JG Ginther's Posts - Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers2024-03-29T13:03:31ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JGhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2197066246?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://zenith.aero/profiles/blog/feed?user=0n6izrvw3j7vs&xn_auth=noModdy in Waddytag:zenith.aero,2010-08-29:2606393:BlogPost:699442010-08-29T02:00:00.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
<font color="#000000" face="Arial" id="role_document" size="2"></font><div><font color="#000000" face="Arial" id="role_document" size="2"></font><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid blue; padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" id="role_document" size="2"></font><div class="Section1"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" id="role_document" size="2"></font><div><font color="#000000" face="Arial" id="role_document" size="2"></font></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><div><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid blue; padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px;"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><div class="Section1"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><div><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><blockquote style="border-width: medium medium medium 1.5pt; border-style: none none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color blue; padding: 0in 0in 0in 3pt; margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 3pt;"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><div><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My Moddy in Waddy</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The little brown dog sniffed around the airplane and looked up at me with contempt. The son reported to his father with disdain that someone used the wrong kind of screws on the wheel pants. I was the someone in the wrong; and the day was the day my plane went to<br/> Waddy on a trailer. My Zenith 601 was damaged in a storm in Cambridge , Maryland in the spring. Jeff Garrett traveled all the way from Waddy, Kentucky with his family (including browndog) to tow my plane in for repair of the damaged ailerons and the upgrade modifications.</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Seeing my plane being disassembled and loaded on a trailer was an awful sight. Like accidently walking in on your mother undressed. Something you never want to see and suddenly everything feels wrong. Airplanes with their wings off are a pitiful and ugly<br/> site. The image was burned in my memory as the trailer pulled away.</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Every dog owner knows that there are dog years and human years with one human year equal to seven dog years. I learned after my airplane went to Waddy that there are Virginia years and Kentucky years with a Virginia year being five months and a Kentucky<br/> year being forever. So, it took forever to get my plane back.</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Weird things happen during forever. Two shipments of ailerons are damaged and the day temperatures in Kentucky are something akin to summer in the Mojave Desert . Jeff had to wait for parts and had to wait until sundown to work all night and sleep during the<br/> hot hours of the day. I imagined Jeff as some kind of mad monk, feverishly working on my airplane all night like Quasimodo ringing the bells in Notre Dame Cathedral.</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Given these conditions and the fact that he was working on the airplane that I would have to, you know fly, I didn’t want to rush him. I called once a week and each week Jeff would explain the condition and reassure me that the plane would be “better than expected.” Many weeks passed and there was one phone conversation that led to Jeff giving his mobile phone a flying lesson while I listened on the other end… but we won’t dwell on that.</span></font></font></font><br/><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The happy day finally arrived when Jeff called to say the plane was “ready” and I quickly booked a flight to Louisville on a Sunday with plans to fly home on Monday. I rented a car, and after a couple of hours, completed the 30 mile trip from Louisville to Waddy and met Jeff. I couldn’t wait to see my perfected golden airplane glistening in the sun<br/> “ready” for my maiden flight in a 601 XL-B.</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In Virginia , we think of “ready” as meaning something very close to “finished”. I soon learned that “ready” in Kentucky means a few things left to do before “finished” and the clock started ticking away in “ Kentucky time” as I surveyed an array of parts and pieces and a missing interior. Jeff assured me that the plane was going to be much better than when he got it but I had some doubts.</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jeff’s answer for my doubts was for us to take a drive to Madison to see an airplane he built. I thought a quick half-hour jaunt. It was a two-hour back-country escapade<br/> to Madison , INDIANA ! I told my wife I thought I heard the faints sounds of “Dueling Banjos” in the distance during the ride. She said, “that sounds nice.” I said, “you didn’t<br/>
