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minoxphotographer(at)yaho
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 Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 5:19 am Post subject: Introduction! |
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Howdy!
I've been lurking on the list for a while now, and figured it was time
to make my formal introduction and say hello to everyone.
My wife Ronna and I are just getting into homebuilding. If you've got
the time and patience..and perhaps an extra cup of coffee..here's our
story.
We're both interested in flying. My Dad was a private pilot and we flew
a lot back in the day. We used to fly to Oshkosh every year, and lots
of fly-in breakfasts. Dad flew a Cessna 120, then a 140, then a 172.
He learned to fly in 1950 in a Taylorcraft (I get great amusement from
reading his old logbooks). My wife's family had a close friend who
owned the airport in the small Montana town she lived in, and they also
got a lot of exposure to flying. Dad dosen't fly anymore, he'd never
come close to getting a medical and I doubt Mom would LET him fly
again!
I've always wanted to fly, but in the course of raising 4 kids, working
full time, and all the other things I was involved with I never had the
time and the money available at the same time. Our flying interest is
strictly in the sport pilot vein, and we are now both getting ready to
begin training for the SP license. I have a few hours of dual going
back to the late 70's and mid 80's, she has had none.
We decided to build a Zenith CH-701. The reasons are many. STOL
performance, high wing that makes my interest in aerial photography
easy, along with removeable doors, slow flight characteristics, etc.
We decided to build rather than buy because we were looking for a way
to get the plane we wanted with least expense. We're going to build
using component kits which will spread the cost out as we build, so no
financing will be necessary. Naturally, I'll get the repairmans
certificate thus avoiding a lot of the A&P expense over time. We also
consider it a great way to spend time together working toward a common
goal, and having fun in the process. Since we live in a county with
over 1,000 lakes, have a lake half a mile from our house, and have a
lake cabin 50 miles away, we anticipate adding floats in the future.
We just returned from the Zenith rudder workshop last weekend. We
found that we don't have any trouble doing this sort of work, and had a
great time. We greatly enjoyed working with the Zenith folks who
provided the necessary encouragement, answered our questions, and made
darn good coffee too!
So, the kids are grown and out of the house, and we're relcaiming our
turf and doing the things we want! Now we have a nice shiny rudder in
the livingroom..the wife is trying to talk me to moving it to the attic
'till we need it..but hard to show it off up there! Our next step will
be ordering the plans manual and the rest of the tail kit. We're in
northern Minnesota (where it's 27 degrees as I write this) and will do
the tail in the basement this winter, then move to the garage for the
larger components down the road. Most of my building/mechanical
experience has been with cars...we have a 1958 Edsel and a 1964 Corvair
(and yes..I've considered Corvair power for the 701, but still leaning
toward Rotax....plenty of time to think about that). Nice to be
working on something NEW and not rusty! Until the rudder workshop, my
only riveting experience was repairing rusted out car floors! We do
travel extensively to Corvair events and I also run the car in the
occasional autocross event.
If you're just looking for something amusing to surf too, might want to
take a peek at my web site:
http://www.edselmotors.com
Where there's a nifty link to the Edsel and Corvair stuff...and some
pics from the rudder workshop are at:
http://www.edselmotors.com/zenithworkshop.html
Glad to be in the group!
Tim & Ronna Verthein
Bovey, Minnesota
===
You *can* repair a flip-flop with a capacitor!
===
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p.mulwitz(at)worldnet.att
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| Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 6:21 am Post subject: Introduction! |
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Hi Tim,
Welcome aboard. I am sure you will find building your own plane both
the biggest and most rewarding project of your life. You are
fortunate to have your wife working along with you, and you already
know how useful this list can be.
Let me make just a few comments on your story. First, I think you
should consider the Sport Pilot license just a starting point in your
pilot education rather than the final goal. When you have your life
and your passenger's life in your hands it is impossible to know too
much about the pilot's trade. It is the kind of thing you keep
learning about through your entire flying career.
The other reaction I had to your story was about the idea of using
lakes as airports. I know this is possible, but I think you should
also consider finding a local airport for your initial flying of your
shiny new plane. I have never done the water thing myself, but I
understand it is a lot more complicated to make your plane act as a
boat as well as a plane. The land version of flying is a lot more
straight forward.
Good luck with your venture.
Paul
XL fuselage
| Quote: |
Howdy!
I've been lurking on the list for a while now, and figured it was time
to make my formal introduction and say hello to everyone.
My wife Ronna and I are just getting into homebuilding. If you've got
the time and patience..and perhaps an extra cup of coffee..here's our
story.
|
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| | - The Matronics Zenith-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Zenith-List |
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jean-paul.roy4(at)tlb.sym
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| Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 7:01 am Post subject: Introduction! |
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Welcome Tim and Ronna to the group. I am building a 701 also mainly for the
same reasons you stated below. Enjoy every phase of it.
Jean-Paul Roy
Quebec, Canada
working on wings
do not archive
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dougsnash(at)yahoo.com
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| Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 5:54 pm Post subject: Introduction! |
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Hi Tim, welcome to the group. I am not too far north
of you in Fort Frances, ON. I too am building a
CH-701. Only difference is that I am building from
scratch. The CH-701 is a great plane to scratch
build.
Even if you are going to build from component kits,
you might want to check out Jon Croke's
Scratchbuilding Basics DVD from Homebuilthelp.com. It
will give you a bit more depth than even the plans and
assembly manual. It mainly covers building the rudder
that you already have but it does show you how easy it
is to build the rest of the plane.
If you ever get up the I'falls area, there is a couple
of us up here scratchbuilding 701's.
Happy building
Doug MacDonald
NW Ontario, Canada
CH-701 Scratch builder
Working on cabin
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NYTerminat(at)aol.com
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| Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 8:47 pm Post subject: Introduction! |
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Welcome to the wonderful world of building a plane,Tim and Ronna. The 701 is pretty easy to build as it was my choice for my first build. You will find great people and information on this list.
Bob Spudis
N701ZX/ CH701/912S 85hrs
do not archive
[quote][b]
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