Thu, Mar 20, 2025
The concept of building your own airplane can be daunting for a lot of people. Most wouldn't consider building their own car, much less an airplane. In an effort to demystify the process, Zenith Aircraft held a four-day workshop at the Sebring Sport Aircraft Expo in January to introduce beginners to the process of building their own airplanes.
Zenith Aircraft owner Sebastian Heintz told ANN news editor Tom Patton that there were 17 rudders built over the course of the four-day workshop. He said the workshop is designed to give the first-time builder a hands-on experience and learn as much about building an airplane as possible in a short time. It takes about a day and a half to go through all the steps to build the rudder, and they end up with a finished product, which gives them a sense of accomplishment. The process gives the participant an opportunity to use many of the skills needed to build the entire airplane.
Heintz said that of the 17 rudders that were built at Sebring, 4 were fabricated by complete non-pilots, and almost none of the participants had any sheet metal experience. He said those are the company's preferred builders, as they are more willing to learn the techniques specific to building a Zenith airplane.
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