Thanks to all who visited and participated at the Zenith Aircraft Open Hangar Days and Fly-In!
Check out the many great photos of the two full days of activities: http://bit.ly/2hr5s1c 

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Zenith Aircraft Open Hangar & Fly-In Gathering Event Schedule

Friday, September 22, 2017

(Schedule subject to change: Latest update: Sept. 18, 2017)

Corvair Engine Finishing School from 9:00 - 4:00 pm, demonstrating a complete Corvair auto conversion engine assembly and test run, next to the Zenith factory with William Wynne representing FlyCovair.com.

8:00 am - Coffee & Donuts (Donuts courtesy of UL Power engines)

9:00  - 9:50 am

• Sport Pilot and Zenith Transition Training: Buzzy Devoll, Buzz Air Flight Academy (Zenith Hangar)
   
• Painting your own aircraft: Andy Humphrey, Stewart Systems, will discuss waterborne Steward Systems paint, and answer questions about painting your own aircraft. Andy Humphrey is an A&P mechanic and tech support specialist at Stewart Systems (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   

10:00 - 10:50 am

• Build An Airplane As A Group Project: Sebastien Heintz, Zenith Aircraft (Zenith Hangar)
   
• Sensenich Propellers For Your Zenith Aircraft: Jon Bristol, senior design engineer at Sensenich Propellers (Zenith Hangar)
   

11:00 am - 11:50 pm

• Secondhand Owner of a Zenith Kit: Earl Downs discusses the FAA rules and issues surrounding continued airworthiness of an experimental amateur-built (E-AB) aircraft for the non-builder or owner, and advice about buying or selling an amateur-built aircraft (Zenith Hangar)
   
• Dynon Avionics: Shawn Dillon, Repair Manager, will be discussing Dynon's industry-leading Customer Service and Support. Topics include warranty policies and procedures, warranty repair process, and some common field repairable issues that customers encounter.  Gillian D'Ancicco, CFO and Dealer Relations Manager, will also be on hand to answer questions about Dynon's products and their recent announcement that SkyView HDX will soon be available for Certified aircraft. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)"
   
• Aircraft Pre-Flight: Matt Heintz, VP of Zenair Ltd. provides a checklist for thoroughly pre-flighting your Zenith aircraft (Zenith Hangar)
   

1:00 - 1:50 pm

• Avilution Unpanel, by Mark Spencer of Avilution. As seen in the new STOL CH 750 Super Duty, the unpanel is a single extra-large, free-standing 17” integrated avionics display system that replaces the traditional instrument panel (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   
• Joining Zenith As A Second Owner: Matt Heintz & Sebastien Heintz, Zenith Staff (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   
• Match-Hole Assembly - Hands on Demonstration: Steve Oppenlander & Calvin Heintz, Zenith Staff (Zenith Hangar)
   

2:00 - 2:50 pm

• Garmin G3X Touch Avionics Package for Zeniths: Brian Hupe (from Garmin International, Inc.) will cover details on the equipment and capabilities included in the new Garmin package being offered through Zenith. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   
• Viking Engine: Jan Eggenfellner, Viking Aircraft Engines (Zenith Hangar)

3:00 - 3:50 pm

• Loss of Control (LOC) Prevention: Earl Downs, Golden Age Aviation, explains how enhancing pilot skills and understanding LOC principles can be learned by anyone and can be taught in any airplane. Earl says, “I teach skills of the past to make pilots of today and pilots of the future safer.” (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   
• Annual Aircraft Inspection: Matt Heintz, Zenith Staff (Zenith Hangar)
   
• Aircraft Insurance For Your Zenith Aircraft: Everything you've always wanted to know about aircraft insurance, by Scott "Sky" Smith, Sky Smith Insurance (Zenith Hangar)

4:00 - 5:00 pm

• Engines for your Zenith - Panel Discussion: Owners and pilots of various Zenith aircraft will discuss the specific engine they are flying behind in their Zenith, and will share their experiences regarding installation, maintenance, performance, and more!  Engine company representatives will also be on hand to answer specific details about their respective engines. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
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5:00 - 8:00 pm

• Zenith Builders Banquet Dinner: Informal buffet dinner gathering of Zenith enthusiasts, builders & pilots at the Elks Lodge (next to the airport) starting at 6:00 pm. Cash bar opens at 5:00 pm.
  
  
  EAA's Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton (pictured above with Rose Pelton and designer Chris Heintz) will be the featured guest speaker for the evening and updates from Zenith will be given at the dinner. We will have a Zenith trivia game show for everyone to participate in, awesome door prizes, and more! 
   
  Purchase your dinner tickets now or buy your tickets at the Zenith office prior to the event.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

The Saturday events at the Zenith factory include Zenith factory tours, hands-on building projects, Zenith aircraft on display in the air and on the ground, great food (available for purchase), and fun contests for our visitors to enjoy, along with educational seminars throughout the day.

