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I assisted my father, Don Chapman, in building this aircraft from a kit. He's retired and did most of the metal-bashing and puzzling through the plans. I wasn't around to drive many rivets, so tended to handle the paperwork and purchasing. There was plenty of collaborative work in the later parts of the project where customization is normal -- such as for the engine compartment, instrumentation, and interior
The plane is a Zodiac CH 601 HDS, from the Zenith Aircraft Company (a.k.a. Zenair, the name of the original Canadian company).
The kit was delivered in November 1995, with first flight in August 1999. The initial 25+ test hours were completed by October 1999, with work on upgrades continuing into 2000. The plane was painted at the end of June 2000, in time to then take C-GZDC to the Oshkosh AirVenture fly-in for four days.
Photos for those who have a particular interest in Zenair 601's: (These haven't been added to in years.)
Page 1: General (After the plane first flew)
Page 2a: Construction & design related
Tuft testing & vortex generators
In 2008, vortex generators were added to the wings. I made photos and videos of tuft tests of the wings, before and after this change. Since web space at my ISP is limited, this new data is at http://sites.google.com/site/601cgzdc/Home/Tuft-testing--vortex-generators.
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