Damon Brantley
  • Mcloud, OK
  • United States
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Damon Brantley's Discussions

Anyone used an EZ-Burr tool?

Started this discussion. Last reply by Daniel Niendorff Nov 12, 2019. 8 Replies

I am curious if anyone has used a tool called the EZ-Burr (https://ezburr.com/).It is a drill mounted bit with a retractable blade that is supposed to allow…Continue

Good of the Land Fest in Temple, Tx

Started Aug 25, 2019 0 Replies

I am planning to attend the Good of the Land Fest in Temple,Tx on October 26.I was curious if any fellow builders might be planning to attend as well.If so, maybe we can hook up to talk planes and…Continue

Project Management Software

Started this discussion. Last reply by Carl Orton Jul 8, 2018. 9 Replies

I was wondering if anyone has evaluated any project management software for planning and tracking progress in building a homebuilt. Being a software developer, I routinely deal with Jira and…Continue

650 Side Skin Diagonal Stiffener Placement

Started this discussion. Last reply by Damon Brantley Apr 4, 2016. 2 Replies

I am trying to figure out the rivet hole placement for the diagonal L-angles on the side skins.The diagonal that is between the horizontal tail frames is well specified. However the placement of the…Continue

 

Damon Brantley's Page

Latest Activity

Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Leading Edge Skin for Left Wing Drilled

I finally managed to get the leadig edge skin drilled for my Zenith 650. I would say this is the most difficult challenge I have faced in this project so far.I think the biggest feature of what was done was to figure out a way to hold the ribs steady so I can take measurements to transfer from the ribs to skin and also make sure the ribs do not move when trying to fit the skin and for drilling as well.  Some of this can be seen in the thumbnail for the video below.  The jig will remain in place…See More
May 25, 2022
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Setup and Drilling of Bottom Wing Skin to Wing Ribs

I finished drilling the pilot holes to attach the bottom wingskin to the the left wing.The video documents the setup that I used so when I am ready to do the right wing, I canduplicate the same setup.See More
Jun 1, 2021
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Tool for checking rib flange straightness

While preparing to drill the bottom wing skin to the ribs, I wanted to be sure that the center line of the ribs were straight.When doing top wing skin I had used a metal strip with holes drilled in a straightline to be able to verify straightness.The improved version uses a 1/8" acrylic strip about 2 inches wide with a line drawn to verify the center line of the rib flange  is straight.In addtion, two red lines were added that would give me a warning if a drilled hole might get too close to the…See More
May 30, 2021
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Folding nose skin for 650B

Video documenting my process for folding the nose skin for my Zenith 650.See More
Jan 26, 2021
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Flipping Over Wing Solo

After a lot of prep work on my lifting sling, I finally was able to flip my wing upside down.Overall I am happy with the results. I had complete control of the wing at all times.After I get a chance to use it few times and fine tune my process, I plan to make video showing it in action.…See More
Jan 18, 2020
2 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Part 4 Flap Bending

In part 4 of making the flaps and ailerons, I finally bend the flap skins.Also an additional video doing a detailed measurement and plot in CAD ofa bend radius See More
Nov 25, 2019
2 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a discussion

Anyone used an EZ-Burr tool?

I am curious if anyone has used a tool called the EZ-Burr (https://ezburr.com/).It is a drill mounted bit with a retractable blade that is supposed to allow deburring of holes from both sides.See More
Nov 10, 2019
8 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Flap/Aileron Construction- Parts 2 and 3

Parts 2 and 3 of making flap construction.Part 2 is devoted to figuring out some problems with the test sections.Part 3 covers making the rib forms.Coming soon will be part 4 which will be bending the full size flaps.See More
Nov 9, 2019
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Demonstration of Bosch GSC 12V-13 Cordless Sheet Metal Shear

I recently purchased a Bosch GSC 12V-13 Cordless Sheet Metal Shear. After having a chance to use it a little bit, I decided to post a demonstration of its use online.My short assessment is that the shear will have its uses, but because of the stretching caused by the shearing action it would not be suitable for cutting parts that need to remain as flat as possible.I also did a short tip video as part of…See More
Sep 22, 2019
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Flap/Aileron Construction- Part 1 Test Sections

Scratch construction of the ailerons and flaps has been started. I decided to try to document as much of the construction of these as possible as this should be my last major set of parts to bend. There will be two or three parts to this. In the first part, I document the construction of test sections to verify my CAD drawings are correct.See More
Sep 9, 2019
0 Comments
Robert Riat left a comment for Damon Brantley
"Hi, I live in N.E. kansas and too bad we are not closer.  I am building a 650 and have the ailerons, rudder, partially completed wings, firewall and other pieces for a 601xl and will give the stuff to someone if they come get it.  Lots of…"
Sep 4, 2019
Damon Brantley posted a discussion

