One Week Wonder at Oshkosh AirVenture

We're nearly ready for our next big adventure at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture, which starts next week!

This year will be our biggest year ever at Oshkosh with the return of the One Week Wonder project. We hope that you will be able to join us!
We have a challenging and exciting seven days ahead of us as we work to build a Zenith CH 750 Cruzer in just one week in front of the entire aviation community. We will kick off the project at 8:00 a.m. sharp on Monday, July 28, with EAA's Jack Pelton starting the countdown timer. We invite you to be there for the start of the project! The entire kit plane will be constructed in a special tent devoted to the One Week Wonder project, located on EAA Square (corner of Celebration Way and Knapp Street across from EAA Welcome Center).

We invite everyone to stop by the One Week Wonder

project and pull a rivet on the airplane! You'll get a One Week Wonder pin, be entered in the World's Largest Builders Log, and receive a photo of you working on the project via email for sharing!

We'll be working on the One Week Wonder airplane project throughout the entire week, and if all goes as planned, we will taxi the aircraft on Sunday, August 3, at approximately 3:00 p.m. (right before the Thunderbirds perform).

Want to receive updates as we build the One Week Wonder airplane? Be sure to "Like" our Facebook page to receive daily updates. Receive all of our Facebook updates by clicking on Get Notifications (after clicking the Liked button on the Zenith page).

We're grateful that EAA is hosting this event, which will be the biggest opportunity, ever, to promote homebuilding at AirVenture! Some of you may remember that this feat was first accomplished back in 1976 by kit industry pioneer Chris Heintz as the "Eight Day Wonder".

Designer Chris Heintz will be attending Oshkosh once again this year. Meet with Chris at the Aircraft Spruce & Specialty booth in Hangar A at the times listed below, or meet him at the Zenith Aircraft booth and the One Week Wonder project tent throughout the week!

This past weekend Chris Heintz was in Midland, Ontario, Canada, celebrating Zenair's 40th anniversary, thanking builders for their support over the past forty years!

Chris Heintz celebrates Zenair's 40th anniversary

At EAA AirVenture 2014, we have additional activities scheduled throughout the week, from July 28 - August 3. As in past years, Zenith Aircraft Company is displaying its line of kit aircraft at the convention and company staff will be on hand to answer questions and show the factory demo airplanes. Once again, we're located in the North Aircraft Display area (#641) with various factory demonstrator aircraft to look at, and product information to distribute.

The photo below is from a video clip as Zenith demo pilot Roger Dubbert approaches and lands at Oshkosh on runway 27 in the sleek low-wing Zenith CH 650. Flying to and from various airshows across the country in the Zenith factory demo aircraft is the highlight of attending these shows for Zenith staff! In another video clip from last year, Sebastien Heintz flies the new Zenith CH 750 Cruzer to Oshkosh, following the Mississippi River.

We invite Zenith builders, owners and enthusiasts to join us at the annual Zenair Builders Dinner and Banquet on Friday, August 1, at the Oshkosh Elks Lodge. We'll have many special guests from around the world (and around the country) attending! Click here for more information.
Also, on the evening prior to the Zenith Builder Banquet, you are invited to the EAA Homebuilders Dinner with special guests Chris Heintz and Sebastien Heintz, where we'll talk about One Week Wonder projects, both past and present. The dinner will be on Thursday, July 31, at 6 p.m. at the EAA Nature Center.

Seminars at Oshkosh: We have a busy Forum Schedule where we'll be sharing information on our light aircraft designs, kit construction, and more. Here's the current Schedule of Forums. We plan to have Chris Heintz participate in a number of the forums! (Check the official program as the schedule is subject to change).

The EAA Homebuilders Hangar will be the site of the Homebuilts in Review seminar on the Zenith CH 750 STOL and Cruzer. The Aviators by Design group will be back onsite this year with their Zenith project and they look forward to meeting with you and talking about their project.

Zenith Aircraft Company has also been invited to participate in the Valdez STOL demonstrations at AirVenture 2014, to showcase the amazing short take-off and landing capabilities of Chris Heintz' STOL designs. Roger Dubbert from the Zenith factory plans to demonstrate short take-offs and landings at Airshow Central sometime during the week at AirVenture! (check to program for actual times)

In time for Oshkosh, we've published a new Zenith Aircraft magazine, chock-full of information on building and flying your own Zenith. This free 48-page full color magazine provides an excellent introduction to the world of recreational flying and kit aviation. Pick up your free copy at the Zenith booth, One Week Wonder project tent, or contact Zenith Aircraft Company to have one mailed to you.

Download a free electronic version of our new Zenith Aircraft magazine. (PDF, 12.9 MB)

Complete kits from Zenith Aircraft Company represent exceptional value:
We invite you to compare the value as well as the quality of Zenith kits to the competition for completeness, level and quality of pre-manufactured parts and components, list of standard equipment included, low build time, simplicity of construction, required skills and tools, as well as price!

