Dick Harriman’s Waiex
My Waiex was started on October 1, 2012 and completed 10 months later with 1350 man-hours of work. My building and flying partner, Mike Tabler, and I are both retired pilots of the 55th wing, 343 squadron, and the aircraft is painted in the colors of the 343rd, 55th Fighter Group of WW-II (P-51). The aircraft flies great and is powered by the AeroVee engine. Sonex has been great in working out any hiccups we have had along the way.
Papillon, Nebraska
planenut8@gmail.com
Jimmy Young’s Zenith CH 750
On August 10, 2012, I made my first flight in N75ZX, a Zenith CH 750 I had started construction two years and nine months before. She has flown flawlessly straight and true from day one, requiring absolutely no changes in rigging. This was by far the most fulfilling personal sense of accomplishment I have ever had, and it made all of the 1008 hours I had spent over the previous two years and nine months building it well worth it. It was built from the kit Zenith sells which utilizes CNC match-hole technology. Though there is still a lot of work to do, this makes the process easy compared to laying out every hole yourself, and it really speeds up the construction time.
It is powered by a Continental C-90 engine which I had completely rebuilt locally by Dan Martinez, a great guy I met via referral from other builders. Six months later I have over 150 hrs. on it, including a 3-day cross-country trip from Houston to Fayetteville, AR I took back in November. Many thanks go out to Curtiss Shuetzberg who helped me install my engine and instruments, Danny Still who helped me with paint, James Cameron who designed the paint scheme, and the fine staff at Zenith Aircraft.
Houston, Texas
jdy100@comcast.net
http://n750zx.blogspot.com
Al Leppanen’s Dakota Hawk
I built my Dakota Hawk from plans over a period of about three and a half years; the first flight was in October 2011. I’ve built many R/C models over the years and my wife said, “The Hawk under construction looked just like a big model.” I must agree. The plane is a simple, classic design, all wood, fabric covering, steam gauges, and powered by a Continental A75 with no electrics. I finished it with latex paint, and I carry a handheld radio and a simple GPS. Many parts that I didn’t think were worth trying to build, such as the windshield, fuel tanks, and engine mount, were supplied by Fisher Flying Products. The total cost was about $19,000.
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
alepp@bell.net
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