FLAPERON and COWL

[@GregKulosa-v2k]

I got a refund this morning from KZbin - saying that I cancelled my membership, and they are refunding the $9.99. I didn't cancel. Did you decide to stop the "membership-only" for your videos? You are very inspiring, and I watch every video. I don't have space or money (yet!) to build by own Zenith - but I'm watching all the videos that I can to research and be ready! Keep up the good work, and thank you!

[@EODSAPPER]

Mark glad to join the channel, well worth it.

[@n206ja]

Although it's a PITA, I fully assembled my 750 STOL while it was still bare metal so I could do fitting and trimming before paint. I, too, had the banana slot interference problem and was able to slightly enlarge the slot. I also could fine-tune the clearance between the vertical stabilizer/rudder and the fairing below it. I had my painter paint the top wing root skins separately so that when the plane was reassembled and fully fueled, I could let it sit and inspect for tank/fuel line leaks. I then riveted the top root skin and touched-up the rivets. I also deferred painting the cowl until the plane was flying in case I had to modify it for cooling purposes. Really like your work-around for the banana slot problem and quite ingenious method of fixing the cowl bowing problem!

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

@@n206ja I also wanted to assemble everything before paint too. I especially wanted to get the cowl fit and installed before paint so I wouldn’t have to be worried about scratching paint. But I didn’t have the flaperons built yet when I wanted to get things painted. I agree the best method would be to fully assemble everything and then save paint for last. Doesn’t always work out though especially if you’re trying to get parts painted before winter!

[@manuelgarces1014]

Hey Mark, my wife and I enjoyed meeting you at Oshkosh. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. This is another great video. Your attention to detail is amazing. I've never considered building my own airplane until I found your channel. Hope to see you again at future Air Ventures. Who knows, maybe I'll update you on my build. But first, I have to convince the wife. 😅

[@christoomey9890]

Hoping to build a Zenith someday. Your videos are the most informative and detailed out there. Thank you so much for making these available!

[@davidkoogler5266]

Thank you for posting!

[@Texxas750Cruzer]

Funny on mentioning the temporary nut... I was just about to type ya on it. Lol😂 The banana cutout , I filed open more, but I do like the machined option too. The bushing on the flaperon is a must 👍, Full flaps n full left to right controls without binding when landing. Nice cowling fix , clever 😎👍. Maybe reinforce that fix with a small fiberglass " I-beam " in that heated area. Help prevent it moving in the future. Awesum work. Enjoy the videos and tips 😎👍👍

[@charlesbrewer6552]

Hi, I love your videos, I am (slowly) building a 750 STOL in Australia so I find your videos very informative. Just a thought on the offset between the inner and outer flaperons. Most aircraft have 'washout" built into the wings to provide a progressive stall. The inner wing stalls before the outer wing. This gives a progressive stall (rather than an abrupt one) and means the ailerons remain effective at lower speeds. Without this washout an aileron movement may induce a sudden stall at the outer wing. The Zenith wing is built flat with no washout. When I looked at this offset it occured to me that they were building in a washout effect to help stability near the stall. Just a thought.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

I fully explained this in a previous video.

[@justinb8973]

I’m dying to know more about project X.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

I think you will really like it. I have designed all the art work myself-even the box. I hired a graphic designer to design the box but they just could not accomplish what I wanted so I ended up doing it myself. In fact I should have the sample printed boxes here this week. Almost ready to launch!

[@justinb8973]

@@KitplaneEnthusiast right on hope it all goes well for you.

[@danielpatton583]

Mark, did the parts come from Zenith in Missouri or Zenair in CA? All the parts I had issues with were parts that came from Zenair. I assumed the problems with Zenair were a big part of why Zenith was doing the factory expansion. I got my SD kit during COVID so I gave them a bit of a pass but there was a huge difference in packaging quality between the blue-tape Zenith parts and the green-tape Zenair stuff.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

The FWF kit is made by Zenair, which explains the poor quality. I sincerely hope things improve now that Zenith has taken over production. Also, customer service at Zenair is non-existent!

[@TailwheelTimes]

I am glad I'm not the only one frustrated with the fit and quality of some of the Zenith 750 part. I had the same problem with the banana slot and filed mine. I wish I had thought of machining the bushing. Also, after all of these years you would think Zenith could come up with a decent Builders manual, rather than the incomplete mishmash that they post online. How many of these planes have they built at the factory? Can't they take pictures and write a manual? Other kit makers have great manuals.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

That's the problem-Zenith hasn't built that many of their own airplanes. I talked extensively with Sebastian about that. I highly recommended that they build another factory Super Duty from start to finish so they can see all the issues with the kit. The current kits are completely different from their prototype that they are currently flying. Building a new factory demonstrator would give them a chance to install a Lycoming and see how poorly the parts fit on the FWF kit. But....building a new plane is too expensive....