see the movie.” We arrived in Madison and Jeff showed me a finished work.<br/>
It was a beautiful 601 and everything was great – nice plane. After all of ten minutes, two hours back through the dark night in Indiana .</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Just because Jeff and I shared a different concept of time, I don’t want to give the impression that I was dissatisfied with the work. With Jeff, it is like going to a restaurant that notes on the menu that each item is painstakingly prepared to assure the highest<br/> quality. Jeff takes his time and does the job right. He also tends to fix things as he goes. I didn’t ask Jeff for new quick drains in my wings or to save my butt by noticing a worn out bungee but he noticed and he fixed things. His mantra, “It will be better” proved true and was worth the wait.</span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The magical day finally arrived and I was strapped-in to the Golden Zen and ready to fly-off some test time in the Kentucky hills and brush off any rust on my pilot skills. I was very excited and took off from the grass strip at 3KY9 (my first grass take-off in the<br/> 601 and not pretty) to a nearby airport for some pattern practice. The plane<br/>
flew fast and straight and time slipped by. I barely noticed the approaching clouds and I hadn’t thought too much about finding a grass field in the middle of grass fields in Kentucky. Needless to say, most of my test time was trying to find 3KY9 in a “haystack” with Jeff and his mentor Pat trying to give directions on the radio as the clouds<br/>
gathered. Me, “I am over route 64 heading west.” Them, “turn left at the McDonald’s and we are right there.” Hours later, by somepilot miracle, I found the place.</span></font></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></font></font></font></p>
<font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"></font></p>
<p style="" class="MsoNormal"><font id="role_document" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Flying home the next day from Waddy was an adventure with lowering clouds and rising terrain. Jeff wants me to bring the plane back for its annual. I will too, if I can ever find 3KY9<br/> again.</span></font></font></font></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>Opportunity Cost: Mods or BRS Systemtag:zenith.aero,2009-11-13:2606393:BlogPost:377052009-11-13T20:30:00.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
As I continue to meditate on the recommended grounding of my 601XL, I find myself more frequently browsing the ads in Barnstormer. One caught my eye today for a Ballistic Recovery Chute for $1200. My mind then wandered to a concept learned many years ago in an Economics class. The concept of opportunity cost - if I spend my money on mods, I will not be able to spend it on other things. Whatever I don't buy because of the mods represents an opportunity cost of the mods.<br />
<br />
I still don't have any…
As I continue to meditate on the recommended grounding of my 601XL, I find myself more frequently browsing the ads in Barnstormer. One caught my eye today for a Ballistic Recovery Chute for $1200. My mind then wandered to a concept learned many years ago in an Economics class. The concept of opportunity cost - if I spend my money on mods, I will not be able to spend it on other things. Whatever I don't buy because of the mods represents an opportunity cost of the mods.<br />
<br />
I still don't have any good information about what the mods will cost. I suspect materials and labor will be way more than a BRS system installed. So which option would increase my overall safety? My plane has flown fine for 400 hours and it is light due to the Rotax. I had complied with all prior recommendations and inspections. What is the probability that I am going to have an in-flight break-up due to design coupled with operational issues? A BRS system would protect me and others from break-up during most phases of flight. It would also protect me if I inadvertently wandered into IMC and became spatially disoriented. It would protect me if my engine quit and I couldn't find a suitable place to land or if I became incapacitated in flight it would protect me and maybe a passenger. The mod, on the other hand, may prevent an in-flight break-up but that is it.<br />
<br />
All else being equal, I would rather shell out the bucks for a BRS and not tear my airplane apart. Given that there is no clear cause and effect identified for the 601 incidents, shouldn't an owner be given this as an option?Cash for Clunkers: What is my Zodiac Worth?tag:zenith.aero,2009-11-09:2606393:BlogPost:369952009-11-09T16:43:08.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
