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Comment by Scott Smith on March 29, 2017 at 4:03pm

I'll be in the area June 4th to June 9th. Will you be around in that time frame? 0f course I'll get in touch with with specifics nearer to those dates.

Comment by Jeff Davidson on March 28, 2017 at 2:35pm

I'd be delighted to meet you both!

Comment by Scott Smith on March 27, 2017 at 11:47am

Thanks Jeff. I might swing around that area in June. Would love to come by if thats OK. My Dad is quite an aviation enthusiast, ok to being him along?

Comment by Jeff Davidson on March 26, 2017 at 7:12pm

My engine is a solid lifter version of the 3300. I do remember complaints about that early version of the hydraulic lifter version which came out later. The 3300 is air cooled so getting the baffles right is critical and can be tedious. That did take me some time. There are water cooled cylinders available from a third party. And CamIt, the company that makes the 3300 for Jabiru is now making an improved version that they are selling directly. Since I have my engine and am happy with it, I haven't followed all the Jabiru news any closer than that. I do find locating a shop to work on it is hard to find and most EAAers are not familiar with in eaither. Pete is the best reasource even though some might have stories about him too.

Comment by Scott Smith on March 26, 2017 at 1:10pm

Perfect! Now I have heard lately that Jabiru engines were lacking in reliability. Any word on that?
And also, turns out I will be in Northern NJ in June, I might make it to the DC area if I can. I'll let you know.

Comment by Jeff Davidson on March 26, 2017 at 12:23pm

Talk about easy: the 601 HD does not have flaps so no need to fool with them.  It comes down easily just by reducing the throttle.  The Jabiru 3300 uses an altitude compensating Bing carby (Aussie for carburetor) so there is no mixture control!  It doesn't get much easier!

Jeff

Comment by Scott Smith on March 25, 2017 at 11:15am

Thanks again Jeff. I also have the desire to fly a super easy airplane since I haven't flown in 20 years and that was the high wing Cessna. The 601 HD was apparently originally designed to be a primary trainer according to the Zodiak site. Being 5'9" makes me about your size and I think I will need to pull the seat backs forward. Glad it can be done. I would love to check out your airplane, but the DC area isn't on my list any time soon. Thanks for the offer! If I do find myself in the area I will get in touch for sure.
Scott

Comment by Jeff Davidson on March 23, 2017 at 9:18am

As I remember, the major reason for the XL model was to fit the LSA criteria.  Typically it is a little faster than the HD, has a higher gross weight, and is a little easier to build.  You can find the numbers on the Zenith web site.  The XL had some serious accidents that resulted in the XLB upgrade.  Those are now mitigated, but the XL reputation is damaged.  The HD and HDS models have completely different wings and, to my knowledge, haven't had those concerns.  Still, all 601s suffer from the bad publicity because most people don't realize the differences in the models. A 601 is a 601 to most people including pilots.   As a new pilot at the time, I looked for what I thought was the "safest" model and chose the HD for that reason. 

I bought the Oregon Aero seat cushions and had them covered locally by a hot rod upholstery guy.  They are comfortable and my 5' 7" 200 lb body is sitting on about 5 inches of confor foam.  I never get uncomfortable.  For a taller person, I would make a thinner cushion to add knee room, but I still haven't needed to.  Some really big guys simply don't fit in my plane and none of these models allow a really graceful entry.  There is a optional modification in the plans to tilt the seat back further toward the tail for bigger people.  I didn't do that and built per the plans. There is also the possibility to move the rudder pedals a little, but the position is fixed once they are located.  So my recommendation is to sit in a couple of them, HD or HDS, when you get to the point of making those decisions.  You are welcome to come sit in mine if you visit Washington DC.

Comment by Scott Smith on March 23, 2017 at 3:54am

Once again, Thank you. You are a great go to resource!
I am very encouraged by your post. Really, I'm looking to see if there is some kind of fatal flaw with the design that prompted the XL. To my understanding its a comfort and performance issue with some ticky tack things. To wit, some reports I've heard from HD pilots is that the seats are uncomfortable in the "lounge chair" configuration, requiring some ad hoc mods to prop the back of the seat up and more forward. Have you found this to be true for you?
I apologize for the trouble, as you can imagine I have lots of questions. But I'm more and more comfortable with going with the HD, which really pulls on my heart strings!

Comment by Jeff Davidson on March 22, 2017 at 12:21pm

Scott,

I chose the HD model back in 1993.  At that time it was an upgraded version of the 601 ultralight in Canada.  The HDS came later as an improved faster model. My first set of plans were annotated in Chris Heintz' own handwriting!  I am currently using the 5th edition of the plans which are much more modern.  I also understand that Zenith stopped using the construction manual that was part of my plans in favor of pictures of the construction process.  This is a loss in my opinion.  The HD manual is step-by-step. Okay, I did look at the pictures too!   My experience was that the parts were mostly cut to size and shape but the pilot holes were not drilled.  It gave me an exceptional respect for "edge distance" as I laid out the rivet lines.  I don't know if the current HD kits are CNC drilled or not, but you might ask Seb.  Kit technology has changed quite a bit in the last 25 years.  If not, as a  very first time builder I had no problem following the plans and locating the rivet holes.  It is just more work than if the pilot holes are already drilled.  To me, the workmanship is the result of the builder.  I did not have any trouble that I remember about where to drill holes and Zenith was always available on the phone if I did have questions.    The landing gear has been the subject of a lot of discussion.  I read all the posts about it, but was pleasantly surprised to find it really wasn't that difficult when I did it. I kind of had that "Is that all there is?" moments when they were done.  I did make a tool to compress the main gear bungees as was recommended in the Matronics List.  I still have it and can post pictures.  I have since read about other methods.  There is a learning curve, but I was able to do it without being a mechanic.  I am, or was, a desk jockey!  Building the main gear boxes is a task that doesn't exist with the XL spring gear, but again it is not hard, just some work that the spring gear avoids.  I didn't like stories of the HD side-to-side canopy coming off the plane so I used the XL canopy instead with only minor adjustments in the area of the canopy attachments and gas struts.  Just make sure Zenith knows that when you put in your order.  I purchased partial kits myself.  Building any model has its own frustrations.  Ask any builder!  Some never finish their projects.  There might be some partially finished kits available to speed up the build, but most builders prefer to build the planes they fly in themselves I find.  I hope this helps.

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