Zenith Aircraft Co.’s 19th annual Open Hangar Day and Builder Fly-In Gathering at the company’s kit aircraft factory in Mexico, Missouri, is slated for the weekend of Sept. 17-18.
Starting on Friday, Sept. 17, the company will offer a variety of seminars, including:
- Painting Your Homebuilt: Mike Loehle of Loehle Aero Coatings will discuss aircraft painting, with in-depth information on painting your Zenith aircraft using Loehle Aero Coatings high quality aircraft finishes.
- ULPower engines. A&P mechanic / pilot Gus Warren will discuss and show you the new lightweight ULPower aircraft engines from Europe.
- Jabiru Aircraft Engines, presented by Zodiac builder/owner Mark Stauffer of JabiruUSA. This informative workshop will cover everything you’ve always wanted to know about operating and maintaining the popular Jabiru aircraft engines, including the 4-cylinder Jabiru 2200 and the 6-cylinder Jabiru 3300.
- Garmin Avionics: Tim Casey, Garmin’s sales manager for portables, LSA, and Experimental Aviation Markets, will present Garmin’s GSX glass cockpit systems, and will be available to discuss and answer questions on installing and operating Garmin avionics in Zenith aircraft.
- How EAA Can Help You Build and Fly Your Own Aircraft: Charlie Becker from the Experimental Aircraft Association hosts a seminar on EAA’s available resources to help builders, owners and pilots of amateur-built aircraft, including the technical advisor and flight advisor programs, as well as details on Sport Pilot/LSA rules.
- Inspecting and Pre-Flighting your Zenith Aircraft: A&P mechanic/pilot Gus Warren will discuss and show you how to thoroughly inspect your completed Zenith aircraft prior to your first flight, and how to adequately preflight your aircraft before every flight. This seminar is highly recommended to all builders, owners and pilots of Zenith aircraft (especially second owners), and will include an actual inspection using a itemized checklist.
The seminars will be followed by the Zenith Builders Banquet, a buffet dinner gathering of Zenith enthusiasts, builders, pilots and employees. Door prizes will be awarded. Company officials advise that those planning to attend should RSVP soon as space is limited.
The weekend continues Saturday, Sept. 18, with Open Hangar Day. The Zenith Aircraft kit production facilities will be open for factory tours and Zenith’s factory-demonstrator kit aircraft will be on display. Company staff will demonstrate kit production and fabrication techniques used in producing the all-metal kit aircraft parts made at the Zenith Aircraft factory, including cutting and pre-drilling kit parts on the CNC router, forming and hand finishing wing ribs and other kit parts, and aircraft aluminum welding demonstrations.There also will be aircraft kits and parts on hand, and visitors will have a chance to build their own small sheet-metal project in the Zenith factory.
In addition to the seminar presenters listed above, other partners participating at the 19th annual Open Hangar Day include: Matco wheels and brakes, Aircraft Spruce & Specialty, Dynon Avionics, Aero LEDs, Kitplanes magazine, Viking Aircraft Engines (Honda conversions), FlightCrafters and AmZac Light Sport Aviation builder assistance centers, HomebuiltHELP.com (instructional DVDs), and more.
Food and refreshments: Local EAA chapter 1225 will provide a hot lunch at noon on Saturday, and there will be complimentary coffee and donuts available in the morning. A “hotdog and soda” lunch will be available at noon on Friday, compliments of AmZac Light Sport Aviation.
For more information: ZenithAir.com
