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TERRENCE'S WEB SITE
Welcome to my airplane builder’s-log website. I am building a Zenith 601XL from a complete kit delivered in February, 2007. I originally wanted to build a Cozy. But I decided I’d rather spend my retirement flying than building, so I set my sights on the RV-9A. Then I decided light sport was the way to go. In the Fall 2006 time-frame the Zenair 601XL looked to me to offer the best combination of performance, building ease, proven design, and value. I visited the factory in Mexico, MO for a demo flight and committed to the 601XL. A glance at my builder's log reveals that precious little has been done since April 6, 2008. There is a reason for that. On April 7, a 601XL lost a wing and crashed near Polk City, FL. That was the 4th 601XL wing loss accident since February 2006. I decided that I could not continue building until the cause for these accidents was determined, and something was developed to eliminate the problem. Since the Polk City accident, three more 601XL's have lost a wing in flight, confirming (in my mind, at least) the correctness of my decision to halt my build. Since then, I have devoted my building time to facilitating an independent engineering analysis of 601XL through the auspices of the Zenith Builders Analysis Group (ZBAG). Twenty-seven other builders joined me to make ZBAG happen. At the time of this writing (1/09) I believe that one of our engineers has determined the cause of the accidents. I'm confident that we will soon have design changes that will stop the wing loss accidents. I remain committed to my 601XL. I still believe that Zenith Aircraft offer the most bang for the buck in the homebuilt Light Sport market. I am confident that, as modified, the 601XL will be just as safe as other LSA kit on the market. As soon as the analysis process is complete, I plan to resume my build.
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