June 2012 Blog Posts (30)

N601LT First Flight

This morning, Anne and I drove to the airport and met three friends at 7am for the first flight. Two of the friends are AP and the other is the Tech Consoler and photographer. The APs smoked over the airplane as well as me doing a very through pre-flight.



The first flight only lasted 20 minutes in the air, but that was enough to get things sorted out and land without incident.  Then it was off to breakfast, then home to sleep.  I didn't sleep all that well last night.  Later that… Continue

Added by Ron Lendon on June 30, 2012 at 10:37pm — 6 Comments

Spars complete

Just finished riveting the left wing spar, all spars now complete (finally). Hopefully after next week I can start on a wing skeleton.

Added by Tim Smart on June 29, 2012 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Bending doublers

Please can somebody help me before I have to open an inventory for plane #3. I am struggling to bend the doublers on the horizontal stabilzer.When the doubler comes out the bending break it looks like a dam banana, whats the trick to bending a doubler and getting it to stay straight. I even tried bending it on the edge of a full sheet and cutting it off after bending, this was a disaster, came out like a twisted banana!!. Thankfully I will be needing plenty L's in the build so hoping to…

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Added by Raymond Paul on June 28, 2012 at 8:25am — 20 Comments

It's an Airplane!

Hey gang,



Today the DAR pronounced N601LT an Airworthy Airplane.  Tomorrow the wings come off to move it all up to the larger airport KPHN for the long high speed taxi tests and first five hours of flight testing.



Then I will fly it back to my home base of 57D to finish up the Phase 1 testing.  



This is my only job till July 9th so pray for good weather for me.



Ron Lendon

Detroit, MI…

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Added by Ron Lendon on June 26, 2012 at 10:23pm — 9 Comments

Finished riveting right wing spar

When I built the center spar I primed it with Zinc Phosphate but I was not real thrilled with the primer AND it was pretty expensive.  I‘m sure that I applied it too heavy but it’s still not cheap.  On this spar I went back to using Cortec thinned with water as I did with the tail sections.  Not wanting to start a high wing vs. low wing type argument but I will stick with the Cortec from now on, I am much happier with it.  I riveted this spar completely with the “C” frame riveter I…

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Added by Tim Smart on June 23, 2012 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Brake Line Routing

I find the plans and photos just a little short when it comes to brake line routhing.  I have brakes on left only.  If anyone is really happy with their routing or alternately if anyone would like to share "how not to route brake lines" I would certainly appreciate it.

Added by Joe Hopwood on June 18, 2012 at 12:27pm — 4 Comments

Aluminum Knife Plans in PDF format

Alum_Knife_PLANS.pdf

 

Several people have requested these plans in PDF format instead of MS Word. The PDF file is attached.

 

Best Regards,  Larry Zepp  CH 650B builder, Fort Wayne, IN

Added by Larry Zepp on June 18, 2012 at 10:56am — 4 Comments

Windscreen Installed CH701

Worked all day, got the windscreen fitted and pilot drilled.

Drilled the tubes first, then used a hole finder to drill the acrylic…

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Added by Steven Winn on June 17, 2012 at 7:54pm — No Comments

Sound and heat insulation - Flight test update

Update June 16, 2012. I've managed a couple of flights since installing the sound insulation. The first flight was after some Bing carb adjustments and it seemed like the engine was running smoother. Later I realized it was the sound insulation, duh.

Just completed another flight and the Thermo-Tec Suppressor mat has reduced the engine and dual exhaust significantly.

Original post -----------------

I've been meaning to add a barrier under the cabin floor to deal…

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Added by Jake Reyna on June 16, 2012 at 1:38pm — 4 Comments

701 top windshield screws

701 builders:  I was too cautious about forcing the screws down on the top aft edge of my windshield for fear of cracking the plexiglass.  As a result, I "wobbled" out two screw holes in the top tube of the cabin frame and now the screw holes are stripped out and won't tighten.  Any machinists out there that can advise me how to fix them without removing the windshield?

Don Herbel

N848DH

Claremore OK

Added by Don Herbel on June 16, 2012 at 8:52am — 4 Comments

Moving Day for the Zodiac Project

On Saturday, June 9th, several EAA Chapter 25 members gathered at my house to move the Zodiac project from it's humble birthplace in a Minnesota garage to a local airport.



The day began with one group meeting at the EAA chapter hanger for some early morning prep and cleanup operations, and another group meeting at my house to prepare the Zodiac for transport.  Several people displayed great stamina by participating in both operations during a hot, windy day and under a…

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Added by Patrick Hoyt on June 15, 2012 at 2:53pm — 6 Comments

Iowa State University engineering students complete Zenith kit plane

The following is excerpted from Innovate Online, the online publication of the College of Engineering at Iowa State University (Ames,…

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Added by Sebastien Heintz on June 15, 2012 at 11:00am — 2 Comments

Reducing Pivot Point Friction in your Aircraft

Garlock%20DU.doc 

By Larry Zepp, Zodiac 650B Builder, Fort Wayne, IN

 

Reducing friction and wear between aluminum and steel at the pivot points in your aircraft is a good goal. Usually, space is a problem – how do you add a bearing or bushing without changing the aircraft design?

 

A combination of space age technologies has offered an elegant…

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Added by Larry Zepp on June 12, 2012 at 8:40pm — 2 Comments

Cowling complete

Maybe not quite complete. I still haven't cut a hole over the engine intake.

Added by Steven Winn on June 11, 2012 at 8:00pm — 1 Comment

Aluminum Knife Plans

Improved Aluminum Knife Plans

 

Even though the Olfa scoring knife gets the job done when cutting aluminum sheet, I kept thinking there must be a much better way to cleanly cut out aluminum sheet. Knife blades are designed to cut soft and flexible materials. When we use an Olfa or utility knife blade to cut T6 tempered aluminum, the aluminum resists spreading at the cut line and requires many repeated scores. Even though the aluminum is thin, the blade must cold flow the…

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Added by Larry Zepp on June 11, 2012 at 7:57pm — 3 Comments

750 door latch

does anyone know if the 750 double door latch can be retrofit to the 701 bubble doors?

Added by Thomas Richardson on June 11, 2012 at 4:10pm — No Comments

First flight

I bought my 601HD in Ft. Worth, TX, on 6/2/12.  My instructor (Jeremy Desruisseaux) and I flew her all the way home to Denver (KAPA) that day.  She didn't cruise as fast as we thought and hoped, so the trip took longer than expected.  We went through about an hour of turbulence that left me at my wits end.  We also ended up spending 4-5 hours in Guymon, OK, waiting for a huge squall line to dissipate over CO.  At about 18:15 central, we made a go decision, jumped in her, and played dodge the…

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Added by Brian Krahmer on June 11, 2012 at 10:34am — No Comments

Rib Repair

Got back on the project this weekend after a few weeks absence. Yesterday, I spent time repairing the horizontal stabilizer ribs that I damaged during the initial assembly. Listening to comments from others on this site, I cut some small "L" angle pieces, fluting them where necessary, and reinforced the damaged areas where I got a little sloppy with the drill. Also did some corrosion control with these additional pieces and along the mating surfaces of the ribs.

Added by David A. Judkins on June 10, 2012 at 9:24pm — 1 Comment

Basic Interior for SkyJeep

Copied Phil Smith's idea for seats.He posted here:

Light Weight Seats

I added memory foam found here:…

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Added by Steven Winn on June 9, 2012 at 9:32pm — 2 Comments

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