Hello Mark,

My 601XL is flying regularly. I have almost 1,500 hours on it.  I am on my second engine.  The first one died at about 900 hours with camshaft/lifter failure which also destroyed the crankshaft.  I am still using the Bing carb but have added the HACman mixture control.

Steve

Mark, you are correct, ZAC did "work the center section from the back uprights and back bottom to the front when reassembling". Remember that ZAC was making this up as they went along, they didn't have the advantage of hindsight. Would it be easier if I did it this way? Could we do this outside the a/c on a workbench? The answer is yes, it can be done on a workbench.

After I had Upgraded the Center Spar, all the holes were drilled, then it was time to install. I realized that the Bottom Doubler could also act as an install template since we use the existing rear Center Spar rivet line and the Bottom Doubler uses the same holes. This meant that after setting the rear rivet line, I could then set the front Center Spar rivet line making sure that I used spacers to maintain the wing spar gap before drilling. ZAC does the same thing while the Center Spar is in the a/c. Finally, the front rivet line on the Bottom Doubler is just a matter of measuring back 10mm and using the holes on the front and back of the Center Spar that go through the longeron for the edge reference line. The existing longeron holes can be drilled later.

The back uprights (Rear Attachment Uprights, the ZAC Drawing names to avoid confusion) are attached to the Center Spar via a top and bottom Spar bolt hole, so we have exact alignment, the Center Spar doesn't have to be in the a/c. My blog details setting the Front Upright using the Center Spar as the template.

So, you end up with a pre-drilled Bottom Doubler Template. Install using the existing Rear Center Spar holes and then back drill up through the fuselage without the Center Spar installed. Then you drop in the Center Spar and it all lines up :-)

Like you, I work alone. Unlike ZAC, I don't have 3-4 guys laying around, so I had to get creative based on my skill set to accomplish the task. The Center Spar and Uprights mate to my fuselage perfectly, not saying my fuselage is perfect, since I used the original components as a template.

jake

Thanks Mark for all your help. Charlie T, Burlington, Ia

Hey Mark. You can find Don Miles page by clicking on friends in upper right hand corner of your page, and type his last name in search window. Or if you get on my page I think you can click on his name in one of his comments. Good luck, and thanks again for going to ND with dad.

Thks for the help on the soft field take off numbers.
Fred

Not absolutely sure due to my abundant falibility but I may have been climbing or descending to the VFR cruise altitude when to going from one side of the compass to the other. At least at that moment I was traveling in the same general direction as the IFR guys closest to me.

Slap on the cuffs and take me away to cruise prison,

Ed

Mark, I agree with your thoughts on addons. This was a solution for another builder that couldn't do the hydraulic solution for a parking brake. I'm in the same boat, I don't want to add valves and fittings, potential sources of failure, but I like the idea of having something to hold me until I can get out and chock and chain. This was also put forth in the original post, those windy days or sloping ground. So, it's not a true parking brake, it's more of an unpaid attendant. As for weight, the control cable might be the heaviest piece. I do plan on making a working version and I'll post the details.

I have built my airplane, was just about to hang the wings, over a period of almost 5 years, and my philosophy has been to keep it simple and keep it light. Light has been very important and it allows me to do stuff like this because I've kept it simple and light.

I've seen some of the airplanes you speak about, lot's of eye candy, etc. My panel is redundant and I've spent 5k, that should give you an idea. I am planning on splurging and adding a Falcon Electric Attitude, just in case I get into low visibilty.

Rest assured, any bell or whistle in my airplane will be based on need and performance. I really need it and it better work ;-)

Jake

"Comment by Mark Ertz 15 hours ago 6100'. Is that a required VFR flight level above swamps? Busted!"

I beg your freakin' pardon... The restricted airspace is below 1500' MSL (I think). It s 2-fer in that we don't want anybody hazing ducks (or duckhunters for that matter) and there is a lot of permitted helicopter traffic along the coastline from the mouth of the Mississippi River all the way past Galveston, Tx.

For that matter, I didn't even crowd the clouds... "152" ... 1,000 " above, 500' below, 2,000' lateral except for SVFR "clear of clouds".

Now, have I ever busted a minimum????? Hmmmm.

I have become fond of the airspace above 3,000' now that I have a plane that will climb at 500fpm+ with full fuel and two on board. It's cooler and smoother up there. The engine likes to run in it's leaner midrange above 5K so the GS vs fuel burn is a bonus. I've probably flown more time above 5K in this plane than I did in the previous 350 hours of PIC time.

Ed

Yep, I'm too old and too attached to my right to my own opinion to care about the sticks and stones either... I'm a dentist and as such I'm acustommed to mixed reviews anyway. I have no deathwish, Hence the tongue in cheek "running with scissors" remark. I always have and continue to believe that I am flying a safe airworthy plane. That and the extreme inconvenience of the total package of mods are what are guiding my decision.

I look forward to meeting you someday.

Ed