HomeLINKSEmail:
|
FAQ's
Table of Contents
Where can I get Avex blind Rivets? Many builders in Eastern Canada, including myself, buy Building OrderThe order I built the major components in was: tail, outboard wings,
center
The 601XL should be tail, wings, center spar, rear fuselage, forward fuselage, join rear fuselage/forward fuselage (then sit in it and take pictures), instrument panel, engine/cowl, canopy. This building flow also allows for the maximum amount of room in your shop as well since all prior construction can hang from you walls or ceiling.
Build TimeTime Required: maybe 400 hours the second time with a kit - has taken some folks more than 10 years average seems to be between 4-5 years. The secret is to have a steady pace that allows for sufficient family time. Are there other builders near where I live?Quite possibly "Yes" There are many builders in North America and around the world, getting a chance to talk to someone close can make your project go a lot smoother. One approach to finding builders in your area is to join the Matronics list and introduce yourself to the list along with your location. I add my general location to every post , along with what i'm building and this website. Another spot is to go to check out the builders pages on the Zenith list.? Most builders have signed up with the Zenith list and it can be searched quite easily. Depends upon your skill level and personality. The best question is to ask yourself, am I building this plane just to save money and have a flying machine or do I want to invest a few years in the adventure of building an airplane with my own two hands and then have the chance at another adventure when I'm finished. If you do instant gratification and cannot focus on something for more than a couple of years, you’d be best to buy a plane. Is it cheaper to build from scratch than kit? YES. If you adhere strictly to the plans and have tool resources that are already available to you, and you like long projects, it may be cheaper to build from plans than a kit. Or the money saved will pay for most of your avionics. On the plus side you will have a far greater knowledge of every aspect of your plane and if you make a mistake it will be less of a problem to just remake the piece you have ruined then to try and make it work. On the negative side the time and resources it will take to build the plane from plans /making forms /sourcing materials, would make it more efficient to get a part time job at Tim Hortons/Dunkin Donuts and buy the kit from your part time earnings. ( Can you guess who is a plans builder) ( I drank too much coffee at the donut shop!!!!!) What should a bench surface be constructed from? One of the best surfaces is a ¾” laminate coated pressed board obtainable from Lowe’s at 4 x 8 feet. Construction methods vary from builder to builder. Remember what you are building your bench for, to assemble a wing or fuselage then you may wish to keep the height to around the knees, to work on skins and manufacturing pieces you may wish to keep it at a height where your not constantly bent over. How do I handle a compromised edge distance? The rule of thumb is that the distance from the hole to the edge must be not less than 2 hole diameters. If it doesn’t meet this minimum, make another piece. In some cases you can double up on rivets with proper edge distance or install a doubler piece. You're best to contact ZAC for your situation. Is it necessary to coat the inside surfaces with a primer? No it is not necessary to coat any surfaces as 6061-T6 does have a mild form of corrosion protection built in. Now it is recommended to make it a minimum to try and coat all mating surfaces. Also if you live on or near any coast, or plan on spending any amount of time near salt water then you may wish to seriously consider priming everything. Can I use another primer other than zinc chromate? Zinc oxide
and lacquer primer are suitable as prime coats, but one must consider the
topcoat that will be used over them. As far as preparing the aluminum for
primer. You need to etch it with Alumaprep and then treat it with Alodine.
This removes any corrosion and treats the material surface so no new corrosion
won't start any time soon. You should prime within 24 hours of this
process. This is the mil-spec way of of preparing aluminum. But try not to
rule out Zinc Chromate so fast it has been around for a very long time with a
proven record. How do I protect my lungs from the primer , can I use a dust mask? The only kind of breathing device for spray primer like zinc chromate is a 3M 6000 series organic filtered respirator. If you buy a cheap respirator make sure it has the canisters installed for fumes and not the white filters for dust. Dust masks do not work for paint of any kind. The 3M respirators are not adequate for spraying the urethane aircraft paints either. One needs a re breathing device or air supplied mask for this. Check out http://www.ch601.org/resources/Quick%20Tools.htm on how to make an air supplied mask as well as a spray booth that removes a lot of primer fumes. Can I paint the plane with other than epoxy and urethane paints? Yes, Automotive paints of the
past were lacquer and enamels that, with care can be repaired and maintained as
easily as the epoxy and urethane paints if applied correctly.
I also heard about Sico Acrythane industrial paint. Then there
are the PPG systems and of course, the usual aircraft paint. . Durability Are solid brake lines better than the plastic hose?
If the
method of using aluminum aircraft tubing conforms to the Standard Aircraft
Handbook, they are generally longer lived materials than plastic tube, but they
are also more susceptible to vibration damage.
Parker Paraflex tubing Matco typically provides has a How do I reconcile the thin instrument panel to the weight of my instruments? ZAC plans assume by this phase, the builder knows about reinforcing and doubling the strength of panels by using standard angle, but the material is better if it is .040 to .062 for all the trouble one has to go to.
