Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on January 25, 2010 at 6:42am

Mack,
Both Charles and Louis are correct. Torque the head through the access panels in the seats. It is tight but that is what we have been doing. Maybe someone can post a photo of this being done.

Permalink Reply by Bob Pustell on January 26, 2010 at 1:34pm

Mack----- Try a tool called a "torque extender" to torque in that tight area. I use torque extenders to torque the cylinder base nuts on my Franklin engine (in my old Stinson) and they are a life saver. You need to do some math to calculate the number to put into your torque wrench because you are changing the moment arm (length) of the wrench. Once you get the right setting on the torque wrench and have the right size extender on it, you can torque a nut in the darndest places.

I think, with a torque extender on a click-stop torque wrench, you could do that upper nut from inside the seat pan through the existing seat pan access panel. You will need a click-stop type because you will need to feel and hear the wrench as it reaches the setting, you will not be able to view a dial inside that space. There are also electronic beeping and vibrating torque wrenches now, come to think of it, but I like my click-stop units, simple, effective, no batteries to run down.

Permalink Reply by Tracy Smith on January 24, 2010 at 4:16pm

Hello Fellow Builders:

Can anyone tell me how the upgrade kits are being shipped here in the continental United States.....via UPS or by truck (motor freight) ??

I don't know if I should have the kit sent to my workplace (if by truck; there is a loading dock there) or directly to my home if by UPS.

Many thanks

Tracy Smith
N458XL (reserved)
soon to be 601XLS...or 601XL-II...whatever....

Permalink Reply by Ken Pavlou on January 24, 2010 at 4:58pm

Tracy,

The upgrade kits are shipped via UPS. The kit comes in a shipping tube and a box.

Ken Pavlou

Permalink Reply by Tracy Smith on January 24, 2010 at 5:43pm

Thank you, Ken - good hearing from you.

Regards,

Tracy

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on January 25, 2010 at 6:44am

Tracy,
Yes, Ken is correct. UPS is the preferred shipping method. You can tell UPS to drop off the shipment at your house even if you are not there.

Permalink Reply by Jim Snyder on January 24, 2010 at 9:35pm

Did anyone attend the 601 forum at Sebring Expo? Any new info anyone can share?

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on January 25, 2010 at 6:54am

We had a good turn out at the Sebring forum. About 30-40 people attended including some FAA officials. No new information was presented and no new questions asked. Both me (Mathieu) and Sebastien attended the ASTM SLSA meetings before the Sebring show and were at the show all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday talking to builders. Overwhelmingly, you are all very supportive and we both thank everyone for this.
Zenith and Zenair are doing everything possible in making sure the upgrade kits are getting out, even though we had supplier delays earlier with hardware and things like the mass balance extruded square tube.

Permalink Reply by Doug Moellering on January 27, 2010 at 1:46pm

Here is a question. For the 601 crowd, fitting of the anti-oilcanning 'L' angle in the rear fuselage is suggested (my understanding is its not technically a part of the upgrade) and seems to be a desirable thing. Since I don't have access to the 650 drawings, I'm hoping someone (Mathieu?) can clue me in.

1. Does is make any difference in which orientation the 'L' angle pieces are mounted (angled side on top vs. on bottom)?
2. Clearly the pattern alternates (zig-zag, front to rear), but does this really matter? Could it also be reversed or even all one direction?
3. Can I make up some .016" 'L' angle to minimize weight, since these are supposedly to stop oil-canning, not provide structure?

This might sound like very minor points, but my XL is a very early model, with .016 side skins and the corresponding gussets where the skins mount to the longerons, so the structure is not quite the same.

Doug Moellering

Permalink Reply by Matt Heintz on February 2, 2010 at 9:36am

See following drawing of diagonal "L" angles for the 650. Good idea to install them on the XL.
I would stick to the 0.025" thickness for the "L" angles.

Permalink Reply by Jim Snyder on January 29, 2010 at 8:26am

Hey Webmaster (or whomever),

Is there an easy way to printout or download (pdf) ALL these discussion posts at one time, instead of printing or copy/paste one page at a time ? There is a lot of useful info here, and if we could get it all in a pdf file, it would be a great searchable resource. Need to get the previous Q&A also.

Hope you can help. Thanks.

Permalink Reply by Mike Armstead on January 29, 2010 at 8:10pm

Mathieu,

This is a little off topic, but I wasn't sure where else to get a answer. In several of the old newsletters Chris mentions that he is working on a book. Is this available to order somewhere? Also what happened to the Gemini project. It was featured several times in the newsletters, but then just seemed to go away.

Thanks,
Mike

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