Started building CH750 STOL rudder kit

TylerSC

TylerSC

Pre-takeoff checklist
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TylerSC
My wife got me the Zenith CH750 STOL rudder starter kit for Christmas. Last night I decided to get started on it. I haven’t built my work table yet - honestly, I’m not a woodworker (or even much of a handyman) and that is one of the more challenging aspects of starting this project!

I did find some sawhorses at Lowe’s last night that seem like good supports to build a simple table made out of an old door. My house came with a couple old doors in the rafters of the garage. I can screw one to a pair of these sawhorses and I also have some plywood I can screw down to the door. That should make a useful work surface I think. Not big enough for wings, fuse, etc but should be sufficient for tail and flaperons. It’ll be a long time before I get one of the bigger component kits.

https://m.lowes.com/pd/BURRO-BRAND-21-in-Wood-Saw-Horse-1000-lb/3347070

So last night I opened up the crate and put some carboard on the dining room table. I only intended to make some centerline marks and maybe trim a few things, and I ended up drilling and clecoing the entire rudder skeleton in just a few hours. Then I disassembled and deburred. It was surprisingly easy. I have a little Li-ion drill and it did the holes like butter.

The only hard part was learning to measure and mark the center lines on the flanges. The parts have a curve and I wasn’t sure exactly where to measure from. Also I was very concerned about getting it perfect. Finally I realized that microscopic perfection is probably not attainable and I picked a distance from the edge that looked most like the center to me (8mm). I got everything looking perfect except the nose rib, which I did not have a c-clamp to hold - it is crooked by about 1mm. I got it centered on the spar, but one edge is about 1mm high. That should be within tolerance, we’ll see how it goes together.

I didn’t have the handi-clamps you see on all the videos - instead I picked up some of these Irwin clamps. They are very strong and were easy to use.

https://m.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-QUICK-GRIP-2-in-Clamp/50214657

Tonight - build table, scuff and spray mating surfaces with self-etching primer, and figure out how to get this rivet gun going with my air compressor.

So far this seems do-able, and it is really satisfying to make such quick progress. The hours really flew by.
 
Finished riveting the skeleton together tonight after about 5-6 total hours of work. I chose to prime the mating surfaces with Duplo self-etching primer from the auto parts store. Setting up the air riveter took about 10 minutes and it is very easy to use. The riveting is the reward for the prep work. Very satisfying. All of the rivets came out looking good.

Looking ahead, installing the skins may be more of a challenge.

IMG_4012.JPG
 
TylerSC said:
My wife got me the Zenith CH750 STOL rudder starter kit for Christmas. Last night I decided to get started on it. I haven’t built my work table yet - honestly, I’m not a woodworker (or even much of a handyman) and that is one of the more challenging aspects of starting this project!
Click to expand...

Yes, it's surprising how much wood is required to build an aluminum airplane! I built a couple of workbenches and a jig for holding the horizontal stab for riveting. I was fortunate enough to get a wing stand on casters that I "paid forward" to the next builder when I was finished with it.

So nice to finish the first piece of airplane, and show it to friends and family.
 
Very cool! I am however surprised that the ribs did not come already drilled, like those in out CruZer kit.
 
Do yourself a favor and buy a FLAT, sturdy table. You want to build a quality aircraft and that requires a proper table. You will find this out by yourself after working a while and you'll be after the longest table you can manage. Good luck building that rudder kit!
 
Brad Smith said:
Do yourself a favor and buy a FLAT, sturdy table. You want to build a quality aircraft and that requires a proper table. You will find this out by yourself after working a while and you'll be after the longest table you can manage. Good luck building that rudder kit!
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

Haven't built an airplane (yet), but the best table top I've seen is a friend who has restored 5 metal airplanes, and built an RV-9. Two 4x8 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood with double laminated 2 1/2 inch X 3/4 inch plywood ribs running lengthwise on 8 inch centers.
 
So last night I bought a couple Burro Brand sawhorses, and two pieces of 1-inch edge glued pine board about 6 feet long. It is sturdy enough for the tail and probably slats/flaperons. It can be beefed up with some more work but was perfect for the tail, and only took 20m to build.

