 Thomas Longo’s Zenith CH 701 Zenith N701TL took me a little more than a year to build, beginning on June 18, 2009, and finishing on August 5, 2010. The first flight was in September 2010. It is powered by a Rotax 100-horsepower 912S engine with a Warp Drive 72-inch prop, equipped with full steam gauges, a Dynon SkyView glass panel, Becker transponder and Flightline FL760 radio, AeroLED MicroSun landing lights and a BRS parachute system. The first flight went well without problems on a beautiful Florida morning, the sun just coming up. After so much sacrifice, the feeling of flying your project is just exhilarating! My first passenger was my wife, and it was her first flight ever in a non-commercial plane. She loved it. I have about 50 hours and the plane is a joy to fly. Takeoff distance is around 100 feet and landing not much more. Special thanks to my friend Keith Dull, who lent his expertise in applying the paint, and also to my sister Cynthia Pimentel, who did the upholstery work for the seats, which match the paint job. Last but not least, thanks to my wife, Tanya, who did not see me much during the year of building. Full pictures of the build and video of first flight can be found on the Zenith builders site. Brooksville, Florida |
 Randy Owen’s Zenith CH 701 After two years, five months and about 1060 hours building time, my Zenith CH 701 flew for the first time, flawlessly. Even at my 4724-foot field elevation, it jumped off the runway and climbed like a maniac. It uses a Rotax 912S engine with a Warp Drive prop. Many thanks go to Graham Meyer and Bob Trumpfheller, my technical counselors, to Clarence Wood, Zenith builder extraordinaire, to Jon Croke and his fabulous videos, and to my wife, who helped and put up with metal shavings all over the house. Grand Junction, Colorado |
 Steve Dentz’s Just Aircraft Highlander N419BD was completed in June 2010 after 10 months of building. This is the second Highlander I’ve built in the past 18 months. It’s powered by a 130-hp UL350iS engine manufactured in Belgium by ULPower. It’s fuel injected, with electronic ignition and a weight of only 173 pounds ready to fly. The instruments include two Dynon 10-inch SkyView EFISes, Becker transponder and an Xcom radio. I painted the Highlander base colors (brown and almond) with Stewart Systems Waterborne paint, and the remaining trim colors are metallic vinyl. The airplane now has 35 hours, and I’m looking forward to a lot of back-country flying with friends. Carnation, Washington |
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Submissions to “Completions” should include a typed, double-spaced description (a few paragraphs only-250 words maximum) of the project and the finished aircraft. Also include a good color photograph (prints or 35mm slides are acceptable) of the aircraft that we may keep. Please include a daytime phone number where we can contact you if necessary. Also indicate whether we may publish your address in case other builders would like to contact you. Send submissions to: Completions, c/o KITPLANES Magazine, P.O. Box 315, Ashland, OR 97520. Digital submissions are also acceptable. Send text and photos to editorial@kitplanes.com with a subject line of “Completions.” Photos must be high-resolution-300 dpi at a 3 x 5 print size is the minimum requirement. You can also submit your aircraft through our online form.