"Ask The Expert" - Questions about FAA rules, including rules and regulations relating to building, maintaining and flying a kit (amateur-built - experimental), pilot certification regulations (from sport pilot on up), aircraft certification, Sport Pilot and light-sport aircraft (LSA), BasicMed, and more? Ask the expert, Earl Downs, a Zenith builder and pilot who specializes in flight training and first flight preparation for those who build their own aircraft. He has delivered many forums at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture. Look for Earl next to the "Ask the Expert" sign by the EAA booth.

7:30 - 9:00 am

• Coffee & Donuts (Donuts courtesy of UL Power engines)

9:00 - 9:50 am

• Building Your Own Zenith Aircraft: Steve Oppenlander and Calvin Heintz from Zenith Aircraft will demonstrate and discuss building your own Zenith aircraft from a kit (Zenith Hangar)
   
• Writing Your Story for KITPLANES magazine, by Chuck Preston. Kitplanes magazine isn’t written by professional journalists, but by actual aircraft builders and recognized experts who are active in the field. Learn how to write and have your story published (Zenith Hangar)
   

10:00 am

• Zenith Factory Tour: Travis Kobush, Zenith Aircraft's production manager will guide visitors through the Zenith kit aircraft factory (Zenith Hangar)

10:00 - 3:00 pm

• Zenith Aircraft Show: Public and Zenith builder judged aircraft show (like a car show, but with Zenith airplanes) with fun categories and great prizes. Airplane owners: Register your Zenith at the gazebo outside of the Zenith factory hangar all day on Friday or Saturday morning. Visitors: Pick up a voting ballot and vote for your favorite Zenith.
   

10:00 - 10:50 am

• ADS-B Solutions from Garmin: Brian Hupe, Garmin International, Inc. Learn about ADS-B solutions for experimental aircraft including ADS-B ”Out“ and ”ADS-B ”In“ traffic and weather. Discussion will cover products and recommendations for both new aircraft or retrofit installations. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   
• Building tips and hints. Jon Croke of HomebuiltHELP.com discusses useful tips when building your own aircraft, making the process of building and flying your own aircraft easier and more enjoyable (Zenith Hangar)

10:50 am

• Join us for the annual "group photo" of builders and their planes in front of the Zenith factory.
   

11:00 - 12:00 pm

• Dynon Avionics: Shawn Dillon, Repair Manager, will be discussing Dynon's industry-leading Customer Service and Support. Topics include warranty policies and procedures, warranty repair process, and some common field repairable issues that customers encounter.  Gillian D'Ancicco, CFO and Dealer Relations Manager, will also be on hand to answer questions about Dynon's products and their recent announcement that SkyView HDX will soon be available for Certified aircraft. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   
• Viking Engine Q & A Session: Jan Eggenfellner, Viking Aircraft Engines (Zenith Hangar)

12:00 - 12:50 pm

• Building and Flying Your Zenith Aircraft: Matt Heintz & Sebastien Heintz, Zenith Staff (Zenith Hangar)
   
• Cleco Contest: Show off your cleco skills! Come & join in on the fun! (Zenith Hangar)
   

1:00 - 3:00 pm

• STOL Demonstrations: Short Take-Off and Short (Precision) Landing demonstrations, at Mexico Memorial Airport (subject to weather), sponsored by Kitplanes magazine.
   

1:00 - 1:50 pm

• Basic Rules of Building and Flying Your Own Airplane Seminar: Charlie Becker, EAA (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   
• Aircraft Insurance For Your Zenith Aircraft: Scott "Sky" Smith, Sky Smith Insurance (Zenith Hangar)

2:00 - 2:50 pm

• Able Flight: Charles Stites will provide an update on the activities of Able Flight and discuss hand controls in the Zenith CH 750, adapted for pilots with disabilities (Zenith Hangar)
   
• Overview of the Tools & Skills Needed to Build Your Own Zenith Aircraft: Travis Kobush, Zenith Staff (Zenith Hangar)
   

3:00 - 5:00 pm

• Zenith Parade of Planes: Flying and ground demonstrations of custom-built Zeniths.
  Everyone who flew in with their Zenith is encouraged to take part: Register your Zenith aircraft on Friday or Saturday morning.

3:00 - 3:50 pm

• Sensenich Propellers For Your Zenith Aircraft: Jon Bristol, senior design engineer with Sensenich Propellers discusses choosing the right propeller for maximum performance (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
   
• Corvair Engine Q & A Session: William Wynne, FlyCorvair.com (Zenith Hangar)

4:00 - 4:50 pm

• UL Power Engine Q & A Session: Robert Helms, UL Power (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)

5:00 - 8:00 pm

• BBQ Dinner in front of the Zenith Aircraft factory. Various awards will be presented during the dinner.
  Purchase your BBQ dinner tickets now or at the Zenith office prior to the event.

Mexico area map: