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NTSB recommends grounding US 601XLs

According to an NTSB press release:



Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board today issued an urgent safety recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in which it asked the agency to prohibit further flight of a type of a small airplane that has been involved in six in-flight structural breakups since 2006. The recommendations apply to the Zodiac CH-601XL, a low-wing, fixed-gear,…
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Added by Jay Maynard on April 14, 2009 at 5:42pm — 12 Comments

End of Winter

Finally the winter is giving up and spring is on the way, looks like we can get back to work and finish the 801. We will be doing the weight and balance on thursday the 16th of April and then it will be on to organizing for the FAA inspection. Need to make sure all of the paperwork is in order and ready before asking the inspector to come. This has been a long time coming and I am looking forward to finishing the project. We have our annual ABC Supply SW Airfest coming up next month and it… Continue

Added by Phillip Owens on April 14, 2009 at 12:10pm — No Comments

Elevator Tip & Nose Rib Fluting/Crimp Dimensions

Re: Parts # 75-T-3-1 & 75-T-3-2. Caleb emailed me a .pdf file showing the crimp locations this morning. I'm impressed with how fast they got back to me. Thanks Caleb! I'm not sure if or when the updated drawings will be available on the Zenair site but Caleb has them if any other scratch builders need them.

June 23rd update: The new updates to the plans have the dimensions on them.

Added by Travis Corbin on April 14, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

CH750 is nearly in the air

A big day on April 13th as we pulled the CH750 out of the hangar and started the engine. The 0200 roared to life and sounded like a million bucks. We ran the engine for about 15 minutes, then shut down and back in the hangar. The last remaining items are so simple (and small). I have three bugnuts coming from Spruce to attach mixture, carb heat and cabin heat. I safety wired everything last night. Once the bugnuts are installed it's time to weigh, complete weight and balance exhibits and submit… Continue

Added by Jim Smith on April 14, 2009 at 6:41am — 4 Comments

Finally got to taxi it

After nearly two years of building, I got the engine running, and taxied it around the airport. Pretty exciting. I am about ready to have the FAA bless it.

Added by William Campbell on April 13, 2009 at 9:30am — 1 Comment

STOL 750 Rotax Weight & Balance

Well we have Good news and Bad news. The Good news first. THE total weight with most everything installed or in place is 695 lbs I expect this to change by about 50 lbs as paint and seats are installed. But that will be discovered on the final Weight and Balance.

Now the Bad news, the motor must move, this was… Continue

Added by Mark Townsend on April 13, 2009 at 6:30am — 2 Comments

750 Wings are attached

Well here it is the wings are on the fuselage

p style="text-align: left;">



Here are the wings attached with clamps.



With doing the First Rotax installation it is important to do a Weight and Balance before finalizign everything and heading for the paint shop.



Here it si… Continue

Added by Mark Townsend on April 12, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

750 Wings are attached

Well here it is the wings are on the fuselage

p style="text-align: left;">



Here are the wings attached with clamps.



With doing the First Rotax installation it is important to do a Weight and Balance before finalizign everything and heading for the paint shop.



Here it si… Continue

Added by Mark Townsend on April 12, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

750 Wings are attached

Well here it is the wings are on the fuselage

p style="text-align: left;">



Here are the wings attached with clamps.



With doing the First Rotax installation it is important to do a Weight and Balance before finalizign everything and heading for the paint shop.



Here it si… Continue

Added by Mark Townsend on April 12, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

750 Wings are attached

Well here it is the wings are on the fuselage

p style="text-align: left;">



Here are the wings attached with clamps.



With doing the First Rotax installation it is important to do a Weight and Balance before finalizign everything and heading for the paint shop.



Here it si… Continue

Added by Mark Townsend on April 12, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

STOL 750 Flapperons

ALignment of the Flapperons took a bit of time and required more then one hand. I used a 20 mm spacing from the trailing edge of the wing to the leading top edge of the flapperon while in a semi neautral position. you can double check by rotating the flapperon and the 20mm gap does not change through rotation.

Here is a pictrue of the slats attached, the bent edge makes for a very clean line.…

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Added by Mark Townsend on April 11, 2009 at 6:00am — No Comments

STOL 750 final wing assembly

The Slats attach with simple clecos alignment was all set through the pre-drilled holes.



