"CHAPTER PROJECTS"
No matter where you live, there are always others like you nearby, also interested in flying, also interested in building things, possibly also considering assembling their own aircraft. Throughout the world, many of these individuals meet in clubs or "Chapters", often belonging to a larger organization such as the EAA or the RAA. More and more, we see these Chapters now electing to build "group" projects: Many hands make for lighter work, more space, shared tools, more experience, shared ideas, more fun, shared costs, etc., and the end-result is an easy-to-own, affordable club aircraft!
There are a number of reasons why Zenair designs make for ideal "Chapter Projects": Professionally-drafted comprehensive drawings, easy-to-follow illustrated assembly instructions, easy-to-access online resources and technical-support, complete airframe kits, a choice of Firewall-Forward Packages for a wide range of engines, and factory-support that is second-to-none!
Below are just a few examples of Chapter Projects currently underway:
There are a number of reasons why Zenair designs make for ideal "Chapter Projects": Professionally-drafted comprehensive drawings, easy-to-follow illustrated assembly instructions, easy-to-access online resources and technical-support, complete airframe kits, a choice of Firewall-Forward Packages for a wide range of engines, and factory-support that is second-to-none!
Below are just a few examples of Chapter Projects currently underway:
Here's the finished aircraft flying: https://youtu.be/nPYYnU5M4IM and a Young Eagle Flight: https://youtu.be/3sSrre1wrQc . Success and Fun!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The CH750 Cruzer kit arrived on Saturday, 10 October 2015. The team clecoed the wings to see how easy it would be! The wings will be dismantled again to apply primer to mating surfaces.
Watch this! Check out this great video of the Cruzer Project Initiation Weekend.
Watch this! Check out this great video of the Cruzer Project Initiation Weekend.
The chapter's build workshop Oct 17 and 18 with Matt Heintz from Zenair. After completing a 2 hour classroom review of the design and manufacturing standards, the group did hands-on training until lunch. Assembly of the aircraft followed. Following photos were taken during the 2 day workshop.
Read the background information for this project here. Does a "Club Airplane" make sense for your area? Why not do the same at your local EAA or RAA Chapter? Call Zenair to discuss your options...
For the latest info on the CH750 Cruzer at Chapter 85, you can visit the Chapter's updates on its Facebook page!
|
|
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We won the wings! In August 2015, five sets of wings were assembled at Airventure / Oshkosh, to show convention attendees how quick and easy a kit assembly can be... The completed wings were then raffled to interested Chapters across North America, and EAA Chapter 245 was a lucky winner! Now for the rest of the CruZer...
Ameet Nidmarty first instigated our chapter getting involved in the EAA Give Flight project. Bill Reed then took up the challenge of bringing the assembled wings home to Ottawa. The Chapter now has the wings in storage, has taken delivery of the rest of the kit from Zenair, and has now started assembling the rest of the airframe...
A lot of work and preparation went into the project after initially receiving the wings for our club aircraft. We had to put our club finances in order and purchase the rest of the kit. We had to prepare the workshop, work benches, tools, etc. We received the kit several months later and took the time to carefully inventory and store everything for later use. We then scheduled an "Introductory Chapter Workshop" offered by Zenair, to help club members get oriented and properly started on this ambitious (and very exciting) project... By the end of the year, we were "chomping at the bit" to start drilling and riveting!
A lot of work and preparation went into the project after initially receiving the wings for our club aircraft. We had to put our club finances in order and purchase the rest of the kit. We had to prepare the workshop, work benches, tools, etc. We received the kit several months later and took the time to carefully inventory and store everything for later use. We then scheduled an "Introductory Chapter Workshop" offered by Zenair, to help club members get oriented and properly started on this ambitious (and very exciting) project... By the end of the year, we were "chomping at the bit" to start drilling and riveting!
January 10, 2016
Matt Heintz arrived from Zenair to lead the introductory kit construction seminar and we had over 20 chapter members in attendance. We started with a presentation on theory and on Zenith' recommended aircraft construction techniques. This was followed by attendees applying these techniques on a small practice project. The outcome was eye-opening and gratifying!
After lunch, we dove right in and started working on the actual CH750 Cruzer kit. By the end of the day we had most of the fuselage floor, firewall assembly, and lower front fuselage assembled, drilled, deburred and ready for anti-corrosion treatment and riveting! Wow! What a day! (Note: You can read the full story leading up to this remarkable day here!)
We had exceeded all expectations! Can't wait for tomorrow...
