OLD History

Zenith horizontal Tail parts bent up on the "Dave brake" and clecoed -- then set aside for storage.

Hammering Zenith rear ribs, finishing with Sonex flanging dies which are simple and work very well

The life of my CH701 project itself began well over half a decade ago and was intermittently interrupted, postponed and eventually shelved as the elderly weekend hack frittered away valuable time, careening from one airplane fantasy to another -- expending valuable time, and no small amount of resources (but having a ball doing it of course).  Frankly, amateur airplane building needs very little explanation -- one just has to get off the couch, stay focused on building real airplane parts and assemblies, and stick `em altogether with whatever device, adhesive or process the plans specify.  Done -- go fly... 

The late Gary Richmond, dedicated friend who steadied my hand (and head) through the first learning years.

I received my CH701 plans quite a few  years ago and poured over them -- absorbing the information hidden in almost every nook and cranny – the term “old-school” is terribly overworked these days, especially by these too young to know what that school was, but these are old-school plans at their best.  And I have to add that Jon Croke's HomBuiltHelp DVD's are invaluable for the home-builder wannabe. The plans and a second set for the larger CH750 became my choice of reading material on breaks at work, before hitting the hay at night and, yes, while seated in the room of inner contemplation -- and the DVDs remain in my player refreshing my geriatric memory 15-20 minutes at a time each evening, as I succumb to the sandman.

Some of the CH701 parts I fabricated -- then stored as my focus wavered.

Equipping some sort of a shop (first modifying my wife's woodcraft shop to get started and then a second one for airplane projects -- as it eventually turned out, far too many airplane projects) was fun, and I made such things as a bending brake in the "Dave brake" motif, to craft various requirements and parts.  I was hoping for a straightforward, pleasant bird that fits within the prescribed gross weight limits and is capable of a real-world 78-82mph cruise, over the course of one summer I hammered out most of the ribs, cut out the spar web-blanks, various fuselage components and panels, and also most of the components for the horizontal tail -- the vertical tail having been more or less complete at Zeniths Mexico, MO facility a year before.

Zenith CH701 Long-Wing ribs (kinda look like CH750 don't they -- hmmmm...) and other small stuff.

Cougar/Tailwind, Buttercup and Sonerai side-trips that occupied my shop-time for several years (all loads of fun, but...)

Great-grandson got into the spirit as well, working on his plane alongside the Cougar project...