Unlike many of you, I didn't build my Zodiac. It was built in a factory in the Czech Republic and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have the bent bicycle wheel that I attempted to straighten and the cable tv box I blew up with a little handy homeowner outlet I installed. No one wants me building or fixing an airplane. So I read the letter and learn there is going to be a tidy little "kit" to install and exorcise the demon in the machine. A kit sure sounds pretty easy. I then turn to the…
Unlike many of you, I didn't build my Zodiac. It was built in a factory in the Czech Republic and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have the bent bicycle wheel that I attempted to straighten and the cable tv box I blew up with a little handy homeowner outlet I installed. No one wants me building or fixing an airplane. So I read the letter and learn there is going to be a tidy little "kit" to install and exorcise the demon in the machine. A kit sure sounds pretty easy. I then turn to the Zenith page and see three pages of the "kit." It looked like the backyard barbecue from hell-that flies kit. It took me less than a second to realize that there was no way I was going to be installing the kit.<br />
<br />
The panic filled my head, who is going to install this kit and how much will the kit cost? I have no idea how many hours of work are involved with this fix but I am guessing 40 hours at $120/hr; if you can find a shop that can and will do it. In this cover-your-butt world, I would think long and hard about doing this work if I were a mechanic: big potential downside. My guess is there will be a handful of specialty shops that you will have to beg to take your business at around $10,000. The exciting part of this for Zenith is they get to sell the kits. Again, because of the liability and limited application, Zenith will be the only one's selling the kit and they will want to make enough to cover their profits and their butts so I am guessing $5,000 minimum. There is also the matter of loss-of-use of the plane, higher insurance, logistics for the repair, which will probably add another five grand.<br />
<br />
This leaves me looking at $20,000 for an airplane that I paid $35,000 for and is probablly worth about $15,000 now - if I sell the Rotax engine and instruments. Clearly, I need a bail-out, I think I will write my congressman.The Zodiac Solution: Training Wheels on a Motorcycletag:zenith.aero,2009-11-09:2606393:BlogPost:369912009-11-09T16:04:38.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
I flew my Zodiac three hours Saturday enjoying a breezy fall morning following the ridge line of the Shenendoah. The plain flew beautifully, hands-off for the most part, and passed its four hundredth hour of flight (70 with me at the helm). Little did I know that it might be my last flight for a while. As I was dancing in the clouds, others were buy putting the finishing touches on their effort to ensure my "safety." The NTSB, FAA, Zenith, The Associations and several foreign bodies had…
I flew my Zodiac three hours Saturday enjoying a breezy fall morning following the ridge line of the Shenendoah. The plain flew beautifully, hands-off for the most part, and passed its four hundredth hour of flight (70 with me at the helm). Little did I know that it might be my last flight for a while. As I was dancing in the clouds, others were buy putting the finishing touches on their effort to ensure my "safety." The NTSB, FAA, Zenith, The Associations and several foreign bodies had designed the perfect fix for my troublesome little plane: training wheels!<br />
<br />
Granted, I have limited understanding of the drawings and policies proposed ( I am a business major not an engineer) but when I read and re-read this is the jist of it. "Flying small airplanes that you may have built yourself is darn dangerous. We have tested everything and investigated everything and found that flying the Zodiac is darn dangerous. We must protect those who fly so here are three pages of drawings to "overbuild" the plane and make it safer." Translation: training wheels.<br />
<br />
I am of that very death defying group that also rides a motorcycle, sometimes even to my airplane. I am sure there is carnage every day on the roads due to some poor fellow/lady taking a turn too fast or hitting the brakes at the worst time on their hog or crotch rocket. I think they need to be "overbuilt." Training wheels would make them so much safer, maybe 15%.<br />
<br />
God save us from people who want to protect us! The NTSB said, "Zodiacs are falling from the sky", the FAA said, "they were falling at the same rate as other small planes but we will investigate and change our position or not. We will recommend and intimdate rather than mandate a fix since there really isn't any one thing wrong." Zenair said "let's turn lemons into lemonaide from this and make a mint selling training wheels." The Associations said, "Zodiac Schmodiac, let's collaborate to protect the poors souls with business jets."Zenith Wheelbarrowtag:zenith.aero,2009-06-12:2606393:BlogPost:246882009-06-12T15:51:50.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