Matt Heintz arrived from Zenair to lead the introductory kit construction seminar and we had over 20 chapter members in attendance. We started with a presentation on theory and on Zenith' recommended aircraft construction techniques. This was followed by attendees applying these techniques on a small practice project. The outcome was eye-opening and gratifying!
After lunch, we dove right in and started working on the actual CH750 Cruzer kit. By the end of the day we had most of the fuselage floor, firewall assembly, and lower front fuselage assembled, drilled, deburred and ready for anti-corrosion treatment and riveting! Wow! What a day! (Note: You can read the full story leading up to this remarkable day here!)
We had exceeded all expectations! Can't wait for tomorrow...
|
Click here for: Week Two - EAA Chapter 245 "Gift of Wings" Cruzer
Click here for the February Update from the Club's Newsletter "Carb Heat": CRUZER NEWS
For the latest info on the CH750 Cruzer at Chapter 245, you can also visit the chapters web site on Facebook.
|
|
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RAA CHAPTER of Midland, ON
|
The Midland Chapter of the Recreational Aircraft Association (RAA) has 20-25 members. Some own their personal aircraft (but not all); some are pilots (but not all) and some are aircraft builders (but not all). Something we all have in common, however, is a love for aviation, and a desire to support and develop our small municipal airport (CYEE) and local flying community. For a while now, the Chapter has been searching for a project that would generate new regional interest in flying, attract new members to the club, and that would also renew members’ sense of enthusiasm and accomplishment for hands-on amateur aircraft construction. We were greatly inspired by a recent article covering Chapter 85’s “Club Aircraft” project (Recreational Flyer Magazine, issue of Sept/Oct. 2015).
|
|
Remarkably, the perfect opportunity presented itself just a few weeks before Christmas 2015: A partially assembled Zodiac CH 601-XL kit (whose original builder had passed-away) became available just a few miles from our home airport. It wasn’t the newest of aircraft designs and it would need a bit of cleaning-up and upgrading, but the kit was complete, the kit manufacturer (Zenair) is our neighbor, and the price was right! A quick e-mail survey of the membership was conducted, a group visit was arranged, and less than a month later, our Chapter was the happy new owner of this project!
|
|
The partially assembled aircraft was transported to the airport and set in the back a member’s hangar. Because of the frigid temperatures (well below freezing for the next few months), we gladly accepted the offer of another member’s heated garage as a workspace for smaller assemblies. Our first work session was set for January 9th and was a great success by all accounts: in just a few hours, we had drilled out all the rivets to entirely re-open one wing. This step would have been necessary anyways for the official pre-closing inspection, and will now also allow us full, un-hindered access to install the “XL” upgrade package. Everyone in attendance gained experience drilling out rivets and was pleased to see the excellent workmanship of the original builder.
Already, we have seen how our original objectives have started to manifest: More members than ever are engaged and coming together for more than our traditional once-a-month all-talk meeting. Two new faces have joined us through word-of-mouth, excited about the possibility of working on a kit-airplane (a third – a high-school student – has also expressed interest in participating); Time in the workshop is full of chatter and laughter as members share experiences, advice, questions and friendly jabs (no lack of volunteers for pointing out that someone isn’t holding his drill straight)!
|
|
|
We have had a few more work sessions since that first meeting, and even if we are taking things apart for now (before we can re-assemble them), there is a clear sense of accomplishment after each session. This project has breathed new life into our club! And best of all, we’re well on our way to having a new Club airplane! If you’re in the area and interested, stop on by and lend us a hand; we’re working on the project every Thursday night and Saturday morning. Call us for details!
|
Club members hard at work during their regular Thursday session had a surprise visit recently: Sebastien Heintz and Roger Dubert (center) from Zenith Aircraft (USA) were in the area test-flying the SAM aircraft. Roger and all four Heintz brothers dropped by to say hi, look-over the project and to shake hands with members. Being close to the Zenair factory has its perks!
|
|
April 2020 - Midland Chapter Update:
|
|
|
|
The following article and pictures are reprinted from "GENERAL AVIATION NEWS". General Aviation News has been bringing information about the world of general aviation to its subscribers since 1949. To subscribe, visit http://generalaviationnews.com/cs/.
Work begins on homebuilt for disabled pilots by Janice Wood
|
On Sept. 10, 2016, members of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1083 in Salisbury, N.C., began building a Zenith CH 750 Cruzer at the chapter’s hangar at Rowan County Airport (KRUQ).
