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Comment by Wendell Downs on November 9, 2022 at 6:16pm

I have completed the brake system, and am close to finishing up the fuel system.  Next comes the electrical/instrumentation.

Comment by Wendell Downs on November 9, 2022 at 6:15pm

It's time for an update.

Winter is here again, and with it will come some very difficult weather, I am certain.  Last winter, in late December/Early January, we experienced some unusually high winds.  I had folded and secured the wings in anticipation, but had not fully scoped out the threat.  Around midnight, I was awakened with the sounds of high winds around the roof and eaves of our home.  When I checked, the winds were out of the south, with the CH 701 facing into the wind.  During the course of the night, the winds began shifting around counter clockwise, ending up out of the northeast, at 80 mph with gusts 90-100 mph.  The Zenair tailwheel had allowed the plane to shift around with the wind, but not without damage.  The wind had pulled the folding wing brackets off of the wings, allowing the wings down on the ground inverted.  The amazing part is that nothing was destroyed, only damaged but able to be repaired.  I decided to remove the folding wing option.  This year, the wings are stored for the winter off the airplane in a more secure manner.