I had set off for a day of pattern practice in the hopes of smoothing out my take-offs and landings in the Zenith. The events of the day proved I needed the practice and I learned something about the Zenith 601 XL in the process.<br />
<br />
It was my second trip around the pattern at Warrenton-Fauquier airport (HWY) in rural Virginia. It is the airport where I earned my wings in 2000 and seemed like a good place to practice in my new airplane. On this particular landing, I touched down OK but made the…
I had set off for a day of pattern practice in the hopes of smoothing out my take-offs and landings in the Zenith. The events of the day proved I needed the practice and I learned something about the Zenith 601 XL in the process.<br />
<br />
It was my second trip around the pattern at Warrenton-Fauquier airport (HWY) in rural Virginia. It is the airport where I earned my wings in 2000 and seemed like a good place to practice in my new airplane. On this particular landing, I touched down OK but made the mistake of trying to make the first turn-off and skidded. I remember a flight instructor once reprimanding me for the exact same thing by saying with great disdain, “this ain’t the Dukes of Hazzard, it’s an airplane!” The next thing I knew, I was bobbing up and down and listening to the thump thump of my left main tire. I taxied to the first tie-down and called Unicom for help.<br />
<br />
Help was on its way and I sat in the heat, furious with myself and bracing for whatever smart aleck remarks I was bound to get from the “help.” It seems that all technicians whether computer, car, boat, motorcycle, etc, feel the need to hit you with a well chosen remark to let you know that whatever is wrong is all your fault and you did it because you are an inferior human being. My approach on these occasions is to beat them to the punch and start with self ridicule, “probably not my best landing.” I was shocked that there was no smart retort by Gary the mechanic. He rigged the Zen to roll on a dolly and pulled it by Golf Cart to his hangar.<br />
<br />
There I met Danielle, the owner of Airfield Services. She is a striking woman and she owns an airplane shop – how great is that? Gary went to work removing the rim and Danielle asked about the plane. At one point she did the “hand on the arm thing” that is usually a good sign to a guy that a woman is interested. I suspect in this case Danielle judged from my look and attitude that I might just throw myself into the prop of the next plane to pass-by and so was only showing pity and readying to restrain me.<br />
<br />
The tire had a big whole in it and the tube was split at the seam. I said to Gary, “looks like it was my fault” and he kindly pointed out that the tire was kind of thin – and it was! What an unusually kind technician. He could have said, “I have been in aviation 33 years and never seen such a bone headed assault on a tire.” But he didn’t, he even implied it might not have been my fault (of course it really was my fault).<br />
<br />
Danielle was busy checking suppliers and even a Zenith pilot on the field to try and find a replacement tire and tube. She found a tire but no tube. The tire would arrive tomorrow leaving me a good distance from home and needing a ride and still needing a tube.<br />
<br />
Called my wife, Julie, who is normally pretty responsive in times like these but not this time. “I can pick you up after my work meeting (3 hours later) why don’t you try Colin.” I called my son, Colin, who is a recent college graduate and decidedly not busy. I get his voice mail and leave the message that I had a flat and need a ride. I am still waiting for Colin to return the call.<br />
<br />
I called the local LSA and Rotax mechanic (not for a ride) to find out about a tube. He tells me that I could probably find one at a farm supply store nearby. Danielle and Gary had tried that one other time but the tube didn’t have the 90 degree bend in the valve stem. Jamie the LSA mechanic gave me the name of a supplier in California. I called; they had it, two days to ship and a lost weekend. I wandered aimlessly around the grounds of the airport and sat dejectedly in the hangar waiting the three hours for my wife’s meeting to end. At one point Gary said to me, “don’t look so sad, it could have been a lot worse.” Danielle had a classic Roadmaster bike in the hangar (reported to have been previously ridden by Pee Wee Herman). I gave serious thought to pedaling it the 50 or so miles home but Danielle wanted $3000 for the bike.<br />
<br />
Festering over the extra day waiting and the expedite charges from California, I decided to try the internet and looked up Shinn tires and tubes. I discovered that my local ACE hardware store might actually have both the tire and the tube. I can’t believe it. I call and make the clerk check the tire, the tube, the valve stem. He assures me that it is exactly what I need and adds, “this is for a wheelbarrow right?” “No, it is for an airplane.” Silence.<br />
<br />