Joining the build was John Robinson, the founder of AV84All, a non-profit dedicated to providing access to general aviation airplanes for everyone. The Cruzer will be modified with special controls so that disabled pilots will be able to take flight. “EAA Chapter 1083 is literally making a dream come true for AV84all,” he said. “Without their help it would take a lot longer to get this project off of the ground. They are making flying for the disabled a reality.” Officials with the EAA chapter see the project as a win-win. |
STOL CH-750. Photo by Jim Koepnick
|
“When I was first contacted by Zenith about helping John with this special project, I felt it was a great chance to help with one of the most important missions of our chapter — to encourage, educate and promote aviation for all,” said Jack Neubacher, chapter president. That’s the idea behind AV84All, as well. It was created by Robinson, who learned to fly in 2015 thanks to a scholarship from Able Flight.
|
Becoming a pilot is something Robinson has wanted to do since he was a child. He describes himself as a “basic kid” who “loved planes and fire engines.”
“I’ve always wanted to fly, but it’s an expensive hobby to undertake,” he said. “Right before I had my accident, I finally had a good job, so I was going to get all my finances squared away and get established and then do my pilot training.” All that changed after a car accident that resulted in him becoming a quadriplegic. Instead of pursuing a career in law enforcement, he earned a Master’s Degree and taught special education students for a number of years. He believed that learning to fly was “gone forever,” until a friend told him about Able Flight. He says he “jumped at the chance” to learn to fly and applied for a scholarship. He became part of the Class of 2015, training at Purdue University and earning his wings at a ceremony at AirVenture in Oshkosh. |
|
The whole experience changed his life.
“I knew flying was going to be terrific, but once you’re up there and once you’re by yourself, once I soloed, it was like ‘Holy Moly,” he said. “Let’s be real, life for people in wheelchairs can be pretty boring, there’s not too many exciting things we can do. It was just the best feeling of accomplishment of being able to land and say ‘I didn’t kill myself, that was pretty cool.’ It’s pretty intense.” After flying sometimes three times a day during his training, it was a bit of a rude awakening when he returned to North Carolina and found that there were no aircraft he could rent. To fly, he had to travel to Atlanta — a four hour drive — to rent an aircraft with special controls from the Hansen Air Group. That led him to look into building an aircraft that would be available not just for him, but all disabled people, to fly. He admits the project has a bit of a selfish element to it. “I’m not going to sit here and say ‘I’m just so altruistic, I just want to give back,’” he said. “Once it’s done, there’s going to be a plane there for me to fly.” |
|
|
The plane, which will be based at KRUQ, will be available to anyone to rent, once it’s complete, which Robinson estimates will be in about a year.
Charles Stites, the executive director of Able Flight, is optimistic about the opportunities this project will establish for people with disabilities. “It’s wonderful to see this project come together, not as an Able Flight project, but as an initiative of someone who has been through our program,” he said. “And it’s especially gratifying that Zenith Aircraft, a company that also supports Able Flight, has generously chosen to work with EAA Chapter 1083 to help make this possible. I am hopeful that the success of this project will inspire similar efforts throughout the country.” The project wouldn’t have taken off without the support of Zenith Aircraft President Sebastien Heintz, Robinson acknowledges. “When I asked Mr. Heintz if he was willing to work with me, he generously agreed,” he said. “When it comes to the part of making adaptable controls he was very willing to do whatever it took to make this a reality.” |
|
Zenith Aircraft will provide an engineering review to help customize the Zenith CH 750 Cruzer to better fit the needs of the pilots with disabilities involved in this project.
“One of the wonderful things about experimental amateur built airplanes is they can be fully customized by the builder to make it one of a kind,” Heintz said. “The new EAA Maker Edition of SolidWorks is a tool that will be used for the customization of the needed hand controls for this group build project. This computer-aided design software offers a huge advantage to the owner/builder/pilot when building their own aircraft, and especially for those who have a specific purpose in mind.” Also instrumental in the project’s success is Viking Aircraft Engines, who Robinson said called him “out of the blue” and donated an entire firewall forward package for the plane. “I was blown away,” he said. The next big expense will be avionics, he noted. |
|
|
Meanwhile, work has begun on the first kit, the tail of the airplane. “I didn’t get the whole plane at once, I got components,” he said.
Once the plane is complete, Robinson has other dreams for the non-profit AV84All, including a ground school, discovery flights, flight training, simulator sessions and more. But first they need to complete the Cruzer. And while he’s a bit reluctant to ask, that will require further donations. “It’s a sad fact, but the number one need is donations,” he said. “It seems that money is what gets things done here.” Donations can be made on the group’s Facebook page and at AV84All.org. All donations are tax-deductible. |
Contact Zenair and find out how YOUR local Chapter or group can also start on its own Zenith Club Airplane!