We fly a small airplane, Model Zenith 601 HDS, that friend Mel and I assembled from a kit and completed in 1995. More exactly, he was the master builder and I the apprentice.

The plane is truly tiny: It has a wingspan of 23 ft and weighs 630 lbs empty. But it can fly high right up to the legal limit of 14,000 ft for flight without supplemental oxygen, and can stay 6 hrs in the air! The photo was taken over the Rollins Pass in Colorado, at that altitude limit.

By 2023, we had flown the plane for 27 years, staying 2,200 hrs in the air.

There are three blogs about the airplane:

Design improvements Design changes made over a seven-year period.

Points for Pilots Recommendations for flying and maintenance of small planes, in particular with Rotax engines.

Passion for Flight Stories of flying trips all over the US.