I have been looking for some time for an affordable device that will provide protection from overvoltage should my alternator fail. This device made by Olsen Technologies is affordable ($149.00) and easy to install. It is designed to short out the resettable breaker in the alternator field circuit when the voltage from the alternator exceeds 16volts.

I am going to purchase one and bench test it before installing . It can be purchased from Earthx batteries or the Olsen website,…

August 10 2023

Added flapperon arms and L angles…

August 09 2023

Fabricating and drilling the inbound flapperons L angles. I used the method described in the Homebuilt Help. Used the flapperon arm as a conductor.

Added flapperon tips.

Riveted the flapperons.…

August 01 2023

Deburred and covered with cortec the right outbound flapperon.

July 31 2023

Stored the stabilizer and the elevator on the rack.

Clecoed the right outbound flapperon skeleton.…

July 30 2023

Riveted the elevator.

My riveter head is too large to get inside the cradle. I used a nut as a shim between the rivet head and the riveter.

Tuned the servo. To make the range +20 -40 as per the drawing I had to set the distance between the trim arm pins to 119mm. Very close to the recommended 116.

Changed the way the safety wires on the piano hinges are set. It is the way the safety wire is set on the Zenith demonstration plane. See the last image,…

July 28 2023

Riveted the stabilizer tip ribs. Drilled the stabilizer tips. The angle between the tip rib and the stabilizer is good enough I believe.…

July 27 2023

Sanded the plastic stabilizer tips to make edges flat.

By a reason I cannot understand the parts C75T1-11 tip rib do not have predrilled holes in my kit. The Assembly Manual assumes they should be.

I send an email to Zenith and talked to Roger on Oshkosh.

Yes, it is an error. The holes should be there. But instead of asking Zenith to fabricate and send me the new parts I decided to drill them. After all it is a part of fun.

I draw a 10mm line from…

Zenith Aircraft Kit Building Workshop Returns to Florida: December 1 & 2, 2023

Zenith Aircraft Company is returning to Florida in early…

I made a post on this topic somewhere in the blogosphere earlier and now I can't find it.  So, I will try again here.  I am looking at purchasing a circa 1997 "hangar find" Zenith 601 Kit (does not include an engine or the finishing kit).  A local EAA technical counselor who has assisted with two Zenith 601 projects advised me about a wing spar AD.  The wings are complete and in a cradle.  Looking around at all the places I can think of I cannot locate any information on the wing spar AD.  I…

This is my first post. I'm in the Kansas City, Missouri area and have been to Mexico, Missouri and flown in the factory plane on a demo ride. I like the 650 (low wing) and am interested in upgrading to that kit. I currently have a hangar find 601 circa 1997. The wings and stabilizer are complete, and fuselage is partially finished. No engine. I'll add some pictures in another week once I get everything out of the packing boxes. My Dad and I have built a Quickie (a Rutan design) back in the…

Thank you to everyone who visited and participated at the 2023 Zenith Homecoming / Open Hangar Days & Fly-In,

making this 32nd annual event the best one yet!

• Photos and videos of the 2023…

July 22 2023

A storage rack. It was designed to keep the wing. Since I do not have the wings yet I store the parts already built. It has enough room for the wings too.

July 12 2023

Sent Zenith an email with a question how many security wires do I need on the elevator piano hinge - 2 or 6.

Clecoed the trim tab servo.

Drilled the rest of the holes to the size.

Finished the initial elevator assembly.…

July 11 2023

Drilled, clecoed and attached the trim tab.

July 10 2023

Build small parts around the elevator weight arm.

Cutting and marking the horn doubler angle.

Drilling the holes under the right angle was the most difficult part.

I used a right angle drill extender from Harbor Freight.

Cut, drilled, trimmed and installed two L angles.…

July 9 2023

Matched the stabilizer and the elevator with a piano hinge. They move not quite freely but better than I expected.

Started building the elevator weight balance arm.…

The FAA has released the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for LSA aircraft. Among other things, an aircraft’s weight limit would be based on stall speed. This could allow aircraft weighing as much as 3,000 pounds to be classified as LSA. The proposal would also expand the types and usage of LSA aircraft, allowing some aerial work. Sport pilots could operate up to four seat aircraft, but would still only be allowed one…

July 8 2023

Riveted the stabilizer skin. User ratcheted belts to close the skin. Much more convenient than to push by hand.

Almost at the end I dropped a drill bit inside the stabilizer through the rivet hole. The stabilizer is fully closed the there are no holes I could get the drill bit. I did not want to leave it there forever and rattle. On the other hand I did not want to remove a lot of rivets to get it out.

I used a wooden wedge to make a small gap between the skin and…