Got rear skins installed and drilled. On one side there is about a 1mm gap where the skin is not flush with the top of the rudder. It's tough doing all that work and having it not be perfect, but it's very close. As long as the rudder is not warped or twisted it should just be cosmetic.
 
I personally like to cover any workbench with 3/4" MDF screwed onto the bench top -- it's smooth, flat, and best of all sacrificial. If it gets damaged simply remove and replace without affecting the actual bench. Speaking of benches, the EAA Chaper 1000 benches are kind of a standard. Plans are here: http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/worktabl/worktabl.htm
 
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TylerSC said:
My wife got me the Zenith CH750 STOL rudder starter kit for Christmas. Last night I decided to get started on it.
Click to expand...
Only took 361 days to get to it?

I prefer 3/4 particle board over plywood for work surfaces - smoother and flatter. Run 1x4 around the perimeter - be sure to have the top overhang an inch or two for clamping - you can thank me later for that. Legs are two 1x4 screwed into an L and screwed to the perimeter. A shelf built like the top but without the overhang stabilizes everything - put the perimeter boards on top for the backs and sides so things don't fall off, and underneath in the front so it's not in the way. You can add a single 1x4 in the middle (or 1/3, 2/3) if you are making an 8 foot long table. A couple cross pieces here and there are a good idea.
 
Just painted this plane for msquared in mobile al. Good luck on your build!!
e5.jpg

e6.jpg
 
We are currently building our wings for the 750 Cruzer. :) Most of the fuselage is done and is sitting in the garage, waiting for warmer weather. Once we are above freezing we will continue with the fuselage (read: firewall forward). For now, we enjoy building the wings in our family room... :D

Good luck with your project. It’s a lot of fun.
 
Does m-squared make the cruzer or just the 750?
 
TylerSC said:
My wife got me the Zenith CH750 STOL rudder starter kit for Christmas.
Click to expand...
Good luck on your project. I have been considering building something like that myself. I worry about the build time. I have talked to many that have started such a project and for one reason or another the build stalls half way through the project.

I hope to retire in 2 years, if that happens I think I can dedicate the time to complete such a project. Until then just maintaining my current plane and finding time to fly it works for me.

Again, good luck and have fun building your CH750..:)
 
I have built 5 complete airplanes and various percentagages of several others. I have pretty much had an ongoing project or two in the hangar for the last 35 years.
The only way to build and finish one is to work on it every day even if only for 1/2 hour to keep the momentam going. It helps to have enough money to pay for the project up front. Also having the correct tools makes things a lot easier. Make an honest evaluation of your mechanical skills as most things are not that hard to learn but if you don't know witch end of a screwdriver to use it might be a little harder. There is a vast network of experienced builders out there eager to help also so try and find a type website to get a good idea of what its like to build the plane you are interested in. Don
 
I've pretty much convinced myself to order a Onex tail kit this spring, just to dip my toe in the magic water. My only previous experience of this sort was building an aluminum velomobile 2 years ago, and I learned a lot from that and enjoyed the challenge.
 
To the OP, curious to know if you've elected to spray the internal portions of your rudder ( / rest of airframe) with a corrosion-inhibitor, and if so, what are you using? The manual mentions that it will add some weight to the finished aircraft but is a great choice if you plan to do a lot of air-camping / float-flying / tying down outside. Stuff like this I'm torn about... like how much extra weight are we talking? Is it something that will wear off eventually (like oil) or is it more like a sort of lacquer?

Haven't started building my rudder yet, it's sitting in the garage (still crated) awaiting some TLC. ~ Doug
 
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nauga said:
I've got these all over my hangar.
http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/worktabl/tablefig.htm

Nauga,
benched
Click to expand...
I got a nice 3' x 8' bench with retractable gear when I bought my late lamented RV-7 project, and kept it when the project found a new home. I did build half of an EAA 1000 bench, though. I made it half size, added 4" or so to the height and then put it on heavy duty casters. It holds my drill press, band saw, buffer and belt sander (one per corner), and can move and rotate as needed. Super nice arrangement.
 
