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Zenair Issue #173 on way to Post Office



Featured in the new Zenair Newsletter being mailed this week is Vince Butner - a prolific builder that is working on building his seventh Zenith kit ! That's correct: he has built 6 Zenith aircraft kits and is working on his seventh kit. Not a professional builder - but just a person with a passion for building airplanes. We caught up with him at the recent Open House Fly in at the Zenith factory in June. A complete interview, where he shares… Continue

Added by Zenair News on August 3, 2009 at 9:09pm — 1 Comment

Rivit Spacing

I'm up to lay out for the rivit line for the elevator hinge. The 40 pitch works out between the ribs. But outside the last rib to the end rib I ended up with 34 pitch to evenly space the last two rivits to the end of the hinge. Then 37 to get even spacing for the 5 from the end of the hinge to end rib. If anyone knows if this is something that will come back to bite me please speak up. I know the 37 is with tolerance set in the construction guide. I'm wondering about the 34. Stopped there for… Continue

Added by Richard Rost on August 2, 2009 at 9:40pm — 1 Comment

Orcas Island Adventure

6/30/09 What a great place to visit! Orcas Island is a picturesque little community North of Seattle. There are a number of B&Bs and small hotels within walking distance of the airport. But you might consider parking in the overflow grass area and camp with your plane. Have dinner at Lulu's. Highly recommended.

Added by Russ Bens on August 2, 2009 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Thanks to all who sent me congratulations

It sure felt great flying my bird that many of you helped me build.

Today, we re-pitched the prop so it will turn up to 3300 rpm. It would only turn up to 2350 when I flew the other day.

What surprised me, most of all, that the temperatures seem to stay within boundaries.

Also, the carb linkage was adjusted so the engine won't die when I pull the throttle back too far on my next landing.

BTW, does the two or three bounces count as two or three landings?

102 degrees kept… Continue

Added by Mack P. Kreizenbeck on August 1, 2009 at 10:51pm — 2 Comments

Another 601XL takes to the air!

I finally did it!



I flew N990MK maidens flight yesterday and everything went well!



No, the wings did not fall off!



All the bantering back and forth about the safety of the 601s had me quite concerned, so much so that my airplane, signed off by a DAR 19 months ago, had to be annual-ed before its first flight.



The most recent letter from the FAA put my mind at ease.



A few minor adjustments and its back off into the wild blue yonder.…

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Added by Mack P. Kreizenbeck on July 31, 2009 at 11:00am — 3 Comments

Wing spar webs

Got brave today and cut the wing spar webs. After I come up with some kind of Rube Goldburg contraption to hold everything flat and secure, I'll use the fly cutter to cut the .95 mm holes. Debating on how to do the spar rivets, buy a rivet squeezer or build the rivet setter. Any suggestions?

Added by Robert Crawford on July 30, 2009 at 10:02pm — 3 Comments

Flying report

My first flight was on July 5, 2009 around 11:00 AM on a cloudly day with a few drops of rain. After one more runway "hop" I decided it was now or never and kept the throttle full on till lift off.



Performance was not what I expected and it climbed very slow and as soon as I was out of ground effect I had a very heavy left wing. The climb was some where around 80 KIAS and was very slow. After a few circles over the airport and two attempts I landed unevently with a slight bounce.… Continue

Added by Glenn Johnson on July 27, 2009 at 7:15pm — 1 Comment

July-August newsletter & DVD to ship end of this week

The new issue of the newsletter has gone to the printer and we expect to start mailing by Friday. As this is the first issue of the new subscription period (starts July thru July next year), please check that you have your renewal paid up. Payments we receive this week will mean no delay in sending the next issue to you on time. You can pay online by clicking here. Or, you can mail in the renewal slip found… Continue

Added by Zenair News on July 26, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

New Cowling

The cowling mold has been lengthened and the new cowling's do not have a meal strip. I have deeded to change the cowling to the new one instead of trying to repair the version with metal strip embedded in the fiberglass. I will not be able to get this done before Oshkosh but it will be the the first job upon my return.…



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Added by Mark Townsend on July 23, 2009 at 8:00pm — 1 Comment

nonstop JAX to PIT

I just wanted to give an update on my corvair powered 601xl. I now have 54 hrs on my airplane. We haven't turned a wrench on the engine except for oil changes since the first flight. Totally smooth and hasn't skipped a single beat.



I flew from south of Jacksonville, FL to Finleyville, PA (approx 20 nm SE of Pittsburgh, PA) nonstop today. Flight time was 5:58. Distance is 626 NM. Nice long flight.



