After spending a very frustrating week trying to mount my tubeless  tires on the Matco rims provided I  have given up. The O-rings they supply for sealing the two halves of the rims together absolutely will not fit. Matco say to roll the O-ring over the rim to the flat at the edge of the rim, assemble  the two halves and roll the O-ring back  to the center of the rim and lubricate the O-ring  and you should be good to go. Well this is absolute impossible. the O-rings are to…

I unpacked the finishing kit this weekend and had to add two more hardware boards to keep it all organized.

Today closed up and riveted the top skin and horns.  Rechecked the electric trim with a 9v battery, Not happy with the provided cotter pin attachment to the clevis rod as it appears to me to be hazard should it catch on something so I spent extra time laying it down.  I notice a lot of openings in this design which is an invitation to insects, mud wasp and what have you.  Anyone have ideas in how to fill those openings?…

The Arlington Fly-In started today in Washington. If you have the opportunity two Zenith/Viking powered…

I have been stuck working on the elevator trim tab.  I needed to fabricate the horn and install it in order to adjust the servo push rod and ran into a problem with the drawing of the horn.  It does not fit the clevis of the RCS-7 Clevis kit supplied with the CH601 kit.  I worked to modify the horn to fit the clevis, positioned it and drilled ready for rivets…

Hi guys and gals, just thought I'd drop a quick post about my 750 Super Duty build. Rudder and tail section nearly complete, I opted for the quick build fuselage from Zenith as I didn't like the idea of attempting that on my own. Let me know if anyone else out there is building the Super Duty, keen to share experiences and support each other through this fun and exciting adventure.…

Drilling of the left wing skin is completed. Video shows final holes being drilled and description of jig to secure the ribs to improve alignment and prevent shifting.

Zenith Aircraft Company had another great year at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture 2019.

• (Read Part One of my Oshkosh 2019 report)

First things first: Thanks to all who flew in to the EAA Oshkosh 50th anniversary fly-in! And…

Hello, i am selling my 601XL-B with Jabiru 3300. Please let me know if anybody is interested in purchasing this nice plane.

Plane had 260 hrs on it.

Need a new interior, runs great, but needs tuning.

I fly it and i enjoy it, but life has become to busy for this hobby at this time.

Please send me your best offer.

thanks …

I was starting to write my Oshkosh 2019 follow-up report, but the highlight of this year's Oshkosh experience for me actually happened after flying home from the event, when I received the following email letter:

"Mr Heintz, from the time I was a boy I loved airplanes. Life, as it does many times, prevented me from becoming a pilot until I was 40 years…

I’m back from OSH, but had a few seconds of severe turbulence that damaged the plane.  I was flying Zenith 650 about 32 miles south of Big Timber airport (approaching Springtime, MT) in moderate winds and very light turbulence.  Certainly very common in any type flying.  Nothing that bounced me out of the seat.  I was hand flying instead of auto-pilot as the…

After two or three months of weekends of checking and adjusting, I am finally ready to start drilling the top wingskin to the ribs.

A couple of concerns I have is holes not appearing where I expect to them and also the ribs shifting while drilling. To help catch any problems early, I have setup a video camera that I can place under the skin to watch the rib and hole.

A short video below demontrates the video setup and the drilling of my first hole into the left wing…

Finished the stabilizer today by adding the plastic ribs.  Probably took longer then it should, however, I found an error with the rear spar attachment plate and needed to order a new part, rebuild it.  Beyond that getting the skeleton and top skin to cooperate took practically a whole day until I was satisfied.  Replacement parts for the elevator are in so I will return to that part of the project.…

The elevator is on hold waiting for replacement parts.  Tried to salvage it but it was beyond me.

I moved on to the stabilizer and finished the skeleton tonight.  Skills are getting better.  Had trouble with the hand rivet gun from Zenith.  It stopped working.  Took it apart and removed all the metal dust, oiled it up, and it is working again.  Otherwise, no issues so far with the stabilizer.…

Hello Everyone,

It's time to get out the banquet and forum information to you all. We are late with this because much of the grounds at EAA are being changed and remodeled. In fact as we speak EAA volunteers and construction workers are putting the final touch on the new EAA 50th anniversary grounds.

Our event will be held at the Oshkosh Elks Lodge, 175 West Fernau Ave, in Oshkosh, on Thursday, July 25th. We have very comfortable seating for over 250 people, our own private…

Can someone tell me what torque value the 4 landing gear leg bolts should be.

When I bought this aircraft (601XLB) one of the 4 nuts was only finger tight.

Thanks.

I recently travelled to PNW to finish testing mod to our fuel system.  We added shut off valves for tanks left & right.  Tested successfully for leaks.  Then put the plugs in and started it up.  First time in several years.  Seems so small but it sure felt good.