Zenith Aircraft Open Hangar & Fly-In Gathering Event Schedule

Friday, September 21, 2018

(Schedule subject to change: Latest update: Sept. 18, 2018)

Corvair Engine Building 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.

9:00  - 9:50 am

• Sport Pilot: Flight instructors from Buzz Air Flight Academy will share information and details about obtaining or transitioning to the Sport Pilot certificate (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
• Zenith Aircraft: New nosegear shock suspension system: Learn about the new nosegear shock suspension system for the Zenith CH 650 / CH 750 series kit aircraft that uses stacked rubber shock disks instead of the single nosegear bungee shock cord ring. (Zenith hangar)

10:00 - 10:50 am

• EarthX Lithium Batteries: Kathy Nicoson, EarthX Batteries, will discuss lightweight lithium battery technology for your Zenith aircraft. Kathy Nicoson is the Global Sales Director of EarthX Batteries. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
• UL Power Engines: Learn about the popular UL Power engines and about their installation and operation in Zenith aircraft. Robert Helms, UL Power (Zenith hangar)

11:00 am - 11:50 pm

• Garmin Avionics Package for Zeniths: Brad Brensing (from Garmin International, Inc.) will cover details on the equipment and capabilities included in the new Garmin G3X package being offered through Zenith. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
• AeroMomentum engines, based on Suzuki auto engines that have been converted for use in light aircraft. Bryan Walstrom, a Zenith CH 750 Cruzer builder, represents AeroMomentum and will share details about the engine and installation in Zenith aircraft. (Zenith hangar)

12:00 pm - 12:50 pm

• Aircraft Insurance For Your Zenith Aircraft: Scott "Sky" Smith, Sky Smith Insurance will answer questions about aircraft insurance as it applies to building and flying a Zenith kit aircraft. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
• Scratch-building your own Zenith: Learn about the skills and tools needed to scratch-build your own Zenith just from the Drawings and manuals (building all your own parts from plans-only). Presented by Doug MacDonald, a Zenith scratch builder. (Zenith hangar)

1:00 - 1:50 pm

• Dynamic Propeller Balancing Workshop: Matt Dock of DynaVibe will preform a propeller balancing demonstration using the DynaVibe prop balancer (approx 2 hours)
• Zenith Aircraft building demo. Hands-on demonstration of the new Zenith kits, featuring final hole size match-drilled parts and the simple skills and tools needs to assemble them. (Zenith hangar)

2:00 - 2:50 pm

• LED lighting systems for light aircraft. Ryan Edmark from AeroLEDs will share info on the latest LED lighting technology, including nav/strobe lights and landing lights for light aircraft. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
• Viking Engine: Jan Eggenfellner will show the Honda-based Viking Aircraft Engine installed in his custom STOL CH 750 Super Duty (in front of the Zenith Hangar)

3:00 - 3:50 pm

• Homebuilt Help: Tips for building your own Zenith kit airplane from HomebuiltHELP.com personality Jon Croke, a serial Zenith aircraft builder himself. HomebuiltHelp.com offers a complete line of "how-to" videos available on DVD.
• Aircraft Weight and Balance: Mike Pruett of Scales4Planes will show and help Zenith aircraft builders and owners how to properly weigh their aircraft to compute "weight and balance show the newest line of affordable and easy-to-use light aircraft scales, and show and help builders and owners how to properly weight their aircraft to compute "weight and balance."

4:00 - 5:00 pm

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

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. Special guests and updates from Zenith will be given at the dinner. Awesome door prizes, and more! Purchase your dinner tickets at http://bit.ly/zac-oh-tix or buy your tickets at the door.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

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.

7:30 - 9:00 am

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

9:00 - 9:30 am

• Special Presentation by students of Nigeria's International College of Aeronautics who have been learning to build Zenith Aircraft kits

9:15 - 10:00 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)
• 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)

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 - 10:45 am

• Zenith Factory Tour: Travis Kobush, Zenith Aircraft's production manager, will guide visitors through the Zenith kit aircraft factory (Zenith Hangar)
• Garmin Avionics Package for Zeniths: Brad Brensing (from Garmin International, Inc.) will cover details on the equipment and capabilities included in the new Garmin G3X package being offered through Zenith. (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

• Annual "group photo"of builders and their planes in front of the Zenith factory.

11:00 - 11:50 pm

• Basic Rules of Building and Flying Your Own Airplane: Charlie Becker, EAA (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
• Sport Pilot: Flight instructors from Buzz Air Flight Academy will share information and details about obtaining or transitioning to the Sport Pilot certificate (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)
• Corvair Engine Q & A Session: William Wynne, FlyCorvair.com (Corvair tent)

12:00 - 12:50 pm  

• Painting your own aircraft: Andy Humphrey, Stewart Systems, will discuss waterborne Stewart 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)
• AeroMomentum engines (based on Suzuki auto engines) Q&A. (Zenith hangar)
• ZenithAir Camper: Learn about the proof-of-concept kit camper and meet with the builders Alicia and Scott Sutton. The ZenithAir Camper was a surprise hit at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture earlier this summer (in front of Zenith Hangar)

1:00 - 2:00 pm (time subject to change depending on weather)

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

1:00 - 1:50 pm

• BasicMed, Sport Pilot and new rules and regulations that affect your ability to fly: 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

• Panel Discussion: "So, you want to build an airplane?" Specifically for first time builders and enthusiasts, a moderated panel discussion about building (and flying) your own airplane. Find out just home much it costs to build your own airplane, how long it will take and what skills you'll need. (HomebuiltHELP.com Hangar)

3:00 - 3:50 pm                                               

• Overview of the Tools & Skills Needed to Build Your Own Zenith Aircraft: Steve Oppenlander and Doug MacDonald, (Zenith Hangar)
• Viking Engines: Jan Eggenfellner, Viking Aircraft Engines (in front of Zenith Hangar)

4:00 pm

• Cleco Contest: Show off your c­­leco skills! Come & join in on the fun! (Zenith Hangar)

4:00 - 6:00 pm (or later)

• BBQ Dinner in front of the Zenith Aircraft factory. Awards will be presented during the dinner.

Mexico area map: