Matronics Email Lists

Hi Folks,

I'm getting really close to finishing my plans-built CH-640. I'm to the point I need to buy the propeller, and I want to compare the performance of climb versus cruise pitches.

From Z ...

Hi Brian and All,

I started building my CH640 from plans in Feb. 2008. The only things purchased from Zenith were the complex fiberglass pieces and canopy, doors, and front windows - things I coul ...

Hi John,

Are you trying to replace the floats in an existing 640? If so, could you pull out the floats and post pictures? There are so many different manufacturers and types, it's hard to tell wh ...

Hi Mark,

I went out to the hangar where my wings are stored to measure and photograph the lightening hole. I used a crude measuring tape in the photograph just to demonstrate the distances. (And ...

Hi Steve,

Make sure you read through the "getting started" packet at http://www.zenithair.com/kit-data/tools.htm. This shows the basic hand tools and work benches you will need. Also, s ...

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the list. Besides Christian, I am the only other person building the CH-640 from plans on this list. I have developed a complete list of parts which need to be fabricated and ...

Hi Mark,

I discarded the 12 degree call-out and recalculated the numbers. The fuel line needs to run slightly "uphill" from the tank outlet to the fuel selector, and this run should be a ...

Hi Mark,

The fuel tank needs to be laid into the wing cavity, with enough cork to ensure a snug and consistent fit at all points. The weight load needs to be evenly supported by all of the rivets ...

Hi Christian,

It's going to be sad to see you move away from the ranks of CH-640 builders. You have been a source of good information for many of us!

Best of luck on your next adventure.

Thanks Doug and Steve,

I had forgotten about the upper attach point for the shoulder strap. I was focused on the lap belt attachment points and finishing the rear seat.

Steve, from your picture ...

Hi folks.

I need a little clarification on the rear seat plans. From what I can tell, the rear seat is set up for lap belts only. So four seat belt attachment points are needed. The plans call f ...

Hi Craig,

I drilled and clecoed the full assembly before doing any riveting (see attached picture).

I noticed that many of the pictures on the CD are from the assembly of their prototype and s ...

Hi Mark,

I will pull together some pictures and other info in the next several days and email it to you. How long to do have until you need the details?

I am pretty lucky that I live near EAA c ...

Hi Mark,

It's great that you are asking this question as you start the wings. Unfortunately, the plans do a poor job of suggesting appropriate access points for inspecting the fuel system in the w ...

Hi Craig,

Isn't that part of the canopy you get from Zenair? I looked on the CD I received with the plans and found pictures at Canopy/Canopy-21a.jpg and Canopy/Canopy-26.jpg (attached) which show ...

Hi Brandon,

Welcome to the list. I am also building my CH640 from plans. Like you, I wanted a plane for cross country travel which had a high useful load. I was frustrated that I could not put ...

I have populated the CH640 errata wiki page at http://www.matronics.com/wiki/index.php/Complete_CH_640_Errata with everything I have collected so far.

This is a public page which can be freely ed ...

That's great ! I didn't know about the Wiki feature.

I have started the CH640 wiki at http://www.matronics.com/wiki/index.php/CH_640. I will fill in the errata page with the items I have collecte ...

All they did was transfer the hand-drawn plans to computer-drawn. The wing spar error is still in the plans.

They also added a few typographical errors in the transfer. Luckily in a couple of p ...

Hi Craig,

I took delivery of my plans in January 2008. Presumably to change to computer-generated plans happened some time in late 2007, because I don't know if anyone else on this list who has th ...