Good of the Land Fest in Temple, Tx

I am planning to attend the Good of the Land Fest in Temple,Tx on October 26.I was curious if any fellow builders might be planning to attend as well.If so, maybe we can hook up to talk planes and building a little bit.More information about the fest athttp://www.discovertemple.com/conventions-events/the-good-of-the-land-fest/http://www.thegoodoftheland.com/See More
Aug 25, 2019
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Complete Left Wing Skin Drilling

Drilling of the left wing skin is completed. Video shows final holes being drilled and description of jig to secure the ribs to improve alignment and prevent shifting.See More
Aug 11, 2019
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Start Drilling Left Wing Skin to Ribs / IV Video Camera Stand

After two or three months of weekends of checking and adjusting, I am finally ready to start drilling the top wingskin to the ribs.A couple of concerns I have is holes not appearing where I expect to them and also the ribs shifting while drilling. To help catch any problems early, I have setup a video camera that I can place under the skin to watch the rib and hole.A short video below demontrates the video setup and the drilling of my first hole into the left wing skin.I am also experimenting…See More
Jul 28, 2019
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Keeping Parts Organized

One thing that has often been a problem is trying to keep parts from getting lost as they wait to be added to larger assemblies. While I am scatchbuilding, the problem is no doubt worse for someone building from a kit because they get all their parts at once.Something that has recently been quite useful for me is to use mini-stretch wrap.Mini-stretchwrap is just smaller…See More
May 11, 2019
0 Comments
Damon Brantley posted a blog post

Panel Hacksaw

A panel hacksaw is a special type of saw for making long cuts in pieces of sheet metal. By using a piece of spring steel sheet to support the blade allows the saw to make unrestricted cuts.A demonstration is made of trimming down a wing skin.See More
May 6, 2019
2 Comments

Profile Information

Aircraft Model
Zenith CH 650
Project Status
Less than half
Building From
Plans-only
Engine installed (or plan to install)
Corvair
Building Experience
No Experience
Flying Experience
Private Pilot

Damon Brantley's Blog

Leading Edge Skin for Left Wing Drilled

Posted on May 25, 2022 at 11:20pm 0 Comments

I finally managed to get the leadig edge skin drilled for my Zenith 650. I would say this is the most difficult challenge I have faced in this project so far.

I think the biggest feature of what was done was to figure out a way to hold the ribs steady so I can take measurements to transfer from the ribs to skin and also make sure the ribs do not move when trying to fit the skin and for drilling as well.  Some of this can be seen in the thumbnail for the video below.  The jig will…

Continue

Setup and Drilling of Bottom Wing Skin to Wing Ribs

Posted on June 1, 2021 at 7:30pm 0 Comments

I finished drilling the pilot holes to attach the bottom wingskin to the the left wing.

The video documents the setup that I used so when I am ready to do the right wing, I can

duplicate the same setup.

Tool for checking rib flange straightness

Posted on May 30, 2021 at 11:49am 0 Comments

While preparing to drill the bottom wing skin to the ribs, I wanted to be sure that the center line of the ribs were straight.

When doing top wing skin I had used a metal strip with holes drilled in a straightline to be able to verify straightness.

The improved version uses a 1/8" acrylic strip about 2 inches wide with a line drawn to verify the center line of the rib flange  is straight.

In addtion, two red lines were added that would give me a warning if a drilled hole…

Continue

Folding nose skin for 650B

Posted on January 26, 2021 at 9:56pm 0 Comments

Video documenting my process for folding the nose skin for my Zenith 650.

Comment Wall (2 comments)

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At 4:48pm on September 4, 2019, Robert Riat said…

Hi, I live in N.E. kansas and too bad we are not closer.  I am building a 650 and have the ailerons, rudder, partially completed wings, firewall and other pieces for a 601xl and will give the stuff to someone if they come get it.  Lots of it is the same as a 650.  Just stuff another builder did and I don’t need.  Probably not worth the drive even for free.

Good luck with your build.

At 3:15pm on July 31, 2016, Normand Lambert said…

Hi Damon,

I just bought a used 8 feet Sheet metal brake - condition like NEW ! Used to borrow someone else. I got mine and it works great. When I saw the plans for the trim tab I was not sure I could bend it in one shot. But I did a trail run with scrap aluminum and then did it for real.

One shot did the trick.

Regards,

Norm

 
 
 

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