N601RT history: Nose gear CH601HDS with a Rotax 912 ULS, 3 blade Warp Drive tapered prop.

Changes / improvements as originally flown. First flight May 12, 2003.

Rotax coolant radiator mounted in cowl, instead of using underbelly Zenith suggested VW radiator. Modified bottom of cowl to clear Zenith muffler and added lip to help lower pressure at cowl exit, improving flow through the radiator.
Modified brakes so the bottom pivot of the master cylinders are mounted on the floor. Changed arm from brake pedals. Similar to CH640. Included brakes for right side. Brakes work well, they will hold the plane for run up at 4000 RPM (Rotax 912ULS).
Installed ~100 nut plates to secure top forward fuselage skin. Dimpled skin and secured with #6 (#8?) counter sunk screw with T10 heads
Fuel system has a pair of leading edge wing tanks, 11 gallons each and a 7.5 gallon wing locker tank in the right side. Mounted 3-way fuel selector on floor with an extension to center console. Output of valve goes to filter, T, to a pair of firewall (inside) mounted fuel pumps, back to another T and through firewall to firewall mounted gascaloator (Zenith supplied box type). From gascalotor to engine driven fuel pump, then back to two Ts at back of the engine. Fuel pressure transducer line taken at rear of engine close to T that supplies both carbs. Fuel lines in engine compartment covered with fire sleeve. I used capacitive fuel senders from ???? with a custom guage showing each tank in a quadrant.
Made custom version of Duckworks landing light and installed in the left wing.
Red powder coating all steel parts from kit. This added significant thickness to parts, which made significantly more work to remove coating or enlarge holes where these parts fit inside other parts.
Installed all electric IFR instrument panel, including GNS430 and GPSMAP295 on the glare shield. Details and pictures for another post.
Installed optional 40A alternator on 912ULS.
Seats from Oregon Aero, leather covered with leather hides I supplied.
Rear fuselage access panel added to left side of plane, similar to 601XL plans from ~2001.
Installed NACA ducts, hose and eyeball vents from Vans.
Installed modified version of manual trim from RV-6A. Springs are not strong enough as installed to have much effect.
Elevator trim tab is included in original outline of elevator, not extended outside elevator.
Painted interior with Zolatone speckled paint.
Antennas: Nav antenna mounted on bottom of fuselage, just ahead of the rudder. Com antenna mounted on top of fuselage, just ahead of the rudder. GNS430 GPS antenna on top of fuselage, just behind the canopy. Transponder and marker beacon antenna’s on bottom of fuselage in center wing section. Aftermarket antenna for the GPSMAP295 mounted in front of the canopy approximately where the cap for a fuselage mounted fuel tank would go.
Made oil tank access door based on Van’s RV design.
Used 1 quart (?) water drinking bottle for coolant recovery tank after the vent hole I made in the original Zenith squirt bottle was too small, and the bottle self vented when it expanded and came in contact with the oil tank!
Extended arms of throttle mechanism where cables mount to assure full travel of carbs.
Mounted choke cable pull on left side of firewall shelf to allow straighter pull on cables and shorter cables. Made “balance” plate and used AN-3 bolts with holed drilled across them to secure the cables. Used Vans “CT A-470 Black” cable for choke instead of “lawn mower” throttle cable supplied with kit.
Assembled and used Van’s “Vent TG-10 Kit” for heater control, replacing valve supplied with kit. Used “CT A-470 Black” cable from Vans to control the heater valve. Also used a “CT A-470 Black” to operate the enricher (frequently called a choke) for the Rotax 912ULS.
Canopy latches supplied with my original kit were “just long enough” to engage the canopy; Zenair replaced these with latches that had significantly more hook past the canopy. I shortened the hook some, but still longer than originally supplied.