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Slatless 701

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bobkat

Joined: 07 Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Location: Bismarck, ND

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:23 pm Post subject: Slatless 701

I flew my 701 for 2 1/2 years with slats and bare aluminum, then this winter I finally painted it and put wings back on, etc.   I had previously recorded numbers with slats, then slatless, and for the first time today flew it with VG's.  These are my first impressions with no slats and VG's.  Unfortunately I only had a short flight and it was a bumpy windy day.  I had screwed up  my pitot tube connection and my electric trim tab needed tweaking so I had to keep some forward pressure on during the flight.   

When I took off I immediately realized that it was quite a different airplane.   Just eyeballing my airspeed indicator and not timing anything, I think I gained a good 8 - 10 knots, maybe a hair more.  It's not an SR-71 but I think I can fly wing to wing with my buddies 150's.  Initial impression was that it seemed to climb as fast at a less steep angle than with VG's.

Mods include PVC fairings, paint, no slats but VG's, and cleaning up a lot of little things here and there.    Next few days are lousy weather but anxious to get up and do some reasonably accurate recordings of new V speeds, stall ,etc.  I fixed all the little glitches from this flight and ready again for launch!

I did note it seems to land differently.  My one gusty crosswind landing was kind of lousy, but I felt the plane gliding more, and ballooning more when I flared.   I think I came in too fast which didn't help, either.  With slats the plane would have slowed rapidly and thunked down and stayed at that speed, but with the VG's it seemed to float and balloon down the runway noticably more.  About how it acted slatless.  I think my approach speed needs to be lessened.

I'll report when I get my new V speeds measured.

dons701

Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 80
Location: Hershey, PA

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:10 am Post subject: Re: Slatless 701

Thanks, bobkat.

  Look forward to further reports on the changes. I noticed you mentioned strut fairings which I have been contemplating for too long and need to get going.  I searched for "PVC struts" and found a company in Ohio who claims to be running a special, four extruded struts eight foot long for $150 plus shipping. fly 103.com. I have seen prices up to $200. Sorry for stepping on your post but, I know others will find this and your information  helpful.    Thanks, Don B

_________________
Zenith 701 #76120
Jabiru 2200A #2456 95 hours
Sensenich Wood 64-PJ-36 Prop

bobkat

Joined: 07 Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Location: Bismarck, ND

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 10:08 am Post subject: Slatless 701

No problem Don.  I don't have the paperwork as its all in the hangar, but it 

was a company from Ohio so that's the likely the one.  All four struts can't 

weigh a pound, if that, and they were easy to put on.  They are secured by 

the bolt that attaches to the jury strut and fit tightly so that you have to 

tap them on, so they definitely are easy to mount.

The only problem I had was that the paint didn't do quite as good a job on 

the struts as the rest of the plane, for some reason - maybe I scuffed it up 

too much or too little, though it seems to stick fine, just not as smooth.

As I went to VG's and the streamlined struts and did a lot of other little 

cleanup jobs, if I get an increase in speed I won't know exactly where it 

came from.

WOW, Francisco, your upholstery looks fantastic!



--

ronlee

Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 141

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:23 am Post subject: Re: Slatless 701

bobkat

How many pounds did the paint increase the weight of your airplane? 

How much did it affect the weight and balance?

_________________
Ron Lee
Tucson, Arizona

bobkat

Joined: 07 Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Location: Bismarck, ND

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:53 am Post subject: Slatless 701

I think about 6, maybe 8 pounds.  I took off the slats which weigh a bit, 

and installed a couple of baggage compartment doors and put in a removable 

armrest and added a top and tail strobe, so itâ€™s a bit difficult to say what 

weighs what, but overall empty weight turned out 1 pound more.   W & B was 

negligible, a tiny bit aft.  I think most of the liquid in the paint must 

flare off.

I have 4 wing tanks and only used the inboard two up to now.  For some 

reason I developed a leak in the right inboard one - maybe a tank seam or 

connection in the wing from turning it and flipping it around, etc.    I 

didn't make the tanks accessible during their construction so for the time 

being I'll use the two outboard tanks.   Though the plans don't call for it, 

I'd recommend that access to the tanks  through the top of the wing be built 

into the plane, for anyone at that stage.  Mine are all surrounded in cork 

with no metal touching metal, but the thing still sprung a small leak! 

Makes me think itâ€™s a seam or the fuel line connector, though I used 

aluminum throughout the wing to the root!?

During the first post paint flight the OLED panel on my new Icom radio 

sputtered a bit then died.    Always something.....

--

craig(at)craigandjean.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:19 pm Post subject: Slatless 701

So how do you align the strut fairings? Use the top of the fuselage as level

and align them with that?



