May 2009 Blog Posts (25)

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Air worthiness inspection

N408WL built by Harry P. Land Jr. and Leland K. Wolfe was awarded its Airworthiness certificate on May 30, 2009 at 12 ;30 p. m. with no deffects.

Added by Harry P. Land Jr. on May 30, 2009 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment

Rivet gun

Thanks to all for the replies about the Riveter. I have purchased one from H/F and will try to hone out the tips.
Bob

Added by Robert Crawford on May 30, 2009 at 10:19am — 1 Comment

NEW GVT Update

More information has recently been posted about the recent Zodiac GVT results on the Zenair Europe Website. For more details, visit: http://www.zenairulm.com/News/index_files/Page362.htm

Added by Nicholas Heintz on May 29, 2009 at 1:46pm — 8 Comments

You can smell it from 500 feet at 90kts

There is the Garmin, pilotage, dead reckoning and now the nose. My flight was to the eastern shore of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and a little town called Crisfield. I had read about Crisfield and thought it would be a perfect place to locate my boat for the season and fly there for mini vacations. All of the descriptions I read about Crisfield commented on the charm of a "salty" fishing village. At 500 ft a different tale was told - something missing from the descriptions. Crisfield smells. As I… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on May 29, 2009 at 9:36am — No Comments

Awaiting inspetion

Well the day has finnalt arrived, the paperwork has been sent in for inspection, now we just await the call and set the date. It has been a ong time in coming. This week end there is the annual SWAirFest airshow at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport and the NAVY BLUE ANGELS ARE THE FEATURED ATTRACTION. However there will also be three CH-801's on display for the folks to see, Larry Landuchi and Bill Rewey are going to fly in and display their aircraft with mine so it will be a great… Continue

Added by Phillip Owens on May 28, 2009 at 3:05pm — No Comments

Rivet gun

A couple of weeks ago there was a discussion about the pneumatic rivet gun supplied by Zenith as compared to one from Harbor Freight. I would like to know how you “cupped” the riveter heads in order to get the dome effect as called for in the plans. And once again, do you think the cheaper gun is worth while? Sorry to ask this but I’m new and don’t know how to access the archives.
Thanks,
Bob

Added by Robert Crawford on May 26, 2009 at 8:21am — 5 Comments

Rotax training

Well have not been doing much plane building of late. I have been attending Rotax Service Course for 912 & 914 Series engines and the Rotax Maintenance Course for 912 & 914 series engines. These courses are Rotax authorized and put on by Rotech Flight Safety Inc. here in Vernon B.C., Canada. I am now authorized to carry the title iRMT (independent Rotax Maintenance Technician). In our class we had students from the Yukon, British Columbia,… Continue

Added by Debra and Patrick Nesbitt on May 25, 2009 at 7:53pm — No Comments

Still at the paint shop

Well is is going quicker then expected, the plane is almost finished it's time at the painters. I am much happier now.…

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Added by Mark Townsend on May 25, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

FAA BLESSING

I have already posted to the Zenith forum, but I'll add this here also. Yesterday, 05/23/2009 I had my plane inspected by a DAR and it passed. I had some bolts on the warp drive that needed to have thin washers as not enough threads were showing (I used the supplied washers) and safety waires on the prop bolts not tight enough. He also noted that I had cotter pins that we too long on the landing gear attach bolts. All minor and fixable on the spot.



He did go over the cable tensions… Continue

Added by Glenn Johnson on May 24, 2009 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Mount for Dynon Pitot Tube

Anyone thinking about using the Dynon Pitot Tube, should go to www.safeair1.com and take a look at their pitot mast. The reason will be evident - when compared to the cost of others ! One wonders ... too good to be true ? Ordered mine today. Guess I'll find out.