[@TailwheelTimes]

@@KitplaneEnthusiast Nit so sure about that.... mine is a Cruzer. It was a quick build that I purchased from someone else. They may not build a lot of COMPLETY finished aircraft, but they make enough guick build kits to at least write a decent manual. My first kit build was a SPA Panther. If you want a good example of an excellent builders manual search online for SPA Panther Builders Manual. It is available to anyone who wanted to look at it. No "secret" password required. It is completely searchable by words or part numbers. Do you know how many factory built they have made? Answer: 1

[@rocroc]

The guys at Zenith better get their "stuff" together. I think Mark has reached the end of the line with them. They could never have a better build representative than Mark and they should resolve issues when they learn of them. Whoever is in charge there better look after business. It may be that they have already built up an inventory and have chosen not to do anything about the cowling. That would be a bad choice sooner or later to be known by most every past and potential Zenith builder. It looks like there is a fix to that cowling and it shouldn't be too hard to do. Next up; Kitfox or maybe a Van's.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

Next up is the Pitts! I've got to get this airplane back together. I'm looking forward to doing some fabric work again. My first two airplane were tube-and-fabric and I really enjoyed the fabric covering process.

[@sikrandall83]

Mark bud, I'm not sure there is any change they can make on the molds that will fix that cowling. Fiberglass will move around on its own depending on temperatures, humidity, etc during extended curing

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

I've had that conversation with Zenith. The molds are not the problem because the factory cowl came out of the same mold and it's flat on the front. We think the issue is that they take the cowl out of the mold too early before it is fully cured, and then stand it upright and that's what makes the center part droop down. Once the fiberglass is cured no temp or humidity will change the shape. They need to figure out a better way to produce them.

[@sikrandall83]

@KitplaneEnthusiast that was my thinking too, they probably pull them out a little soft in order to be able to keep up with production. Once they're fully cured they're not gonna go anywhere sure, but honestly that could take quite a bit of time and changes based on conditions. I don't know if they have enough time to leave them in the molds that long

[@scottmiller4711]

Nice update. What is the status of the CruZer rudder fairing?

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

That fairing is still on the list. NAA is working on the 650 fairings and the SD wingtips currently.

[@MichaelHiggins-j1e]

Managed to join the channel under a different account.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

Thank you. I'm not sure why you had to switch accounts.

[@robertko85]

Are you going to be at the Zenith open house??

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

@@robertko85 Not this year.

[@skylarpihl6475]

Hi Mark! Why are you currently trying to sell the Cruzer on barnstormers?

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

@@skylarpihl6475 I just don’t need it. The SD is almost done and I never have time to fly anyway.

[@skylarpihl6475]

@@KitplaneEnthusiast Then could you please at least make a, last flight video of it? Hope phase 1 goes well on the SD!

[@user-tl5fi9lz9z]

Why buy the bullet hole sticker? Can't I just shoot a few holes in the airplane myself? I recently got my Super Duty on its landing gear.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

Maybe they aren’t stickers?? Lol

[@user-tl5fi9lz9z]

@@KitplaneEnthusiast Michigan must be more dangerous than I thought!

[@zedcal2552]

Hi Mark, with the Dynon system, do u get some sort of aileron trim? If yes, what motor drives the trim? Thanks.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

I'm not an expert on the autopilot yet, but I don't believe you need a trim with the autopilot on. The autopilot will command the servo to maintain wings level or to follow a course.

[@scottmiller4711]

@@KitplaneEnthusiastThat only happens if you also have the separate AP panel. It doesn’t auto trim with just using the HDX to control it.

[@jimd421]

I was gonna buy a zenith but after seeing what you had to say about the company there's no way.

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

First, no you weren't. No one would be all set to buy a kit, hear one bad thing, and then disregard all their research and prep to build a plane. But I get your point-they are not perfect. No manufacturer is. Even with their faults, they are still a great company and yes I still recommend Zenith's for people. I just don't understand why they don't seem to fix issues when call to their attention. I understand something like the cowl is a hassle for them to fix, but if I owned Zenith, I would prefer happy customers over a bit of hassle. There are other issues that they could fix in 5 minutes just by making a change in the computer software that cuts parts, but some issues take forever to fix, and others just don't get fixed. Other times they do update the kit or part, but then they don't update the plans. So a builder sees a part that's different from what's shown in the plans and that creates confusion and probably a lot of unnecessary calls to Zenith for tech support. Building a Zenith is fun and relatively simple but you have to pay attention to what you're doing and recognize when things don't 'seem' right.

[@jwald6795]

@@KitplaneEnthusiast I wonder what everyone before you did to fix the cowling?

[@KitplaneEnthusiast]

@@jwald6795 There's only a few flying Super Duties and it seems most of them have the Viking engine.

[@jwald6795]

@@KitplaneEnthusiast So you're saying they are designed for Viking engines? Maybe you could put on a Viking engine then. Or build a custom cowling like the Flying Farmer did. No one to blame except yourself. I do enjoy your videos, but sometimes you are just too much of a perfectionist and in this video I thought you came off as a little bit of a whiner.

[@EODSAPPER]

I started my build way after Mark, and many of the issues he has identified in all his videos were corrected in my kit. I have nothing but praise for the Zenith team, it is difficult to make a kit this great, not perfect, but I am having a lot less problems and making much better progress then my Vans buddies. Also love the Viking 195t, goes great with the superduty.