-- Craig



--

bobkat

Joined: 07 Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Location: Bismarck, ND

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:54 am Post subject: Slatless 701

I put my fairings on when I had it all apart for painting.  I lined them up 

as well as I could, assuming where the top or bottom of the wing would be, 

and rather than a round hole where the jury struts bolted on  I cut a short 

slot in the fairings for adjustment of the fairing once it was eventually on 

the plane.   I must have lucked out because its looks bang on to my naked 

eye, but once I get further into the test phase with no slats, etc. I might 

adjust them a bit if necessary.  So far though, the plane seems to track 

straight, etc and the fairings look (to my eye) parallel to the axis of the 

plane.  .

BTW, the fairing people is  streamlineco(at)yahoo.com      and they are in 

Holmsville, Ohio.    The fairings came packed extremely well.



--

bobkat

Joined: 07 Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Location: Bismarck, ND

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 6:43 am Post subject: Slatless 701

BTW, don't worry about them moving or securing them.  They are tight enough 

that you have to tap them over the steel strut, so make sure you have them 

pretty close when you start.   It helped to lube  the steel strut before 

driving them on, and I used a chunk of 2X4 square against the fairing to 

bang on and placed the other end of the strut against the junction of the 

wall and floor of the shop.  Once on, I had to clamp the end of the strut in 

a vice to be able to turn them and adjust them, and with the slots over the 

hole final adjustment  could be done while on the plane.  They are TIGHT, so 

line them up as close as you can when sliding them on, as they are hard to 

move once on.



--

jgswartout(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:22 am Post subject: Slatless 701

What is the diameter of your lift struts on the 701?  I expect I will put plastic fairings on my 801, and the only ones I've seen (two sizes) available are from the Li'l Hustler's Ultralight Store at http://www.ultralightnews.ca/streamlinedfairings/1.html  I think my struts are 1.25" diameter but I'm away from the plane today and can't swear to that.

   

 John

 On Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 9:51 AM, BobKat <bobkat(at)btinet.net (bobkat(at)btinet.net)> wrote:

 [quote] --> Zenith701801-List message posted by: "BobKat" <bobkat(at)btinet.net (bobkat(at)btinet.net)>

I put my fairings on when I had it all apart for painting.  I lined them up as well as I could, assuming where the top or bottom of the wing would be, and rather than a round hole where the jury struts bolted on  I cut a short slot in the fairings for adjustment of the fairing once it was eventually on the plane.   I must have lucked out because its looks bang on to my naked eye, but once I get further into the test phase with no slats, etc. I might adjust them a bit if necessary.  So far though, the plane seems to track straight, etc and the fairings look (to my eye) parallel to the axis of the plane.  .

 BTW, the fairing people is  streamlineco(at)yahoo.com (streamlineco(at)yahoo.com)      and they are in Holmsville, Ohio.    The fairings came packed extremely well.



--

bobkat

Joined: 07 Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Location: Bismarck, ND

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:06 am Post subject: Slatless 701

I donâ€™t know, John.  I donâ€™t have my plans here but on m y invoice it  looks like I received 4 â€œSmall Fairingsâ€ and they fit perfectly.  The  seller, knew what size the 701 took and whatever size he sent fit  perfectly.   If I recall, he had two sizes, small and large, and he  sent the small.

  From: John Swartout (jgswartout(at)gmail.com) 

 Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2011 10:19 AM

 To: zenith701801-list(at)matronics.com (zenith701801-list(at)matronics.com)  

 Subject: Re: Re: Slatless 701

  What is the diameter of your lift struts on the 701?  I expect I will  put plastic fairings on my 801, and the only ones I've seen (two sizes)  available are from the Li'l Hustler's Ultralight Store at http://www.ultralightnews.ca/streamlinedfairings/1.html   I think my struts are 1.25" diameter but I'm away from the plane today and can't  swear to that.

 John

 On Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 9:51 AM, BobKat <bobkat(at)btinet.net (bobkat(at)btinet.net)>  wrote:

 [quote]   --> Zenith701801-List message posted by: "BobKat" <bobkat(at)btinet.net (bobkat(at)btinet.net)>

I put my fairings on when    I had it all apart for painting.  I lined them up as well as I could,    assuming where the top or bottom of the wing would be, and rather than a round    hole where the jury struts bolted on  I cut a short slot in the fairings    for adjustment of the fairing once it was eventually on the plane.      I must have lucked out because its looks bang on to my naked eye, but once I    get further into the test phase with no slats, etc. I might adjust them a bit    if necessary.  So far though, the plane seems to track straight, etc and    the fairings look (to my eye) parallel to the axis of the plane.     .

BTW, the fairing people is  streamlineco(at)yahoo.com (streamlineco(at)yahoo.com)      and    they are in Holmsville, Ohio.    The fairings came packed    extremely well.

--

craig(at)craigandjean.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:55 am Post subject: Slatless 701

Thanks!



-- Craig



--

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