Added by Bennett Scheuer on May 23, 2009 at 11:51am — 1 Comment

It is inspected and ready to fly

After two years and one month N6ZK, my 601XL is ready to fly.
The FAA inspected it this morning and we both left happy.
It has been a good two years. The kit was really straightforward to build.
I'll send pictures the day that I fly it.
It looks like next week. It has a Lycoming 0235 with an electronic ignition, and an Ellison throttle body.
It has not been painted yet, and will not be until I have had a chance to fly it during the warm weather.
Bill Campbell

Added by William Campbell on May 22, 2009 at 2:48pm — 6 Comments

Delay

When building a plane delays can happen, this is a simple fact of life that sometimes cannot be avoided. With thedelay in the 750 at the paint shop, I need to get moving on the 801 for another customer. With the overlap of two projects the750 will be drasticlly slowed in the process.…

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Added by Mark Townsend on May 22, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Re-Paint

Here is the fuselage, stripped and base coated again.…



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Added by Mark Townsend on May 21, 2009 at 11:30pm — No Comments

CH750 Builder Videos are now ready to ship!

At last! The first two volumes in the series "Building your CH750" are now shipping. Fuselage Part 1 and Fuselage Part 2 are now completed and their details are illustrated at the HomebuiltHELP website. Soon, Horizontal Tail and Wings,Slats & Flaps will be ready soon (about a week for each). As these titles become available, the website will be immediately updated.



Look forward to any any feedback or questions you have on the content of these videos.… Continue

Added by Jon Croke on May 21, 2009 at 9:30am — 11 Comments

jabiru cylinder head temp

Hi, What are you 601 pilots seeing for cylinder head temps in your plane with the 3300 jabiru . My rear cylinders are running 340 and 325 and no matter what I try I can,t get them down any farther. Thats what I saw today with a temp of 70 f and a nice 300 miles around the Blackhills of South Dakota. I am afraid as the summer warms up I am going to have heating problems??

Added by Bil Gillam on May 17, 2009 at 4:09pm — 7 Comments

Didn't have to surrender my pilot certificate yesterday...

...because a Sport Pilot CFI ticket is a separate certificate.



One result of the fiasco surrounding the NTSB's recommendation that the Zodiac fleet be grounded was that my original pilot examiner backed out on me. I'd located one near Janesville, WI, and today the weather cooperated enough that I could go take the checkride.



Big Foot Airport, 7V3, near Janesville is 261 nautical miles from Fairmont. I'd set my alarm for 5 AM, hoping to be in the air by 6:30. I woke up at… Continue

Added by Jay Maynard on May 15, 2009 at 8:00am — 5 Comments

NTSB wants to ground all zodiac's

Is it time to quit working on it and recycle the metal???? At least I found out before I ordered any more parts!! I just read about it in Pacific Flyer May Issue. Interesting no notification from Zenith Air.

Added by William G Chisholm, Jr on May 13, 2009 at 12:32pm — 3 Comments

Simple Control Locks

For those of us who tie down our aircraft outdoors and in the wind (whether continuously or just during an occasional cross country trip), it's important to lock the control surfaces so they don't "flap" unnecessarily in the wind. At the Sebring Expo earlier this year, Juan's Zodiac was fitted with these effective control stops:

Above, two tennis balls are joined by a bungee rope, and keep the ailerons from flapping.



Since this was a… Continue

Added by Sebastien Heintz on May 12, 2009 at 8:30pm — 7 Comments

Now the Bad News

When I picked the paint for this paint job I had the paint company and the paint shop both come to the hanger before I went to Sun-N-Fun to ensure the type of paint and design I wanted for the plane. Unfortunately the paint company changed what I had asked for due to the airbrush Artists request.As you can see in the picture below the clear coat ran,pulling part of the artwork down with it. Even the paint companies own professional painter was unable to paint with the new clear without… Continue

Added by Mark Townsend on May 5, 2009 at 11:30pm — No Comments

From California to Sun-N-Fun 2009 and a few other places along the way



On April 18th my brother David and I left Santa Rosa California heading east over the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains on an adventure of a lifetime. We left with great confidence in my sturdy Zodiac XL. After all, last year it had safely taken me and my brother Alan to Oshkosh, why would it behave differently on this trip?



In thirteen days we flew 8,490 miles in 75 hours. Average speed was 113 MPH. Along the way we took over… Continue

Added by Stephen R. Smith on May 5, 2009 at 10:00am — 7 Comments

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