A quick fuel stop in the CH750 Super Duty from Zenith–we liked it so much, we needed to get more gas to go up for more!
Kitplanes had the chance to go and try the new CH750 Super Duty aircraft from Zenith Aircraft this morning, and on first, second, and third impression, it looks like a winner. This is the aircraft we reported on yesterday–the one with no instrument panel, or more correctly, it has the “Un-Panel”–a single glass panel display that floats in front of the pilot and passenger (or should we say the “front seat passenger,” since this new Zenith has a third seat in back) and can be moved to the left, right up, down and forward or back. Getting rid of the traditional panel allows them to wrap the windshield down around the sides, giving the appearance of flying almost in a bubble – the view is just excellent.
The airplane features an IO-370 engine from Aerosport, giving the Super Duty the most horsepower of any 750 model Zenith has built. The engine puts out 205 HP, providing plenty of power for this new bush plane. Zenith has equipped it with Bush wheels on the mains and big fluffy nose wheel, so landings on just about any reasonable surface should be possible.
We took off from Wittman Field for a quick evaluation flight, and lift-off was… quick! Handling was positive, with light pitch forces and a little heavier feeling in roll, probably due to the extended wing span. Zenith only has about 45 hours on the design, and we expect there to be a little tuning before they are totally happy with it, but the airplane is certainly a fine flier already. The current configuration sports a single throttle on the left side of the… well, it would be the panel if there was one. We flew the plane from the right side, using the right handle of the “Y” grip on the center stick, and had the demo pilot manage the throttle for landings. The airplane was predictable to fly it this way, and we were happy with the easy glide path control.
We look forward to brining our readers a complete review in an upcoming issue of Kitplanes Magazine–watch for it!