Take a virtual tour of the modern Zenith Aircraft kit production facilities:

Over the past several years Zenith has been improving its production technology with extensive use of CNC equipment in its kit production: This allows for a much higher degree of parts completion in the kit while also maintaining low kit prices and improving delivery schedules. This also allows us to keep the production of our kits here in North America.

Zenith Quick Build Kit fuselage assemblies

Our standard kits and include many pre-drilled holes (thanks for CNC fabrication technology), factory-finished wing spars, and all hardware required to assemble the entire airframe. Zenith also sells component kits to builders who prefer to "buy-as-they build"; the aircraft can also be scratch-built from the available drawings (blueprints).

Zenith Aircraft also offers Quick Build Kits (QBK) in response to increased demand for "Sport Pilot-ready" kits. With our Quick Build Kits, the main fuselage portion of the Zenith all-metal aircraft is pre-assembled at the factory, resulting in a dramatically reduced kit assembly time and overall simplified construction. The cost for the Quick Build Kit (QBK) is $4,450 additional to the complete kit cost, for the Zenith CH 750 Quick Build Kit or the low-wing Zenith CH 650 Quick Build Kit. Call Zenith Aircraft Company for details: (573) 581-9000

Join Us At Our Next Factory Workshop

We invite you to join us next week at our next factory workshop to gain hands-on experience in building your own Zenith aircraft kit!
Next Factory Workshop: August 21 & 22 in Mexico, Missouri
Zenith Aircraft Company's factory workshops have become popular with sport aviation enthusiasts, giving them the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience in building their own Zenith Aircraft kit plane. Participants get the opportunity to actually start assembling kit parts under the direction and guidance of factory professionals. They "graduate" from the workshop upon completing construction of their own aircraft rudder tail section for one of Zenith Aircraft Company's popular kit aircraft designs, including the Zenith CH 650 cruiser or the new Zenith CH 750 Cruzer or STOL CH 750.

The workshops are held over two days, with participants assembling the complete rudder tail kit of the aircraft (which is the entire vertical tail section of most Chris Heintz designs) from stock rudder kit parts. Some of the skills learned in the construction of the rudder assembly include: reading the drawings and assembly manuals, measuring, drilling, de-burring, and blind riveting, as well as cutting and filing sheet metal parts. Once complete, the rudder tail section is ready to install on an actual airplane and each participant keeps the rudder that they have assembled themselves. The rudder kit that is built at the workshop is constructed the same way as the rest of the kit airplane, and thus provides an excellent introduction to simple all-metal light aircraft construction.

All workshop participants are offered a demo flight in the aircraft, and the workshop includes a tour of the Zenith kit aircraft production facilities. New technology, such as extensive use of CNC drilling and cutting equipment in the kit parts manufacturing process, makes building a kit aircraft quicker and

easier than ever before. Zenith's extensive experience in the industry provides builders with expert technical support as well as quality blueprints and assembly manuals (which include detailed step-by-step photo assembly guides). Zenith's kits are supplied complete, with standard factory-riveted wing spars, factory welded steel parts, and all hardware included to complete the aircraft. Kit builders can choose to "buy-as-they-build" from component (section) kits or they can purchase the full kit in one large box. Spouses, family members and friends are encouraged to attend and to take part in the rudder kit assembly (at no additional cost), making the workshop a potential fun getaway for a few days. Participants are also invited to attend a social group dinner at the end of the first day.

"We recommend our workshops as a starting point to anyone interested in building, owning or flying a light aircraft," states Zenith Aircraft Company president Sebastian Heintz. "Oftentimes, initially skeptical builders are surprised that they already have most of the skills needed to build their own aircraft and they discover that building a kit is both a fun and rewarding project."

Attending a workshop is an invaluable first step in building (or selecting) a kit aircraft, and a workshop held at the factory (where the actual kit parts and assemblies are manufactured) offers the "hands-on experience" of a demonstration flight, factory tour and meeting the people who design, fly and manufacture the kits. For those that may not have the time or confidence to build the entire project themselves, there are several professional builder assistance centers located around the country to help builders complete the project.

If you cannot travel to the factory to attend a workshop, Zenith also offers the comprehensive 'Rudder Starter Kit' that includes the complete rudder tail kit and detailed assembly instructions that can be

shipped by UPS. The rudder takes about 10 hours to assemble (with

basic tools), and provides the first-time builder with an excellent introduction to building an all-metal Zenair aircraft, while actually building a control section for the aircraft.

Zenith Aircraft Company's factory workshops are held every month. The next scheduled dates:

August 21 & 22
September 17 & 18 (before the annual Open Hangar Day)

Click here for more information on attending a workshop, or for info on the 'Starter Kit'

Attractive new Zenith T-Shirts and Caps are now available from Zenith's Online Kit Store:

From the archives: After eight days of construction, this Zenith CH 200 was successfully flown at Oshkosh in 1976. View video clip.