One Week Wonder Returns With the Super Cruzer | | |
Featured this week on KITPLANES.com: “One Week Wonder Returns With the Super Cruzer," October 27, 2026, the article reports:
EAA will build a Zenith CH 750 Super Cruzer during AirVenture 2027, starting from a crated kit on opening day. Builders, ambassadors and first-time rivet pullers are invited to help.
Every summer, thousands of AirVenture visitors stand in front of a homebuilt and say some version of the same thing: “I could never build one of those.”
In 2027, EAA will again try to prove them wrong in seven days.
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The One Week Wonder returns to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh next July with a Zenith CH 750 Super Cruzer. A standard Zenith kit will be opened on Monday, July 26, 2027, the show’s first day, with the goal of a finished airplane by Sunday, August 1. Before the show ends, the airplane is to be inspected and ground-run, and then it goes directly to its new owner, the Aspiring Aviators Aero Club of Winter Haven, Florida.
“The One Week Wonder’s goal is to showcase the relative ease of building a kit aircraft – seeing is believing,” said Charlie Becker, EAA’s director of chapters and communities and homebuilt community manager.
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The Zenith CH 750 Super Cruzer:
More Performance and Capability, Yet Easier and Quicker to Build
| | The Airplane: The Super Cruzer is brand new. Zenith unveiled it on opening day of AirVenture 2026, after flying the prototype up from the factory in Mexico, Missouri. It is the cross-country member of the CH 750 family, an all-metal, high-wing design with side-by-side seating plus a rear jump seat. EAA lists a 1,900-pound design gross weight and an 800-pound useful load, and the prototype flies behind a 180-hp Lycoming O-360. Zenith estimates a typical builder can assemble the kit in less than 400 hours, and the company said kit deliveries would begin shortly after AirVenture 2026. | | One Week Wonder 2014: Opening the kit crate | | One Week Wonder 2014: Wing assembly | | |
Like other Zenith designs, the Super Cruzer is built mostly with pulled rivets and match-drilled parts, which is exactly why it works for a crowd build. A visitor who has never held a rivet puller can learn to set one correctly in a few minutes.
“Aviation technology has changed enormously through the years, but the spirit of individual initiative has not,” said Sebastien Heintz, president of Zenith Aircraft. “It’s been said that building an airplane is worth a college degree. The young people involved with us in the project will have an amazing educational experience in the best tradition of EAA. In addition, being center stage at Oshkosh shows everyone how achievable building an airplane can be.”
| | One Week Wonder 2014:
Running the engine for the first time | | One Week Wonder 2014:
Avionics installation | | In 2014, more than 2,500 people helped turn a Zenith CH 750 Cruzer kit into a flyable airplane during the show. EAA’s Jeff Skiles flew it, as N140WW, from Wittman Regional Airport on August 5, two days after AirVenture closed. | | One Week Wonder 2014:
Inspecting the finished airplane | | One Week Wonder 2027:
Be a part of it! | | |
Where You Come In: The 2027 build has three ways in.
Walk-up visitors can pull rivets on the airframe and have their names entered in the builders’ log, and they can help choose the paint scheme. Along the way, EAA plans demonstrations of tasks most first-time builders never see up close. “AirVenture attendees can participate in the activity and discover more about such concepts as weight and balance, propeller installation, and fuel flow tests,” Becker said.
| | AirVenture Oshkosh 2026: EAA's Charlie Becker and Zenith's Sebastien Heintz discuss the new Zenith CH 750 Super Cruzer and the return of the One Week Wonder in 2027. | | Experienced builders can volunteer directly. Aspiring Aviators is looking for homebuilders attending AirVenture 2027 who are willing to work on the airplane itself. EAA is also recruiting Homebuilding Ambassadors to staff the One Week Wonder tent, explain homebuilding to visitors, teach them to pull a rivet and answer questions about building. Sign-up links for both builder and ambassador volunteers are on EAA’s One Week Wonder page. [Zenith staff is also putting together a group of experienced team leaders that will lead youth and volunteer builders, making sure the project stays on schedule and meets all quality checks along the way.] | | Brian Hughes (far right) of Aspiring Aviators Aero Club, with Susan Calvin of AeroLEDs, and Becker and Heintz at the Zenith Homecoming in September 2026. | | |
After the Show: Unlike a display airplane, this Super Cruzer has a job waiting. Aspiring Aviators plans to use it for its youth flying club.
“This will give students the opportunity to experience aviation in a way that very few young people have,” said Brian Hughes, the club’s president. “More than simply building an aircraft, this project represents the power of hands-on learning, mentorship, teamwork, and the aviation community coming together to inspire the next generation. After the build is complete, the aircraft will continue its mission as an educational tool, providing students with ongoing opportunities to learn about aircraft operations, maintenance, and flight.”
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In homebuilt (experimental amateur-built) aviation, the total project investment is determined by airframe costs (including the engine and avionics) as well as hours to build.
Historically, building your own airplane required thousands of hours of construction, much of it repetitive, with projects often taking years to complete (one of the main contributors to project abandonment).
