With the FAA paper finally in hand, the shout came out from Charlie 'Move that plane NOW!'. 

The Thunderbirds (you know the F16s that display really well), were ready to do their display to close the whole weeks events... but they couldn't.    The crowds were on the line, and the planes had their jet engines running, but they were not being given the 'GO!' until after the One Week Wonder did its first ever 'under its own power' taxi.   

There…

Arriving on the Sunday morning, nobody felt 'not tired', but everybody felt 'totally exhilarated'.  The One Week Wonder sat out front, like a toddler about to go out in it's push chair for the first time, full of anticipation, ready for an adventure - but looking so innocent and unprepared.

It was 99% ready, and with just 50% left to go!  But that 50% was going to be a challenge... Then, they came with a black plastic bag and a remote control unit for the countdown clock.  It…

Saturday morning was a blur.  Nobody could remember their own names any more - let alone whether they were coming or going...  It was as if those 'patience pills' were affecting memory too!  Thankfully, between everybody, everything was being accounted for, but the team were visibly slowing down.  Caution was being applied, because everybody knew that it was better to miss the deadline than make a mistake that could jeopardise the long term benefits from…

Friday... less than two days to go... 

everybody finally realized that somebody had been lying to the team - that clock was not right.  This was not anything like a seven day challenge.  Seven days would have given the team until 08:00 on Monday morning... BUT the organizers had this hidden agenda... the plane would be INSPECTED on the SUNDAY by the FAA... and needed full FAA certification before 15:00 on that very Sunday... so that a public taxi test could take…

With all the 'smaller surfaces' completed, day four was a day of looking for jobs for the core team not involved in the fuselage or left wing - there was no shortage of tasks - event the clearing up and sorting out the tools that had managed to have a party and get muddled up! 

For those who had built Zenith Aircraft before, this seemed like an easy build - until they all realized that this was a CH750 Cruzer - so it was different.  With less than a handful of Cruzers flying…

Day three was always going to be the day when we got an idea of where it was all going.  Everybody was tired, already.  The sprint had been done, and the plane looked like a plane... well almost - but this was not the time to give up - we had to hit the wall and keep on building! 

Work started on the flaperons, but it did not go…

When the team arrived on day two they looked over the work from the day before... and noticed some mistakes.  That happens on EVERY build.  Every builder makes mistakes, so having some mistakes in One Week Wonder was to be expected... The mistakes were minor.  Not all the rivets had pulled well - it happens - and some had been pulled that shouldn't have been yet - that happens too!  So, as the volunteers for day two were lining up, the core team set about some minor fixes.  It should be…

It was a tense moment, all of these people who didn't know each other - about to start in five minutes - building a plane in less than a week.  They all stood awaiting the starters orders... and then they came, from Jack Pelton, the EAA Chairman.  Jack comes from the illustrious aircraft manufacturer Cessna, and is now the leader of the EAA pack in feeding the worlds aviation spirit at a grass roots level.

 …

Over the week over two thousands five hundred people were involved in the build - and signed the builders log - the worlds biggest builders log!  But it was down to a core team, and a lot of organization to make the week come together...

THE CORE TEAM:  This is the team that were practically full time in the Bull Pen - that place where the machine was being brought to life.  It should be noted that the core team had not met before the day... they…

We all know that any project of the magnitude of the One Week Wonder has to be planned.  This event started well in advance of the 28th July 2014 deadline - but not that many months in advance.  The team had to get all the parts for the project together, and a suitable space available to build the machine!  But that is no different, whatsoever, to any other aircraft project.

Clearly, all aircraft build projects require parts - quantity and type based on your project.  Once…

It all started in a dark, damp, fuel and oil perfumed hangar.  The dim moonlight seeped through a crack in the hangar doors, picking out, with an eerie glimmer, a shiny spinner.  A large brown and black spider could be made out as it crawled along the strut towards the pitot tube of another unsuspecting aircraft, as they waited for they next flight.   That hangar held within it the 'Spirit Of Building Aircraft', also know as the SOBA.  That spirit, the very source of creativity and…

It's confirmed! Oshkosh 2014 here we come! 

Patricia and I will be there! We will be spending our time at the One Week Wonder Event - and hope to see our fellow Zenith builders too!  We will be more than happy to answer face-to-face all those questions about building and flying in West Africa and how light aircraft really do change lives. WE…

I guess that we are a bit like a 'sensible Santa' in our part of the world... we fly over the African Bush and look for communities that need some health education and then drop them a package!  (no chimney, no reindeer, no toys)... our Rotax 912iS powered 701 works really hard... and today we dropped over 100 packages to rural communities - some which have never had even a motorcycle to them!…

As we work ever creatively towards using the Zenith STOL aircraft in practical applications, in the heat of the tropics, we are currently working towards a concept for improved cooling.  It has taken us a long time, but we are close to test flying the 'nose job' on the 701 with a Rotax 912iS up front.

The fun part is the new nose shape and the…

For those who have been wondering what is happening in Ghana - well, we have a few challenges!  You can read our latest newsletter in the PDF below... 

We are also working on a radiator gantry for the 701/750 for the Rotax 912iS (and the other Rotax installation, but we are working on improved cooling for the iS at the moment) and a really simple cowling modification that goes with it.  We expect to carry out flight tests next week, and, if all goes well, will share…

One of our pilots from Brazil is transitioning to the CH701 with the 912iS.  He put a GoPro on the mount and then created with You Tube video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ijgyJhgUic - although it is speeded up, it shows a lot of interesting hand movements in the cockpit... watch carefully as you see me in the right seat moving my hands around a lot!  Also check out the full and free movement prior to take off - as well as enjoy…

Our drop tests went 100% to plan.  We now start working on how to get our new project to reach the tougher parts of West Africa with the 750 platform (more load, more range!).  Thank you Zenith and Rotax for making it possible!

Those who know what we do will remember that we are authorised to drop health education materials to rural communities using our specially modified, Rotax 912iS powered, STOL CH 701 aircraft.  As part of this we made the first ever aerial supply drops into the Afram…

Finally we have reached the point where we consider that we have expressed how we have established our fuel system for the 912iS in our test bed CH701.  No, it does not contain all that we wanted to, but we feel that it conveys the points about what we have done, why we have done it and what we would prefer to do.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE the engine and the airframe combination.  It is a great airframe and a great engine.  A marriage of heavenly proportions, for us and what we use…

In our line of operations we often experience a lot of turbulence at low level (we are approved to operate below 500' for aerial dispersal and supply drops).  We also get some long, at times fast, descents.  With this combination of events we have decided that we really want a header tank for a variety of reasons...  We have simulated 'uncovered ports' in ground tests, and do not like the VERY unlikely possibility that it could cause.  By taking the 'Tee'ing of tanks to a low point 'air…