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My First Mistake

I haven't even skinned a rudder yet and have made a mistake, I'm so mad!! After riveting the skeleton I could not get the tip rib to line up with the holes, my skeleton was too short.



No amount of turning and moving would fix it so I turned to fellow builder Mike Daniels on this site for advice and after some helpful suggestions I worked out what was wrong. I had riveted the…

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Added by Paul Sanders on August 16, 2010 at 8:00pm — 8 Comments

Bob Hoovers Passing... Friday August 13

On Friday Aug 13,2010... the Aviation world lost a great man and the guru of VW engines. Bob had cancer which he had been fighting for awhile and he finally lost his battle! There are no words at this time to express my feelings... huge loss! Bob was a favorite on the Yahoo AirVW forum where he was always there to assist or critique anything to do with the VW engine. Some of the huge contributions that he made for the VW engine... were the HVX mods(oil system) and Fat Fin…

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Added by Ron D Leclerc on August 16, 2010 at 11:29am — 3 Comments

2011 EAA Air Venture

Joe made a suggestion about Zenith builders flying to and attending the 2011 EAA Air Venture as a mass group, I made a suggestion and Joe asked me to do a blog about it so everyone could read it:

I am an 801 builder from Beloit, WI operating out of Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport in Janesville,WI (KJVL) your suggestion sounds good to me and I might suggest that if we wanted to have a mass type fly in the airport in Janesville has plenty of room for us to organize, low fuel…

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Added by Phillip Owens on August 15, 2010 at 7:32pm — 3 Comments

...from Voice of America radio: "Kurdish Aviator Builds Plane, Flies Over Home Town"

See and listen to Voice of America for an interesting story about a man and his dream (original broadcast on August 12, 2010):

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Added by Sebastien Heintz on August 12, 2010 at 9:30pm — 1 Comment

STOL CH 750, Edition 2 (Design Max. Weight Increase), Now Available

As announced last month at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (view press release), the design maximum weight for the STOL CH 750 has been increased from 1,320 lbs. (600 kg) to 1,440 lbs. (650 kg), an increase of 120 lbs. The increase adds significantly to the load… Continue

Added by Sebastien Heintz on August 11, 2010 at 9:00pm — 4 Comments

A story, about a story, about a story.... worth reading.

I read the following story (about a story in the New York Times, no less) about a Zodiac builder and his love of flying. Isn't it great to read some good news about aviation and flying, especially in a non-aviation publication?…





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Added by Sebastien Heintz on August 11, 2010 at 8:30am — 1 Comment

how she was dis assembled

hThe Engine out and fire wall dismantling…











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Added by Adrian Lewer on August 11, 2010 at 3:52am — No Comments

some of the things that took my breath away ?

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Added by Adrian Lewer on August 11, 2010 at 3:36am — No Comments

First Post

Thought I'd write a little something to get my profile started. I'm a Brit living in the Imperial Valley out east of San Diego, I work for a major Japanese video game manufacturer (and no it's not Nintendo), got my Private certificate in 2002 and my IFR rating 2 years later.


I'd always thought about building my own plane but really didn't think it was possible. My wife and I celebrate when I put up a shelf that stays up more than a week, and no one lost a finger during the…
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Added by Paul Sanders on August 10, 2010 at 11:16am — 6 Comments

Bob Berube of Flight Crafters is working on his CH750

Bob Berube continues the assembly of his Ch750. He is making great progress while still helping many of the builders present at Flight Crafters. NOTE-the green epoxy chromate primer.

Added by Russell Lepre' on August 9, 2010 at 3:06pm — No Comments

Tour de France: ULM-style!







Every year in France, just a few weeks after the massive (and grueling) bicycle-world event, another tour takes place which is much more gentle, low-key, and more fun for us ultralight pilots: le Tour ULM. Organized by the national ultralight association (FFPLUM), this year’s tour included 150 ultralights of every shape, size and make.…



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Added by Michael Heintz on August 9, 2010 at 7:30am — 2 Comments

Sunday 8-8-2010

I cut out the rudder rear skin, and built all of the elevator ribs. I will finish more of the baggage walls tonight.

Added by Paul on August 8, 2010 at 2:30pm — No Comments

STOL CH 750: Dual Control Sticks

Frank Tompson recently installed the dual control stick option kit in his STOL CH 750:

We were a little concerned about cabin access (getting in and out of the airplane) with the dual sticks but it appears not to be a problem. Here's a schematic of the system:

The…
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Added by Sebastien Heintz on August 7, 2010 at 8:00pm — 4 Comments

Another 601XL B flies in New Zealand.

Yesterday I went up and tested my rebuilt 601XL here in NZ. The upgrade kit added 18kg (including the aileron trim tab that I did not have before) but has made the aircraft a great deal stiffer. Control surfaces operate more smoothly than before and she flies beautifully. I will remember 'the envelope' however!


Thanks Zenith for the new stickers which arrived on the rebirth day!


All in all - its been a long and expensive road (I had the job done…
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Added by Mike Peake on August 6, 2010 at 3:27pm — 2 Comments

Grand Prize

Jon you REALLY made my day when you called last week to tell me I had won the GRAND PRIZE for the Zenith News Letter subscribers- a David Clark noise canceling head set donated by Wicks! I got them in the mail on Monday. WOW they are really special. Thanks to you, Zenith and Wicks!!!

Jim Barbour

Added by James Barbour on August 6, 2010 at 1:31pm — 1 Comment

Progress update

Last night I finally overcame that lack of power from my Rotax 912 UL engine. It was running rough at about 4200 RPM and then loosing power. After thoroughly cleaning out the carbs and installing a $350.00 carb kit, I think I found the source of the problem. A small bit of interference on the arms of the enrichener cables were holding them slightly open. With a Rotax engine, the enrichers (Chokes) will cause a lean condition at higher RPM due to the way the float chamber is…

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Added by Doug MacDonald on August 6, 2010 at 11:30am — 4 Comments

Moving Brad's fuselage to his new hanger in Zephyrhills

Securing the fuselage to the trailer for the long trip from St. Pete Beach to Zephyrhills.

The Zodiac's new home in Zephyrhills. Brad has almost completed his upgrade. Soon the motor will be mounted.…

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Added by Russell Lepre' on August 6, 2010 at 8:09am — No Comments

The Femcare Drop Project

Working in aviation in the more rural parts of West Africa we often come across interesting issues that are generally not thought about. One of those challenges is how young women handle the challenges of menstruation and schooling in not so easy to reach communities.




The BBC has over the past few years highlighted issues related to girls in education and their menstruation challenges.(…
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Added by Jonathan Porter on August 5, 2010 at 4:30pm — 1 Comment

Oshkosh 2010 Follow-Up

Despite a very wet beginning, we had a great time once again at AirVenture and really enjoyed meeting both existing and new builders from around the world. Following is a summary of our week:



Heading to Oshkosh from our factory in Mexico, Missouri: The STOL CH 750 as seen from the STOL CH 801:…

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Added by Sebastien Heintz on August 4, 2010 at 10:00am — 6 Comments

Construction starts on another CH750 Quick Build Kit

Bob Berube and Jim Nelson started construction on Bob's CH750 QBK at Flight Crafters.

We will be keeping track on their progress.…

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Added by Russell Lepre' on August 3, 2010 at 3:59pm — No Comments

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