About The Project:

The airplane is a home-built, scratch-built Zenith CH 750 STOL. Building from plans/blueprints is a challenging way to build an airplane, since most of the parts you use to build it are not prefabricated. I chose the Zenith CH 750 STOL for its rugged design, its STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) characteristics and its aluminum construction. Zenith Aircraft Company has designed this airplane so that it can be built from scratch or from a kit by the average person. They provide excellent technical support for both kit and scratch builders. In addition, I'll be installing a 1965 Chevrolet Corvair 164 cid horizontally opposed, air cooled, 6-cylinder engine, with special conversion parts to make it suitable for airplane duty. This is what the airplane will look like when I'm done, although I'll have a different paint scheme:

Follow my progress below!

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Assembly Table Video

Friends,

I've posted a video detailing how I built my new assembly table on YouTube...check it out below:


Cheers,

Greg

Monday, January 30, 2017

Finally back at it!

Welcome back fellow aircraft builders and aviation enthusiasts! I've been away for far too long, both from the project itself, and getting my updates published. I was very busy during the holiday season, as I'm sure many of you were. Family visits, random projects, travel...we all have things in life that can take us away from the project. Indeed, the last time I worked on the plane at all was over Thanksgiving weekend! But here we are, the end of January, and I've managed to get back at it.

One of the things that was taking so long was the condition of my assembly table. This whole build process has been an evolution of sorts. My original table design had folding leaves and was not originally going to have to support a 300 lb. bending brake. As the project evolved, including the brake, the original table just wasn't going to cut it. Further, after finishing up the horizontal stabilizer (more video segments to come), I discovered the table had some twist to it that could not be resolved, and transferred some of that to the stabilizer. I was able to minimize the twist in the stabilizer to around 1-degree (more than I would like but still acceptable). Thus, I needed to build a whole new table to avoid putting twist into the other substructures. It was a setback for sure, but a far better decision to start with a clean slate on the table. I cannibalized the old one for some of the lumber, but built a much heavier and more solid table than before. The new table has four 2x6 "longerons" bolstered in the center and at the ends with 2x4s. All of the structural bits are fastened with 1/4" x 2.5" lag screws and washers. Since there are no folding leaves now, there are no longer multiple surfaces to try to level or minimize twist. So, after several weekends of re-organizing the shop, cleaning up, rebuilding things, and finally assembling a new table, I was able to start cutting the skins for the flaperons, slats and the elevator last night. Finally, some actual progress on the plane!

New assembly table (Completed 1/28/2017):

Cutting slat skins out of .016":

Using cantilevered 2x4s to clamp the modular straightedge in place for Olfa cutting:

Another view of the cantilevered 2x4 clamps:

All 4 slat skins rolled for storage until I bend them to shape:
I will finish cutting the skins for the flaperons and elevator before I start bending and assembling any of them. I already have the skeletons done for those structures, so rolling the skins helps keep them out of the way and free from damage until I form them for assembly. I had originally planned on starting the wings this winter, but I have all these assembled skeletons laying around (the slats don't really have an independent skeleton...you start assembly by attaching bits to the skins). By getting these smaller structures done, I'll be able to focus on the wings and fuselage starting in spring/early summer. Lots of visual progress to come!

Cheers,

Greg