Run-Around said:
To the OP, curious to know if you've elected to spray the internal portions of your rudder ( / rest of airframe) with a corrosion-inhibitor, and if so, what are you using? The manual mentions that it will add some weight to the finished aircraft but is a great choice if you plan to do a lot of air-camping / float-flying / tying down outside. Stuff like this I'm torn about... like how much extra weight are we talking? Is it something that will wear off eventually (like oil) or is it more like a sort of lacquer?

Haven't started building my rudder yet, it's sitting in the garage (still crated) awaiting some TLC. ~ Doug
Click to expand...

I used duplicolor self etching primer from the auto parts store, just on the mating surfaces. It can’t possibly add that much weight.
 
TylerSC said:
I used duplicolor self etching primer from the auto parts store, just on the mating surfaces. It can’t possibly add that much weight.
Click to expand...

Good to know what you're using, I'll look into that. Thanks TylerSC.
 
TylerSC said:
My wife got me the Zenith CH750 STOL rudder starter kit for Christmas. Last night I decided to get started on it. I haven’t built my work table yet - honestly, I’m not a woodworker (or even much of a handyman) and that is one of the more challenging aspects of starting this project!

I did find some sawhorses at Lowe’s last night that seem like good supports to build a simple table made out of an old door. My house came with a couple old doors in the rafters of the garage. I can screw one to a pair of these sawhorses and I also have some plywood I can screw down to the door. That should make a useful work surface I think. Not big enough for wings, fuse, etc but should be sufficient for tail and flaperons. It’ll be a long time before I get one of the bigger component kits.

https://m.lowes.com/pd/BURRO-BRAND-21-in-Wood-Saw-Horse-1000-lb/3347070

So last night I opened up the crate and put some carboard on the dining room table. I only intended to make some centerline marks and maybe trim a few things, and I ended up drilling and clecoing the entire rudder skeleton in just a few hours. Then I disassembled and deburred. It was surprisingly easy. I have a little Li-ion drill and it did the holes like butter.

The only hard part was learning to measure and mark the center lines on the flanges. The parts have a curve and I wasn’t sure exactly where to measure from. Also I was very concerned about getting it perfect. Finally I realized that microscopic perfection is probably not attainable and I picked a distance from the edge that looked most like the center to me (8mm). I got everything looking perfect except the nose rib, which I did not have a c-clamp to hold - it is crooked by about 1mm. I got it centered on the spar, but one edge is about 1mm high. That should be within tolerance, we’ll see how it goes together.

I didn’t have the handi-clamps you see on all the videos - instead I picked up some of these Irwin clamps. They are very strong and were easy to use.

https://m.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-QUICK-GRIP-2-in-Clamp/50214657

Tonight - build table, scuff and spray mating surfaces with self-etching primer, and figure out how to get this rivet gun going with my air compressor.

So far this seems do-able, and it is really satisfying to make such quick progress. The hours really flew by.
Click to expand...
Great choice, it was my runner up but declined because no folding wings at that time, which I understand has been rectified...
 
Run-Around said:
To the OP, curious to know if you've elected to spray the internal portions of your rudder ( / rest of airframe) with a corrosion-inhibitor, and if so, what are you using? The manual mentions that it will add some weight to the finished aircraft but is a great choice if you plan to do a lot of air-camping / float-flying / tying down outside. Stuff like this I'm torn about... like how much extra weight are we talking? Is it something that will wear off eventually (like oil) or is it more like a sort of lacquer?

Haven't started building my rudder yet, it's sitting in the garage (still crated) awaiting some TLC. ~ Doug
Click to expand...
I wouldn't dream of not applying anti corrosion while it can be done easily on new, rivet-free components. We got in on the last of Zinc Chromate in WA State, I understand but its replacement is almost as good. Those coatings WILL wear with repeated rubbing or scratching and then a patch coat can fix the raw spot.
 
In addition to Zinc Chromate, because of our saltwater ops, I had Kenmore Air's shop process and coat my struts, retractablle wheel arms, and longitudinal stiffiners to my multistep specs, including acid etching and epoxy primer. When their A&P gave me the finished parts he said my process was better than theirs...
 
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