Newer kits, like Zenith Aircraft's modern kits, require hundreds, and not thousands, of hours to assemble. Faster build times provide higher builder satisfaction, with built-in motivation to work on and complete the airplane. Faster build times also means fewer repetitive tasks, keeping the work more interesting and educational. Quicker build times means more time to enjoy the fruits of your labor once aircraft is completed (especially meaningful for retired individuals).
| While traditional manufacturers of solid-riveted kits may offer imported quick-build kit options that reduce assembly time by about one-third (at a substantial financial surcharge), Zenith Aircraft Company’s design philosophy fundamentally avoids this compromise. By utilizing CNC final hole size match-drilled 6061-T6 aluminum parts and skins fastened together with structural blind (pulled) rivets, a standard Zenith kit can be assembled by a single builder in 400 to 600 hours in a residential garage without requiring quick-build surcharges or a two-person riveting team. Starting at just $6,000 more (depending on the model), Zenith offers its own version of the quick build kit with the fuselage mainly factory-assembled, ready to be mounted to the gear, and ready for engine and avionics installation. | | Watch the video to and find out why Zenith Aircraft's Roger Dubbert recommends Zenith's Quick Build Kit (QBK), despite the fact that Zenith's standard kit is "so easy and fast to build." | | Zenith Aircraft offers Quick Build Kits (QBKs) for its popular kit aircraft models, making it easier and faster than ever to build and fly a Zenith aircraft. Thanks to its expanded factory facilities in Mexico, Missouri, Zenith manufactures and assembles Quick Build Kits in-house, with some kits even in stock and ready for immediate shipment or pickup. Zenith's experienced team can custom-build each kit with the features and options desired, significantly reducing construction time so builders can spend less time in the workshop and more time in the air! | |
Earlier this week, Cody (from Clarksville, Texas) picked up his Zenith STOL CH 750 Super Duty quick-build kit (QBK) at the Zenith kit aircraft factory. With the Quick Build Kit much of the fuselage is pre-assembled, and picking up the kit at the factory provides significant cost savings on crating and shipping. | | | | Zenith kits offer unmatched completeness, pre-manufactured parts, components, standard equipment, low build time, simplicity of construction and required skills and tools, as well as price (cost of the kit, and also the total cost to finish your aircraft with your choice of engine and avionics). | | By utilizing proven CNC high-speed routers, Zenith achieves a higher level of parts completion, making Zenith kits easier and quicker to build, whether building from the standard kit or the Quick Build Kit. This technology also enables significantly improved delivery schedules, with some kits shipping just weeks after ordering, all while maintaining production and support here in the United States. | | Build It Your Way: Did you know that you can build your very own Zenith from plans only (blueprints), buy-as-you-build component kits, from the complete kit, or from the Quick Build Kit (QBK)? | | |
The most popular way to build a Zenith airplane is with the complete airframe kit, which provides the builder with all the components needed to assemble the airframe. Easily picked up at the factory or crated and shipped, Zenith kits provide everything needed for you to build your own airplane, typically in under 500 hours.
Engine, instruments, paint and upholstery are not included, although available separately.
| | An alternative to ordering the complete airframe kit all at once, you can "buy-as-you-build" component kits for sections of the aircraft, one at a time. This modular method of building reduces the upfront cost and commitment tied to full kits and increases the flexibility of the project. Any individual part or component is also available for purchase. The above illustration shows a wing kit. | |
| Complete plans and assembly manuals guide the builder through the entire building process. They are detailed enough that they can even be used to scratch-build the entire aircraft, should you want to. The blueprints illustrate the parts and assemblies and provide detailed information about every single component that makes up the kit. Scratch builders can also buy any individual part or component from the factory. | | Whichever way you choose to start building, you'll gain full access to lifetime technical support directly from the factory, and you'll end up with a very capable airplane that you've built yourself! Each completed Zenith aircraft is a one-of-a-kind creation. What you can do with a Zenith design is (almost) limited only by your imagination. They are versatile enough to accommodate a wide range of options and configurations, from skis and tail wheels to folding wings and floats. | | Get a head start in building your own airplane by participating at an upcoming hands-on workshop class at the kit aircraft factory in Mexico, Missouri, and learn all about the skills and tools needed to build your own. | | Zenith Aircraft invites you to experience the excitement of building your own airplane at one of our monthly hands-on workshops, held at our kit aircraft factory in central Missouri. These workshops give you the chance to learn the skills and tools needed to build your own aircraft while constructing your very own rudder tail section for one of Zenith’s popular designs, such as the high-wing Zenith CH 750 series or the sleek low-wing Zenith CH 650 cruiser. | | |
The workshop experience at the Zenith factory also includes a guided factory tour and demo flight, with participants "graduating" from the workshop upon completing construction of their own aircraft rudder tail section for one of Zenith Aircraft Company's popular kit aircraft designs. Plan now to join us at an upcoming factory workshop (see below for details on the Texas workshop):
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The Zenith hands-on workshop is an excellent way to learn about building your own kit aircraft and about the many advantages of owning and flying an airplane that you’ve built yourself. For many, building an aircraft (from a kit) is a very rewarding experience, and today’s modern kits make it easier and quicker to build than ever before.
Standard workshop fees are just $375.00 (or $425 for the CH 750 Super Duty or Super Cruzer models) and include the complete rudder kit for a Zenith aircraft. Additional helpers (spouse or other family members) are encouraged to attend and can participate for free. Prior registration is required for the rudder workshop class and class size is limited.
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Happy Halloween!
Paul Van Zuyle shared these photos (at right and below) of his Zenith CH 750 Cruzer project on the Zenith Aircraft Builders Facebook page: "This is for the benefit of the EAA chapter 723 Aviation Explorers who have put a lot of time and effort into my Cruzer build. It is not intended to represent the status of the project!"
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