Joe Hopwood

Male

Magnolia Springs, AL

United States

Profile Information:

Aircraft Model
Zenith CH 650, ZODIAC CH 601, ZODIAC XL, Other Zenith
Project Status
Flying
Building From
Kit
Engine installed (or plan to install)
Jabiru
Your website (about your aircraft...)
http://www.mykitlog.com/joehopwood
Building Experience
Have worked on airplanes before
Flying Experience
Commercial / CFI
Building and Flying Info / Your Profession / Other Background Info
Information Technology for Boeing.
Home Airport (ie. KMYJ)
2AL1

Comment Wall:

  • Tim Egan

    Hi Joe,
    I removed my question, I found the answer.
    TImE
  • David Gallagher

    Joe, I tried to reply to your forum question, but it would not let me post it..issues with my laptop combined with being on an overseas business trip, I suspect.  I will try to leave it to you directly on your comment wall-------->

     

    Just my opinion of the Zenith design tennants combined with over simplified logic skils (with some humor mixed in):

    HS fore and aft positioning is defined by:  A+B+C=D

    As:

    A=The HS cannot be mounted any further forward that that aft fuselage bulkhead.

    B=The HS cannot be mounted much more that an inch or so aft of that bulkhead with out starting to violate the edge distances on the HS attach pieces

    C=Chris Heintz says aint rocket science.

    Thus D=put it somehwere between the two points and you will be OK.

     

    Personally I placed it just a hairs distance behind the aft bulkhead.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Dave Gallagher (camped out 3000 miles from my airplane so I can't fly)

     

    P.S. I had to drop my HS leading edge down a handful of degrees to get my elevator trim forces where I liked them.

  • David Gallagher

    Joe, The positioning should not pose any elevator travel issues. You can experiment by clecoing the the attach pieces to the fuselage and fitting the HS with clamps. Put the HS full forward and then as far a ft as edge spacing will allow and see if there are any elevator travel problems with either placement.
  • Don Davis

    Looks like you are about in the same position I was a year or two ago when the rebuild order came down.  I was asking questions about the Dynon autopilot installation and working on my canopy.  I haven't finished any of those things.  And just getting started on my rebuild.  But I am getting fired back up again.  Got one wing out of the rack and removed the top and nose skins yesterday.  Going out to start on the main spar reinforcement today.  My big question is, should I bother with primer paint on these parts, or just hurry up and install them bare, no paint.  All my other parts are primed on the contact surfaces.
  • John Benton

    Joe: Since my engine is a Continental, I was concerned only with the throttle. I believe that the mixture located in the center would be no problem and of course I have no choke. I ran two flexible cables salvaged from a Cessna with an extended attach point on the carburetor throttle arm. The pilot's side cable can be locked for cruise stability, but I removed the locking feature from the co-pilots side. The plane has not yet flown, but the system works easily and well.
  • John Benton

    Joe: I did run both cables through the firewall. The knob ends are located just under the panel at the extreme left and right sides of the cockpit. The carburetor ends terminate in Heim bearings that are bolted with a long AN bolt and spacer to the throttle arm. I am considering making a change to bolt each bearing to a separate hole to get rid of the long bolt, but this would change the "throw" length of one of the cables, so this change is still in the "thinking about it" stege. I do understand your desire to keep the firewall with as few holes as possible.
  • Jim Snyder

    Joe,

     

    Reading your Kitlog section re: canopy hoop problems.  I have exactly the same problems.  I have been wrestling with this for 3 months.  This &^%$#@! thing is making me suicidal.  How did you finally resolve yours? 

     

    Jim Snyder

    Indianapolis

  • Don Woodward

    Hi Joe

    I have done Zenith paper transferr work for my Ch650B now  so hope to get updates soon.