My local ACE hardware had the tire and the tube for the grand total of $13. Yeah it said “wheelbarrow tire” on the package but it was the exact tire that came off. I called and cancelled the California shipment and called Danielle with the good news. She had already ordered a new tire from their supplier for me and had it expedited. It was OK I would have a spare in case either my airplane or wheelbarrow gets a flat. While waiting on the repair, my wife got to enjoy some hangar talk about Gary’s neighbor drying her underwear on a clothesline. Apparently she is a rather large woman and her underwear made for quite a spectacle on the clothesline. A discussion ensued about drying underwear – ah hangar talk – now my wife knows what my three hour wait was like.<br />
<br />
So for those of you worrying about the 601 being grounded, take heart, we have the makings for a damn good wheelbarrow.You can smell it from 500 feet at 90ktstag:zenith.aero,2009-05-29:2606393:BlogPost:236772009-05-29T14:36:59.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
There is the Garmin, pilotage, dead reckoning and now the nose. My flight was to the eastern shore of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and a little town called Crisfield. I had read about Crisfield and thought it would be a perfect place to locate my boat for the season and fly there for mini vacations. All of the descriptions I read about Crisfield commented on the charm of a "salty" fishing village. At 500 ft a different tale was told - something missing from the descriptions. Crisfield smells. As I…
There is the Garmin, pilotage, dead reckoning and now the nose. My flight was to the eastern shore of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and a little town called Crisfield. I had read about Crisfield and thought it would be a perfect place to locate my boat for the season and fly there for mini vacations. All of the descriptions I read about Crisfield commented on the charm of a "salty" fishing village. At 500 ft a different tale was told - something missing from the descriptions. Crisfield smells. As I was circling low over the town with the vents open, it hit me and filled the cockpit.<br />
<br />
W41 in Crisfield is a nice little airport with a very small building and a few hangars. I always seem to find the nicest people at these places and Crisfield was no exception. There was the remarkable WWII pilot of 89 years and still flying. He was really interested in the Golden Zen because " he might have to go LSA before his next medical." May we all live so well to be going LSA at 90!<br />
<br />
Another older gentleman (note to self: start writing down these people's names) offered me a ride into town and gave me the full tour and recent history. The town was targeted by two big land developers to be gentrified into a resort community. They built two large condominium buildings on the waterfront and developed their own plan for the town's future. We drove by the two buildings now involved in bankruptcy proceedings with units available at bargain prices. "What happened - bad timing" I asked? No, it seems the townsfolk didn't like the idea of these developers controlling their town. They voted out the politicians that let them in and the anti-growth politicians wouldn't support the infrastructure needed to further the development. Now there are two pristine buildings standing bankrupt and empty on the waterfront among the remaining few commercial concerns downtown and the smell.<br />
<br />
Driving back through town we passed a local lunch spot favored by the watermen. Gathered in front were a collection of the toughest, most weathered humans I have ever seen. They didn't want retirees and tourists in their town.<br />
<br />
I finally asked when we returned to the airport, "uh, what is that smell?" " It is chicken manure" said my host. The main industry besides plying the waters is raising chicken for Perdue and Tyson. "Does it always smell like this?" "You get used to it."<br />
<br />
My conclusion: the watermen would rather tolerate chicken manure than the likes of me and my boat! I think I will be docking elsewhere.Zen on the Farmtag:zenith.aero,2009-04-27:2606393:BlogPost:207212009-04-27T16:00:00.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
It was easy to find the Farmville, Virginia Municipal Airport (right next door to the Farmville Municipal Golf Course) because it was the only thing down there in the very heart of Virginia. My trip was 109nm from my base at Potomac Airfield in Maryland but in contrast with my home in the DC suburbs, it is a million miles away.<br />
<br />
I went down to visit my son, Colin, a graduating senior at Longwood University. I wanted to try the trip before graduation day May 9th. A car trip to Farmville is a…
It was easy to find the Farmville, Virginia Municipal Airport (right next door to the Farmville Municipal Golf Course) because it was the only thing down there in the very heart of Virginia. My trip was 109nm from my base at Potomac Airfield in Maryland but in contrast with my home in the DC suburbs, it is a million miles away.<br />
<br />