The fiberglass parts aligned well and installation was simple fare.



THE Rudder is installed as is the stabilizer. Stops and alignment is done the same as the… Continue

Added by Mark Townsend on April 10, 2009 at 6:00am — No Comments

601 Flying Carpet

Getting more time in on my 601 XL / Corvair. Cruised about 100 miles Sunday, 3000 RPM, about 110 MPH TAS at 5000 MSL. The air was smooth as glass and the Corvair never missed a beat. I've been tweaking the cowling to improve cooling, and this flight saw about 230 deg. oil and 350 - 370 cht's. I'm running the Ellison carb, and pull the mixture back just enough to bring the EGT's up to 1300 - 1350 deg., using a Cyberdyne mixture meter for guidance. This Zenith flies like a dream, and turns a lot… Continue

Added by Lynn Dingfelder on April 7, 2009 at 8:17pm — 2 Comments

Sun 'n Fun UL260i Forum Schedule

I will be giving three forums on the UL260i during Sun 'n Fun:
Tuesday the 21st at 10am
Thursday the 23rd at 11am
Saturday the 25th at 11am
All held at the Contact! Engine Forum tent near the main entrance.

Added by Gus Warren on April 7, 2009 at 2:12pm — No Comments

A quick trip to Washington and back (Another 1,330 miles for the log book)

On Friday I flew 664 statute miles from Santa Rosa, CA to Shelton, WA to visit my brother Alan and his wife Nathalie who have a Zodiac XL which is a twin of mine. The flight north was one of the more challenging I have experienced. In Northern California I got to choose… Continue

Added by Stephen R. Smith on April 6, 2009 at 11:25am — 3 Comments

Sky Hummer 750 with Rotax Cowl

I told my Son that the 701 is called the Sky Jeep, he turned to me and stated that if the 701 is the Sky Jeep then surely the 750 is the Sky Hummer. I laughed and told him not to call me Shirley, but Sky Hummer is going to stick for the 750 in the Hanger.

I couldn't wait so I installed the cowl just to see how she is going to look. I like what I see! Alot !…

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Added by Mark Townsend on April 3, 2009 at 10:30pm — 2 Comments

UL260i? Yeah, its really that light!

Our ULPower FWF kit is coming together. The cowl will be back any day now. As you can see, the engine hangs out there quite a ways. Much time was spent on determining where the engine should be located to make the CH650 remain in CG with about any possible loading scenario. The engine comes in at 170 lbs. with prop, baffles, and oil. A very light 95hp, and now there is a high compression 260 that burns 100LL and is 105 hp. The empty weight of the 650… Continue

Added by Gus Warren on April 2, 2009 at 6:27pm — 17 Comments

750 Panel Parts in Particular

As our deadlines approach, many things are coming together. Installing the fuel tanks is all that remains of component building. The panels is finished and is on its way to being mounted permanently. We have an MGL avionics Enigma EFIS/GPS/engine monitor and their new V-10 comm radio. The V-10 weighs almost nothing and interfaces easily with the Enigma. The Garmin transponder and a Van's (sorry) map box complete the… Continue

Added by Gus Warren on April 2, 2009 at 6:13pm — 6 Comments

750 Wing Final

Inspection is over and I did not take time off to relax, I tried, wife let me sleep for 10hrs then I got up and found that my mind was too much on the 750 to be able to read a book. SO I got back to ordering parts for the panel and the wings. THE pictrue above shows the final installation on the bottom of the wings which is the strut attachments.



You really have to see it to believe just how flat… Continue

Added by Mark Townsend on April 1, 2009 at 10:00pm — 5 Comments

What is your experience using automotive gas in airplanes?

I fly a 601XL with a Jabiru 3300 engine. The other day I ran into an old-time pilot who has been using automotive gas in his airplane for many years. He reports no problems, in fact he had only good things to say – like longer engine life since he switched. Jabiru does permit the use of premium auto gas in the 3300. I am contemplating the switch for the following reasons:



1) Longer sparkplug life. I have gotten 170 hours out of my last two sets of spark plugs which is hours 70 more… Continue

Added by Stephen R. Smith on April 1, 2009 at 9:57am — 17 Comments

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