StanC

While that's true, changing the certification of an SLSA to experimental and then getting an LSR-I certificate can save you a bundle in maintenance and annual condition inspection labor costs since you can do both yourself. Maintenance and annuals on a traditional certified GA aircraft like a Cherokee or Skyhawk aren't cheap.

Thanks, Bill. The 6-MOD structural upgrade kit components weigh 41 pounds (the difference between the empty weight before and after the "B mod" kit installation), so I guess I'll find out after I weigh it whether I (and the previous owner) have been using the wrong empty weight. 846 plus 41 would put the empty weight at 887!! Yikes!

It's a real pig, Dave. With the O-200-A up front I knew it would essentially be a single place airplane with full fuel, and am fine with that as my long cross-country flights are always solo. Calculated empty weight is 846 pounds, but from the logs it isn't clear whether that was before or after the B structural mods were made to the airframe. The plan is to weigh it after I get the ADS-B install completed so I'll have an updated W&B that I know is accurate. Past experience with my 150 and 172 suggests it's going to be heavier than I expect. ☹️ I weigh 175 and can take a 200 pound passenger on an hour/hour and a half flight (10 or 12 gallons of fuel), and still be under 1320 gross.

Thanks, Bill! I got tired of feeling left out of the loop. 😁 I used to fly into Herlong (HEG) when visiting family in Jax; it was a lot closer to my folks than Craig. Thanks, Dave. I've been following Chris Heintz and Zenith for decades, and was familiar with the manufacturing agreement between Heintz and CZAW. I bought a CH601XL quick build kit just before all of the fatal mid-air breakups, and when it became clear there was a serious problem I lost my enthusiasm for building the kit. After the structural mods came out in 2010 and the unexplained breakups stopped, a good friend told me I'd be dead before completing the kit and suggested buying a low time AMD with the B mods. Gee, why didn't I think of that?? So, that's the route I went and have never regretted it. I've never flown a SportCruiser, but think they'd handle a lot like the Zodiac. I absolutely love the Zodiac and the way it handles. So far, I haven't discovered any unusual flight characteristics, although I did replace the bungee cord shock on the nose strut with the "steel bungee" spring shock from Viking, and it makes a big (positive) difference in ground handling. As far as the IFR equipment is concerned, the airplane has a full gyro panel (TSO'd electric gyros with IFR backup power) SL-30 nav/com with ILS, heated pitot, alternate static, and lightning protection. The 601XLi was available with an optional Garmin 430 WAAS enabled GPS, but the original owner of my plane chose a VFR GPSmap 396 (I've replaced that with an Aera 660 VFR GPS). All engine parameters are displayed on a Dynon D10 EMS. I'm a VFR pilot, but have maintained IFR pitot/static and transponder certification. I'm installing the GDL 39R and GDL 82 for ADS-B Here are photos of the airplane and the panel.

Thanks for the nice welcoming posts, all. Shawn, I relocated in late February from San Francisco to Santa Rosa and am really enjoying the slower pace of life and getting away from the noisy hustle and bustle of the city. We moved into a "55 and older active adult" community with two eighteen hole golf courses, tennis courts, Olympic size swimming pools, and two fully equipped gyms. The neighbors have all been very welcoming, and two of them are former military pilots so we've swapped war stories. I've joined the local EAA chapter at KSTS, and the chapter members are great. Let me know if you get out this way. I try to visit family in Jacksonville for a week or so at least once a year.

I just joined, and fly a 2008 AMD CH601XLi-B Zodiac SLSA which I recertificated as experimental. I live in Santa Rosa, CA, in the heart of Sonoma County wine country, and hangar my plane at the Sonoma County Airport, KSTS. Happy to be here.