With new kit builders (like us), I highly recommend attending the Zenith Air Sheet Metal Workshop. My wife Sherrie, who is supportive in my interests, got a real feel for what was involved in construction. I was pleasantly surprised how much she got involved, and we both enjoyed the seminar. I didn't expect to get much out of it, but I did. You come away with confidence in what your getting ready to undertake. Its a great opportunity to meet and interface with the factory people. If you can, its a good idea to decided on the plane model first if possible. You can come away with a completed rudder for the kit your building. You also come out of the workshop with an appreciation of the required workspace, clamps, and other hand tools you will be using. And of course I must not forget to mention the demo ride in the factory plane of your choice.
If you aren't ready to commit to the Zenith Air
Sheet Metal Workshop, Metalworking
101 for Homebuilt Kits is targeted to the beginning student of
pop-riveted metal kit plane construction. The ideal audience for this video is
the person who is contemplating the undertaking of a metal kit plane project
(for example: Zenith, Sonex, Hummel) and wants to witness the actual skills and
procedures necessary for successfully achieving this end. This very
affordable DVD will take you thru the actual construction of a Zenith CH701 rudder,
from start to finish. While it can be used to supplement the construction
guide supplied by the manufacturer with this rudder, it is actually intended to
demonstrate to the beginning builder just what tasks and skills are required for
any brand of metal kit plane construction. In addition to the rudder building
demonstration, general metal building procedures are explained and
demonstrated.
If I wasn't convinced before, the workshop convinced us both that an air riveter is not an option. I had already ordered one from Zenith along with our kit, so we used it in the workshop. The staff modified the heads for us so it was ready to go. After we had finished, we had other builders standing in line to borrow ours. It makes assembly fun (much faster, and a lot easier on the forearms). The price is insignificant to the benefits.
At home, we had a single stage compressor that would have done the job for our air tools, but it was noisy and had to run a lot to keep the 90 psi regulated pressure we require. We waited until they were on sale and purchased a Sears 2 stage 175 psi compressor for about $300. The price was good, and more importantly it was substantially quieter. The 2 stage (175 psi unregulated) make the 80 to 90 psi requirement for the riveter and air drill requirements easily.
If your short on space or tight on budget, I've seen guys use the newer high speed cordless drills with great success also. I've found myself using my cordless on some area's where it was difficult to deal with the air hose or the cord on a corded drill.
I followed the recommend tools list Zenith recommended. They recommended US Industrial Tool & Supply Company, 800-521-4800, as a supplier. Call them for a catalog. I ordered the suggested supplies, except the air riveter, from US. They do have better prices than Zenith does. I find ordering the higher grade drill bits are worth every penny. In addition to the suggested list, I found the following items helpful: 3/32 Clecos (qty 80, TP75-3/32, zinc), handi-clamps (qty 10, TP640HC), drill stops (3/32, #20, #30), and roller stands (qty 3, sometimes called T stands). To date I found the 3/32 Clecos are called for in the elevator section 3 assembly manual and the wing manual. The roller stands can be gotten at harbor freight for about $15 each when on sale and are really handy when working on the wing assemblies. I found the handi-clamps at the building workshop at Zenith to be very quick and easy to use holding parts in place.
The Zenith staff showed us a clever way to cut up a hose and use for a drill stop. It works, but for a few dollars, I prefer using the US tool drill stops.
I also recommend Avery Tools. A large supply of aircraft tools for the kit builder. Nice folks that are willing to help you with your needs. A very handy tool is there Edge Marker Block. You clamp a marker (I use a Sharpie Permanent marker) and use it to mark edge lines for riveting. Another handy tool from Avery is a Mini Fan Spacer (sometimes referred to as a Equal spacing tool). This device is handy for marking equal spaced rivet holes. I'm also fond of there side grip cleco clamps.
I also recommend you contact Aircraft Spruce for there free catalog. I've found there prices to be similar to US and in some case's they've saved me a little. This is a really neat catalog for anything to do with aircraft.
One of my big frustrations in building is making sheet metal cuts without getting jagged edges or stress lines. Even with great care, I found myself doing a lot of filing in an attempt to clean the edges up. In a home show I saw a demonstration of the Rodman nibbler tool. Talking to the sales rep, I discovered kit builders are one of there biggest customers. This is a versatile nibbler that mounts to an electric drill. This nibbler will even cut up a coke can with very little burring. Cuts up to 16 gage steel or 14 gage aluminum. Its pricey, $180, but I've found it every bit worth the expense. Rodman & Company, Inc., 2823 N. San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91504. (818)-846-9494 or (800)-228-1806.
Another frustration in my case was as my bigger parts (like the wing assembly) came together, I became very dependant on getting friends to come by to help move the parts back and forth. My brother Larry came up with an ingenious idea of using a couple light duty electric hoists connected to a barn door rail/trolley system in my barn roof. This enable me to lift or turn over the wings without assistance. I used the 2 of the Harbor freight 220 lb (single line, 440 lb double line) hoists. Trolleys and rail were used iron, purchased for next to nothing. After hoists/bolts/extension cords/iron/etc., I think the total bill was about $180. I discovered I needed to double line the hosts to make them run slow enough for my needs. I also extended the wires on the host control to lower them to a comfortable reach.
The factory staff knows how to build these planes. Stay with the manuals, and you'll do well. If you don't understand, I've found sending an email with my questions worked best with me. It allows me to re-read the clarification until it sinks in. They usually respond within a few days to a week. Occasionally I've followed up the emails with a phone call. The staff is friendly and eager for you to succeed. There are some mistakes in the manuals. So don't be afraid to ask questions.
I'm fortunate in having a laptop PC which I take to my barn with me. I've downloaded the manual *.pdf files off the zenith builders site. There is a updated revision *.pdf file document for updating the current 3.x revision manuals. I considered this a must. I went through some unnecessary problems until one of the staff members pointed the file out to me. The color photos in the downloaded manuals are better to view than the b/w photos in the supplied paper manuals. Having this available can help to clarify the directions.
If you are an advanced PC user and want to do more: As I worked on the elevator assembly and later on the wing assembly, I found that if I combined all the sections of the book *.pdf files into one *.pdf file using the full version of acrobat software, I could than search and find where any specific part was called out. This clarified a lot of the questions I had, and certainly minimized my calls to the factory. Note: you need the full acrobat package to do this, the free acrobat reader doesn't have this capability.
A quote from my wonderful Mother: "You can do it"!