This is my recommendation for your instrument panel. from
Leo J. Corbalis Is there a need for check valves after the facet pumps? Most of the Facet pumps have a built in check valve, but they are designed to have a small amount of leakage to allow pressure to bleed off after shut down. These pumps will allow fuel in a higher tank to siphon into a lower tank if the fuel system design allows it. Some of the Facet pumps do not allow any leakage (this is probably what they mean by having an anti-siphon valve in the above link). These will prevent any fuel from draining back through them when they are shut down and will not require any additional check valve. Certain models have adequate check valves built in like the 105. Others are not so equipped. Pays to check before selecting. What kind of filters are "required" in the fuel tank, gascolator and fuel lines? The tank requires a primary finger screen filter, the gascolator needs a fine screen( and th ebowl on the collator CANNOT be made of glass in Canada), but fuel line filters, when used, should have sufficient area to absorb crud but not inhibit the fuel flow and should be replaced annually ( in Canada these filters cannot be made of paper). Can I put a 135 hp Lycoming on my 601? The 601 is a plane that is capable of using everything from 65 hp to 115 hp. I’d get Nick’s approval on anything larger. The 601XL is capable of more HP and FWF weight and I have seen approval for larger installations. But get Zenith blessing first and check out our engine section http://www.ch601.org/engines.htm What kind of drill is best for building the aluminum plane? Pneumatic drills are considered the best due to a faster speed allowing for a lot less de-burring, but the noise of the air drill can become overpowering. A battery powered 14.4 minimum 3/8” electric drill is great, cheaper than the air drill in the long run and quieter. The larger the battery size, the faster the drill will spin and the longer it will last, but you pay for it in weight and size. A corded drill can be used **** sorry I was laughing too hard to finish this line**** ~cdngoose As for bits and accessories, A 90 degree attachment can come in quite handy but in a pinch a rotary tool with a wand attachment will suffice. Unibits are a must have to reduce some drill problems. Also a drill press is essential, you don't have to spend a fortune here either, a $50 dollar press will work just fine. The Zodiac uses HSS drill bits for all rivet holes 40,30,20's when they get dull throw them away ! It will cost you over a $100.00 for a decent drill bit sharpener and you will not use that much in bit's. Drill bushing's or jig's to drill holes will be necessary on items like the wing splice plates, this is essential. Not many other places as important. What's the best tool/way to fabricate small extruded aluminum parts? Your best bet here is a small bandsaw, head down to Harbor Freight or Princess Auto and pick up a cheap bandsaw. It is true you get what you pay for but in this case it is more then sufficient to build your plane. Also you can use a regular chop saw with a carbide bit wood blade to cut your aluminum. How do I cut a straight line in a sheet of aluminum?
Option # 1 Looking at
the picture of the Olfa
knife on Michel's site, it looks very Option # 2 Mark the sheet with razor point ink marker against a good straight edge or light piece of aluminum extruded angle. Cut to the outside of the black marker with shears, disk sand the line to reduce it to a minimum and hand block sand or file with a good mill file until the black line is at a hair width and then break the edges. What's the best way to smooth the cut on the edge of a large skin? A few useful tools are a flapper wheel mounted in a drill press or a vixen file cut down and mounted with a wood handle. If you use hand shears to cut the skin I know of no way to get rid of the ripples. Can I use a heavier sheet aluminum thickness on the _____? This question is mostly found at wings, and the answer is if you’re coming from .016, then yes, .020 is better and .025 for top surfaces is possible as well to arrive at a better appearing construct surface. Be careful to know how much weight will be added in each case that this is done. Can I use aluminum that is other than 6061-T6 for my aircraft parts? I did call
Zenair about that and they told me that we can use either
2024-T3 or 6061-T6. In What kind of battery should I use in my plane? The current best buy is a sealed lead acid battery that can be installed in any attitude in an aircraft. But for the weight conscious a Gell cell may be the best bet Where do I go for electrical schematics? ZAC doesn't seem to get into that area. The Aero Electric Connection is a handbook that can be obtained from a site of the same name for $35.00 and has all one needs to learn to complete the wiring including detailed diagrams and examples of component usage. This is the bible for homebuilders. Some links to schematics will be posted on this site at a later date. Are there rules about what fuel line size should be used? Aircraft constructs generally use 3/8” aluminum .035 wall for fuel systems to enable flow, include size for filtering and strength of section. Europe and Canada require the size. Lines extending into the engine compartment should be sleeved with a stainless braid to preclude damage from the heat of the engine and hold up in the case of a crash landing. Why doesn't the aircraft fly as fast as advertised? Few aircraft meet the advertised speeds because the builder doesn’t ask how the plane must be fitted out to reach these speeds. This includes engine, prop, speed fairings, total weight with or without battery etc. In the case of the 601, only recently, have the speeds been achieved with any regularity using the 120 hp Jabaru 3300. Can I use hardware from the local store in stead of the pricey aircraft bolts? Aircraft bolts are a standard that serves their purpose much better than any other kind of available hardware that can be found in size, length, strength, consistency and reliability. This would be the least of all kinds of substitution that should be entertained. Your plans have them listed to exact dimensions and properties, the cost saving of store bought nuts and bolts is not worth the hassle What's the best way to store various parts after completion? Pictures will be posted on this site over the next little while on some storage idea's ~ cdngoose Where can I get Zinc ChromateXylene and Zinc Chromate can be bought direct from a manufacturer. Korzite Coatings 7134 Wellington RD.124.P.O.Box 1175 Guelph, Ontario Canada. N1H 6N3 519-821-1250
I would like to Thank Larry McFarland @ www.macsmachine.com for all his help with this FAQ.Cdngoose.
|