Zenith 601XLB 2850cc Corviar powered Michigan to Florida in one day.

March 26, 2019 I flew from Michigan to Venice Florida KVNC and parked on the

ramp by Suncoast Air Center. Had good weather and tail winds till I got

in Florida, average speed 117mph or 102kts, not bad for a 601XLB. Stop by

and take a look, I’m trying to find it a new home.



I stopped off at Cook County and said hi…

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   So here we are, a journey that began in 2004 with a quest to become a private pilot and in 2005 begin building an airplane. While becoming a pilot I decided on the Zenith CH601XL as the airframe because it flew nice and could be made from plans. Deciding on the Corvair as the engine was also decided around this time. Here I am 1000 pilot hours and 700…

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So the builders log printed out to 737 pages. Here is a link to it as a PDF file. It is electronically searchable.

Here is a link to the PDF file of my builders log.  It was to large for an attach to a email so you will have to download it from this site.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5cEeh3csmTNeFl1VDcteWNEQnc

enjoy,

Flew from Brodhead Sunday to OSH. Left C37 in light rain with wet tent, take off roll was a little longer but up she went and we were out of the rain in minutes and clear sailing to OSH.

Landed and parked with 54 flight hours since June 30th. Everything is going to plan. Flew 6500' yesterday from home to Poplar Grove and averaged 4.3 gph burning 93 octane auto fuel.

Friends,



Today finished with 26 flight hours since last Saturday mornings first flight.  Everything is going well, I have my own prop on it, much and many thanks to Roy S. for loaning me his so I could keep moving forward.  Expanding the flight envelope now and chasing clouds and following rivers to help determine the airplanes capabilities.



Speeds are improving as I adjust the feathers and reduce the drag.  Having done a little redesign work with the metal nose bowl and a… Continue

This morning, Anne and I drove to the airport and met three friends at 7am for the first flight. Two of the friends are AP and the other is the Tech Consoler and photographer. The APs smoked over the airplane as well as me doing a very through pre-flight.



The first flight only lasted 20 minutes in the air, but that was enough to get things sorted out and land without incident.  Then it was off to breakfast, then home to sleep.  I didn't sleep all that well last night.  Later that… Continue

Hey gang,



Today the DAR pronounced N601LT an Airworthy Airplane.  Tomorrow the wings come off to move it all up to the larger airport KPHN for the long high speed taxi tests and first five hours of flight testing.



Then I will fly it back to my home base of 57D to finish up the Phase 1 testing.  



This is my only job till July 9th so pray for good weather for me.



Ron Lendon

Detroit, MI…

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Hey gang,



Today the wings were bolted (3 bolts and 2 pins) for the first time. And I took it on its first official airport taxi. No rudder, ailerons, flaps, but the stabilizer and elevator were there just not controllable.



Burned the brakes in and had a very enjoyable time. The temps were all good. I really like the way this Corvair sounds and pulls.



The warp drive prop is in the works and should be here shortly.



Meanwhile, I will keep…

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Today, after many years of work the airplane is resting on its landing gear and the engine is mounted. I'm beginning to see the end of the build phase and looking forward to the testing/flying phase.

Been thinking this is a milestone, but Anne might see it as a millstone. Either way it sure feels good...

These files are scans of the original Corvair Engine prints and converted to PDF format. The links go to google docs and are downloadable there.

Enjoy,



Description Filename

Gear Crankshaft Dated 7-22-58 6256600…

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