I finally ran out of things that needed done before first flight of my 601 XL B. The next thing to do was fly it.

Engine is a 2700 cc Aeromax Corvair

Engine installation is my own design except motor mount.

Rotec carb, homebrew intake and exhaust system.

Dual Ford EDIS-6 ignition using single Ford 6 cyl coil pack.

Warp drive 68" prop

Cowling is modified fiberglass Aeromax

No problems or difficulty on the first flight other than the…

Continue

A few weeks ago I came across these neat wooden control grips on Aircraft Spruce.

Pioneer Aircraft control grip

The only problem was that the grips were for right hand only. I had cut the "Y" off my 601XL stick so the control column diameter was about 1.135" diameter. These on ACS were a maximum of 1" diameter. I contacted Guy at Pioneer Aircraft and asked if he could make a grip with…

Continue

I installed the horizontal stabilizer, saddle piece, and connected the elevator control cables on my 601 XL B. I immediately noticed a couple things. The effort to raise the elevator to full up position was excessive, to me. It took about 4.6 lbs pressure on the "Y" control stick. Also, the elevator cables tightened considerably as the stick was moved back. The cable tightening happened mostly because the nylon fairlead holes aren't aligned with the cables very well at up elevator position.…

Continue

I received my cowling and motor mount for my Corvair powered 601XL-B. I bought them from Aeromax. I liked the shape of the cowling and decided to get this one. The shape is similar to the Jabiru cowling. It is made from lightweight glass over a honeycomb core. No excess resin. It weighs 12 lbs and that without the cutout for the prop hub. The motor mount fits perfectly and the welds look good. It came with all the mounting hardware for the cowling, piano hinge for the top/bottom half, nut…

Continue

Earlier in the summer, I began the task of making top and bottom wing fairings for my not yet completed 601XL taildragger. I'm finished with the fairings now. I leaned a few things along the way. Some aspects of the job went ok and some not so good. I thought I'd pass along what I did and observations I made to help others avoid some of the pitfalls.



I have worked with composites for decades so none of this was particularly new, but I found a few new problems. I wanted to use carbon… Continue

I received the upgrade kit Friday Jan 15. Many thanks to Doug and Lori at Quality Sport Planes, Cloverdale, CA., for getting all the pieces sorted, re-boxed, and sent out quickly. I noticed a couple things.



1) The aileron balance drawing is still size A and illegible. Is there a source for a size B drawing that can be read? I cringe at putting these balance weights in at all, and to have to guess at most of it isn't sitting well with me. I do have the .pdf file of the drawing and can… Continue