!

Hello Charlie; i put a deposit down last year during Sun n Fun prior to the engines being ready, since then my work has been crazy busy so i have been pushing the delivery date back. I hope to have the airframe ready for engine mount by mid summer.

as for availability, Samantha at Viking has kept me updated on the progress, i think the only thing missing is a propeller to handle the 200 hp, and Jan is testing a different  brand as we speak!

give me a shout if I can be of any help. Stop by and visit sometime if you're ever in the area. 12WV is the identifier at my farm fieled.

It wasn't bad, I filled out the appropriate paperwork and submitted it and it went pretty smooth from there. They look at the coordinates and verify that it wont be a navigation hazard to other airports and such. The only issue I did have was with the lady who made the initial contact via phone, she obviously didn't want to deal with it. I used the garmin in the plane for the lat long coordinates and she was pretty rude about that, wasn't acceptable to her and pretty much called me a dumbass. She changed the numbers to what she said they should be, rounded them off, and now the field shows up across the river a few hundred yards away but its no big deal. I still have the forms and paperwork so when you get ready I'll dig them out so you'll know what you need. 

Charlie, I accidentally clicked the ignore button on your message. I think I added you now though.  

Anyways, I helped with the 750 STOL build but not the Cruzer so I dont think I can weigh in on that part!  Feel free to email me at kvoltz@eaa.org

I appreciate your comment, I attempt to document this unique experience as a novice builder and I continually learn from my mistakes and from others. I have only been at it since first Zenith class in 10/16. But it truly is educational, recreational and of course humbling. My EAA tech advisor told me that at least it keeps him out of the tavern. 

Terry Hall

About 25 hours on the Viking 130 engine at this time.