QSP Rudder Workshop Testimonial

Since the work shop was concurrent with QSP’s open house, we got distracted and listened in on a few forums on flying the CH701. I also spent a lot of time sitting in both a CH701 and CH601. I was surprised to see there wasn’t a lot of headroom in the CH701. After reading the Zenith literature, I had expected more headroom, but not too surprised as this problem is common for me in just about all vehicles. As it turns out Michael Heintz is also tall, and they had modified their soon-to-be flying demo CH701 by lowering one of the seat pans. I found I had headroom in that seat, a bit upright, yet comfortable. However the lowered seat felt a little more like sitting in a bucket, literally. I found the visibility excellent in all directions but straight back. I especially liked the fact that I could look out the side window without having to bend over to get my eyes under the wing. In contrast, when I sat in the CH601, I was stunned by its’ comfort. Perhaps the most comfortable plane I have ever sat in. I also discovered I sat pretty low compared to the top of the canopy bubble. I could easily imagine the runway disappearing in a landing flare, though I had taken some of the cushion out of my seat to make sure the canopy didn’t hit my head.

True to the advertisement, we had finished our rudder by 3pm Sunday. We had been secretly racing the other workshop attendees, but the guy with the CH601 Rudder beat us in the end. We were surprised as we didn’t see him around very much. All the CH601 rudder skins come pre-drilled, something only the fuselage and wing skins have on the CH701 at the moment. Still, given our easily distracted work effort, I was impressed how easily and quickly the rudder came together.

The question still remains whether or not the CH701 is the plane. I had planned to take a demo ride in the CH601, but that was cut out of the plans as we wanted to get home to relieve our wives of watching the kids. Michael Heintz promised me that when QSP’s CH701 demo plane was done, we could come back for a test ride, and fly both models during the same visit. Either way I had fun at the workshop and continue to enjoy my slow process towards building a plane. As I do recall, this plane building is suppose to be fun!

With all the distractions of the open house, the BBQ, and running into other Chapter 119 members (Dennis and Jerry) who flew up for the day, we didn’t progress very far on my rudder. By the end of the day, all we had accomplished was attaching the ribs to the spar. The next morning we got an early start. The QSP staff was hovering a little closer, so less time was spent wondering what to do when stumped by a procedure. Putting the skins on was an exciting and nerve racking experience. I kept hoping we lined up the ribs correctly. We made some errors, all recoverable. We also learned some skills and tricks you could only learn from someone who knew them, well worth the price of the workshop alone. Perhaps the most valuable thing I learned in the workshop was how precise I needed to be. Initially I was trying to be extremely precise: I wasted a lot time for not much gain. Then I tried being a bit more relaxed on my tolerances and provided myself with some sloppy workmanship that was noticeable, but not deficient. Eventually we settled into an ability to work with a bit of speed, not be unduly precise, and still have good workmanship.