You're invited to join us at our annual "Fly In To Summer" Builder Fly-In Gathering on Saturday, June 17, 2017, at the Zenith Aircraft Factory.…

Based on the success of the STOL CH 801-HD as a commercial spray plane (a.k.a. the CH-8000), Zenair has quietly been working on an even larger and more capable STOL aircraft than the currently available HD model. Among other modifications, this new CH 801-EX has 4 feet of…

I am currently working my way through adding stiffeners to rear ribs 1-4. Below are a few pics of how I am doing this.

I made a gage strip for laying out the end locations of the stiffeners. That is seen clamped to the edge in the first pic. Small 90 degree vee blocks are handy for transferring lines around edges. Another handy item I recently purchased(and should have done sooner) are the orange soft jaws for the vise. For what needs to be done here, having the ribs held up…

Stabilizer skeletons that is. I've updated my build log. :)

http://justplanechris.com/skeletons-in-the-garage/

Working on my Elevator Balance Horn and the Lower Horn.  Both of them have a Gap caused by the Center Channel Strap.  I was thinking of inserting a .040 shim in both to eliminate the gap (see pictures in the other post.  Still haven't quite figured out getting them in the same post).  What do y'all think?

One area of flying that has very little written about is "haze".There's a lot of stories about flight into IMC that usually center around flying into clouds, rain storms or black hole night experiences. 

However I have learned that haze can be a subtle and deadly situation. The real problem is that aviation weather reports do a very poor job of identifying and reporting on it.

Yesterday was a classic example. I was flying home from Pine Mountain Lake in Northern…

A propeller where you can have it all.  

• Maximum climb for those local flights and grass strips
• Maximum cruise when you fly from paved airport to paved airport
• Adjustments are made in a few seconds

This adjustable propeller is legal for all pilots to operate.  No special skill is required and the entire blade rotate to the desired pitch, rather than twisting the…

So many ask the question of how to build an aircraft that a light sport rated pilot can fly.

Here is the answer to one typical speed question:

The speed of your completed airplane is dictated by it's overall configuration, not the engine. While it is true that Viking would like to show you how fast it could go, it is not true that you will automatically have this speed if you need to comply with a lesser speed.

The pitch of your ground adjustable propeller will give you…

As I have continued on with building my plane and having the space, I wanted to make some more benches. These pictures were made last year. What makes these a little different than other benches is that I decided to make the benches modular. The tables are 4x4 in size instead of the usual 4x12 that is often made. I made a 4x12 when I first started building, but that one has been retired in favor of the 4x4 benches. Even if someone had more limited space, using 4x4 tables could make easier to…

I've started assembling the fwd horizontal stabilizer parts. Got the spar, doublers, attach brackets, and ribs drilled. Time to debur and rivet! :)…

Hello all,

 I'm getting ready to build my 650 wings and thought maybe I'd get some steel beams as shown in the guides. 

 Are you all using them? Where did you get them?

 If you aren't using them, what are you using?

  I just used 2x4's for the rudder, stab and elevator.

Thanks!

Below are a few simple tools I have made that others may find useful.

1. Wooden "gage" blocks- I have all sorts of bits of left over 2x4's. It has been useful to cut those into lengths such as 1",3/4", etc. If I need to elevate part above the table a little bit, I have a good selection of "calibrated" heights to work from. And as can be seen from the holes, they make good backer blocks for drilling. And for those last little bits of tweaking, door shims work quite…

Found two cracks in my aluminum flywheel.

The new parts require the reduction gearbox to move forward 1/4 inch. This causes the radiator to move forward, and interfere with the cowl.

I decided to try modifying the drive coupling by machining 1/8 inch off each side, thereby recovering the 1/4 inch.

I plan to do a few high power ground runs before flying, and will update this post with the results.…

We're sharing the following safety alert, that has been published on the Zenith Aircraft website builder and owner resources, to better circulate it with the Zenith flying community.

• Horizontal-Stabilizer-inspection-mandatory-Jan-2017.pdf

The safety alert is based on the…

I am building a 650 with a 0200 engine what prop do you guys suggest? thanks

Congratulations to Deane Philip and Chris Anderson for taking first and second place in the fifth annual "Healthy Bastards STOL competition" in New Zealand on Saturday, February 4,…

Deane Philip Winning the 2017 Healthy Bastards STOL  competition powered with Viking Engine

Deane Philip Winning the 2014 Healthy Bastards STOL  competition powered with Rotax engine

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Since I started flying my 601 back in 2007 I have found it to be a fantastic machine for exploring and adventure. I have enjoyed expanding my view of the world by flying over the country side, looking out at the great sights below and taking pictures from time to time; actually thousands of them.

In the past few years I have had in mind to fly all the way to the tip of South America. I…

Following is my report on the 2017 Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, held last week in Sebring (central Florida), with photos and videos of the trip to and from Sebring from the Zenith Aircraft factory in Mexico, Missouri.  Watch the video (below), "Recap of the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo 2017," for a further summary of the 2017 event.…