Now I am getting ready to fly to oshkosh this weekend...see you there in the… Continue

Added by Louis Kantor on July 22, 2009 at 9:00pm — No Comments

New Look for the Zenair.org Website!

You may be wondering: What happened to the website? It really looks different! Yes - a few days ago we redirected everyone to this enhanced experience for web browsing. Notice the large collection of stories, photos and videos of everything Zenith aircraft found on this site. If you were not already familiar with this site, you should find this a great improvement over the old style presentation we had.



Your old login information is not needed here. However, in order to post a… Continue

Added by Zenair News on July 20, 2009 at 1:44pm — 6 Comments

Flying open?

How does flying open without doors effect cruising speed and fuel consumption?

best
Claus

Added by Claus Nybroe on July 15, 2009 at 1:00pm — 2 Comments

Présentation du CH 640-4 au salon du Bourget 2009.

A l'occasion des 100 ans du salon du Bourget, Roanne Aéronautique et Zénair Europe, ont présenté en avant première l'avion 4 places de la société canadienne. Cet appareil a suscité la curiosité de nombreux aéroclubs et privés. Doté d'un moteur Lycoming 180 ch, cette construction en aluminium rivetée, sera disponible en kit CNSK, ainsi qu'en prêt à voler pour les… Continue

Added by Yvan Barge on July 15, 2009 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

Cowling Final fit

I received the cowing from the paint shop and fitted it to the fuselage in order to be able to arrange the fitting of The airbrush work to be done on the cowling. With the cowing in place the fiberglass work over the added metal strips has pulled away and needs to be attended to before I can finish the paint job. This is the bust for being able to have the plane at Oshkosh.…



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Added by Mark Townsend on July 13, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

July 8 Progress Made on Tail Kit

A little more progress made today; check back shortly for slides.



The first operation I did today was to make sure that the tips of the horizontal stab's full ribs, which eminate from the rear spar and flush up against the forward spar at its ends, and the small nose rib were coplanar. The instructions have us do this by placing the assembly leading-edge down and check the three points against the flat surface of the table; I did this, and all three ribs seemed to meet the table just… Continue

Added by Wayne Bartlett on July 8, 2009 at 8:27pm — No Comments

July 6 Work on Tail Kit

Lots of progress made on the horizontal stab today.



Today's progress consisted of five small but separate operations:



- Locating and drilling the horizontal stab front mount brackets

- Finishing the holes on the forward spar end brackets

- Locating and drilling holes to attach the upper and lower doubler to the rear spar

- Locating the drilling holes to attach the rear ribs to the rear spar

- Locating and drilling holes to attach the two full ribs to… Continue

Added by Wayne Bartlett on July 7, 2009 at 9:56am — No Comments

Slideshow Documentation for July 6 Tail Kit Work

July 6, 2009 Tail Construction Full Ribs to Rear Spar.ppt



July 6, 2009 Tail Construction Trim Fwd Spar End Brackets.ppt



July 6, 2009 Tail Construction HS Front Mounts.ppt…



Continue

Added by Wayne Bartlett on July 7, 2009 at 9:30am — 2 Comments

Plans builders,I need some advice

Hi everyone,I'm plans building a 750 and at the point of making flaperon spars.I built a 9 foot brake out of solid birch and piano hinge.The brake is very strong and dead straight.I clamped in the blank and bent the flanges as per plans,the only problem is when I removed the part it looked like a banana!All I did to fix it was put some small crimps in the flange but I don't feel comfortable doing this.I then tried again but this time I made a form block the correct size and formed using a… Continue

Added by Dwayne Roos on July 6, 2009 at 8:52pm — 6 Comments

Upgrades already

Well here we are again and this time it is all about an upgrade to the 801. After talking to Larry Landucci and Bill Rewey during the air show I decided to add the flaperon/aileron trim tab. So here we are hard at work making more parts and cutting, fitting, pulling wires etc.etc.etc. you know how it goes. So far all is going according to plan and no hiccups encountered yet. Should have it finished by next monday since we only are working on monday and fridays now. Still waiting for the cowling… Continue

Added by Phillip Owens on July 6, 2009 at 7:43pm — 1 Comment

July 5 Tail Construction Progress and Documentation Slide Show

July 5, 2009 Tail Construction.ppt



Progress continues on the tail kit over the long July 4th weekend, during which I've got lots of time to work on it.



I'm using digital photos fed into powerpoint to document, and I've attached the slide show for today's work. The large file size is a result of the many photos that are included.



I started today by laying out the… Continue

Added by Wayne Bartlett on July 5, 2009 at 8:30pm — 1 Comment

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