I went down to visit my son, Colin, a graduating senior at Longwood University. I wanted to try the trip before graduation day May 9th. A car trip to Farmville is a four hour affair if you are fortunate enough to not get stuck behind slow traffic on the winding two lane roads used to get there. In the Zenith, I was there in a little over an hour flying into a 23 knot headwind.<br />
<br />
When I was a new pilot, a crusty old flight instructor told me that “airplanes are time machines.” I didn’t have the resources to fly enough to know what he meant then, but on the trip to Farmville, I knew instantly. Flying the Golden Zen provides a measure of freedom over time and distance that comes from escaping to the sky and taking the route “as the crow flies.” What was a long driving ordeal to see my son at school was this day, a quick morning flight, lunch and a return home.<br />
<br />
The freedom of personal flight is amazing but for most pilots it isn’t about the destination, it is about the journey. My son and I shared a pizza and made our predictions about the NFL draft coming up later that day. A great visit made possible by my new time machine but I was anxious to return to my cockpit cocoon, feel the stick in my hand and the rudders at my feet, fire the engine, double check everything and off to defy gravity again.<br />
<br />
Not that I was in a hurry to leave Farmville. From the first time we visited Longwood University and again on this trip, I was enveloped in a surreal feeling of escaping the pressure filled world of the present and finding myself in a sleepy little southern town from the past. Farmville is a place where the local car buffs gather on a Saturday outside the Advance Auto store to show off their polished classics and check under hoods. By the Longwood Campus, college girls stroll downtown in groups, in short shorts, with white legs and flip flops. Returning to the airport after lunch, I noticed a line of empty carts at the golf course on a beautiful Saturday. This is a place where people are scarce and services are plenty.<br />
<br />
It was my second long flight in the Zenith and I have much to learn about really flying the machine. I am sure if my course line was plotted going down to Farmville, it would show a lot of meandering off course and more than a few ups and downs. These detours occurred while I was trying to “chase the needle” on the GPS or vertical speed indicator and trying to find the elusive “hands free” trim position. The wind was blowing and the Zenith was bouncing, I was learning every second about flying this airplane. After some practice, I was able to fly to spots on the horizon and check my instruments – amazing how much easier it is to keep things straight by looking out the window! The flight back home was more precise. I remembered a command my father, a WWII aviator, used to give me when I was running afoul of the rules as a kid, “straighten out and fly right.”<br />
<br />
The folks hanging around the FBO café asked about the Zenith. I told them I just bought it and flew down here to see my son who graduates in two weeks from Longwood. The words came out of my mouth but soared from my heart, “I am very proud of him!” The FBO guy said, “reckon we’ll see you again in two weeks.” I said, “for sure” – smiles all around and one mildly embarrassed son. I told him as I was leaving, “you could have a real good life in a little town like this.”Marketplace Hysteriatag:zenith.aero,2009-04-22:2606393:BlogPost:200282009-04-22T17:43:43.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
I found this today on Trade-a-Plane:<br />
<br />
2008 AMD ZODIAC CH601XL. Like new. 50-TTAE, Dyno dual glass panel. Garmin VHF, TXP, GPS-396, XM Weather, many other extras. Was $89,000, now $69,000.<br />
<br />
Is this rational or is it fear? Without knowing anything about the owner's circumstances, I would have to say it is fear. Fear is not reality! There are rational fears that lead us to self preservation and irrational fears that cause us to limit ourselves in usually foolish ways. As pilots, most of us have…
I found this today on Trade-a-Plane:<br />
<br />
2008 AMD ZODIAC CH601XL. Like new. 50-TTAE, Dyno dual glass panel. Garmin VHF, TXP, GPS-396, XM Weather, many other extras. Was $89,000, now $69,000.<br />
<br />
Is this rational or is it fear? Without knowing anything about the owner's circumstances, I would have to say it is fear. Fear is not reality! There are rational fears that lead us to self preservation and irrational fears that cause us to limit ourselves in usually foolish ways. As pilots, most of us have explored the envelope of our fears and learned to manage them effectively.<br />
<br />
While I can understand that the NTSB memo gives rise to some rational fear, for me the reaction is caution and risk management. I had my recently purchased 2002 XL for a total of 3 days when the memo came out. I was filled with buyer's remorse and I wanted to try to find a way to make the seller take the plane back. My wife Julie (an amazingly rationale person) said, "how are you going to feel if they take the plane back and then they find that there is nothing wrong with it or that the fix is simple." An excellent question?! I wonder how this person is going to feel giving away this plane for probably about half of what was paid for it only to learn the plane is sound?<br />
<br />
I didn't include the seller's contact information but it is out there.Golden Zentag:zenith.aero,2009-04-20:2606393:BlogPost:196532009-04-20T15:05:07.000ZJG Gintherhttps://zenith.aero/profile/JG
I flew my Zodiac XL from Potomac Airfield across the Chesapeake Bay to Cambridge Maryland. It was my first long flight in the airplane since purchasing it and the first flight since learning that the plane was recommended for grounding. It seemed I was carrying a lot of extra weight on the flight. The weight of some buyer's remorse, the weight of anxiety of learning and flying my very own airplane (my first) and the weight of dread over whether or not the wings were going to fall off or that…
I flew my Zodiac XL from Potomac Airfield across the Chesapeake Bay to Cambridge Maryland. It was my first long flight in the airplane since purchasing it and the first flight since learning that the plane was recommended for grounding. It seemed I was carrying a lot of extra weight on the flight. The weight of some buyer's remorse, the weight of anxiety of learning and flying my very own airplane (my first) and the weight of dread over whether or not the wings were going to fall off or that this would be the last flight for a while. Lastly the weight of flying in the DC flight restricted zone. It is amazing I got off the ground but off into a clear blue sky I went.<br />
<br />
The first thing I learned about flying this airplane from the instructor that gave me my insurance orientation is you can fly it with two fingers. I was reminded of that as I was ham fistedly fighting the turbulence over the Chesapeake. It took me a while to find balance with the right power and the right trim and gentleness on the stick, the plane was flying nicely. Right then, I offloaded some of that extra weight. I remembered a favorite saying, " nothing is so strong as gentleness and nothing is so gentle as real strength." The Zen flies much better with gentleness.<br />
<br />
Potomac Airfield is in the inner ring of the DC airspace so special procedures and communications are required to base your plane there and to fly it in and out of the most guarded airspace in the world. When you lift off on runway six at Potomac, you are provided a splendid view north up the Potomac River to the National Mall with all of the monuments and halls of government. It is awe inspiring and I am sorry that more pilots and passengers can't enjoy this view.<br />
<br />
Leaving the airspace I called Potomac Approach to let them know I was switching to VFR squawk. The controller replied, " One Delta Delta, I see you have about four miles until you are clear." I badly wanted to be clear and soon the controller was informing me to squawk VFR. Another weight lifted, the plane is flying much better.<br />
<br />
I wanted so much to be able to breathe and sink into the reclining seat and take in all the sights and sounds. I learned that I would need to slow down both the airplane and my thoughts. It seems that one of the bad habits that came from my student pilot and airplane rental experiences was the sense that the meter was always running (and it was). I felt I had to be fast and efficient because I was pursuing an activity with a high cost every minute and ,at the time of my initial training ,it was a financial burden. Now, I have to tell myself to slow down, "this is your airplane," there is no limit. With this thought, the buyer's remorse disappears, "this is why I bought an airplane!" Flying with all the time in the world - more weight gone.<br />
<br />
There is a great line in the movie Tender Mercies. Robert Duvall, playing a recovering alcoholic drifter tells his landlady that he "just can't trust happiness." And so it was with my flight, because there was still the matter of the NTSB and whether or not my Zenith was safe. I knew about the accidents in the airplane and followed the news on the various internet discussions before I bought the plane. I spoke with a 72 year old A&P who had built two Zodiacs after he sold the second one and asked him about the accidents. He said what I continued to hear over and over again, " check the cable tension and fly it within the envelope." These are things I can do to manage my risk but I can't help thinking that the folks who crashed probably had similar ideas. Still, on this great day of flight, I must trust my eyes and ears and seat; the plane feels good in the air. By staying in the now of the flight, all was well.<br />
<br />
Walking into the terminal at Cambridge, I felt a little taller and a lot lighter. I soon discovered a wonderful little cafe called Katie's at the airport. I enjoyed a delicious crab cake (the real deal - no filler) and a fresh cup of coffee. I could look out on the ramp and see passersby stopping to look at the Zenith. The waitress called me honey - weight lifted.